Laura Diaz and Jan Stephenson set to defend – full field to include four World Golf Hall of Fame members
(Sandwich, MA – August 31, 2022) – The stage is set for the 5th annual BJ’s Charity Championship presented by Kimberly-Clark, a team event featuring 24 Legends of the LPGA to be held Friday, September 9 at The Ridge Club in Sandwich, Mass. Defending champions Jan Stephenson of Sydney, Australia and Laura Diaz of Ponte Vedra, FL, will return, along with tournament host and New Hampshire native Jane Blalock, a 27-time LPGA Tour champion and member of the LPGA Legends Hall of Fame.
The format for the single-day, 18-hole tournament is a two-person scramble. Blalock will team up once again with France’s Patricia Meunier-Lebouc, a major championship winner on the LPGA Tour. Other teams include 2019 tournament champions Rosie Jones and Michele Redman, World Golf Hall of Fame members Amy Alcott and Hollis Stacy and seven-time LPGA Tour winner Michelle McGann alongside Swedish powerhouse Maria (Hjorth) McBride, a five-time LPGA Tour champion.
“The team format makes the BJ’s Charity Championship a favorite stop for the Legends of the LPGA every year,” said Blalock, whose LPGA Tour career spanned three decades from the late 1960’s to the mid-1980’s. Blalock remains the only player to have carded an ace in the BJ’s Charity Championship since the event’s inception at her home course in 2017.
“We’re excited to continue this tradition at The Ridge and welcome area fans back for what is sure to be another thrilling finish,” added Blalock.
LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member Pat Bradley of West Hyannisport, Mass., will make her fifth appearance with a new partner this year, former LPGA Tour competitor turned nationally recognized instructor, Jamie Fischer of Lake Forest, Ill. California’s Pat Hurst, 2021 Solheim Cup captain and six-time LPGA Tour winner, will team up with Wendy Ward of Spokane, Wash., a four-time LPGA Tour champion.
Laura Diaz, a two-time LPGA Tour champion and four-time Solheim Cup competitor for Team USA, looks forward to pairing up once again with World Golf Hall of Famer Jan Stephenson to defend their 2021 title and take on the challenging layout at The Ridge Club.
“Last year was so much fun and the course was in fantastic shape,” said Diaz. “The fans were terrific. They made the event - and the victory – very special.” Diaz and Stephenson, playing in the first group out, posted a 13 under par 59 to establish the clubhouse lead and then watched others inch closer but not close enough by the time the last putt fell. Runners-up Trish Johnson and Laura Davies of England, the 2018 tournament champions, finished one shot back.
As the defending champions, Diaz’s and Stephenson’s tee time went from first out in 2021 to last to tee off in 2022.
“Having the last tee time this year will add to the excitement,” said Diaz, “and also allow me to sleep a bit later.”
Gates open at 9:00 a.m. Admission is free. There is no parking at The Ridge Club, but fans can park for free virtually next door at Holly Ridge Golf Course where shuttles will be available to and from the main tournament entrance. Tee times featuring six foursomes run from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Hole 1. Play is expected to finish at approximately 3:30 p.m. A trophy ceremony will immediately follow play on the 18th green.
For more information, please visit LegendsoftheLPGA.com.
Here are the 12 teams playing in the BJ’s Charity Championship presented by Kimberly-Clark:
--Jane Blalock, Cambridge, MA / Patricia Meunier-Lebouc, Dijon, France --Elaine Crosby, Jackson, MI / Cathy Johnston-Forbes, Kitty Hawk, NC --Lori West, Glenwood Springs, CO / Allison Finney, Indio, CA --Lorie Kane, Prince Edward Island, Canada / Nancy Scranton, St. Augustine, FL --Michelle McGann, N. Palm Beach, FL / Maria McBride, Falun, Sweden --Wendy Ward, Spokane, WA / Pat Hurst, Danville, CA --Pat Bradley, W. Hyannisport, MA / Jamie Fischer, Lake Forest, IL --Liselotte Neumann, Finspang, Sweden / Alicia Dibos, Greenwich, CT --Amy Alcott, Santa Monica, CA / Hollis Stacy, Holmes Beach, FL --Suzy Whaley, Palm Beach Gardens, FL / Trish Johnson, Porthcawl, England --Jan Stephenson, Sydney, Australia / Laura Diaz, Ponte Vedra, FL --Rosie Jones, Hilton Head, SC / Michele Redman, Plymouth, MN
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About the Legends of the LPGA The Legends of the LPGA is the official senior tour of the LPGA providing competitive opportunities for LPGA Tour professionals and eligible amateurs, age 45 and over. The tour was founded in 2000 by twenty-five veteran LPGA Tour professionals with the goal of continuing to showcase the talents of some of the greatest women golfers of all time. Legends of the LPGA members, including 15 LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame members, have combined for over 750 LPGA Tour victories including eighty-four major championships. Legends of the LPGA has helped raise nearly $24 million for charity. For more information on the Legends of the LPGA, visit LegendsoftheLPGA.com or follow the Legends on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @legendsofthelpga.
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