DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., July 14, 2017 – The Epson Tour, the official qualifying Tour for the LPGA, is excited to announce that the Island Resort Championship at Sweetgrass Golf Club will return in 2018 and 2019. Island Resort and Casino general manager, Tony Mancilla, said the Tribal Council (Hannahville Potawatomi Indian Community) unanimously approved completing the last two years of a three-year contract to bring the Epson Tour back to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

The 2018 Island Resort Championship will be the eighth year of the tournament, which started in 2011.

“It just wouldn’t be a Epson Tour season without the Island Resort Championship so we are thrilled that the tribal council decided to continue the tournament,” said Chief Business Officer Mike Nichols. “The Island Resort Championship has been instrumental in bringing other Potawatomi nation tribes to the Tour and the players absolutely love playing Sweetgrass and the first-class hospitality provided at the Island Resort and Casino each year.”

There are currently four tournaments on the schedule sponsored by Potawatomi nation tribes.

“It’s (Island Resort Championship) a big deal for the casino and promotes us as a resort,” Mancilla said about the upcoming eighth and ninth years of the event. “We are happy to keep it. We are happy our Tribal Council supports it. It only gets better every year.”

In late June, Emma Talley picked up her first victory as a professional at the Island Resort Championship and moved into the top 10 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. Past winners of the Island Resort Championship include: Stephanie Kim (2011), Leah Wigger (2102), Kim Kaufman (2013), Molly Aronsson (2014), Dani Holmqvist (2015) and Sherman Santiwitthanaphong (2016). Kaufman, Holmqvist and Santiwiwatthanaphong currently compete on the LPGA Tour.

“Sweetgrass Golf Club is definitely one of my favorite tracks on Tour,” said Talley. “You can just tell that the people running the tournament truly care about the players and even though it is a small town, the support we get from fans, volunteers and sponsors is great."

The 2018 Island Resort Championship will be contested June 18-24 with the 54-hole tournament starting on Friday, June 22.

There are just nine events remaining in the 2017 season. The Tour is back in action next week with the 3rd annual Danielle Downey Credit Union Classic in Rochester, New York.

Island Resort Championship to Return in 2018 and 2019

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