By TIM IRVING
The Symetra Tour is now known as “The Road to the LPGA” but it used to be called the Futures Tour. Now, the future of women’s golf is rooted in the youth and high school programs.
Nowhere is that understood more than at the Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic, this year being held July 12-18 at Brook Lea Country Club.
It started with the tournament’s namesake when Downey, a Brook Lea member, and Mike Vidala, the Tournament Chairman decided to start a Pro-Am while Downey was trying to make her way on the LPGA Tour.
“I told her, she could bring over her friends from the LPGA and she said, okay, but I want every group to have a high school girls player,” Vidala said at a press conference to announce the schedule for this year’s event.
Downey played on the boys team at Spencerport because there wasn’t a girls team. Vidala, while trying to promote the tour stop as a “players event” has also followed Downey’s wishes.
For the first five years at Brook Lea, Vidala and the Symetra Tour have paired local golfers with the pros, often the younger golfers’ families serve as hosts when the players are in town and some have caddied in the tournament.
The result is a lasting bond that transcends golf.
Spencerport rising junior Julia Zigrossi has been rising through the junior ranks for the past two years. During that time, she’s played in the Future of Women’s Golf Pro Am held on the Monday of tournament week every year and caddied a couple of times as well. COVID forced last year’s tournament to be canceled but two years ago, Zigrossi was paired with Kelly Whaley in the Pro Am. A sponsor’s exemption trying to start her pro career in 2019, Whaley quickly became friends with Zigrossi.
“I grew up with a little sister and I hope she looks up to me, but I don’t have an older sister. I really look up to Kelly, we can talk about golf but I can talk to her about other things not related to the golf course,” Zigrossi said.
Pittsford Sutherland rising senior Jayden Ford has also formed lasting bonds with players, from taking them to her hometown Pittsford Dairy to putting advice, to just a quick talk. Last year, before the tournament was canceled, a veteran of the Downey Classic and the Symetra Tour, Sophia Popov, came to town to promote the event. Despite struggling with her game to the point of nearly abandoning her pro career, Popov rallied to win the AIG Women’s (British) Open and has since risen to 21st in the LPGA Race to the Globe standings. With all that going on, whenever Ford reaches out, Popov answers.
“Just 90 days after she was here, she won that big tournament and I commented on some of her social media posts and she’s always good at responding. I think that’s really special,” Ford said. “The players keep me updated on their progress and I keep them updated on mine and they also help out with things like academics, ways to workout, not only golf.”
No matter how the Symetra Tour players are playing or their status, they make time for future players. Chelsea Dantonio was looking to use a sponsor’s exemption into the 2020 Downey Classic to start her pro career but fell victim to the COVID cancellation. After graduating from Lancaster High School outside Buffalo, Dantonio played at Winthrop University in South Carolina and Vidala is carrying over the exemption in the hopes of helping her gain pro status this season. As a golfer that knows New York State golf, she played in a scramble with Brook Lea member and soon-to-be sophomore at Our Lady of Mercy, Sophia Cellura. The two spent time talking about what tournaments to play and some of the best courses, already fulfilling the tournament’s objective;
Promoting the future of women’s golf.
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