Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic, in full the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger, is an annual golf tournament for professional female golfers on the LPGA Tour. It was founded in 1984 and has been played every July, except in 1986, in Sylvania, Ohio. The tournament was founded after PGA Tour caddie Judd Silverman, a Toledo, Ohio native, sought to bring a ladies professional golf tournament to his hometown. He contacted sponsors and actor Jamie Farr, also a Toledo native, brought his name and several of his celebrity friends to the tournament. Throughout the history of the event, children's charities in Northwest Ohio and Southern Michigan have been the charitable beneficiaries of the tournament. They have received more than $6.2 millionduring the event's history. Since 2004, the title sponsor has been Owens Corning, the world's largest manufacturer of fiberglass and related products. Owens Corning is headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, near the site of the tournament. Kroger, one of the largest American supermarket chains, with headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, has also been involved as a sponsor of the tournament since 1997. From 1984 to 1988 the tournament was played at the Glengarry Country Club. In 1989 it moved to the Highland Meadows Golf Club, where it is currently played. In 2007, Se Ri Pak won the Farr for the fifth time, becoming only the fourth LPGA golfer to win the same tournament on five different occasions. The tournament was at risk of ending after 2009, due to a variety of circumstances including the slumping worldwide economy and reported dissatisfaction with LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens. Late in August 2009, after Bivens had resigned under pressure, it was announced that the tournament would continue for at least one more year, albeit with a sharply reduced purse. Tournament names through the years:
Past Winners 2009 Eunjung Yi 2008 Paula Creamer 2007 Se Ri Pak 2006 Mi Hyun Kim 2005 Heather Bowie 2004 Aug 5-8 Jamie Farr Kroger Classic Presented by ALLTEL 2003 Se Ri Pak 2002 Rachel Hetherington 2001 Se Ri Pak Jamie Farr Kroger Classic 2000 Annika Sörenstam 1999 Se Ri Pak 1998 Se Ri Pak 1997 Kelly Robbins Jamie Farr Toledo Classic 1996 Joan Pittock 1995 Kathryn Marshall 1994 Kelly Robbins 1993 Brandie Burton 1992 Patty Sheehan 1991 Alice Miller 1990 Tina Purtzer 1989 Penny Hammel 1988 Laura Davies 1987 Jane Geddes 1986 Tournament did not take place 1985 Penny Hammel 1984 Lauri Peterson
