Auburn Golfers Join Zimmer Biomet Field

Auburn's Cydney Clanton will have a home course advantage when the Symetra Tour comes to Opelika in three weeks.

The Zimmer Biomet Championship hosted by Nancy Lopez will be played on the Lake Course at Grand National (RTJ Golf Trail) in Opelika, Alabama May 23 - 26. Players will compete for total prize money of $300,000, the largest in Symetra Tour history. The Lake Course previously played host to the PGA TOUR from 2015-2017.

Clanton won a three-hole playoff with Julieta Granada of Paraguay in the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout last week in Arkansas. It was the second career Symetra Tour victory for Clanton, who is now sixth on the Symetra Tour's money list for 2019. The top 10 on the money list at the end of the year earn LPGA Tour cards. Granada is currently top of the money list and is in the Zimmer Biomet Championship preliminary field. The final field will include 144 women golfers. Seventeen of the top 20 on the Symetra Tour money list are currently in the field.

Joining Clanton in the Zimmer Biomet Championship field are two sisters and Auburn University alums: Marta Sanz Barrio and Patricia Sanz Barrio of Madrid, Spain. The University of Alabama will be represented by two former collegiate golfers: Janie Jackson of Huntsville and Lakaraber Abe from Texas. Former University of Georgia golfers include Jillian Hollis, Harang Lee, Jean Reynolds and Bailey Tardy. A media event with several of these golfers is being planned for Tuesday, May 21. More details to follow.

NANCY LOPEZ

Zimmer Biomet has been designated the Official Joint Replacement Provider of the LPGA and the Official Joint Replacement Provider of the Symetra Tour, the LPGA Tour’s official qualifying tour. Additionally, LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame member Nancy Lopez, a 48-time winner on the LPGA Tour, will serve as a brand ambassador for Zimmer Biomet and the host for the Opelika event.

"Representing a company that has a product that has changed my life is pretty exciting, and to be the spokesperson for Zimmer Biomet and to talk about it is fantastic," said Lopez, who had her left knee replaced in Florida last November after having her right knee replaced one year earlier. "It's going to be a lot of fun to reach out to people that pretty much are afraid to do anything with knee replacements."

Lopez will attend both the pro-am competition and the pro-am party at the Zimmer Biomet Championship. She will be available for media interviews in the early afternoon of Wednesday, May 22. Details are still being finalized.

"We are grateful to Zimmer Biomet for embracing the Symetra Tour," said Mike Nichols, the Chief Business Officer of the Symetra Tour. "The inclusion of Nancy Lopez as the hostess for this inaugural event makes for a special week for our players, sponsors and fans."

MEDIA CREDENTIALS

If you are planning on covering the tournament, please email bill.lang@pchresorts.com with the individuals in your organization that will be attending and for how many days. The media center will be in the clubhouse. ** This is different than in past tournaments. Media dining will be in the clubhouse and parking will be in the main lot for those with credentials.


ADMISSION AND VOLUNTEERS

Admission to the Zimmer Biomet Championship is free. To get the most out of this unique opportunity, consider volunteering for the event. Information about the tournament and how to volunteer is online at www.rtjgolf.com.

Don't miss out on what's happening in Auburn-Opelika! 
Sign up for our e-newsletter here.