ING New England Golf Classic

(Redirected from CIGNA Golf Classic)

The ING New England Golf Classic was an annual golf tournament for professional women golfers on the Futures Tour, the LPGA Tour's developmental tour. The event was played from 1999 to 2011 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 was 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 was Chip in for a Cure, a Connecticut-based breast cancer charity.

Tournament names through the years:

  • 1999: SNET Women's Classic
  • 2000: Connecticut Futures Golf Classic
  • 2001–2003: Lincoln Financial Futures Golf Classic
  • 2004: GMAC Futures Golf Classic
  • 2005–2008: CIGNA Golf Classic
  • 2009–2011: ING New England Golf Classic

Winners

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Year Champion Country Score Tournament
location
Purse ($) Winner's
share ($)
1999 Riko Higashio   Japan 206 (−7) Blue Fox Run Golf Course 50,000 6,600
2000^* Christel Tomori   United States 140 (−2) Blue Fox Run Golf Course 50,000 7,000
2001* Kathryn Cusick   United States 212 (−1) Blue Fox Run Golf Course 60,000 8,400
2002 Linda Ishii   Japan 208 (−5) Blue Fox Run Golf Course 60,000 8,400
2003 Stacy Prammanasudh   United States 203 (−10) Blue Fox Run Golf Course 60,000 8,400
2004 Nicole Perrot   Chile 209 (−4) Blue Fox Run Golf Course 70,000 9,800
2005^ Virada Nirapathpongporn   Thailand 142 (−2) Gillette Ridge Golf Club 70,000 9,800
2006 Song-Hee Kim   South Korea 216 (E) Gillette Ridge Golf Club 70,000 9,800
2007* Taylor Leon   United States 215 (−1) Gillette Ridge Golf Club 80,000 11,200
2008 Vicky Hurst   United States 209 (−7) Gillette Ridge Golf Club 80,000 11,200
2009 Dewi Claire Schreefel   Netherlands 202 (−8) Wintonbury Hills Golf Course 100,000 14,000
2010 Tiffany Joh   United States 200 (−10) Wintonbury Hills Golf Course 100,000 14,000
2011 Brittany Johnston   United States 199 (−11) Wintonbury Hills Golf Course 100,000 14,000

^ Tournament shortened to 36 holes because of rain.
* Championship won in sudden-death playoff.

Tournament records

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Year Player Score Round Course
2002 Nicole Materne 65 (−6) 1st Blue Fox Run Golf Course
2002 Michele Vinieratos 65 (−6) 2nd Blue Fox Run Golf Course
2007 Mollie Fankhauswer 67 (−5) 1st Gillette Ridge Golf Club
2009 Song Yi Choi 64 (−6) 1st Wintonbury Hills Golf Course

References

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