Bittersweet: LPGA Saying Goodbye To Rochester

Excellent read from Randall Mell on site at the Wegman's LPGA Championship, played for the final time in Rochester as this event before it becomes the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship next year at a variety of venues.

Having seen what a great golf town Rochester is, I can imagine what a bittersweet week this is for both players and fans.

Mell writes:

The emotion is understandable from a local perspective, from folks who have poured so much into hosting an event since 1977. Looking at the bigger picture, though, this was a terrific move for the LPGA. Wegmans commitment was uncertain. It’s a regional company, and it’s been operating with a year-to-year agreement with the LPGA. The new PGA deal was a chance to lock in this major’s long-term future.

“The PGA told me point blank, 'We are going to go to our board, and we’re going to say, 'Let’s not commit to do this unless we are going to commit to it for the next 50-plus years.'' That’s how they entered this agreement with us,” Whan said.

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be played at Westchester Country Club in its first year. The purse will jump from $2.25 million to $3.5 million. A new network TV deal will be in place.

“Sitting on the LPGA board, there’s not a lot wrong with that scenario,” Hall of Famer Karrie Webb said.