Creamer looking forward to see golf return to Michigan

Creamer looking forward to see golf return to Michigan

Paula Creamer is among a growing group of golfing elite who’ve never played a professional tournament in Michigan.“When I was younger, I came here for a couple of junior tournaments,” recalled Creamer, 24, the reigning U.S. Women’s Open champion who conducted a clinic Monday in nearby in Bloomfield Clemson Selected For NCAA Golf Tournament Hills.There won’t be a single event on any of the three major golf tours — the PGA, LPGA or Champions Tour — played in the state of Michigan this year and Creamer says that’s just flat-out wrong. “This is a great golf spot,” she said. “I hope in the near future we get some tournaments out here, at least one to start off with. The big thing here is they support women’s golf. They love women’s golf and golf in general. That means a lot to the players, to come to a place where they feel welcome.” The LPGA Tour last came to the Detroit area in 2000 for the Oldsmobile Classic in East Lansing. This year, the LPGA doesn’t even go to Ohio, as the Jamie Farr Classic has taken a one-year hiatus while the city of Toledo plays host to the U.S. Senior Men’s Open.The Ford Senior Players Championship on the Champions Tour was last held in Dearborn in 2006, and the PGA shut down the Buick Open at Warwick Hills in Grand Blanc following the 2009 tournament, though the course is currently pursuing a Champions Tour event, which wouldn’t be held until 2013 at the earliest.

All three tours do visit Canada every year and Creamer has this year’s CN Canadian Women’s Open, slated for Aug. 25-28 in Mirabel, Que., pencilled in on her calendar. “The fact that we get to travel all over Canada is pretty special. It’s not just one place for us. Like here, golf is very big. People love watching golf and we get great crowds. We appreciate that. Every time we go there, it does feel like a major for us.” “The fact that I can walk into my house and see the U.S. Open trophy sitting on my kitchen table, yeah, that’s a little bit different. But for the most part, I think I want it more now than I did before, because having it, I love the taste of it."