Symetra Tour’s Selanee Henderson

May 11. There’s an international cast of players coming to River Run Country Club for the $175,000 Symetra Classic May 14-16.

Defending champion  Peiyun Chien  (Pingtung, Chinese Taipei) is among the competitors as well as university students from Sweden, Belgium, Israel, Slovenia and the People’s Republic of China.

More than 300 women from at least 40 countries hold Symetra Tour Membership in 2021.

Economic impact

The women’s professional golf tournament has an estimated local economic impact of some $500,000, according to event organizers. All told, the event brings nearly 300 professional athletes and tour staff to the Lake Norman area who will stay in local hotels and dine in restaurants.

Background

The tour is the official qualifying tour of the LPGA Tour, preparing the world’s best young women for a successful career on the LPGA Tour.

Since Symetra’s inaugural sponsorship year in 2012, the Symetra Tour has grown from 16 tournaments and $1.7 million in prize money to $4 million in prize money awarded in 2019.

At the end of the season, the top 10 players on the official Race for the Card money list will graduate to the LPGA Tour for the 2022 season.

Every year from 2008-2019, the top 10 players have been awarded LPGA Tour Membership.

Those who finish from Nos. 11-35 on the official Race for the Card money list will advance to LPGA Q-Series.

The action gets under way on Friday at  7:30  am. The trophy presentation will take place on No. 18 green on Sunday.