Jane Blalock didn’t realize initially what a big deal it was to make the cut in 299 consecutive LPGA Tour events. (Rick Sharp Photo)
Jane Blalock, a 27-time winner on the LPGA Tour, says don’t think about the age of the players competing in the Woodford Legends Invitational June 7-8 at the Woodford Golf Club in Versailles. Instead, focus on what the legendary players can still do.
“Pay attention to the ball striking ability. Just because we are a little more mature does not mean we do not have skills. We also still have a competitive fire,” said Blalock. “You will see everyone having a lot of fun and there will be some bantering but no one wants to miss a four-foot putt. We still want to win.”
Blalock knows about winning. She is a Legends Hall of Fame member and partnered with Patricia Meunier-Lebouc to win the 2023 BJ’s Charity Championship and will be paired with Meunier-Lebouc again in the Woodford Legends Invitational.
Blalock, the 1969 LPGA Rookie of the Year, went 299 straight events without missing a cut, a record that still stands for any male or female professional golfer.
“At the time I really didn’t think not missing a cut was that big a deal,” Blalock, 78, said. “Now I am watching golf on TV and they make a big deal out of someone who has made 60 cuts in a row and say that is phenomenal. I think making 299 demonstrated my love of the game and perseverance I had. I think that number is something that will stand for a while, too.
“At the time no one really made a big deal out of it, including me. Now sometimes I hear on the Golf Channel talking about streak without missing a cut and someone will say not to forget Jane Blalock.”
She actually started her professional career in Louisville in 1969 at the Bluegrass Invitational at Hunting Creek Country Club in Louisville. This will be the first competitive event featuring LPGA players in Kentucky since then.
“I finished in the top 20 and made like $300,” Blalock laughed and said. “I thought I was rich.”
Blalock continues to stay involved in various golf philanthropic endeavors because she loves the game she started playing in New Hampshire.
“I didn’t grow up like many of my peers playing golf year round. We had three or four months to hit balls in New Hampshire. I played golf because I wanted to. I never lost that passion,” she said. “I am still working on my game. I still take lessons. If you are not trying to get better, you are going backwards.”
The Kentucky event is a two-player scramble format both days because Blalock said that produces more birdies for fans to enjoy.
“Our strategy is off the team Patricia hits first because I do not want her to feel any pressure in case I don’t hit a good shot. I putt first because I do not want to look at anyone else’s putt,” Blalock said. “We surprised everyone when we won last year.”
Blalock won the Dinah Shore Chevron Championship in 1972 — the year Meunier-Lebouc jokes she was born — while Meunier-Lebouc won the same championship in 2003.
“We had a tournament in Cape Cod and told her I had good and bad news. The good news was she was invited to play but the bad news was she had to play with me,” Blalock said. “The first year we finished mid pack. The next year we didn’t do so good. Last year she hit it well and I made a lot of putts. We beat some pretty good players. Hopefully she is hitting it well for this tournament and I am making putts again.”
The Woodford Legends Invitational includes 28 former LPGA players and six current amateur teams playing for low amateur honors. Those teams include Laney Frye-Claira Beth Ramsey and Cathryn Brown-Madison Borders. Frye and Brown were both UK golfers who helped Kentucky make the NCAA this season while Borders plays at Marshall and Ramsey at Eastern Kentucky.
The professional field includes four World Golf Hall of Famers — Amy Alcott, Pat Bradley, Laura Davies and Holly Stacy — along with 12 major championship winners. The field has a combined 218 LPGA Tour wins and 13 of the players have competed in the Solheim Cup.
The other LPGA Legends teams are: Amy Alcott and Tammie Green, Pat Bradley and Jamie Fischer, Elaine Crosby and Nancy Scranton, Laura Davies and Trish Johnson, Pat Hurst and Wendy Ward, Rosie Jones and Michele Redman, Michelle McGann and Laura Diaz, Becky Morgan and Catriona Matthew, Liselotte Neumann and Jane Geddes, Hollis Stacy and Martha Leach (a), Sherri Steinhauer and Lisa DePaulo, Brandie Burton and Alicia Dibos, and Suzy Whaley and Leta Lindley
“Some players will relate to the gallery more just like they did back in their prime while other players need to concentrate and focus more during a round,” Blalock said. “But probably 90 percent of the players will be interacting with the players every way possible. That’s what separates us from LPGA players now who are trained not to talk to anybody.”
Blalock likes having college players involved in the tournament to help draw attention to the event.
“We will probably learn some things from them. I play with some young people at they just blow the ball by me. It’s fun watching them but I also think they can learn from us about how to win, how to handle things on the course,” she said. “It’s a win-win for us all and why some of the amateur teams will be in foursomes with the professional teams.”
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Tournament proceeds will benefit official charity partners United Way of the Bluegrass and KVC Kentucky.
Go to https://www.woodfordclubfoundation.org/ for ticket information on events that start June 4 with the Nashville Grammy Winners Songwriters Night and concert, June 5 wellness luncheon and kids event, and June 6 pro-am.
