Welch's/Fry's Championship on the LPGA Tour

The Welch's/Fry's Championship was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour from the early 1980s until the mid-2000-aughts. It was played in Tucson, Arizona.

First played: 1981

Last played: 2004

Future Hall of Famer Ayako Okamoto earned her first career LPGA Tour victory in the 1982 tournament. Okamoto won a sudden-death playoff against Sally Little with a 15-foot birdie on the second extra hole.

There was only one other playoff in this tournament, but it, too, included some LPGA history. In 2000, Annika Sorenstam beat Pat Hurst on the second playoff hole. It was Sorenstam's 19th career LPGA win and gave her 27 Hall of Fame points, automatically putting her into the LPGA Hall of Fame.

Sorenstam was one of three golfers who won this tournament twice. The other two two-time champs were Chris Johnson and Donna Andrews.

The tournament scoring record for 18 holes was 60, first set by Meg Mallon in 2003 and then matched in 2004 by Sarah Lee — the first and second, respectively, scores of 60 in LPGA history. Those were the last two years the tournament was played, and neither Mallon nor Lee won. That's because both of those years also featured 72-hole scoring records being set.

And not just tournament scoring records, but LPGA scoring records. First, in 2003, Wendy Doolan won with a score of 259 — the first time in LPGA history a golfer won any tournament with a score lower than 260.

Then, in the final tournament in 2004, Karen Stupples won and lowered the LPGA 72-hole scoring record to 258. (That record has since been broken.)

Also known as: Arizona Copper Classic, Conquistadores LPGA Open, Circle K Tucson Open, Ping/Welch's Championship, Welch's/Circle K Championship

Winners of the Welch's/Fry's Championship

1981 — Nancy Lopez, 278
1982 — Ayako Okamoto, 281 (def. Sally Little in playoff)
1983 — Jan Stephenson, 207
1984 — Chris Johnson, 272
1985 — Amy Alcott, 279
1986 — Penny Pulz, 276
1987 — Betsy King, 281
1988 — Laura Davies, 278
1989 — Lori Garbacz, 274
1990 — Colleen Walker, 276
1991 — Chris Johnson, 273
1992 — Brandie Burton, 277
1993 — Meg Mallon, 272
1994 — Donna Andrews, 276
1995 — Dottie Pepper, 278
1996 — Liselotte Neumann, 276
1997 — Donna Andrews, 273
1998 — Helen Alfredsson, 274
1999 — Juli Inkster, 273
2000 — Annika Sorenstam, 269 (def. Pat Hurst in playoff)
2001 — Annika Sorenstam, 265
2002 — Laura Diaz, 270
2003 — Wendy Doolan, 259
2004 — Karen Stupples, 258

Golf Courses: Randolph Golf Course in Tucson, Ariz.

Popular posts from this blog