The LPGA Tour’s ShopRite Classic has come up with a genius way to hand out its final sponsor exemption. It will go to the winner of a Twitter Poll.
Fans will vote for one of four players, and the winner will be awarded a spot in the field at the New Jersey-based tournament.
The poll includes Blair O’Neal (above), Carly Booth (below), Sharmila Nicollet, and Susan Benavides. The players were chosen based on their rankings in something called the MVP Index, which supposedly measures a golfer’s performance both on the course and on social media (followers, impressions).
The 2017 ShopRite Classic will be played May 29 – June 4 at the Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club in Galloway, New Jersey.
Total Followers
Sharmila Nicollet, India – 357,000
Blair O’Neal, U.S – 77,100
Carly Booth, Scotland – 35,100
Susan Benavides, Bolivia – 6,900
The Poll
We've partnered with @MVPindex to award the final spot in our field! Vote now for @MissNicollet @BLAIRONEAL @mumita_b or @CarlyBooth92
— ShopRiteLPGAClassic (@ShopRiteLPGA) May 1, 2017
Quotable
“For the naysayers, if we get 10 million new eyeballs exposed to our event, that’s not only good for the winner of our contest, but for the 143 other players in the field,” Erensen said. “We need to get new people interested in the game, and if it takes out-of-the-box thinking like this, we are happy to do our part.”
-Tim Erensen, ShopRite Classic executive director
Credit: Golf Channel, Getty Images
