LPGA could move to Papago in 2010

The LPGA Tour appears headed for another East Valley stop in 2009. And if all goes well, the Tour could return to the Valley in 2010, albeit, at a different location.

Two sources close to the situation told the Tribune this week that the LPGA will likely hold a tournament at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club near Gold Canyon in 2009, just as it has since 2004.

And if the tour can find a title sponsor, sources said the tournament would then move to the recently renovated Papago Golf Course on the borders of Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe, where it would remain on a permanent basis.

LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens announced the LPGA’s 2009 schedule during a news conference at the season-ending ADT Championship in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Wednesday.

Among the 31 tournaments set for 2009 (down from 34 last year) and the $55 million in prize money (down $5.5 million from a year ago) was the $1.5 million Phoenix LPGA International, formerly known as the Safeway International. The LPGA schedule currently lists the site for the May 26-29 Valley event as TBD (to be determined).

Safeway’s sponsorship of the event expired this year and the company, which also sponsors another LPGA event, declined to renew.

The LPGA will provide the lion’s share of next season’s purse along with some local support, while the Tournament Golf Foundation of Portland, Ore., will again manage the event as it has for the past five years.

Tom Maletis, the president of the TGF, said he has been in constant contact with an official representing Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club regarding the site for 2009, “but it’s complicated.’’

“I think we’ll probably end up there, but we’re no longer dealing with (Scottsdale developer) Lyle Anderson on that issue,’’ Maletis said. “Instead, we’ve been talking with Dick Hyland, one of Lyle’s associates, who is handling the negotiations with the Royal Bank of Scotland, which now has control of the property, so that’s a little different than in the past when everything went through Lyle.’’

Bivens said the reason her organization is financially propping up the LPGA Phoenix International despite a lack of title sponsor is because “we needed to ensure the continued presence of the LPGA in Phoenix.

“We’re still working through the final details on the event with the Tournament Golf Foundation -- details we’ll be in a position to discuss more in the future,’’ she said. “But today we will confirm we will be returning to Phoenix.

“It’s a favorite tour stop, and one of the great tour stops in a great city in this country.’’

While there is no clubhouse or locker room at Papago to host a tour stop, those facilities could be in place by the spring of 2010. And other details, like parking, could easily be handled within Papago Park, in lots connected to the Phoenix Zoo and Desert Botanical Garden.

“We have had those discussions,’’ said Maletis, who has talked to Marvin French, who heads the management group that is overseeing the renovation and management of Papago for the Arizona Golf Association.

“We’ve worked with Marv and his people before in Portland, where his club, Pumpkin Ridge, put on a couple of well-run U.S. Women’s Opens, so the experience and the interest are there. But it is a long way from being any type of a done deal, although I think personally that Papago would be an excellent venue with a central location that would be fantastic for LPGA fans throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area.’’

As for gaining a title sponsor, that’s a different story, Maletis conceded.

“It’s been a difficult task, trying to find a title sponsor in this economic climate,’’ he said. “We’ve had a couple of bites but nothing substantial.

“We don’t want the Phoenix LPGA International to be a band-aid for the last tournament ever held there. We want it to be a stepping stone to finding a title sponsor for 2010 and beyond.’’

Bivens also mentioned how the gloomy economic conditions are affecting the LPGA during her speech on Tuesday. About one-third of the tour’s tournament contracts are up for renewal in 2009.

“Make no mistake, if any of us could choose, we would not choose to be faced with this economic crisis,’’ she said. “Having said that, for organizations who are agile enough and analyze their strengths and their value, there’s actually great opportunities to come out of this better off than we went into it.’’

The Safeway International has been one of the organization’s most popular tournaments for the past five years, with players often citing superior course conditions, wonderful weather, record attendance and memorable champions such as Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa, who both won twice at Superstition Mountain.