When Auburn varsity girls golf coach Donna Goddard asked who wanted to participate in the upcoming LPGA Duramed Futures Tour event, there was little hesitation.
Jennifer Meyers / The Citizen
Members of the Auburn girls golf team, from left, Megan Cahill, Mary Benedict, Cristina Camardo, and Mindy Fowler will join professional women golfers of Duramed FUTURES Tou in the Nice N Easy Pro-Junior Challenge.
Members of the Auburn girls golf team, from left, Megan Cahill, Mary Benedict, Cristina Camardo, and Mindy Fowler will join professional women golfers of Duramed FUTURES Tou in the Nice N Easy Pro-Junior Challenge.
“I'd love to play in it,” said Mary Benedict, who will be a senior on the Maroons squad in the 2008 season.
And who wouldn't?
The Futures Tour, billed as the “Road to the LPGA,” was once the home for the world's No. 1 golfer, Lorena Ochoa. But this year's annual stop in Central New York will be a little different. The Alliance Bank Golf Classic - the $80,000 tournament which will be held July 20-22, at the Links in Erie Village in Syracuse - will kick off with the first-ever Nice N Easy Pro-Junior Challenge on Wednesday, during which 52 high school golfers, representing 14 schools will tee it up with the pros.
And the high schoolers aren't the only ones who are eager.
“The pros are excited as heck to play with kids who know the game,” said Gregory Mann, the tournament director. “I originally told (the Futures Tour) we might need as many as 16 pros, and now I've got 22 who want to do this.”
The format for the inaugural event is a nine-hole scramble that will partner up four high school teammates with one tour pro.
“I like that you get to play with a Futures Tour member and experience what it's like to play with someone better than you,” said Benedict, one of four Maroons who will hit the links that day. “It'll probably give me something to aim for. If I see a better player, then I'll be able to shape my game like her.”
Benedict will be joined by classmate Cristina Camardo, and juniors Mindy Fowler and Megan Cahill.
“I want to see what it's like (to be a professional golfer),” said Cahill. “We can play with people who were probably in our shoes at one point.
“I want to see what she does to keep her scores low. (I'm looking forward to) playing with women who've been around for so long, how they can carry themselves on the course, how they've gotten to that level.” Also on the roster is a trio from Skaneateles: Brigid Clary, Hilary Senner and Sierra Prochna. The threesome, whose fourth high schooler will be Baldwinsville's Jamie Schmidt, will also welcome a hometown favorite to their squad. Former Laker Julie Peluso (formerly Julie Turner), a 1994 graduate of Skaneateles High School, will complete the five-person team. Peluso, who has been on the tour since 1999, has four top-10 finishes and a career best of third place, which she achieved at the 2006 Alliance Bank Classic.
Though no one knows exactly what to expect - they've never tried this before - all signs are good so far.
Mann said the idea originated from Joe Russo, of Alliance Bank. When Russo mentioned it to Mann, the idea took off. The initial response was extremely positive, and Mann hopes that excitement won't wane. He said it is already on the books for next year, and he hopes it will remain an annual event.
Not only that, but he hopes it will drum up some interest in girls golf in general.
“(The junior pro-am) is a good thing to bring attention to the tournament itself,” Mann said. “We always have trouble getting spectators to this event, and these gals are wonderful players.”
The idea of growing the sport isn't lost on the teenagers, either. Cahill told the story of how she used to be the only girl at the course when her father used to take her up to Highland Golf Club. And even still, the sport can sometimes fly under most people's radar.
“(This event is) good because women's golf has been getting larger throughout the last couple years,” Cahill said. “To have an event in Central New York and all these great women play is a good opportunity.”
Benedict is also thinking big picture.
“Girls golf is overlooked as a sport, so things like this help open people's eyes,” she said.
Nevertheless, the girls agreed the most important thing was to enjoy their time on the course and soak up as much as they can from the pros.
But whoever takes the trophy, Mann is certain of one thing: People will want to do it again.
“I've been fortunate enough to play in the pro-am several times,” Mann said. “Let me tell you, they hit their drives with me - and past me. And the rest of the way they're much superior.
“If my impression is anything, it'll be a ball.”
And who wouldn't?
The Futures Tour, billed as the “Road to the LPGA,” was once the home for the world's No. 1 golfer, Lorena Ochoa. But this year's annual stop in Central New York will be a little different. The Alliance Bank Golf Classic - the $80,000 tournament which will be held July 20-22, at the Links in Erie Village in Syracuse - will kick off with the first-ever Nice N Easy Pro-Junior Challenge on Wednesday, during which 52 high school golfers, representing 14 schools will tee it up with the pros.
And the high schoolers aren't the only ones who are eager.
“The pros are excited as heck to play with kids who know the game,” said Gregory Mann, the tournament director. “I originally told (the Futures Tour) we might need as many as 16 pros, and now I've got 22 who want to do this.”
The format for the inaugural event is a nine-hole scramble that will partner up four high school teammates with one tour pro.
“I like that you get to play with a Futures Tour member and experience what it's like to play with someone better than you,” said Benedict, one of four Maroons who will hit the links that day. “It'll probably give me something to aim for. If I see a better player, then I'll be able to shape my game like her.”
Benedict will be joined by classmate Cristina Camardo, and juniors Mindy Fowler and Megan Cahill.
“I want to see what it's like (to be a professional golfer),” said Cahill. “We can play with people who were probably in our shoes at one point.
“I want to see what she does to keep her scores low. (I'm looking forward to) playing with women who've been around for so long, how they can carry themselves on the course, how they've gotten to that level.” Also on the roster is a trio from Skaneateles: Brigid Clary, Hilary Senner and Sierra Prochna. The threesome, whose fourth high schooler will be Baldwinsville's Jamie Schmidt, will also welcome a hometown favorite to their squad. Former Laker Julie Peluso (formerly Julie Turner), a 1994 graduate of Skaneateles High School, will complete the five-person team. Peluso, who has been on the tour since 1999, has four top-10 finishes and a career best of third place, which she achieved at the 2006 Alliance Bank Classic.
Though no one knows exactly what to expect - they've never tried this before - all signs are good so far.
Mann said the idea originated from Joe Russo, of Alliance Bank. When Russo mentioned it to Mann, the idea took off. The initial response was extremely positive, and Mann hopes that excitement won't wane. He said it is already on the books for next year, and he hopes it will remain an annual event.
Not only that, but he hopes it will drum up some interest in girls golf in general.
“(The junior pro-am) is a good thing to bring attention to the tournament itself,” Mann said. “We always have trouble getting spectators to this event, and these gals are wonderful players.”
The idea of growing the sport isn't lost on the teenagers, either. Cahill told the story of how she used to be the only girl at the course when her father used to take her up to Highland Golf Club. And even still, the sport can sometimes fly under most people's radar.
“(This event is) good because women's golf has been getting larger throughout the last couple years,” Cahill said. “To have an event in Central New York and all these great women play is a good opportunity.”
Benedict is also thinking big picture.
“Girls golf is overlooked as a sport, so things like this help open people's eyes,” she said.
Nevertheless, the girls agreed the most important thing was to enjoy their time on the course and soak up as much as they can from the pros.
But whoever takes the trophy, Mann is certain of one thing: People will want to do it again.
“I've been fortunate enough to play in the pro-am several times,” Mann said. “Let me tell you, they hit their drives with me - and past me. And the rest of the way they're much superior.
“If my impression is anything, it'll be a ball.”
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