The Queen of Corning!

The Queen of Corning

The Corning Classic is much like the 2 other longest running events on Tour, The LPGA State Farm in Springfield IL, and The Wegmans LPGA in Rochester NY. All three of these events are super special to me. My first win was in Springfield in 1987 when the tournament was called The Rail, and I have two wins each at both the Wegmans event and back to back wins in Corning. Of course in all those years I played there at Corning I was able to rack up several Top 10’s to go with those wins, making me the most celebrated player to ever play the event. Which gives me the title Queen of Corning!
But, that’s not why Corning is Special to me!

The Corning Classic as we have always called it, is one of those tournaments set in a very small town in the Upper part of New York State. It really is one of those Norman Rockwell towns with the old fashioned Market Street, with quaint shops and restaurants that invite you in for a bite or cold drink. The town folk as well as the shop keepers get very excited for the LPGA to come to town and have fun with their window display competition using golf themes and decorations. As a player, you are drawn to the excitement of the town with as much enthusiasm as you are to play the event. You can even find an LPGA scoreboard in the Market St. Courtyard to keep the shoppers abreast to the action on the course. But even so, that’s not why Corning is so Special to me!

It was in 1986 while at the Corning Classic, I received one of those worst feared phone calls, back when our only thread to family and friends was the phone in the Hotel Room. It was 4:00 am and I was informed that my youngest brother Jerry Lee Jones was killed in a car accident. Devastated at losing my closest sibling, I packed up my things to go home.

On the way to the very small airport in nearby Elmira, NY, I stopped at the tournament site to inform the LPGA Officials of my loss and that I would have to withdraw from the golf event. I was catching a plane to Albuquerque, via Pittsburg, Dallas and then finally by night fall I would get home. By the time I got myself to the Elmira Airport, the Tournament Director of The Corning Classic, Lee Robbins met me in the parking lot of the Rental Cars. He told me that they had the Corning Jet ready to escort me to Cincinnati where I could then pick up my sister and fly home together on a much faster route. There I was 5 minutes later on a Lear Jet flying to an airport close to my sister’s house so we could comfort each other on the rest of the trip.

From that day forward I never missed another Corning Classic. I will always cherish the kindness they shed on me that horrible day. And from my love of Corning came many great memories, trophies and friends, whom I still hold close to my heart. And that is why Corning is Special To Me! Thanks Corning!