Blalock, Stephenson join ‘incredible’ Legends field set for Kentucky

(LEXINGTON, KY – May 15, 2024) – It’s been several decades since the LPGA Tour has enjoyed a stop in the Bluegrass region. The Woodford Legends Invitational powered by Suran Systems, a 36-hole Legends of the LPGA team event set for June 7-8, 2024, at The Woodford Club in Versailles will mark the return of some of the biggest names in the history of women’s professional golf to the state of Kentucky.

“When you look at the field of players we’re bringing to The Woodford Club in June, it is pretty incredible,” says Jane Blalock, a member of the Legends Hall of Fame and a 27-time winner on the LPGA Tour. Blalock entered conversations with club owner Randy Clay a year ago about the possibility of showcasing the Legends at The Woodford Club.

“We have some of the big names you know and remember – the true characters and personalities that our entire group has been known for,” adds Blalock, who still holds the record for most consecutive cuts made on any tour at 299. “We are so grateful to Randy and his team for believing in us. We hope to return for many years to come.”

Among those slated to appear in the two-day team tournament are five members of the LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame – Amy Alcott, Pat Bradley, Laura Davies, Hollis Stacy and Jan Stephenson – and 12 major championship titleholders.

Alcott won 29 times on the LPGA Tour, including five major championships. She is perhaps best known for being the first player to leap into Poppie’s Pond after winning the 1988 Nabisco Dinah Shore (now known as The Chevron Championship), starting a tradition honored by (almost) every champion who followed. Bradley is a 31-time LPGA Tour champion who is one of only six LPGA Tour players in history to have completed the career grand slam – winning all four of the designated majors during her playing career.

Davies has recorded 87 professionals wins worldwide, including 20 on the LPGA Tour; she swept the senior women’s major championship titles in 2018, winning both the Senior LPGA Championship and the U.S. Senior Women’s Open (by 10 strokes). Stacy is an 18-time LPGA Tour winner with six USGA titles – three U.S. Junior Girls Championships and three U.S. Women’s Open Championships – which ranks her eighth among all players in history, male or female, in USGA titles won.

Jan Stephenson (right) will team up with Alicia Dibos (second from right) in the 2024 Woodford Legends Invitational in June.

Stephenson, a U.S. Women’s Open champion with 16 wins on the LPGA Tour, is excited about the team format. “We still love to compete,” says Stephenson, “It’s in our blood. But the hardest part for me is at age 72, it’s to compete with the players in their 50’s who still hit it so much farther. When we play team events, we have the help of a playing partner who may hit a longer ball, and that can really make a difference.”

Australia’s Stephenson will team up Alicia Dibos of Lima, Peru, a two-time Legends of the LPGA champion with the highest point total in the ISPS Handa Cup’s 11-year history for the World team. “It will be awesome to have a partner who can hit it up on some of those hills at Woodford,” smiles Stephenson, who got her first look at the golf course alongside Dibos in a preview event held last October. “I love having a wedge in my hand,” says Stephenson.

Stephenson and Dibos teamed up with 6-time LPGA Tour winner and past Solheim Cup Captain Pat Hurst and Kentucky Women’s Amateur Champion Alaina Schmitt to card 11 birdies and three eagles in their 18 hole round enroute to a 17 under par finish and a two shot win. Hurst is slated to partner with 4-time LPGA Tour champion and former Solheim Cup Assistant Captain Wendy Ward in June.

Fourteen two-person teams will comprise the Legends field, including four teams who have previously won team events on the Legends of the LPGA: Jane Blalock and Patricia Meunier-Lebouc (2023), Laura Davies and Trish Johnson (2018), Rosie Jones and Michele Redman (2019) and Pat Bradley and Jamie Fischer (2022). The tournament field will feature six additional teams comprised of 12 area women amateurs who will play alongside the Legends and compete for low amateur honors. Event proceeds will benefit official charity partners United Way of the Bluegrass and KVC Kentucky.

(Photo – Rick Sharp) – Pat Bradley and teammate Jamie Fischer won the 2022 BJ’s Charity Championship Legends team event.

“We’ve played as individuals our entire lives and have done it well, but it’s really fun to play alongside a fellow Legend,” says Blalock. “The Legends players are amicable and relatable – don’t be surprised when they start a conversation with the gallery. We set the bar that this is a great game, that it’s a game of a lifetime and age doesn’t matter.”

“It’s all about the energy,” adds Blalock. “We love what we do.”

Stephenson agrees. “At our age, we still love to play and love to have fun, and we want to encourage other golfers to do the same,” notes Stephenson. “I think that attitude is something that will really shine through in this tournament.”

Here are the Legends of the LPGA two-person teams set to appear in next month’s Woodford Legends Invitational in Versailles, Kentucky:

• Amy Alcott (Santa Monica, Calif.) and Tammie Green (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
• Jane Blalock (Cambridge, Mass.) and Patricia Meunier-Lebouc (Dijon, France)
• Pat Bradley (West Hyannisport, Mass.) and Jamie Fischer (Lake Forest, Ill.)
• Elaine Crosby (Jackson, Mich.) and Nancy Scranton (St. Augustine, Fla.)
• Laura Davies (Surrey, England) and Trish Johnson (Porthcawl, South Wales)
• Pat Hurst (Danville, Calif.) and Wendy Ward (Spokane, Wash.)
• Rosie Jones (Hilton Head, S.C.) and Michele Redman (Plymouth, Minn.)
• Michelle McGann (North Palm Beach, Fla.) and Laura Diaz (Ponte Verde, Fla.)
• Becky Morgan (Abergavenny, South Wales) and Catriona Matthew (North Berwick, Scotland)
• Liselotte Neumann (Finspang, Sweden) and Jane Geddes (Tampa, Fla.)
• Hollis Stacy (Holmes Beach, Fla.) and Martha Leach (a) (Hebron, Ky.)
• Sherri Steinhauer (Madison, Wi.) and Lisa DePaulo (Austin, Texas)
• Jan Stephenson (Sydney, Australia) and Alicia Dibos (Lima, Peru)
• Suzy Whaley (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and Leta Lindley (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)

For tournament engagement, spectator and ticket information, please visit http://www.thewoodfordclubfoundation.org or contact legends@thewoodfordclub.com.