Rich Harvest Farms, the home course for the NIU Huskie men’s and women’s golf teams, has been chosen to host the second International Crown in 2016.
Designed, built and owned by NIU alum Jerry Rich, the Sugar Grove, Ill., golf course also will serve as the site of a 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Regional hosted by NIU. The NCAA Regional will be the second held at the course, which was rated No. 58 on Golf Digest’s list of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses for 2011-12.
The golf course previously hosted the Solheim Cup in 2009.
“We are honored to have the International Crown at Rich Harvest Farms in 2016,” Rich said. “We look forward to welcoming the wonderful spectators and fans of women’s golf including the youth in our community to witness this truly global tournament.”
The International Crown, announced Thursday, Jan. 24, by the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), is a first-of-its-kind, biennial, global match play competition commencing in 2014 that will feature teams from eight countries battling for the right to be “Crowned” the world’s best golf nation.
Allie Parthie is a member of the NIU Huskies women’s golf team.
Showcasing the strength of Golf’s Global Tour, this even-year tournament will feature a four-day, match-play format with a total purse of $1.6 million – of which $100,000 will go to each member of the winning team.
Each of the eight countries will be represented by four players.
“At the LPGA, we celebrate great players from all over the world on a weekly basis, but this is the first time we’ll pit country versus country for global bragging rights,” said LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan.
“Only countries that have produced the best female teams can compete and only four players from any one country will be invited. The International Crown will take women’s golf to the next level and allow fans to rally behind their homelands. In sports, there is simply nothing greater than wearing your nation’s flag, fans singing your national anthem, and bringing the CROWN home.”
The inaugural tournament will debut in July 2014 at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md., outside Baltimore.
For more information on NIU golf and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
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