LPGA tourney in year of transition

The Giant Eagle LPGA Classic will be played July 12-18 next year at Squaw Creek Country Club.
Eddie Thomas, the tournament's executive director, said last week that the dates for 2004 are official as the tournament enters its final year of a three-year contract.
Thomas said that negotiations for a new contract will begin shortly, first with the LPGA, then with Squaw Creek, Giant Eagle and the tournament's founding sponsors.
"We had a really good year," said Thomas. "We gave a record $460,000 to charity, the field was outstanding and the crowds were tremendous. The only thing bad was the weather, which we had no control over."
Thomas praised his staff, the volunteers and mostly the fans, who all had to make a lot of adjustments this year after all the rain that hit the golf course before and during tournament week.
"They all made wonderful adjustments," he added. "I'm really proud of my staff and the volunteers and we also have some awfully good fans in this area."
Good champion
"We had another exciting finish and we couldn't be more happy with our new champion, Rachel Teske," Thomas added.
"I asked Rachel right after the tournament if she would like to attend our volunteer party that evening and both her and her husband said they would be delighted," he added. "It is the first time that the champion had attended the party and the volunteers were delighted.
"They still had to drive to Rochester [N.Y.] the next morning for the next tournament."
Thomas praised the enthusiasm and the patience of the fans under the conditions.
"And I'll tell you one thing, it was a lot worse out there where the fans were walking than it was where Beth Daniel was walking," Thomas added.
Daniel criticized the conditions of the course after the second round, saying that the tournament shouldn't have been played in those conditions.
Next step
Thomas said that his next step will be to negotiate a new contract with the LPGA.
"This is a good venue for them and we know from past experience that what's important is the tournament and not where it is played," he said.
Thomas said that he was very optimistic that things will work out and the tournament will continue here.
"We moved to June this year because we felt it was the best chance at getting the best field and we were right," he said. "But, really when you make a move like that it just like rolling the dice."
Thomas said that he didn't have as many options for 2004.
"Where we're at next year is two weeks after the U.S. Women's Open, which is being played in Chicago, then there will be the Canadian Open, which is played in Niagara Falls-Buffalo area and then us," he continued.
"We actually swapped dates with the ShopRite Classic. Because it is played on a resort course, they weren't able to get the course in July and asked to have our date."
Concerns
The situation at Squaw Creek concerns Thomas, but not that much.
The country club is in financial trouble and is expected to be taken over shortly by Avalon Holdings president Ron Klingle, who also owns Avalon Lakes Golf Course, the former site of the Giant Eagle Classic.
There have reportedly been some clashes between Klingle and Thomas in the past, which is one reason the tournament moved back to Squaw Creek.
"We have a contract for next season and we were told that he [Klingle] will honor that contract," Thomas said. "What happens after that I don't know.
"Like I said before where we play this tournament is not as important as playing the tournament and if it's not here it will be someplace else."
XPete Mollica covers the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic for The Vindicator. Write to him at mollica@vindy.com.