Safeway Classic Field Includes 49 of Top 50 on LPGA Money List

August 31, 2004
Portland, Oregon

The strength of the field for the 2004 edition of the Safeway Classic looks very impressive. According to Tom Maletis, President of Tournament Golf Foundation, the event owners and organizers, “We are pleased that at this point we have 49 of the top 50 on the LPGA money list committed to playing in Portland.”

The list includes two-time defending champion Annika Sorenstam, Juli Inkster, Grace Park, Lorena Ochoa, Rosie Jones and former Safeway Classic champion, Dottie Pepper in her final visit to Portland. Pepper has announced her retirement from the tour at the end of the current season.

“The strength of the field for the Safeway Classic is a tribute to our long association with the LPGA here in Portland, and the ongoing support that Safeway is showing in the tour,” said Maletis. Safeway also is the title sponsor for the Safeway International, held in Arizona each March.

The 2004 edition of the Safeway Classic will be held at Columbia Edgewater County Club September 13-19. The event features a $1.2 million purse. As in the past, the event will be shown nationally on the Golf Channel.

The first of two sponsor’s exemptions for this year’s event is Allison Hanna, a local player who just turned pro in June after competing for Ohio State University the past four years. Allison has been competing on the Futures Tour this summer. The second exemption was earned by 13-year-old Jane Rah of Torrance, California. Jane won the Safeway Classic Amateur Open and earned a playing position in the tournament as a result.

Tournament Golf Foundation, Inc. is comprised of a local group of volunteers who donate their time and provide the primary operations of the annual event. Begun in 1972, the group is now comprised of 47 individuals and couples. To date, TGFI has donated over $8 million to local children’s charities, with over $2.2 million donated in the past three years. The Safeway Classic is the oldest continuous event on the LPGA tour.

For more information on the complete field for the event, a schedule of events for tournament week, or other information on Tournament Golf Foundation, go to www.safewaygolf.com.