Amateur golf is steeped in tradition, and the calendar normally repeats itself from year to year. One of the final stops for the nation’s best college players is the Patriot All-America Invitational at the Wigwam Golf Resort in Litchfield Park, Arizona.
Beginning in 2021, the “best” college players will mean all college players. Organizers of the Patriot All-America have announced that, in partnership with the Women’s Golf Coaches Association of America, the tournament will feature a women’s division for the first time. A field of 42 of college golf’s best women will join the field of 84 men on Dec. 28-31 to end the year.
“The WGCA is excited to partner with The Patriot,” said Angie Ravaioli-Larkin, WGCA President. “This is so special to our organization especially with our involvement and commitment to The Folds of Honor. What a tremendous opportunity to recognize some of the finest players in women’s college golf while honoring those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.”
The Patriot All-America Invitational features PING All-Americans from the previous season in NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and NJCAA; as well as 2021 First Team All-America seniors from the AJGA. The tournament is unique in the way it allows players to honor fallen or severely wounded soldiers in partnership with the Folds of Honor Foundation. Each player receives a golf bag donated by PING Corporation at the event’s opening ceremony that carries the name and branch of service of a fallen or injured military member. Participants also receive a card with the soldier’s story so they can be familiar with that soldier. The golf bags are then sold with proceeds donated to Folds of Honor to support the families affected.
“I’m grateful and excited about the return of the Patriot All-America Invitational in 2021,” said Lt Col Dan Rooney, founder and CEO of Folds of Honor. “This outstanding golf tournament honors those who have given so much for our country. I’m especially enthusiastic about the addition of women collegiate golfers in this year’s field. These are some of the best players in America. Women play an integral role in the military and have sacrificed so much.”
The Patriot All-America is the latest tournament to expand its field to include top women’s golfers or to offer a separate women’s division. This week marks the inaugural Sea Island Women’s Amateur. Sea Island, Georgia, has long been an important stop in men’s amateur golf, having hosted the Jones Cup tournaments (together with Ocean Forest Golf Club) since the early 2000s. Now, women get the chance to compete there annually, too.
The Southwestern Amateur added a women’s division recently and the Palmer Cup, a Presidents Cup-style match pitting the best American college players against their International counterparts, became a co-ed match in 2018.
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