Top 120 on Tour will compete at Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., December 22, 2015 - The Epson Tour, Road to the LPGA, announced today that IOA - Insurance Office of America - will be the title sponsor of the season-opening event, the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort & Spa at Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon in Beaumont, Calif. The 54-hole event will begin on Friday, February 19 and conclude on Sunday, February 21.

“We’re excited to welcome the future stars of the LPGA Tour to Beaumont and the surrounding area for the IOA Championship in 2016,” said IOA Regional President John Tenuto. “We saw first hand the success of the IOA Golf Classic in the Orlando area and thought it was a no-brainer to put our name on a Epson Tour event in Southern California as our brand continues to spread in this region.”

The IOA Championship becomes the second event on the Tour’s schedule sponsored by IOA. The fourth annual IOA Golf Classic in Longwood, Fla. will be contested the week of October 3-9 at Alaqua Country Club.

“IOA is a partner were really excited about because their involvement and commitment to the Tour and women’s golf has grown year-by-year,” said Chief Business Officer Mike Nichols. “Based on what I’ve seen from the IOA event in Florida, I’m confident that our event in California will become a premier tournament on the schedule.”

The IOA Championship in Beaumont will feature a field of 120 professionals from the United States and around the world. Players will compete for a $100,000 tournament purse with the winner earning $15,000.

Katie Kempter edged Lee Lopez in a playoff at the inaugural 2015 event at Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon. The 2016 IOA Championship will mark the third straight season that the Tour plays an early event in the state of California.

The Epson Tour’s preliminary schedule, which was released in mid-October at the CME Group Tour Championship, features 23 events spread across 14 states. Players will be competing for a total season-long purse of $3.5 million, which is the largest in the 36-year history of the Tour. The top 10 on the final Volvik Race for the Card money list earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2017 season. Since 1999, the Epson Tour has graduated 117 players to the LPGA including Palm Desert native Nicole Castrale and 2015 Solheim Cup hero Gerina Piller. The final schedule will be released in early January.

Tickets to the IOA Championship will be free to the public all three days of competition.

For more information about playing in the pro-am, sponsorship opportunities and to volunteer contact Tim Kramer at tim.kramer@lpga.com.

IOA Named Title Sponsor of 2016 Season Opener in Beaumont

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