Longbow Golf Club to host the Symetra Tour season-opener

Visit Mesa and the Symetra Tour announced that this year’s Road to the LPGA will begin at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona with the inaugural VisitMesa.com Gateway Classic. Set to take place February 18-24, admission to the VisitMesa.com Gateway Classic is free on behalf of tournament sponsor, Visit Mesa.

The inaugural VisitMesa.com Gateway Classic, which features an elite field of professional golfers vying for a total purse of $100,000, marks the first time since the 2006 Tucson Duramed FUTURES Golf Classic that the Symetra Tour will stop in Arizona.

The Symetra Tour – Road to the LPGA is the world’s largest international women’s developmental tour and is committed to preparing the world’s best young women professional golfers for a successful career on the LPGA Tour. Several Symetra Tour members call Arizona home including last year’s Player of the Year and current LPGA Tour rookie Esther Choe who resides in Scottsdale, Arizona.

This season marks the second time in the Tour’s 33-year history that the top-10 Symetra Tour players on the season-ending Volvik Race for the Card standings will earn fully-exempt LPGA Tour status for the following year.

Volunteer Opportunities:
There are a number of volunteer opportunities for this event including Marshall’s, Scorers, Shuttle Drivers, Spotters, Special Event Volunteers and much more.  For those interested please contact Jenna Boyce at jenna.boyce@lpga.com or go to http://www.lpgafounderscup.com/volunteers/volunteers.aspx.

Housing Hosts: We are looking for several families to open their homes to the women golfers of the Symetra Tour during the VisitMesa.com Gateway Classic, the week of February 18-24th, 2013 at Longbow Golf Club. Players will start arriving on Registration Day, Tuesday, February 19th, or a few days earlier, if you can accommodate them. Housing Hosts will have the unique opportunity to get to know the players on a personal level. For more information please contact Jenna Boyce at jenna.boyce@lpga.com.

Caddies: We will have some players who will be requesting local caddies for use during the event. If you are interested in being a caddie, please contact Jay Larscheid at jayl@longbowgolf.com.