Austin Hemmingson | Daily Press Florida’s Daniela Iacobelli sinks her winning putt on a tiebreaker on hole 18 during final round of the Island Resort Championship at Sweetgrass in Harris in 2019. Iacobelli tied with New Jersey’s Cindy Ha at minus-11 on the final round; forcing a tiebreaker. Iacobelli birdied to beat Ha by one stroke.

ESCANABA — The Symetra Tour will return to Sweetgrass Golf Course in 2021, but will be played earlier than previous women’s tournaments.

The 2021 Island Resort Championship at Sweetgrass, which was called off this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, will be held June 11-13, one week earlier than past years. The tournament’s housing committee has sent out letters to past player hosts informing them of the new date and are seeking names of area residents interested in housing players.

“You will be providing a great service to the players, allowing them to save on their weekly expenses, as well as giving them a comfortable home environment as they travel each week,” the housing committee wrote this week in a letter to past player hosts.

“Time and time again, lasting friendships are developed out of being a Housing Host.”

Potential hosts for the 10th Sweetgrass tourney are asked to reply by March 1, 2021 by contacting housing chairman Caron Salo at P.O. Box 602, Escanaba, or calling her at 789-0202. She can also be contacted via email at csalo@nlymca.com.

Also on the housing committee are Mary Kallio, Debbie Peterson, Lori Shea and Paul Schrader.

Two former Sweetgrass champions hold the top two spots on the latest Volvik Race For The Card, which gives the top 10 finishers automatic berths onto the LPGA Tour in 2021.

Kim Kaufman of Clark, S.D. moved atop the list after winning the Four Winds Invitational last week in South Bend, Ind. Kaufman, who has three Symetra titles including 2013 at Sweetgrass, also secured the Potawatomi Cup with that latest triumph. She has earned $37,232, in addition to claiming the $10,000 Potawatomi Cup.

Ruixin Liu, a native of China, is second on the Volvik list with $32,838.

In the Potawatomi Cup, Kaufman piled up 635 points while Liu, who won Sweetgrass in 2018, has 536 points.

The Sweetgrass event is one of four Symetra tournaments sponsored by various Potawatomi tribes.

Casey Danielson of Osceola, Wis., a former feature subject in the Daily Press, is seventh in the Volvik race with $16,325.

The Tour’s fifth event of the truncated 2020 schedule will be held this weekend in Longwood, Fla., with five tournaments left on the schedule, including the Mission Inn Resort in Howey-In-The-Hills, Fla Oct. 15-17 that was added this week.

Past Sweetgrass champions

2011 — Stephanie Kim; 2012 — Leah Wigger; 2013 — Kim Kaufman; 2014 — Molly Aronsson; 2015 — Dani Holmqvist; 2016 — Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong; 2017 — Emma Talley; 2018 — Ruixin Liu; 2019 — Daniella Iacobelli; 2020 — postponed.