ROCHESTER, N.Y.–A golf tournament here that is part of the Symetra Tour, a feeder circuit for the LPGA Tour, will be named the Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic after about a dozen local credit unions came together to sponsor the event at Brook-Lea Country Club in Gates, N.Y.
The event was started in 2015 to honor Danielle Downey, the former LPGA player from Spencerport who died in a car crash at the age of 33 in January of 2014. This year’s tournament is July 11-17 with the four championship rounds July 14-17. LPGA Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez will be the event’s honorary chair.
“The credit union exposure that we’re going to get will get the word out to 250,000 to 300,000 members in the community who’ll hear about our tournament,” said Mike Vadala, the tournament chair and president of The Summit Federal Credit Union, told local media. “We’ll have a title sponsor who wants them to know that they’re involved, they’ll reach out and get people to know that this thing is going on. You’re going to see our crowds double this year. There’s not a doubt in my mind. Whereas last year there were close to 10,000 (fans), this year we expect to be at 20,000. It’s just going to be that much more of a big-time feel.”
The purse is expected to increase from $150,000 to $200,000 or more for the Downey Classic