Annual Four Winds Invitational

Tee time for the fourth annual Four Winds Invitational kicked off at 7:30 a.m. Friday morning.

There will be three rounds in the golf tournament over the weekend at Blackthorn Golf Course.

“We're really excited to see these young golfers play Blackthorn and it should be a great test of golf for them and a great weekend for the South Bend," said Blackthorn Golf Club Owner Tim Firestone.  

There are 144 up-and-coming professionals scheduled to compete for the $155,000 purse, which is the second largest on the tour.

The winner from this weekend's tournament will go home with $22,000 and make an advancement in the Volvik Race for the Card money list. At the end of the year, the top 10 on the list will earn an Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour membership for 2016.

This is the only Symetra Tour in the state of Indiana. The Four Winds Invitational is the 11th event of the season and third of five events in the Midwest.

Brianna Do is fourth on the Money List going into the tournament. She has played at Blackstone Golf Course before and thinks this could be an advantage for her.

“I've played here two times already, the last three years or so I know the course and I'm excited. I like the layout and I like how green and how smooth the greens are, so yeah overall it's a great course,” said Do, a three year professional player.

A California native, she recalled this year being a good year for her.  

“I've been playing really well this year and this is one of our top tournaments with a big purse so I'm looking forward to a good week to secure my card in the top 10,” Do added.

Lee Lopez is also a California native and has played on this course twice. She said timing is very important on this course.

"Getting the speed down on these greens is key. It's a really fun golf course, it has some tough driving holes but it also gives you opportunities to make birdies on some of the par fives,” said Lopez who is 7th on the Money List.

The tournament will wrap up on Sunday. Tickets are $10 at the door and people age 15 and under get in free.