When Se Ri Pak?s second shot rolled within three inches of the cupon the first playoff hole Sunday, many spectators left satisfied with the outcome of the McDonald?s LPGA Championship.
Those involved in the tournament felt the same elation with the overall success in Havre de Grace.
“The crowds were fantastic,” Richard Rounsaville, Director of Golf for Bulle Rock, said Monday. “And they raised a lot of money for charity, which is the whole reason this tournament was started. It was a great finish.”
The four-day tournament drew about 91,000 fans to a city whose population is roughly one-eighth of that total. The attendance in 2005 was about 92,000.
Harford County Executive David Craig said this year?s tournament generated an estimated $5.4 million in economic benefit to the region. Craig, the former mayor of Havre de Grace, also noted that many of the competitors were from foreign soil.
“It?s really an international event, and that?s great,” Craig said Monday afternoon. “We?ll take those people coming to Harford County anytime.”
Rounsaville said the success of the tournament is aided by about 1,500 volunteers, who offered their time in a number of capacities.
“The volunteers are great. You cannot run an event without the volunteers,” said Rounsaville, while the bleachers, tents and concession stands were being disassembled. “Because this thing is for the kids and such a great cause, it?s great that the people give us time.”
The only glitch throughout the weekend came courtesy of poor weather, which halted play Friday afternoon.
“The only major glitch was getting people off the golf course after the thunder and lightning came through,” said Rounsaville, who added there were no transportation problems.
“Having had it here a second year, everything worked fine,” he said.
Golf Digest recently tabbed Bulle Rock a five-star course, the only course in the Mid-Atlantic region to earn such a distinction.
“It was built to hold a major,” Rounsaville said.
Bulle Rock is slated to host the McDonald?s LPGA Championship through 2010.
A ROCK-ING WEEKEND
» Annika Sorenstam won her third consecutive McDonald?s LPGA title in 2005. She finished ninth this year.
» Pronounced “BULL-ee ROCK,” the course is named for the first thoroughbred racehorse brought to the United States.
» The four-day McDonald?s LPGA Championship was broadcast on the Golf Channel.
» The course is laid out over 7,375 yards and set on 235 acres of what was previously farmland.
