In the News

The LPGA Tour is returning to Southwest Florida. In a big way.

More than 10 years after the area's last LPGA event folded, Chicago-based investment firm CME Group is prepared to bring the historic, recently revived Titleholders to TwinEagles in North Naples in November 2012.

The event's likely relocation was first reported by Golfweek magazine Thursday but has not been finalized, said Anthony Solomon, executive vice president of The Ronto Group in Naples, which owns TwinEagles.

Tournament Back in Naples for 11th Year December 7-11

NAPLES, Fla. – Franklin Templeton and tournament host Greg Norman announced today an agreement in which Franklin Templeton Investments will be the title sponsor of Southwest Florida’s PGA TOUR event. The agreement covers the 2011 and 2012 events.

The Shootout, which has been a mainstay on the TOUR for 22 years, will return to Naples for an 11th year December 7-11 at Tiburon Golf Club at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort. The event raises funds and awareness for a variety of local and national charities.

What’s in a number one? In college football it’s huge. In college basketball it’s meaningful yet not all that important. When it comes to professional golf, being number one means, well, pretty much absolutely zero.

Honestly, raise your hand if you think Lee Westwood is currently the best player in the world or even playing the best golf at this particular moment. Prior to yesterday, keep your hand up if you actually thought Martin Kaymer was the world’s most dominant or would hold that distinction long enough to have a nice plaque made to commemorate it.

For the second time in three years, TaylorMade Golf Company has named Bob VanSweden of the Golf Repair Center in St. Petersburg its “Club Fitter of the Year”, an honor that recognizes individual retailers who share TaylorMade’s values and are relentlessly committed to fitting their customers into the best performing golf products for their games. VanSweden is the only two-time winner in the award’s history.

“We don’t know a better ambassador of the TaylorMade brand than Bob VanSweden,” said David Abeles, TaylorMade’s senior vice president and general manager. “This award is way beyond what Bob does as a fitter – it’s what he does to support us as a group that puts him head and shoulders above the rest. We’re thrilled to honor him a second time."

NAPLES, Fla. – The Ronto Group has announced that the design project for the complete reconstruction of the Aerie golf course at the TwinEagles Club has been awarded to renowned golf course architect Steve Smyers. Smyers, along with co-designer Patrick Andrews, will reconstruct and redesign the Aerie golf course prior to the course’s grand reopening in the fall of 2011.

Smyers has been a golf course architect for more than three decades, beginning his career with respected golf course architect Ron Garl immediately after graduating from college and began his own golf course design firm in 1983. He has since been involved in over 60 well-known projects, and his portfolio includes an impressive list of outstanding new design and redesigns to highly ranked and famed layouts such as Isleworth in Windermere, Fla. (home to the world’s No. 1 player and a host of other Tour players), Southern Dunes in Orlando, Old Memorial in Tampa, South Course at Olympia Fields in Chicago, Blue Heron Pines’ East Course in Egg Harbor City, N.J. and Wolf Run in Indianapolis.

Beaufort, SC – On February 26-27, the International Junior Golf Tour will host the 2011 Sanctuary Cat Island Tournament at the beautiful Sanctuary Golf Club in Beaufort, SC.

This challenging and picturesque course will witness the stellar play of a large and prestigious field of talented junior golfers. This will be IJGT’s first time playing at the stunning Sanctuary Golf Club on Cat Island. www.sanctuarygolfcatisland.com.

The newly renovated course at Sanctuary will prove to be both challenging and exciting as well as offering great views of the Beaufort river and a diverse array of wildlife.

Golfer’s Guide is launching its first-ever golf tournament– the Golfer’s Guide National Team Classic – slated to take place next February in Las Vegas.

The tournament will feature two-man amateur teams from around North America competing over three days on several of the finest golf courses in the Las Vegas area. The Rio All Suites hotel has signed on to be the host casino for the National Team Classic, serving as home base for all the players during the Feb. 20-23, 2011 event.