SYMETRA TOUR ADDS OCTOBER STOP TO 2020 SCHEDULE By Brian Weis

SYMETRA TOUR ADDS OCTOBER STOP TO 2020 SCHEDULE

By Brian Weis

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. - The Symetra Tour announced a new addition to the 2020 schedule today, as Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howey-In-The-Hills, Fla., will host the inaugural Mission Inn Resort and Club Championship presented by Insurance Office of America (IOA) from Oct. 15-17.

"Working with Mission Inn and the Symetra Tour during these unique times to provide a new event has not only been exciting for the Club and Tour, but also for the IOA family," said IOA Chairman and CEO Heath Ritenour. "Providing these talented young ladies with more opportunities to pursue their dreams is what allows the IOA values and brand to be even more relatable to our consumer, especially in a year full of challenges and uncertainty. We are thrilled to help make this tournament a reality."

A full field of competitors will battle for a total purse of $125,000 on the El Campeón course. Individuals are set to compete in a 54-hole stroke play format with a cut to the low 60 players and ties after 36 holes. The winner's share for the event is $18,750.

"On behalf of our colleagues at Visit Lake and Mission Inn Resort & Club, we are thrilled to welcome the inaugural Mission Inn Championship presented by IOA to Lake County," said Jason Siegel, President and CEO of the Greater Orlando Sports Commission. "We look forward to working with our partners and the LPGA to deliver a tremendous event experience for the Symetra Tour players who are the future stars of women's professional golf."

Mission Inn Resort & Club has welcomed more than 20 NCAA Championships to its two courses, as well as numerous U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur qualifiers. The Mission Inn Championship presented by IOA will mark the first LPGA Tour family event contested on the George O'Neil-designed track, El Campeón, which celebrates 103 years of golf history. It is also the third tournament with ties to IOA on the 2020 "Road to the LPGA." They serve as the title sponsor for the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Beaumont, Calif., from Aug. 21-23, and the IOA Classic presented by HomeValue.com in Longwood, Fla., from Sept. 25-27. A fourth event-the IOA Invitational at Atlanta National Golf Club in Milton, Ga.-was originally scheduled for May 7-9, but postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The Lake County Florida community is proud and excited to host the 2020 Symetra Tour," said Tim Sullivan, Lake County Commissioner. "We welcome the athletes, staff and officials to enjoy all that 'Real Florida. Real Close.' has to offer, in addition to the great competition."

Included in the team of sponsors who are providing another opportunity for the "Road to the LPGA" members, Keiser University College of Golf joins as an Official Sponsor of the Mission Inn Championship presented by IOA.

Finally, the Pro-Am event will take place at Mission Inn Resort & Club on Wednesday, Oct. 14. For more information including volunteer opportunities contact John Konicek at johnksymetratour@gmail.com and sponsorship opportunities contact Marci Doyle at marcidoyle5@gmail.com.

Revised: 10/01/2020 - Article Viewed 13,204 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.