The 2015 Coates Golf Championship presented by R+L Carriers proved itself an overwhelming success as the LPGA’s new season opener! The tournament, played January 26th-31st at Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club, brought a field of 120 players and crowds of over 40,000. Take a look back with us at the most memorable moments of this tournament, as well as its ramifications.

Count the Hours

For 8 days from Saturday the 24th through Saturday the 31st, each crew member at Golden Ocala worked over 58 hours totaling 1287 labor hours on the course with 245 volunteer hours in addition. Our mechanic staff worked 200 hours for the 8 days (with a 3 man staff) and our superintendent staff worked 260 hours (with a 3 man staff) for same time period.

At Play

In the 72-hole stroke play competition, the ladies began their race to the 2015 CME Globe with the Coates Golf Championship and the winner receiving 500 points. The Race to the CME Globe is a season-long points competition where players are awarded points for every official LPGA tournament in which they compete. At the end of the season, a “Race to the CME Globe Champion” is named.

Noteworthy

In the second round of the Coates Golf Championship on Thursday, Paula Creamer made a hole-in-one at Golden Ocala’s sixth hole, a par 3.

In one of the most thrilling LPGA tournament finishes, the final round of the 2015 Coates Golf Championship included not only the crowning of a tournament winner, Ne Yeon Choi, but also history was made! At age 17, Lydia Ko became the youngest golfer ever to be ranked #1 (both men and women).

Show Me the Money

According to the Ocala Marion County Visitors & Convention Bureau, this inaugural tournament made a huge impact on our local economy. Business sales totaled $3,921,734 with $103,659 generated from taxes. Not to mention, there were 884 jobs supported and 684 guests stayed in town overnight.

As far as the prize money, the total tournament purse was $1.5 million and $225,000 was awarded to winner Na Yeon Choi. The Coates Golf Championship is very passionate about giving to charity and gave over $200,000 to several local charities last month.

Something to Say

Organizers, fans, and players alike had something to say about the crowd and community support that made this tournament such a success. Stacy Lewis, 2012 Rolex Player of the Year, said, “I was in shock actually when I walked on that tee and saw how many people there were. It’s amazing. It shows that this is the kind of town that we should be playing in. We’re the biggest thing that’s coming right now and this is where we should be playing.”

Even though this year’s tournament has ended, we are already looking forward to next year. Follow our blog and social media profiles to stay updated as we get ready for the 2016 Coates Golf Championship presented by R+L Carriers!