JERRY RICH owner of Rich Harvest Farms invites everyone to come and enjoy the 2017 Men’s and Women’s NCAA Division 1 Golf Championships, hosted by Northern Illinois University. The ladies are on the tee first, from May 19-24 and then the men from May 26-31. Well priced tickets on sale at NCAA.com/Tickets, parking of course is Free.   _____________________________________________________________________

THE GOG BLOG by RORY SPEARS, Editor and Director of Content. Follow Rory to the Donald Ross Course at the French Lick Resort, and on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter @GogBlogGuy

IT WAS TIME for a Senior Women’s Major Golf Championship, and the French Lick Resort along with the Old National Bank has stepped up to the tee and made it happen.

This July 10-12, on the Pete Dye Golf Course, the field of 81 players will embark on a journey that will bring senior major championship golf to women of age 45 and older.

The Sr. LPGA Championship comes to the Legends Tour before the U.S. Sr. Women’s Open that will be contested for the first time at the historic Chicago Golf Club in July of 2018. The Sr. LPGA Championship has a Five-year deal with the resort and the Golf Channel.

The Pete Dye Course at the French Lick Resort.

“French Lick is proud to host such a prestigious event,” says Steve Ferguson, Chairman of the Board for the Cook Group, owners of the French Lick Resort. “We have long supported women’s golf and to now be part of the first major championship for senior women is indeed an honor. We look forward to a great relationship with the LPGA and an outstanding championship.”

The 81 player field will consist of a variety of the, “Whose-Who” in women’s golf. Including LPGA Hall-of-Famers, some current LPGA members and major champions over the age of 45. The championship will be 54 holes and include a purse of over $600,000. There will not be a cut.

“This is a landmark event for the LPGA because it provides a larger platform to celebrate the legends of the game,” said Mike Whan, LPGA Commissioner. “With the USGA’s recently announced U.S. Sr. Women’s Open and now our event, the women that forged the way for the current generation will now have two major championships each year.”

The entrance to the now 100 year old Donald Ross Course in French Lick.

In addition to major championships, there are two tournaments as part of the celebration of Women’s golf.

The Symetra Tour will begin the Sr. LPGA Championship week, as the two tours bridge the gap in women’s golf.

The Symetra Tour with today’s up and coming golfers starts on Friday July 7th and runs through the 9th on the Donald Ross Course, as part of the Donald Ross Centennial Classic. On Friday the 7th and Saturday the 8th, the Senior LPGA Pro-Am will be played on the Dye Course.

With the Senior LPGA to tee of on Monday July 10th. The Sr. LPGA Championship will conclude on Wednesday July 12th. The Women’s U.S Open from Trump Bedminster will begin on Thursday the 13th, essentially having a week plus of days where all the women’s professional golf tours will be bridged together.

Click here for the Sr. LPGA Championship media day interviews with Jane Blaylock, Jan Stephenson, and Michelle McGann. Who give their thoughts on the new Sr. LPGA Championship, and the long awaited for U.S. Sr. Women’s Open in 2018.

(L-R) Lindsey Gahm Symetra Tour, Jan Stephenson, Michelle McGann, and Jane Blaylock. Photo by Joy Sarver.

The Pete Dye Course adds the new championship to it’s list of other championships contested there.

The 2015 Sr. PGA Championship, the Big Ten’s Men’s and Women’s Conference Championships from 2012 to 2014. The 2010 PGA-PPNC club professional championship, and the Legends Tour event from 2013 to 2016.

Women’s golf history in French Lick reaches back to 1957, when the late Louise Suggs won the French Lick Women’s Open on the Donald Ross course. In 1959 Betsy Rawls won the championship followed by Mickey Wright in 1960.

The sponsor from the championship is the famed Riley’s Children’s Hospital and Foundation.

Tickets are $15 for adults, and Free for kids under 17. Tickets are valid for all three days of the championship, and can be purchased at Frenchlick.com/seniorpga.

To visit the French Lick Resort, please visit Frenchlick.com. You can come enjoy golf on three of the resorts golf courses.