JASPER, Indiana – Golf’s top senior women players found a home at French Lick Resort, which hosted big tournaments for nine straight years. The senior run ended in 2021 when the last of three Senior LPGA Championships was played on the resort’s Pete Dye Course.
“A great run for them, and a great run for us,” said Dave Harner, long-time director of golf at French Lick Resort. He was instrumental in the arrival of the Legends Tour, a circuit for players who had starred on the Ladies PGA Tour and wanted to continue to compete after reaching their 45th birthday.
French Lick’s involvement in Senior Women’s Golf goes much beyond the Legends as Steve Ferguson, Jane Blalock, and Harner initiated the creation of the Senior LPGA Championship in 2018 at the Pete Dye Course.
Now, the team at French Lick has played a major role in bringing the Senior LPGA Championship back to Southern Indiana. Through the efforts of Harner, the LPGA was introduced to Chris Tretter, the Co-owner and General Manager of Sultan’s Run Golf Club in nearby Jasper, Indiana, with the possibility of bringing the Championship back to Indiana after a year at the Salina (Kansas) Country Club.
Sultan’s Run, which opened in 1992 and was remodeled by Pete Dye protégé Tim Liddy four years later, has been named the site for this year’s Senior LPGA Championship from June 26 to July 2.
No. 18 at Sultan’s Run
“Salina was the site last year, but there’s a renovation going on out there, so they had no site for 2023,” Tretter said. “They reached out to Dave.”
“Salina did a great job and wants to host again after their renovation,” said Harner. “They wanted to make sure the tournament had an appropriate venue for this year, and Sultan’s is a quality venue.”
Again in 2023, French Lick will focus on the LPGA’s up-and-coming stars. They hosted the Symetra Tour for four years, which evolved into the biggest-paying event on what is now the Epson Tour. The Epson Tour makes its final appearance in the small Southern Indiana town from August 3-6.
The relationship between the resort and Sultan’s Run has always been a warm one. The resort staff managed Sultan’s for two years, and Harner considers it “a sister course.” They work together to package golf and further create a great quality golfing destination in Southern Indiana.
“It adds another dimension to our golf experience,” he said. “Having the Epson Tour has been super, and I wouldn’t be surprised – based on how the Senior LPGA goes – if it comes back here to play at Sultan’s Run.”
That’s a topic for another day, but Tretter is excited about Sultan’s Run getting its biggest tournament yet. The course is a perennial award winner and is the site for many Indiana amateur events.
The course got its name from a legendary racehorse, Supreme Sultan, who trained on the grounds before the course was built. The course has what’s been billed as “the most dramatic signature hole in Indiana.”
Tretter and Harner invited Tim Kramer of the LPGA out for a visit in October. They toured the course and Kramer immediately said “We’re coming.” More details, however, had to be worked out before the announcement could become official.
“This will be our first professional event, and we’re thrilled,” said Tretter. “The history of the women’s tour is really robust, and very interesting.”
England’s Trish Johnson won the first Senior LPGA Championship in 2017. Australian Karrie Webb won last year in a classic battle with Annika Sorenstam, and now Sultan’s Run is looking to add a great Champion to its resume like the ones who won in the past.
The winner at Sultan’s will receive the Steve Ferguson Trophy, honoring the chairman of the board of Cook Group who helped jump start the Championship in 2017.
French Lick won’t be out of the tournament spotlight either. The Pete Dye Course will become the site of the men’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship beginning in 2024. French Lick has a five-year agreement to take over that big event.
