SOUTH BEND — Area golf fans will have a chance to see the future of the LPGA Tour when the Four Winds Invitational makes its annual stop at South Bend Country Club beginning Thursday.
The 54-hole Epson Tour event, the 15th stop on the LPGA’s satellite tour, will once again feature a stellar starting field competing for the $30,000 first-place check in the $200,000 event. The top 36 money-winners this season, led by Australia’s Gabriela Ruffels, are among the 144 players who will test their games on the par-72, 6,468-yard course near South Chain Lake east of Lydick designed by noted architect and teacher George O’Neil more than 100 years ago.
Their ultimate hope is to follow the paths taken by California’s Lilia Vu (2021) and China’s Yan Liu (2022) to the LPGA Tour after winning at South Bend Country Club, which took over as host from Blackthorn Golf Club following the…