Golf

Cactus Tour lands first official sponsor during coronavirus pandemic


Mike Brown lost money the first three years he ran the Cactus Tour. Wasn’t sure if he’d make it. In fact, Brown has never had an official sponsor until this week, when USA Natural Patches reached out and came on board. Dads have thrown money Brown’s way over the years to keep the tour afloat. One dad in particular continues to write a $15,000 check, even though his daughter no longer plays.

But USA Natural Patches, which features the B1 Performance Patch, a vitamin B1-based sport performance and wellness patch, signed on at a most interesting and controversial time in Brown’s Cactus Tour tenure.

While most of the sports world has stopped altogether in the midst of a global pandemic, Brown’s tour plays on, putting a spotlight on a women’s mini-tour that many are learning about for the first time. Vegas put odds on the LPGA players in the field last week and local television crews came out.

The added money from USA Natural Patches will go toward the purse, Brown said. This week’s event at Sundance Golf Club in Buckeye, Arizona, has 16 players in the field. Two-time major winner Anna Nordqvist won last week’s event. She’s not competing this week, but LPGA rookie Haley Moore and former Michigan State standout Sarah Burnham are back in action.

Social distancing rules are in place, Brown said, with players going out in twosomes. They took the rakes out of the bunkers and told players to keep the flagsticks in, placing part of a pool noodle inside the cup to keep players from having to touch the cup or flagstick. While golf courses around the country have shut down, tee sheets remain full in the Phoenix area.

Burnham competed only once on the LPGA, at the ISPS Handa Vic Open, where she missed the cut, before the tour grinded to a halt in mid-February over coronavirus concerns. She said it felt good to have her nerves cranking again last week.

“It’s nice to have your mind somewhere else,” said Burnham, who opened with a 76 at Sundance. “With everything going on, I’m worried more about my golf score than everything else. It’s a nice little break or breather.”

It’s a “chill” atmosphere too, she noted. Because the desert rocks at Sundance are particularly damaging to clubs, Brown gives every player in the field a 15th club to use when they miss the fairway.

“I just made a decision that I didn’t want to have these girls mess up their clubs,” he said. “Most of these girls are struggling to begin with.”

Britney Yada leads the field at Sundance after opening with a 2-under 70. Brown said as long as golf courses remain open, he’ll keep hosting events. Two courses have called in recent days to inquire about hosting events.

Brown has watched players break down in tears because they didn’t have money to compete the next week. For many, professional golf is a week-to-week dream. Brown said parents sometimes ask him, “When are you gonna tell my kid to quit?”

Brown, whose daughter Sara played professionally, tells them that’s not his job.

“You never know when it’s going to click,” he said. “I have a lot of girls out here, they just don’t have the refined skill yet. If they can afford it and stay at it, then they can make it.”



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