Golfers at the LPGA Futures Event at Sweetgrass

Players to Watch

Marquette High School graduate Carley Saint-Onge, four-time Upper Peninsula Division 1 Champion and has received an amateur local exemption to compete in the event. Saint-Onge will enter Michigan State University as a freshman this fall, and will serve on the University\’s women\’s golf team.

Native American Cheryl Mitchell of Walpole Island First Nation received a professional exemption, and will represent the Potawatomi Nation, which owns and operates the Island Resort and Casino and Sweetgrass Golf Club.

Several players with Michigan ties are also expected to be in the field for The Island Resort Championship, Including Shasta Averyhardt Of Flint; Laura Baivard (Western Michigan University) Of Grosse Ile; Laura Kueny (Michigan State University) of Whitehall; Alison Meyer (Ferris State University) of Duluth, Minn.; Rookie Aimee Neff (Michigan State) Of Carmel, Ind.; And Elise Swartout (Western Michigan) Of Ann Arbor.

In addition to Michigan players, Wisconsin\’s Malinda Johnson of Eau Claire and Kelsey Verbeten of New Franken also will be in the tournament field. Both are alumnae of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where each played collegiately.

A complete list of players in the field and pairings will be posted here on Tuesday.

The Island Resort Championship committee and staff are excited to welcome the international field of professional golfers for the first of a three-year commitment of this event.

About the Championship

Welcoming the world\’s brightest new talent in women\’s professional golf, the Island Resort Championship at Sweetgrass is an LPGA Futures Tour event held at Sweetgrass Golf Club in Michigan\’s Upper Peninsula. The inaugural 54-hole stroke-play event will be held June 20-26, 2011, the first of a three-year commitment by the LPGA. Located in Harris, Michigan, Sweetgrass is situated at the Island Resort & Casino, and is owned and operated by the Hannahville Indian Community of the Potawatomi Nation.