Professional golf returns to area with inaugural St. Louis Women's Championship

On Thursday, Whitmoor Country Club in Weldon Spring will open its gates to the ANNIKA Women’s All-Pro Tour (WAPT) for the inaugural St. Louis Women’s Championship golf tournament.

It represents a big reason why Annika Sorenstam, one of the greatest women’s golfers of all time, walked away from the game at just 37 years old in 2008.

“I’m surprised with the timing, but it’s the way she wants to do it,” then-LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens said after Sorenstam’s retirement almost two decades ago. “In the long run, she’ll have just as much of an impact outside the game of golf, if not more.”

Sorenstam cited two parts of her personal life that needed more attention: her family and her business ventures.

Sure enough, those business ventures came to fruition. Sorenstam helped design golf courses, opened her own golf academy in Florida and created an alliance with the Women’s All-Pro Tour in July 2023. The WAPT, according to media and communications director Marissa McCardell, is a “stepping stone” for players to reach the LPGA Tour…

“Our field numbers have increased so much,” McCardell said. “We have almost full fields every week now, which is great. Our next tournament next week in Peoria; we even have a waiting list.”

The last time a St. Louis-area course hosted a professional women’s golf tournament was in July 2001.

See full St. Louis Post-Dispatch article here