Crooked Stick Golf Club to host 2005 Solheim Cup

Contact Connie Wilson
LPGA
386-274-6271

CARMEL, Ind. (August 27, 2002) - Crooked Stick Golf Club, the famed Pete Dye-designed course and host of several memorable golf championships, has been selected as the site for the September 2005 Solheim Cup, as announced today by Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Commissioner Ty M. Votaw.

"The Crooked Stick Golf Club name carries with it a prestige and cache that is recognized and respected throughout the golfing community and with enthusiasts from around the world," said Votaw. "Crooked Stick has proven itself time and time again as a course worthy of the world-class competition an event like The Solheim Cup will bring. Players who earn the right to represent their country on either the U.S. or European Solheim Cup teams in 2005 will have the added honor of competing at one of the top courses in the country, as well as in one of the most seasoned and sports-savvy cities in America."

The 2005 Solheim Cup will be the ninth staging of the event, which was started by Karsten and Louise Solheim, founders of Karsten Manufacturing Corporation; Karsten Manufacturing has sponsored The Solheim Cup since its inception in 1990.

"Crooked Stick will be a wonderful site for the 2005 Solheim Cup," said John A. Solheim, chairman and CEO of Karsten Manufacturing, and Karsten and Louise Solheim's youngest son. "It offers a great and challenging course that has a long history of major events. For PING it is really special, as the 1991 PGA Championship and the 1993 U.S. Women's Open were won here by PING professionals.

"For the Solheim and PING families, knowing The Solheim Cup will be played on another top-100 American course, the third in a row, is what we dreamed of when we started the event 12 years ago. It shows how special The Solheim Cup has grown to be in a very short time. We couldn't be happier."

The 2005 event will be a joint venture between the LPGA and the Indiana Sports Corporation to host and manage The Solheim Cup.

"After working toward this goal for some months, we are delighted and honored to be a partner in such a prestigious international event as The Solheim Cup," said Earl Goode, chairman of the board, Indiana Sports Corporation. "We are particularly pleased to be involved in the ultimate team competition for women golfers in the same year we are hosting the NCAA's Women's Basketball Final Four. The combination of those events underscores Indiana Sports Corporation's commitment to bringing the best athletes and competitions possible to Indianapolis, and we will consider 2005 the Year of the Female Athlete."

Crooked Stick Golf Club, located in Carmel, Ind., just outside Indianapolis, was home to the memorable 1991 PGA Championship won by John Daly and the 1993 U.S. Women's Open Championship title captured by Lauri Merten. Opened in 1964, Crooked Stick is considered the representative club of Dye's design. A Scottish-style links course, it is one of Indianapolis' premiere courses and has been ranked the number-one golf course in Indiana by Golf Digest; 26th on Golfweek's list of America's Best Modern Courses; 65th on GOLF Magazine's list of the U.S. Greatest Courses; and 76th on Golf Digest's list of America's Greatest Courses.

"Having hosted the U.S. Women's Open in 1993, we are thrilled that we now can partner with the LPGA to bring the top team event in women's golf to Crooked Stick," said Richard McBroom, president of Crooked Stick Golf Club. "We promise to provide a great golf course that will test the golfers' physical and mental skills, but also to provide an environment equal to the level of this competition. Golf fans can be assured that the staff and membership of Crooked Stick as well as our partners at Indiana Sports Corporation will see to every detail in elevating The Solheim Cup to a new level of excellence."

Since its inception in 1979, the not-for-profit ISC has been a driving force behind the Indianapolis renaissance that has drawn notice in national and international circles. The first sports commission in the United States, ISC has succeeded in attracting and helping stage more than 400 national and international sporting events, which, in turn, have generated more than $2 billion in direct economic spending. Highlights include the 1987 Pan American Games, the 1991 World Gymnastics Championships, the 1987 World Indoor Track and Field Championships, four National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's Basketball Final Fours, 14 Olympic Trials, the 2001 World Police & Fire Games and the 2002 FIBA World Basketball Championship for Men. In addition to The Solheim Cup, the city of Indianapolis will also host the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four in 2005.

In addition to The Solheim Cup, which is named after Karsten Solheim and his family, Karsten Manufacturing Corporation sponsors the LPGA Tour event in Phoenix. Founded by Karsten and Louise Solheim, Karsten Manufacturing Corporation is a long-time sponsor of the LPGA. As the makers of PING golf equipment, the Solheim family continues to ensure the same superior workmanship today that they built into their original clubs nearly 45 years ago. Now under the direction of John A. Solheim, chairman & CEO, Karsten and Louise's youngest son, the company continues in its efforts to manufacture the highest quality of golf equipment. The PING name is known the world over. Besides its presence in the United States, PING markets custom-fit, custom-built PING golf equipment to more than 70 countries.

The Solheim Cup is a biennial, trans-Atlantic team match-play competition featuring the best U.S.-born players from the LPGA Tour and the best European-born players from the Evian Ladies European Tour (LET). The U.S. Team leads the competition, 4-2, and has never lost on home soil. The 2002 Solheim Cup will be staged at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn. Due to the event's continued growth and popularity, The Solheim Cup was moved to odd-numbered years, beginning in 2003, and away from Olympic and World Cup cycles. It will be contested at Barsebäck Golf and Country Club near Malmo in Sweden from Sept. 12-14, 2003, then move to Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind., in 2005. Beginning in 2003 and for all subsequent events, The Solheim Cup will be contested in odd-numbered years.