Credit Union Classic is a truly global event

DeWITT — The 2014 Credit Union Classic, a Symetra (formerly Futures) Tour “Road to the LPGA” event, will attract 144 U.S. and international women golfers to Drumlins Country Club in DeWitt this summer.

Organizers announced details on Jan. 10 at Drumlins.

“You'll see around the putting green ... 35 different flags from different countries. It’s a worldwide tour,” Bill Motto, director of the Credit Union Classic, said in his remarks at the Jan. 10 announcement.

The golf tournament, scheduled for the week of July 28 through Aug. 3, has an annual economic impact of more than $350,000, Motto said.

The Credit Union Classic golf tournament, the third longest running event on the Symetra tour, is the largest professional sporting event in Syracuse, he added.

“Last year, we had 60 companies involved with the event in different aspects of the event, which is so important for us,” Motto said.

Syracuse–based Empower Federal Credit Union, Rochester–based Summit Federal Credit Union (FCU), and Albany–based SEFCU are partnering with Wegmans, a Rochester–based grocery store chain, as the presenting sponsors for the third consecutive year.

The Symetra Financial Corp., a financial-services firm headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., serves as the naming sponsor on the futures tour.

The tournament is scheduled a week later this year, Mike Vadala, Summit FCU president and tournament chairman, said in his remarks.

“That’s just to accommodate the entire schedule for the Northeast swing [of the futures tour], which traditionally has gone through New Hampshire, Albany, then over here to Syracuse before the girls finally get a week off,” Vadala said.

The participants, Vadala notes, are competing for status on the LPGA tour.

“It really makes this event special,” he adds. 

About 100 of the golfers coming to Syracuse will stay with host families for the week of the tournament, Motto said. Organizers are looking for additional volunteers to host the golfers and will conduct a screening process for those interested, he added.

“There’s a need for that, and the people that have stepped forward, I think, have gotten a lot out of this event, too,” Motto said.

Calle Nielson, a 2011 graduate of the University of Virginia and a third-year pro on the Symetra Tour, called Syracuse one of her “favorite stops” on the tour.

Nielson spoke at the Jan. 10 announcement. She didn’t name the person she stays with during that week but says she has remained in touch with the individual.

“And that’s life on the tour. This tour is taking me to where I want to be, hopefully, one day,” Nielson said.

Participating in the Symetra Tour requires “a lot of traveling,” Catherine O’Donnell, a second-year pro on the tour, said in her remarks.

“It took me a while to get used to ... You have to plan each week, and once I figured that out, it was good,” she said.

O’Donnell is a graduate of the University of North Carolina.

The organization The First Tee of Syracuse, which operates at Drumlins, is the Credit Union Classic’s primary beneficiary.

Founded in 2007, The First Tee aims “to impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf,” according to the organization’s website.

The First Tee isn’t just a golf program and a golf camp, Peter Webber, executive director of First Tee of Syracuse, said in his remarks.

“We have 330 kids [between ages 7 and 17]. We’re about 60 percent minority. We’re also 40 percent girls,” Webber said.

The tournament has raised nearly $500,000 for charities since its inception, organizers said.

The 2013 Credit Union Classic was won by Olivia Jordan-Higgins of the United Kingdom.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

DeWITT — The 2014 Credit Union Classic, a Symetra (formerly Futures) Tour “Road to the LPGA” event, will attract 144 U.S. and international women golfers to Drumlins Country Club in DeWitt this summer.

Organizers announced details on Jan. 10 at Drumlins.

“You'll see around the putting green ... 35 different flags from different countries. It’s a worldwide tour,” Bill Motto, director of the Credit Union Classic, said in his remarks at the Jan. 10 announcement.

The golf tournament, scheduled for the week of July 28 through Aug. 3, has an annual economic impact of more than $350,000, Motto said.

The Credit Union Classic golf tournament, the third longest running event on the Symetra tour, is the largest professional sporting event in Syracuse, he added.

“Last year, we had 60 companies involved with the event in different aspects of the event, which is so important for us,” Motto said.

Syracuse–based Empower Federal Credit Union, Rochester–based Summit Federal Credit Union (FCU), and Albany–based SEFCU are partnering with Wegmans, a Rochester–based grocery store chain, as the presenting sponsors for the third consecutive year.

The Symetra Financial Corp., a financial-services firm headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., serves as the naming sponsor on the futures tour.

The tournament is scheduled a week later this year, Mike Vadala, Summit FCU president and tournament chairman, said in his remarks.

“That’s just to accommodate the entire schedule for the Northeast swing [of the futures tour], which traditionally has gone through New Hampshire, Albany, then over here to Syracuse before the girls finally get a week off,” Vadala said.

The participants, Vadala notes, are competing for status on the LPGA tour.

“It really makes this event special,” he adds. 

About 100 of the golfers coming to Syracuse will stay with host families for the week of the tournament, Motto said. Organizers are looking for additional volunteers to host the golfers and will conduct a screening process for those interested, he added.

“There’s a need for that, and the people that have stepped forward, I think, have gotten a lot out of this event, too,” Motto said.

Calle Nielson, a 2011 graduate of the University of Virginia and a third-year pro on the Symetra Tour, called Syracuse one of her “favorite stops” on the tour.

Nielson spoke at the Jan. 10 announcement. She didn’t name the person she stays with during that week but says she has remained in touch with the individual.

“And that’s life on the tour. This tour is taking me to where I want to be, hopefully, one day,” Nielson said.

Participating in the Symetra Tour requires “a lot of traveling,” Catherine O’Donnell, a second-year pro on the tour, said in her remarks.

“It took me a while to get used to ... You have to plan each week, and once I figured that out, it was good,” she said.

O’Donnell is a graduate of the University of North Carolina.

The organization The First Tee of Syracuse, which operates at Drumlins, is the Credit Union Classic’s primary beneficiary.

Founded in 2007, The First Tee aims “to impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf,” according to the organization’s website.

The First Tee isn’t just a golf program and a golf camp, Peter Webber, executive director of First Tee of Syracuse, said in his remarks.

“We have 330 kids [between ages 7 and 17]. We’re about 60 percent minority. We’re also 40 percent girls,” Webber said.

The tournament has raised nearly $500,000 for charities since its inception, organizers said.

The 2013 Credit Union Classic was won by Olivia Jordan-Higgins of the United Kingdom.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com