HARRIS — After a year’s respite, the Symetra Tour returns to the area this week for the 10th Island Resort Championship at Sweetgrass.

A field of 144 professionals — including three recent college players — will be on hand for the Road to the LPGA event at Island Resort and Casino. They will be chasing a purse of $200,000, with $30,000 going to the three-day survivor. Daniele Iacobelli, a Michigan native who has participated here several times, is the defending champion.

An additional bonus to the tournament will send the winner to France for the Evian Championship, the fourth major on the LPGA Tour.

An additional $40,000 in cash prizes will also be available in the Potawatomi Cup, which includes the four championship events staged by tribes affiliated with the Potawatomi Nation.

Theresa Toscano, who played for Perkins native Casey VanDamme at South Dakota State University the past five years, is one of two exempt invitees to the tournament. The Spanish native won the Summit Conference championship this year, among four titles on her impressive resume.

Another exemption is Kaitlyn Papp, a recent graduate of the University of Texas. She is a two-time first-team All-American and has played in the past two women’s U.S. Opens, including the one that finished Sunday in San Francisco. She finished ninth in the 2020 Open in December.

Also in the field is Sierra Brooks, who won the 2014 Florida high school state championship and spent the past four years playing at the University of Florida. She was the USA Today national high school player of the year and was runner-up at the 2019 NCAA Division 1 women’s golf championship.

Another prime entrant is Casey Danielson of Osceola, Wis., who won her first Symetra tournament title last month in North Carolina. She helped Stanford win the 2015 NCAA championship and has played in this event twice.

The field has always been outstanding at this event. Former Sweetgrass entrant Sophia Popov won the women’s British Open last year, and several past champions have advanced to the LPGA Tour.

A three-day ticket to the tournament is $10 (kids are free) and refreshments and food are available throughout the course for $2.

The spectator entrance is located at Gate A, which is the first eastern entrance from Escanaba near the gas station.

“We are eager to have the future stars of the LPGA Tour return this season to compete in Harris, Mich.,” said Island Resort general manager Tony Mancilla. “It’s clear the competition level is impressive across the board and we are honored to be able to crown a new champion as she will become one step closer to living the dream of competing on the LPGA Tour.”

The top 10 finishers in the season earn automatic entry to the LPGA Tour.

The tournament starts at 7:30 Friday, with players on the first and 10th tees each of the three days.