Ann Arbor, LPGA developmental tour split after just one year

The state of Michigan's pro-golf schedule will be a little lighter in 2023.

The Epson Tour, the developmental circuit of the LPGA, has pulled out of its multi-year commitment to playing a tournament at Travis Pointe Country Club in Ann Arbor. The parties had announced the inaugural tournament in 2022 as part of a two-year deal, though that contract had an option.

Sponsorship proved to be the biggest hurdle for the Ann Arbor Sports Commission, which was the key player in bringing the women's golf tour to Ann Arbor last year.

"The market right now is very challenging with everything going with the economy still, and businesses still in flux, so we struggled finding a sponsorship," Mike Malach, the executive director of the Ann Arbor Sports Commission, said Tuesday. "We didn't want to move forward without a sponsor."

The tournament was called Ann Arbor's Road to the LPGA in 2022. It was played without a title sponsor, and the Epson Tour stepped in to pay for most of the tournament's $200,000 purse.

Finland's Kiira Riihijarvi won the Ann Arbor tournament and a $30,000 first-place check, topping a field of 156 golfers, including Michigan golfer Ashley Lau, who finished in third place as an amateur.

The tournament was billed as women's pro golf's return to Travis Pointe, which previously hosted an LPGA tournament from 2016-18.

"Everything we heard from the players, the tour, the club went off very well," Malach said. "The presentation was done well. ... Overall, it went off very, very well."

Michigan has been a hotbed of sorts for women's pro golf in recent years, and annually hosts two LPGA stops, in Grand Rapids and Midland. The state also has an annual PGA Tour stop in Detroit and a Champions Tour (50 and older) tournament in Grand Blanc. The Epson Tour will continue its tournaments in Battle Creek and Harris in June.

While the Ann Arbor Sports Commission lost the Epson Tour tournament, it still is keeping busy with the NAIA cheer and dance national championships at Eastern Michigan this weekend.

The commission also is hosting the American Junior Golf Association to Leslie Park Golf Course from July 24-27.

"They bring people from everywhere," Malach said of the AJGA. "We're trying to do some cool things around that. That doesn't have quite the financial exposure (of the Epson Tour). That's a really, really good fit for us."

2023 golf tournaments in Michigan

∎Epson: June 9-11, at Battle Creek Country Club

∎Michigan Open: June 12-15, at Katke Cousins Golf Course, Rochester

∎LPGA: June 15-18, at Blythefield Country Club, Belmont

∎Michigan Amateur: June 20-24, at Oakland Hills Country Club (North), Bloomfield Township

∎Epson: June 23-25, at Sweetgrass Golf Club, Harris

∎Michigan Women's Open: June 26-28, at Crystal Mountain Golf Course (Mountain Ridge), Thompsonville

∎Michigan Girls Junior Amateur: June 26-29, at Forest Akers Golf Course (West), East Lansing

∎PGA: June 29-July 2, at Detroit Golf Club

∎Michigan Junior Amateur: July 10-13, at A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort, Kewadin

∎LPGA: July 19-22, at Midland Country Club

∎Michigan Women's Amateur: Aug. 7-11, at Spring Lake Country Club

∎Champions: Aug. 25-27, at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, Grand Blanc

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984