Pictures of a recent past adorn the walls, players whose names you know, smiling and posing, memories that never seem to fade. The members at Eagles Landing Country Club in Stockbridge, Ga. just south of Atlanta are proud of the 11 years they hosted the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship, a regular spring event on the LPGA Tour calendar that served as a warmup to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (then known as the LPGA Championship) and the U.S. Women’s Open. Signed pin flags along with photos from past champions can be found in almost every room of the palatial clubhouse. Nancy, Annika, Dottie, Lisalotte, Dame Laura and others hoisted trophies at Eagles Landing.

“Remember, we used to call it the ‘Chick Delay’ because we got a rainstorm at least one day every year,” Ashli Bunch said this week as she returned to Eagles Landing for the first time since the LPGA Tour left Atlanta in 2005. That comment got a round of nods and “Oh, yeahs” from others.

Bunch was one of 21 players in Stockbridge June 24-26 for the second of what players hope will be many Legends of the LPGA at Eagles Landing events. This year the tournament came the week before the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, so Juli Inkster used it as a warmup.

“I remember I always liked this golf course,” Inkster said of Eagles Landing. “I remember it being fun to play. Of course, I like playing this yardage better than the yardage we used to play. It’s great coming back, but hopefully we can build this one up a little bit.”

Inkster played well, shooting two-under par for two days to finish tied for fifth with Silvia Cavalleri.

“I’m here because the Open is next week and I need to get in some reps,” Inkster said. “I’m doing a lot of corporate stuff, which I love to do, because I don’t have to keep score. But I’d love to get out a little more. This is one of three (events) I’m playing this year. The other two are the (U.S. Senior Women’s) Open and the Senior LPGA. So, we need to get a corporate sponsor (for the Legends of the LPGA). It would be great if we could get $100,000 purses at these events. You don’t need many (events), maybe five or six, but it’s really nice to have a place to play.”

That sentiment was echoed throughout the week. Nicole Jeray, who shot three-under par to finish fourth, said, “It’s wonderful to come back to places we know and where we are known. If we had a sponsor or two, it would be great to go back to towns like Corning and Rochester (New York) where we played for all those years and the towns embraced us. This is certainly one of those places.”

The members came out and watched and the mayor of Stockbridge stood on the first tee for an hour, welcoming players, posing for pictures, and encouraging all to come back again. Georgia Power, a Southern Company, put up some money, as did several local businesses and a few Eagles Landing members. All were thrilled with their investments.

One player who will come back as long as the club will have her is Angela Stanford, who successfully defended her title from a year ago with rounds of 67 and 65 to win this one by two shots over Yvonne Cox-Holmes.

“It feels great. Any time you can win, it feels great,” Stanford said. “And since this is my last year playing the LPGA Tour, I’m just thrilled to have somewhere I can complete.”

Stanford finished T26 at the Amundi Evian Championship where she is a past winner. And she said she has five more LPGA Tour events scheduled before calling it a career.

“Portland, Cincinnati, Hawaii, Arkansas and Pelican and that’s it,” Stanford said, referencing the remaining stops on her farewell tour. “That’s why I enjoy being out here. It gives me a place to fill that competitive urge.

“That’s what most of these girls feel. They don’t hit it as far anymore – and it’s nice to play at these distances and have shorter irons into some of these greens, because I know that day is coming (for me) as well – but they still need an outlet to compete. The Legends provides that.

“I’ve been talking to a lot of the girls here and in a perfect world, we’d love to have either five or six Legends Tour events, plus the Senior LPGA Championship and the Senior US Women’s Open, so either seven or eight (events) total,” Stanford said. “That’s a perfect number.

“The girls need it, and the LPGA needs it. Look, sure, you can grow the game for girls ages five through fifteen, but you can also grow the game for women ages 45 and up. There’s a big universe of women out there. And you can grow the game in more than one place.”