The Four Winds Invitational concluded today with Lilia Vu as the winner. The Invitational is part of the Symetra Tour, a steppingstone for female golfers to join the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour later on. Women join the Symetra Tour from around the globe, and, this weekend, Four Winds Casinos was able to bring these international visitors to South Bend, Indiana.
“The Invitational is a way for Four Winds to give back to the community,” said Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Community Relations at Four Winds, Scott Brewer. “This is our 10th year sponsoring this event. It’s part of our pledge to do things in the community, and we thought that bringing in pro-sports, especially a ladies pro-sport to South Bend was the right thing to do.”
The top five finishers from the Four Winds Invitational were all from different countries, but over a hundred women of dozens of nationalities competed throughout the weekend. With them, they brought friends and family, all staying in local hotels and dining at local restaurants.
Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, French Professional Golfer, concluded her run at the Four Winds Invitational with a score of -8, placing fifth. This week not only marked a successful tournament for her, but it was also her first tournament as a professional.
“It was a nice week. I didn’t really come here with expectations because it was my first tournament as a professional on the Symetra Tour. So, I just came here to learn and get as much experience as I could,” said Roussin-Bouchard.
“I’ve been pro for five days—not even—four days, so far so good,” Roussin-Bouchard continued. “It doesn’t make a big difference for me, because I’ve been planning on that for a while now. To be honest, it’s just on the paper. There’s not an ‘A’ anymore next to my name. I’m just excited about the future.”
The women played well throughout the tournament, especially considering the heavy rainfall South Bend saw earlier on in the week. However, the final day brought bright blue skies.
“I feel really good,” said Lilia Vu, American Professional Golfer and winner of the Four Winds Invitational with a score of -12. “I definitely played pretty well today. I think because it’s Sunday, the last day of the tournament, there’s no pressure it’s just time to play your best golf. So that’s what I try to do.”
As each pair finished their tournament on the 18th hole, crowds clapped for successful putts and sighed with the players when their stroke did not go as planned. Golfers went out in pairs, starting as early as 7:30 in the morning. Whatever the outcome, every woman congratulated their counterpart with a hug or fist bump.
“I was with Katelyn [Dambaugh], and Brynn Walker and just being with them was amazing. They had my back,” said Roussin-Bouchard. “I mean last night, Katelyn cooked dinner for me because I was coming back so late and it’s just details like that that really make a difference and made me enjoy this week.”
“In my personal opinion, women’s sports are underserved. It doesn’t get the same highlights as others which is why we wanted to bring a professional women’s sport here,” Brewer said.
Many young girls were in the audience throughout the final day of the tournament. After Vu and Roussin-Bouchard completed their competition, the girls would approach them, asking for an autograph and would walk away absolutely beaming.
In one instance, Vu gifted a young girl with the ball Vu had played with throughout the day. Vu signed it with a pink permanent marker. She squatted down to speak to the young girl, who tightly clutched the golf ball with both hands, knowing it’s value.
The Four Winds Invitational helps support Beacon Children’s Hospital, using proceeds as donations. The Invitational has generated over $730,000 for Beacon Hospital in it’s ten years. What’s priceless is all of the boys and girls that golfers like Vu and Roussin-Bouchard encourage to take to the greens.
To learn more about Four Winds Casinos, visit https://www.fourwindscasino.com/.
