Teenage Phenom Returns to Scene of Pro Golf Debut

Teenage golf sensation Alexis Thompson is returning to the course in which she made her professional debut just one year ago: the Seaview Resort in Galloway Township.

Thompson was one of two players announced to participate in the , to be held at the Seaview from May 30 to June 5. Thompson and Joanna Coe, a Mays Landing native and Oakcrest High School graduate, were both announced as participants Tuesday afternoon at the ShopRite LPGA Classic’s Media Day.

Coe will be making her pro debut at this year's event. She is currently competing in the NCAA Division II Southern Regionals as a member of the Rollins College golf team.

Thompson made her pro debut in the 2010 event as a 15-year-old, and has seen her share of success since.

“I played here last year and I got to see how well run it is,” Thompson said. “This course is amazing and I’m looking forward to playing on it.”

As a 16-year-old, Thompson is only allowed to play in six events a year, and she made the ShopRite LPGA Classic one of them. Last year, she didn’t make the cut, but she went on to a second-place tie at the Evian Masters, and she finished in the top 10 at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Going into the final round of last weekend’s Avnet LPGA Classic, Thompson was tied for first place, marking the first time she made it to the final day of a professional golf event. She then shot a 78 to finish 19th.

“I learned a lot (from that event),” Thompson said. “You will have days like that; that’s golf, but it was my first time being in the last group on a Sunday.”

“She’s one of the biggest stories and the brightest stars, and the way she handled herself on and off the course shows a lot of maturity,” ShopRite LPGA Classic Tournament Executive Director Tim Erensen said. “She doesn’t have many tournaments she can compete in, so that she picked our tournament says a lot about her experience here last year.”

While it’s a much different, more improved Thompson who will be competing in this year’s event, it’s a much different, more improved Seaview that will host the event.

The Seaview has been purchased by the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, and The course is reflective of this makeover, as the mounds have been re-sodded and the there are two additional bunkers. The already-existing bunkers have been renovated.

“The Seaview is awesome,” Galloway Township Recreation Director Beth Stasuk said. “Stockton has really changed the atmosphere of the Seaview.”

Those who attended Tuesday’s Media Day event were invited to play the newly-renovated course, and Erensen said it received rave reviews from those who did.

“It got great reviews last year,” Erensen said, “but it’s like night and day. People walk off the course talking about how great it is. What a difference a year can make.”

The event will be played at the Seaview for the next four years, until 2014. This year’s event will include courses outside the Seaview, as well.

The tournament holds four Pro-Am events over the course of the week leading up to the tournament. Galloway National Golf Club and Atlantic City Country Club will help host these events, on Wednesday, June 1 and Thursday, June 2.

“We will have 1,200 rounds of golf played on three courses over two days,” Erensen said. “The backbone of our fundraising effort is the Pro Ams.”

And all of Galloway will have the opportunity to benefit. Stasuk said there are many people that will come to the ShopRite LPGA Classic and opt to stay in Galloway at night.

“Most people do stay in the area,” Stasuk said. “ … This is an extremely positive event for the town.”

“I’m excited for this to be in Galloway,” Acting Galloway Township Manager Steve Bonanni said. “We have the Seaview, Smithville, Stockton. We have all these things in Galloway, and it’s amazing just how dynamic it is.”