GIANT EAGLE LPGA CLASSIC Squaw Creek facilities sparkle

By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
VIENNA -- Ladies professional golf has returned to Squaw Creek Country Club, and nobody is happier about it than the sponsors, directors and managers of the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic.
Squaw Creek, which has always been one of the area's most beautiful and demanding golf country clubs in the Mahoning Valley, will be hosting the LPGA this summer for the first time since 1992.
That was when the old Phar-Mor in Youngstown event was held there for three seasons, 1990, 1991 and 1992, before the Phar-Mor scandal and the loss of the tournament.
Eddie Thomas, who served as tournament manager of the Phar-Mor event, helped pick up the area and get the tournament moved to Avalon Lakes for eight straight years.
Return: When that relationship ended following the 2000 Giant Eagle LPGA Classic, Thomas and the Mahoning Valley Sports Charities, the tournament's owners and governing body, decided to return to Squaw Creek.
Squaw Creek welcomed the tournament back with open arms and quickly signed a three-year agreement, which was followed by an LPGA agreement and all of the founding sponsors signing new three-year contracts.
"Everything is in place now through the 2004 tournament," said Thomas, who along with his staff, Squaw Creek's golf professional Gregg Matthus, and head greens superintendent Lou Greco, MVSC president Tom Hollern and tournament volunteer chairman Jim Brutz, welcomed the media to a preview showing of the facilities on Wednesday.
"People are going to find this hard to believe, but we actually have more room to work with here than we had at Avalon Lakes," stated Thomas, who then showed all the areas he was talking about.
"Our media room will be more spacious with a great view of the golf course and not in the basement," he showed. "The rest of this clubhouse will be used for our Community Club members, and that is much more area than we had before."
Facilities: Thomas showed that the locker room facilities are twice the size and the area for the corporate hospitality tents has doubled in size.
On the golf course everything will be almost the same as it was in 1992, the last time the LPGA pros played the course.
In fact, Thomas said, Greco will lay out the course exactly the way it was the last time the pros played here, with the exception of two holes.
There will be another change in that the course will be played exactly like it was designed, and each side won't be reversed for the tournament like they were in the early '90s.
"We are moving the tee back about 30 yards on the No. 16 hole and we've changed the fairway around the green on No. 18 to make it more accessible to the skyboxes, yet still provide viewing for the general fans," Greco added.
The same: Other than that, the course will be the same.
"I don't think the pros will find it that much different than they did before," said Matthus, who, along with Greco, was at Squaw Creek when the tournament was here before.
"I think the fans are going to be surprised when they come here," Thomas continued. "There is probably more room to watch a golf tournament here, and they are really going to love the 18th finishing hole."
This year's tournament will be held July 23-29, and the schedule will be the same as it has been in the past, with a few changes.
This year, the Butler Wick Corporation LPGA Shootout on Tuesday of tournament week will include some national celebrities.
"Parking will be as good as it ever has, maybe better," said Thomas. "We probably won't even have to shuttle people until later in the week, and when we do it's only a two minute shuttle from Baker Elementary School just down the street."
Thomas said the LPGA has been out and is totally pleased with the facilities at Squaw Creek.
"At this point everybody is happy," he said.