This piece is presented by GreatLIFE Golf & Fitness.

Golfer Brittany Marchand had never been to Sioux Falls before last year and had never played in GreatLIFE Challenge. But she had heard good things about both and wasn’t disappointed.

“I heard good things from the players I knew who played in the tournament before me,” she said. “I think Sioux Falls and the GreatLIFE tournament was a great event.”

She’s coming back for this year’s tournament, which runs Aug. 31-Sept. 3 at Willow Run Golf Course as part of the Symetra Tour’s Road to the LPGA.

“I thought the tournament treated us well,” Marchand said, from the food to “being able to use the awesome gym. The course was in good shape. We even get an awesome gift for being in the tournament.”

Marchand and dozens of other women who rank among golf’s best will tackle the Willow Run course in exchange for a purse worth $210,000 – the biggest of the year.

“The course is nice,” she said. “And it’s a very challenging design and layout. It makes you have to think and place your shots to give you the best opportunities.”

She also loved her host family – a couple with three kids. Dozens of Sioux Falls-area families host Symetra golfers during their weeklong visit.

“My host family from last year is amazing,” Marchand said. “I had so much fun with the kids, and they are so supportive of me. They are hosting me again this year, and I look forward to being back.”

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