Prattville Area Chamber of Commerce

5/6/2008 - Navistar pulls top LPGA money winners to Prattville

Navistar pulls top LPGA money winners

By Marty Roney

Eight of the top 10 LPGA money winners and Lorena Ochoa, the No. 1 woman golfer in the world, have committed to come to Prattville for the second Navistar LPGA Classic next September.

Tournament officials anticipate bigger galleries, more top golfers and a greater economic impact when the event tees off Sept 22-28 at the Senator Golf Course at Capitol Hill.

The event brings a full field of 144 players and Navistar has a three-year deal with the LPGA to bring the event to Prattville.

The inaugural event last year saw a gallery of 45,000 for the week and an economic impact of between $7.5 million and $8 million, said Jonathan Romeo, tournament director.

And area businesses may have seen an even bigger boost, he said.

"The economic impact is a conservative estimate, based on the field, the gallery, the Golf Channel crews," he said. "When you look at the wider picture, the international attention brought to the River Region, the impression the LPGA came away with from the tournament and the branding of a company like Navistar, the real impact is immeasurable."

Jake Rogers, a Montgomery golfer, took in the tournament last year.

"You can't let something
like this pass you by," he said. "It was great to see these golfers so close to home. We had the No. 1 woman golfer in the world in Prattville. How often does that happen?"

It's routine to see growth in a tournament's second year, Romeo said.

"The tournament received more than favorable grades all across the board from the players and the LPGA," he said. "You never know what the field is going to look like until you get closer to the tournament. But the players who took part were very pleased with how things went. A lot of the players who didn't commit the first year are saying they want to come to Prattville for the second year."

Prattville officials already are making plans for the tournament. Prattville was home for five years to the Nationwide Tour Championship, then took a year off before Navistar came to town. The city provides infrastructure ranging from volunteers to police protection to carting off waste.

"We are fortunate to have these tournaments under our belts," said Mayor Jim Byard. "It gives us an idea of what we need to do. All during the lead up to Navistar last year, we were told that it was a step up from Nationwide. That certainly was true. But as host city, it is our job to make sure everything comes off without a hitch."

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