Metro Indianapolis golf club to play host to international junior team event
BRASELTON, Ga. – The Bridgewater Club in Noblesville, Ind., will be the site of the 2005 PING Junior Solheim Cup, scheduled for Sept. 5-8, 2005, PING and the American Junior Golf Association announced Monday.
The Bridgewater Club, which opened in September 2003, is within 10 miles of Crooked Stick Golf Club in Indianapolis, site of the 2005 Solheim Cup. The PING Junior Solheim Cup precedes The Solheim Cup that will take place Sept. 9-11.
The PING Junior Solheim Cup, conducted by the AJGA, is patterned after The Solheim Cup and features the top 12 U.S. girls versus their European counterparts. Following the competition, the 24 junior golfers will be guests of the Solheim family and PING at The Solheim Cup.
“The goal is to tie the two events together into one incredible week, spotlighting the best in girls’ and women’s golf,” said Bobby Powell, vice president of tournament operations. “The Tour players have really embraced the juniors in the first two events.”
The only girls team event of its kind at the junior level, the PING Junior Solheim Cup is sponsored by PING and conducted by the AJGA. The United States won the inaugural event in 2002, while the European side evened the series in Sweden in 2003.
“The spirited competition during the week of The Solheim Cup and PING Junior Solheim Cup provides one of the most exciting weeks in golf,” said John Solheim, chairman and CEO of PING. “We are thrilled to take the PING Junior Solheim Cup to an outstanding facility such as The Bridgewater Club.”
An original Pete Dye design, The Bridgewater Club’s traditional course features a contemporary bunker design with bridges, lakes, ponds and more than 100,000 trees.
“We are excited about raising the bar,” Powell said. “We like the Pete Dye design, and the location is key, because the course is close to the event at Crooked Stick.”
The Preserve Academy, the Club’s practice facility, is rated as one of the top 10 practice facilities in the United States. The Academy has 23 acres of practice area, bent grass tees, nine target greens, two fairways and practice tees on the north and south sides of the range. It also provides a short game area with six large putting green surfaces as well as indoor hitting rooms, outdoor heated stalls and a large putting room.
“The Academy is ideal for junior programs because the large space is so accommodating,” said Doc O’Neal, The Bridgewater Club’s director of operations.
O’Neal said 55,000 square feet will be added to the existing 10,000-square-foot clubhouse and will be a “centerpiece” for the 2005 PING Junior Solheim Cup. It will feature men’s and women’s locker rooms, four lounges, family dining, banquet facilities that will hold 450 people, a 10,000-square-foot fitness center, junior Olympic size indoor and outdoor pool, six tennis courts, an 80-person dining room and a veranda with outdoor dining. The clubhouse construction should be completed by January 2005.