How sweet this tourney is
Special bond for Symetra, Sweetgrass
HARRIS — Sweetgrass Golf Club has been a highlight on the Symetra Tour since the two groups united in 2011, earning praise from tour officials, players and fans.
The tournament, and the golf course, has developed a tremendous national reputation during that union and it was underlined here Wednesday at the annual media day for the seventh annual Island Resort Championship at Sweetgrass June 23-25.
Island Resort & Casino general manager Tony Mancilla, co-director of the tourney with Sue Harris, said Hannahville Indian Community officials set high goals when discussions were held to conduct the tourney.
“Our goal was to be a top stop on the tour,” he told media members, noting the course is currently ranked 11th in Michigan and more than 300 area volunteers and hundreds of blossoming tour pros have combined to help set a high standard.
While Mancilla understandably holds the tournament in high regard, his remarks are shared by Symetra officials who attended Wednesday’s gathering.
“This is really the golf standard on our tour, and it has been since year one,” said Symetra director of business affairs Tim Kramer. “This really is a unique experience here. I wish we could bottle this and take it across the country.”
Mancilla noted in his opening remarks this event is unique because it is the only stop on the tour “where everything is here. The players never have to leave the property.”
While many players enjoy staying at the casino because of the excellent lodging and amenities, numerous players do participate in the strong housing program operated by the YMCA of Delta County. Homes are still needed for some of next month’s players (call Caron Salo at the Y at 789-0005).
Brett Lasky, manager of Symetra’s Strategic Media Partnerships, confirmed the opinions shared by Mancilla and Kramer.
“When you put on a show like you do here, you always hear people talk about it,” he said. “Things are starting to circulate about this amazing place.”
He said a key to that success is due to the location, a smaller area than the higher population sites where the Symetra Tour is simply one of many things available to residents. “Here we are like the big fish. We are the big deal,” he said.
Lasky said the hospitality is “incredible,” the fans have been outstanding and very supportive, area sponsors provide tremendous assistance and Island Resort officials “make these girls stars. They are rising stars (in professional golf) but they make them feel like they are big stars.
They are a big deal that week, they make them feel like LeBron James and Lexi Thompson.
“Here they make them feel like they are a million bucks. They roll out the (red) carpet a little further than the other tournaments. They (players) just have everything at their fingertips.”
Two players who will compete here next month were also on hand and were very gracious as they spoke of how much they enjoyed this event.
Brooke Ferrell, an All-Big Ten golfer who just graduated from the University of Wisconsin, played here as an amateur last year and became only the second exempt golfer to make the 36-hole cut. She will play in her first professional tourney next month in the Ohio Open and will make her Symetra Tour debut at Sweetgrass.
“The exemption this year is really fortunate,” Ferrell said, noting she did not play well at qualifying school and now only has limited status on the Symetra Tour. The opportunity to cash a decent check would help get her into more tournaments.
“It is a huge advantage that I could play here last year,” she said. She had a strong round after Wednesday’s luncheon and noted “I have very good memories here. I realize I am a different player than last year. I can hit different shots. If I can get the putter working well, it will be a good week.”
That is a big challenge however, as she said earlier Wednesday “I’ve been struggling with the putter ever since coming out of the womb.”
Her coach is U.P. Sports Hall of Fame inductee Dennis Tiziani, the former UW golf coach. “He has been really strong for me,” she said, noting he tells her “to find something to laugh at on the course.”
Her sister, Allyssa, is a veteran Symetra player and former Michigan State golfer.
“We practice together when we can and we talk golf all the time,” she said. “That is an incredible advantage.
“I’m glad I’m the younger one because she is kind of the guinea pig. Growing up she was always better than me. We play different styles. We would be a great scramble team.”
Lindsey Weaver, a three-time All-American at the University of Arizona and a Symetra Tour rookie, played in the first of three threesomes, shooting a 1-under-par 71 on her first exposure to the course, which was water-logged from steady rain the past week.
She is 12th on the tour’s money list with $18,217 in six events, with three top 10 finishes highlighted by a hole-in-one at Florida’s Natural Charity Classic. Her approach to the 158-yard third hole was six inches from the cup Wednesday.
Weaver, who played one year at Notre Dame University before going to Arizona for a better golf climate, had a career-best 59 in the 2012 Ping Junior Interclub match at Desert Mountain, Az., making an eagle on the final hole. “I didn’t realize what I accomplished until later on,” she said. “That was a pretty memorable day.”
LPGA Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam is the only other female to break 60.
A participant at the 2015 U.S. Open at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wis., Weaver goes to Albany, N.Y. next week for the first of six straight tourney appearances.
“My goal is to keep my energy up and play the best I can and take what I can get, and know when to take a break,” she said of her gruelling stretch.