Jane Blalock, whose company runs the LPGA Legends Tour, remembered playing the Falmouth Country Club during a corporate outing. Looking to expand the Tour north, Blalock called Jeff Harris of Harris Golf, owner of the course.

So started a process that led to Tuesday’s announcement that Falmouth CC will be the site of the Hannaford Community Challenge, presented by Kraft Foods, which will bring together 40 of the LPGA’s former standouts in a Legends Tour event June 21-24.

This will be the first LPGA event in Maine. The Legends Tour, for pros age 45 and up, has held a tournament (Handa Cup) at Wentworth By The Sea in Rye, N.H., the past two years that Hannaford Supermarkets sponsored. Since that tournament won’t be held there this summer, moving to southern Maine was a natural, Blalock said.

“The players are all ecstatic about coming to the Portland area,” said Blalock.

Falmouth CC is one of three new tournament sites on the 2012 schedule. Others are in Phoenix and Seattle. Blalock said there are eight tournaments on the tour this year.

Blalock said players on the Legends Tour, which number over 100, have combined for over 600 tournament wins and 50 major championships. In addition, there are 10 LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame members.

Although the players in the Hannaford Community Challenge won’t be known until later, Blalock said spectators can look forward to such names as Nancy Lopez, Beth Daniel, Meg Mallon, Rosie Jones and Pat Bradley, a New England native. Other players who could be in the tournament, Blalock said, are Patty Sheehan, a Vermont, native, Amy Alcott, Jan Stephenson, Liselotte Neumann, Nancy Scanton, Lori Kane and Laurel Kean, who was born in Portland. The Legends Tour likes to get player commitments a month in advance.

Blalock, a native of Portsmouth, N.H, played on the LPGA Tour from 1969 to 1980, winning 27 tournaments and never missing a cut in 299 tournaments, a Tour record. She plays infrequently now. Asked if she might play in the Falmouth tournament, Blalock wouldn’t commit.

The tournament will include a practice round, junior clinics, a pro-am and two days of competition. The purse is $200,000 and first prize is usually $30,000 or $35,000. For the Legends, competition is more relaxed than it was on the LPGA Tour.

“It’s still very competitive,” said Blalock.

“But there’s a lot more camaraderie among the players and interaction with the gallery on the Legends Tour. The players are really into the community they’re playing in. Hannaford was impressed with the positive attitude,” said Blalock.

Harris said the tournament will be a “center piece” to the start of the golf season in Maine.

“It’s a great thing for Maine golf. We’re very excited about it,” he said.

“We expect to have large crowds. We’ve already had a lot of inquiries on how to get tickets and also how to become a volunteer,” he said.

Julie Greene, event coordinator for Hannaford Supermarkets, said the company was looking to bring a tournament here.

“We had such a great experience last year that we wanted to bring an event to Maine,” she said.

“It was the coming together of various parties.”

The First Tee of Maine and the Good Shepard Food Bank will be the tournament’s charities.

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be reached at 791-6419 or at:

tchard@pressherald.com

Twitter: TomChardPPH