(Worley, Idaho; January 26, 2022) – Circling Raven Golf Club – home of the nationally honored course in Idaho and an amenity of Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel – today announced that the 2022 Circling Raven Championship will be played in August as part of the newly announced Epson Tour, the LPGA’s official qualifying tour.
The LPGA Tour announced the five-year agreement with Epson America, Inc. yesterday, launching the technology leader’s title sponsorship of exclusive naming rights to the Official Qualifying Tour of the LPGA. The newly named Epson Tour enters its 42nd year of structured competition in 2022 and is the most established women’s qualifying tour in the world as the one “Road to the LPGA.”
The Epson Tour sponsorship takes effect immediately and extends through the 2026 calendar year. The Epson Tour will award LPGA Tour membership to the top-10 players on the Race for the Card money list at the end of each season.
“We are delighted to welcome Epson to the LPGA Tour family. This ground-breaking partnership will provide expanded opportunities for the future stars of the game from around the globe to test their talent and take one step closer to realizing their dreams,” said LPGA Tour commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan. “We are grateful that Epson shares our commitment to supporting young female athletes as they grow and develop and to playing an active role in the growth and equity in women’s sports.”
The commitment to support young women athletes that LPGA Commissioner Marcoux Samaan cites ideally aligns with the Circling Raven Championship.
“It’s encouraging and exciting to have Epson support the tour, women golfers, and the Circling Raven Championship,” said Laura Penney, CEO, Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel. “As the tour’s title sponsor, they’re helping create opportunities through golf for females, which is one of objectives the Coeur d’Alene Tribe set when it decided to build Circling Raven and host a women’s professional tournament.”
The inaugural Circling Raven Championship presented by KXLY News 4 Now was played last August, the first in the 3-year agreement with the LPGA. Competitors battled for $200,000 in prize money which was one of the highest purses on the Symetra Tour last year.
Higher purses across the Epson Tour schedule and providing stipends for Epson Tour players graduating to the LPGA Tour are some proactive Epson commitments that will further support the tour and its players.
Underscoring Epson’s commitment to advancing the careers of talented female golfers, it is contributing funds to initially lower entry fees by 10% per tournament for each player throughout the season, amounting to as much as $1,000 per individual over the course of the year. Part of this initiative is the creation of the Epson Tour DEI Partnership, as Epson and the LPGA are challenging at least four other companies to join them in elevating the competitive drive and dedication of Epson Tour members by working together to cut player-entry fees in half, from $500 to $250. Participating organizations will receive Pro-Am teams and signage at every Epson Tour tournament.
Sponsorship is crucial at both the tour and tournament levels. Sponsors of the 2021 Circling Raven Championship came from throughout the region, as well as national companies, including the KXLY Broadcast Group, Centennial Distribution, Wildhorse Casino & Resort, Waymaker Wealth Advisors, Bank of America, and Callaway Golf.
There are 2022 Circling Raven Championship sponsor opportunities now available. For more details about this year’s tournament, contact Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel and Circling Raven at: 1.800.523.2464 or visit www.cdacasino.com.
About Circling Raven Golf Club and Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel
Owned/operated by Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Circling Raven is in the scenic Idaho panhandle approximately 55 minutes from Spokane International Airport (GEG). Measuring 7,189 yards from the rear tees, the 18-hole layout sprawls magnificently through 620 acres of woodlands, wetlands, and Palouse grasses. Its gleaming white sand bunkers are large and strategically placed and its hole variety ingenious. Other Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel amenities and activities include the full-service Spa Ssakwa’q’n (pronounced Sock-wock-en); 300 hotel rooms; bars, restaurants, lounges, and eateries; cultural immersion options; and more. The casino completed a $15 million renovation of its gaming floor and Events Center in 2019. Circling Raven has garnered numerous best-in-kind honors since opening, including being rated a Top 100 Resort Course, Best in State, and a Top U.S. Casino Course. Its golf shop has won national and regional awards for its excellence and its variety of products, displays, and performance.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Dan Shepherd, danshepherdpr@gmail.com, 703-403-5317
Yvette Matt, ymatt@cdacasino.com, 208-500-9989
ABOUT EPSON
Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to co-creating sustainability and enriching communities by leveraging its efficient, compact, and precision technologies and digital technologies to connect people, things, and information. The company is focused on solving societal issues through innovations in home and office printing, commercial and industrial printing, manufacturing, visual and lifestyle. Epson’s goal is to become carbon negative and eliminate use of exhaustible underground resources such as oil and metal by 2050. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the worldwide Epson Group generates annual sales of around JPY 1 trillion. Epson America, Inc., based in Los Alamitos, Calif., is Epson’s regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: epson.com. You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
ABOUT THE EPSON TOUR
The Epson Tour (formerly the Symetra Tour) is the official qualifying tour of the LPGA Tour and enters its 42nd competitive season in 2022. With the support of entitlement partner Epson, the Tour’s mission is to prepare the world’s best female professional golfers for a successful career on the LPGA Tour. In the last decade, the Epson Tour has grown from 15 tournaments and $1.6 million in prize money to over $4 million awarded across 20+ events in 2022. With more than 600 graduates and alumnae moving on to the LPGA Tour, former Epson Tour players have won 458 LPGA titles. Follow the Epson Tour at www.EpsonTour.com, as well as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
ABOUT THE LPGA
The LPGA is the world’s leading professional golf organization for women, with a goal to change the face of golf by making the sport more accessible and inclusive.
Created in 1950 by 13 Founders, the Association celebrates a diverse and storied history. The LPGA Tour competes across the globe, reaching television audiences in more than 220 countries. The Epson Tour (formerly the Symetra Tour), the LPGA’s official qualifying tour, consistently produces a pipeline of talent ready for the world stage. The LPGA also holds a joint-venture collaboration with the Ladies European Tour (LET), increasing playing opportunities for female golfers in Europe. Across the three Tours, the LPGA represents players in more than 60 countries.
Additionally, the LPGA Foundation has empowered and supported girls and women since 1991, most notably through LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, the only national program of its kind, which annually engages with nearly 100,000 girls. The LPGA Amateur Golf Association and LPGA Women’s Network provide virtual and in-person connections to female golfers around the world, while LPGA Professionals are educators, business leaders and gamechangers dedicated to growing the game of golf for everyone.
Follow the LPGA on its U.S. television home, Golf Channel, online at www.LPGA.com and on its mobile apps. Join the social conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube