LPGA returns to Kingsmill 'for a long time to come'

Top-tier professional golf is returning to the Kingsmill Resort in 2012 following an absence of two years.
 
A burst of 11th-hour activity enabled LPGA and Kingsmill officials to reach agreement Tuesday on a deal that will bring the world's best female golfers to the sprawling resort on the lower James River at summer's end for the Kingsmill Championship, a $1.3 million, 72-hole women's tournament. Formal competition on Kingsmill's 6,315-yard River Course will begin on Thursday, Sept. 6 and conclude on Sunday, Sept. 9.
 
Jon Podany, the LPGA's chief marketing officer and the individual responsible for the tour's tournament business affairs, said the agreement covers the 2012 and 2013 seasons. But both parties "fully intend for Kingsmill to be on the schedule for a long time to come," he said.
 
Podany said the early-September slot assigned to the inaugural Kingsmill Classic was, in essence, the best available on short notice. He said the tournament will move to early May for 2013 and beyond.
 
The LPGA visited Kingsmill on an annual basis from 2003-2009 for a tournament, the Michelob Ultra Open, that was enormously popular with players and embraced by fans.

The Michelob Ultra was one of the most visible casualties of the 2008 acquisition of Anheuser-Busch, which at the time was Kingsmill's parent company, by European brewing conglomerate InBev.  A corporate decision to refocus promotional energy and reallocate sponsorship dollars was primarily responsible for the tournament's demise.
 
"We're extremely excited to be coming back," Podany said. "Kingsmill, historically, has been one of the best and most popular venues in LPGA history, How could we not be excited about returning to a place where we've been so well-received?"
 
Players mourned the loss of the Michelob tournament. The $2.2 million event was recognized as the LPGA's "fifth major," drawing strong fields annually. Its list of champions included some of the most lustrous names in women's golf: Se Ri Pak (2004), Karrie Webb (2006), Annika Sorenstam (2008) and Cristie Kerr (2005 and 2009). 
 
"Terrific news," said Brittany Lincicome, a seven-year LPGA veteran who has collected four victories and more than $4.4 million in career earnings. "It's a wonderful spot and a wonderful course. The fans are fantastic. The way they make us feel welcome is amazing. It's as though they enjoy being there as much as we do. I can't emphasize enough what a great experience it is. It's a tournament you look forward to and mark on your calendar every year. It's a definite 'don't-miss.'"
 
The new tournament will now attempt to construct a legacy of its own. Some connections to past success remain -- Michelob Ultra Open tournament director Wayne Nooe is expected to fill the same role for the Kingsmill Championship -- but other ties have vanished. Kingsmill, the event's title sponsor, is no longer affiliated with Anheuser-Busch.

The resort was sold in 2010 to Xanterra Parks and Resorts, a Denver-based hospitality management company. Podany said he is confident that Xanterra "will be just as committed and will prove to be just as good a partner" as Anheuser-Busch.

The new hosts are not without significant golf experience, Podany said. Properties owned by Xanterra's parent firm, Anschutz Corp., include The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, the site of last year's U.S. Women's Open.
 
Lincicome agreed. She said she anticipates an experience under Kingsmill's new management that will be "very similar" to what she enjoyed previously. "They obviously wanted us to come back -- which is always a good thing," she said. "They wouldn't be doing this if they weren't excited about it."