The ING New England Golf Classic is an annual golf tournament for professional women golfers on the Duramed FUTURES Tour, the LPGA's developmental tour. The event has been played since 1999 in the Hartford, Connecticut area.
Prior to 2009, the tournament had various title sponsors, most recently CIGNA, a health service company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 2009 season opened with the tournament lacking a title sponsor. In mid-June 2009 it was announced that ING, a global financial institution, would become the new title sponsor.[1]
The Tournament is a 54-hole event, as are most FUTURES Tour tournaments, and includes pre-tournament pro-am opportunities, in which local amateur golfers can play with the professional golfers from the Tour as a benefit for local charities. The benefiting charity from the New England Golf Classic is Chip in for a Cure, a Connecticut-based breast cancer charity.
Tournament names through the years:
Contents |
| Year | Champion | Country | Score | Tournament Location |
Purse | Winner's Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Brittany Johnston | United States | 199 (−11) | Wintonbury Hills Golf Course | $100,000 | $14,000 |
| 2010 | Tiffany Joh | United States | 200 (−10) | Wintonbury Hills Golf Course | $100,000 | $14,000 |
| 2009 | Dewi Claire Schreefel | Netherlands | 202 (−8) | Wintonbury Hills Golf Course | $100,000 | $14,000 |
| 2008 | Vicky Hurst | United States | 209 (−7) | Gillette Ridge Golf Club | $80,000 | $11,200 |
| 2007* | Taylor Leon | United States | 215 (−1) | Gillette Ridge Golf Club | $80,000 | $11,200 |
| 2006 | Song-Hee Kim | South Korea | 216 (E) | Gillette Ridge Golf Club | $70,000 | $9,800 |
| 2005^ | Virada Nirapathpongporn | Thailand | 142 (−2) | Gillette Ridge Golf Club | $70,000 | $9,800 |
| 2004 | Nicole Perrot | Chile | 209 (−4) | Blue Fox Run Golf Course | $70,000 | $9,800 |
| 2003 | Stacy Prammanasudh | United States | 203 (−10) | Blue Fox Run Golf Course | $60,000 | $8,400 |
| 2002 | Linda Ishii | Japan | 208 (−5) | Blue Fox Run Golf Course | $60,000 | $8,400 |
| 2001* | Kathryn Cusick | United States | 212 (−1) | Blue Fox Run Golf Course | $60,000 | $8,400 |
| 2000^* | Christel Tomori | United States | 140 (−2) | Blue Fox Run Golf Course | $50,000 | $7,000 |
| 1999 | Riko Higashio | Japan | 206 (−7) | Blue Fox Run Golf Course | $50,000 | $6,600 |
^Tournament shortened to 36 holes because of rain.
*Championship won in sudden-death playoff.
| Year | Player | Score | Round | Course |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Nicole Materne | 65 (-6) | 1st round | Blue Fox Run Golf Course, par 71 |
| 2002 | Michele Vinieratos | 65 (-6) | 2nd round | Blue Fox Run Golf Course, par 71 |
| 2007 | Mollie Fankhauswer | 67 (-5) | 1st round | Gillette Ridge Golf Club, par 72 |
| 2009 | Song Yi Choi | 64 (-6) | 1st round | Wintonbury Hills Golf Course, par 70 |