After making its debut in Hawaii, the LPGA will jetset down to Mexico for the first ever MasterCard Classic. This tournament goes hand-in-hand with the Open de Mexico Femenil, a golf event played in January 2005 in Mexico. The idea of the Open was to select up to six Amateur Mexican Female Golfers to participate and contend with the best players in the LPGA.
By far the biggest draw for the tournament will be Annika Sorenstam who makes her first start in 2005 as she attempts to defend her four straight money titles. The tournament will also be the debut of Australian Karrie Webb, a sure fire candidate for the LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame. Webb needs just nine more starts this year to fulfill the eligibility requirement of 10-years active membership on the LPGA. While these two will be very popular, look for hometown hero Lorena Ochoa to garner quite a bit of attention throughout the tournament.
Ochoa, who was the LPGA’s 2003 rookie of the year, is a major figure in Mexico. Her success on the LPGA Tour has paralleled the growth of golf in Mexico and has helped bring in tournaments like the MasterCard Classic and next week’s Corona Morelia Championship. Ochoa is just one player out of a stellar group of ladies vying for the 2005 MasterCard Classic this weekend. Juli Inkster, Mi Hyun Kim, Laura Diaz, Cristie Kerr, and Jennifer Rosales are among a few of the talented players gathering at the Bosque Real Golf Club this week.
The Mexican Federation of Golf and the sponsors of the MasterCard Classic hope that the large purse of $1.2 million will attract even more interest to the sport and help further develop golf in Mexico. Having Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa at the event won’t hurt either!
This tournament is being dedicated to Alejo Peralta. Peralta is an iconic figure of Mexican baseball. In his playing days, he was a member of the Tigers and was chosen to enter the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame. Later, he sponsored several teams, one of which participated in the World-Wide Championship of Havana, Cuba. He also created leagues which introduced prospects to Mexican Baseball. In the United States, Mr. Peralta was awarded the title “King of Baseball, 1967” in recognition of his dedication to the sport. Over his career, Mr. Peralta created over 200 companies which employed over 17,000 Mexicans. It seems only fitting that a man who gave so much to baseball should be honored at an inaugural event designed to develop yet another sport in his country.
Photo Credit: © LorenaOchoa.com.