KINGSTON, N.Y. — The Wiltwyck Ladies Invitational continues to grow as 112 players have entered this year’s team event that will be held at the Wiltwyck Golf Club on Tuesday, July 28.

This year’s field has attracted 16 more players than in 2025, which totaled 96 players. Two years ago, the team event in gross and net divisions drew just 64 players. The format is a two-person best-ball tournament.

“This is the best turnout in the 15 years that I’ve been running it,” said Esther Vosburgh, the tournament chairman and the head of a fundraising committee for the invitational. “I think we put on a phenomenal invitational with great food, good gifts and an absolutely amazing raffle. The word is out that we have a great invitational.”

“Wiltwyck rolls out the red carpet for everyone,” said Lisa Schoonmaker, an invitational committee member.

The event already has attracted a full field and that is good news for young girls who play golf. With the funds raised last year, the invitational was able to award Wiltwyck Golf Club junior golf memberships to nine local girls.

“We’re trying to grow the sport and we’d like to get more girls on the golf course,” Schoonmaker said. “Our goal for next year is to set up a series of clinics and invite more girls.”

A silent auction on the day of the invitational will be held. Among the prizes will be a two-hour Osprey Cruise for two, fine bottles of wine and a one-year gym membership.

“There are prizes that can be worth $500 or $600,” said committee member Frances Murphy.

The invitational also received a substantial donation from the Kingston-based law firm O’Connor & Partners, PLLC. Joseph O’Connor, a longtime member of Wiltwyck, is the chief executive officer of the law firm.

There will also be a putting contest at the tournament for the first time.

Wiltwyck Golf Club member Jaime Paddock and Amber (Pennington) Farrior will return to defend their low gross title, which the duo has captured five of the previous six years. The dynamic pair combined to shoot a 1-over 75 to claim last year’s event.

After romping to eight straight Ulster County Women’s Golf Association (UCWGA) titles from 2016-2023, Farrior moved out of the area to accept a job teaching special education in the fourth grade in Delaware in 2024. That snapped a streak of her taking eight straight UCWGA championships and four consecutive wins with Paddock in the Wiltwyck Ladies Invitational.

Farrior made a special trip back to Ulster County in 2025 to play in the Wiltwyck Ladies Invitational and the pair posted a three-shot win over the runner-up team of Deborah Langevin of Cobleskill Golf and Country Club and Mary Deifendorf of Canajoharie Golf and Country Club, who carded a 4-over 78.

Wiltwyck Golf Club’s Joann DeForest and Yvonne Merck won the low net competition a year ago, shooting a 13-under 61.

There will be competition in five flights in the net competition. There will be three winners in each flight.

Vosburgh said the 5,675-yard par-74 Wiltwyck layout is challenging for the field.

“It’s long and the greens are fast,” Vosburgh said. “I think the difficulty for the women is the length of the course. We plan to have the red tees forward and not have the pin locations too difficult.”

Registration and breakfast at Wiltwyck is scheduled for 7:45 a.m. on July 28. The shotgun start will begin at 9 a.m. Lunch and prizes will follow play.