The 12th stop on the 2021 “Road to the LPGA” brings the Symetra Tour to Brook Lea Country for the sixth annual Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic from July 15 through 18.
“The Rochester community has been a friend and supporter of the LPGA family for over 40 years, so it is a privilege to bring the Symetra Tour to a place that truly appreciates women’s professional golf,” said Mike Nichols, Chief Business Officer of LPGA Qualifying Tours. “Brook Lea Country Club has provided an outstanding test for our athletes and has crowned some accomplished champions – including the tournament’s most recent winner Patty Tavatanakit who secured the LPGA Tour’s first major of 2021 and will be representing her country in the Tokyo Olympics.”
Greeting the 144-player field in Rochester is a total purse of $175,000. Individuals are set to compete in a 72-hole stroke play format with a cut to the low 60 players and ties after 36 holes. The winner’s share for the event is $26,250.
“We know how fortunate we are to be able to bring our tournament back to the tour and to the local community in 2021. We love women’s professional golf in Rochester, and we are so happy to be able to share the benefits of our tournament with young people and people in need,” said tournament chairman Mike Vadala. “The players are gifted athletes and wonderful people, and we are so glad that our 6th tournament is here.”
Defending champion Patty Tavatanakit (Bangkok, Thailand) is not among the competitors, as she finished second in the “Race for the Card” in 2019 after earning three wins. Since graduating onto the LPGA Tour, Tavatanakit is now a major champion. In addition to winning the ANA Inspiration, the UCLA alumna has claimed four more top-five finishes.
“I had such a great time playing in the Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic on the Symetra Tour, and I’m excited to see it play out this year. It’s still one of the most memorable wins of my entire career,” said Tavatanakit. “Mike Vadala has done such a great job with that event, and he and his team took such great care of me in Rochester. It was sincerely one of my favorite events of the year, and I’m excited to see how all the talented players play there in 2021.”
Action gets underway at 7:30 a.m. all four days, with play starting off No. 1 and No. 10 tees in the first and second round. Meanwhile, all groups will head off No. 1 tee for both the third and final rounds with a trophy presentation to follow on No. 18 green.
The tournament was inspired by and is a tribute to the late Danielle Downey. The Spencerport native was an accomplished golfer at Spencerport High School and went on to be an ALL-SEC performer at Auburn University. After turning professional, she spent time on both the Futures tour (now the LPGA-owned Symetra Tour) and the LPGA, achieving a great deal of success and living her dream. She died in a car accident in 2014.
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