Local player Fumie Sato leads a small field in the Santa Barbara Women’s Open golf tournament on Wednesday and Thursday at Santa Barbara Golf Club and Sandpiper Golf Course.
Sato finished fourth in last year’s tournament, which included several collegiate players.
This year’s tournament didn’t attract the college players, said tournament director Irelle Beatie.
“The defending champion (Marissa Mar of Davis) is not here this year, which leaves it wide open,” said Beatie.
Besides Sato, other local players who figure to battle for the title in the championship flight include Jacquie Misho and Carol Frazzano-Bailey.
The field consists of 60 players in four flights and a scramble team flight with four teams.
“The flights are much smaller this year but I had to divide them up to reflect their indexes,” said Beatie.
The tournament begins at 7:30 a.m. at SBGC on Wednesday. The final round starts at 8 a.m. Thursday at Sandpiper.
