Toledo's Inverness Club yesterday was "officially announced as the host" of the '21 Solheim Cup, one year after the bid took form "with an assist" from Ohio-based Marathon Petroleum, according to Kyle Rowland of the Toledo BLADE. Marathon is contributing $1.25M, and an additional $4.5M has been "pledged by various northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan companies," including Owens Corning, ProMedica and Dana Corp. LPGA officials "estimate 175,000 fans will attend the tournament." More than half are "expected to come from out-of-state, including 15,000 from Europe." The LPGA's relationship with its annual Marathon Classic -- held nearby at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio -- and "familiarity with Toledo helped boost the Inverness bid." Northwest Ohio has "evolved into one of the best LPGA markets in the country." The '21 Marathon Classic still "will be at Highland Meadows Golf Club" in Sylvania, as LPGA officials "urged the tournament to not take a year off" (Toledo BLADE, 11/10). In Toledo, David Briggs in a front-page piece writes in "women's golf, there is northwest Ohio, and there is everyone else." LPGA Chief Commercial Officer Jon Podany said, "Toledo really stood out and blew us away." Briggs notes Toledo and Inverness already "had something of a reputation," hosting several men's majors, including the '93 PGA Championship, and the LPGA "proved the ideal match" (Toledo BLADE, 11/10).
BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME: In Connecticut, Chris Elsberry notes Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield was "one of six finalists" to host the '21 event. Brooklawn First VP Rick Ryan "felt that it was Inverness' long history of hosting USGA championships that swayed" the decision. Brooklawn had "secured several top sponsors and had 30 letters of intent from other potential sponsors, along with two dozen letters of support from local and state officials." Ryan: "They had some significant corporate commitments in excess of ours, not wildly, but we still had a lot of targets to go after and five years to make it happen." Ryan said that Brooklawn "will discuss the possibility" of going after the '25 event (CONNECTICUT POST, 11/10).
