For most Epson Tour athletes, tournament week begins with playing practice rounds, redlining yardage books and strengthening their games for the next stop on the Official Road to the LPGA.

At the Hartford HealthCare Women's Championship presented by Munich Re, it also begins with an opportunity to prioritize something just as important: their health.

Before competition got underway at The Golf Club of Avon, Hartford HealthCare offered every player in the field access to clinical breast exams, skin cancer screenings, blood pressure and cholesterol screenings, reinforcing the importance of preventive care and early detection.

The program, now in its second year, was born from an idea Epson Tour player Dorsey Addicks had after fellow competitor, and friend Kim Kaufman was diagnosed with breast cancer.

"When Kim Kaufman had breast cancer, I was driving home one day and thought, 'Man, it would be really awesome if a tournament had breast screenings for us on site,'" Addicks said. "Hartford HealthCare was an obvious answer because they're one of our healthcare partners and one of the event's sponsors. It just kind of started from there."

Addicks helped spearhead the addition of breast and skin cancer screenings, believing tournament week presented a unique opportunity to bring healthcare directly to players who spend much of the season on the road.

"We basically live on the road," Addicks said. "During the season we have a week off here or there, but the last thing I want to do is go see a doctor. We also have some international players who maybe don't have access to doctors in the U.S., and then maybe we have a few girls who don't even have health insurance. By providing these services for the players, it allows them to get it done on site, free of charge, and really just helps them feel like they're healthy."

Among the players leading the charge for the service is Kaufman, whose own experience with breast cancer has given her a renewed appreciation for the tournament's emphasis on preventive care and early detection.

"To be back here, to be back to normal, it's been fantastic," Kaufman said. "The whole year has been great. To see this event especially, it does so much for us. They were doing the screenings on Monday, and I went up there and chatted with them a bit. It's great to see. It's good to see they're continuing to advocate for us and our health."

Returning to the Hartford HealthCare Championship also served as a reminder of how much has changed over the past year.

"I think early in the year there was that when I first came back to our first event," Kaufman said. "Now I'm kind of in the swing of things, and it's been a little over a year since I finished treatment. But I did have some memories coming back last year and just the state I was in, how I looked, how I felt. It's nice to know how far I've come this year."

Since the initiative debuted, player participation has reinforced the demand for convenient, on-site preventive care.

"Everyone's been stoked about it," Addicks said. "It's been an awesome partnership with Hartford HealthCare. We're fortunate that they stepped up and said, 'Yeah, we're going to provide this for the players.' The girls think it's fantastic."

Now more than a year removed from treatment, Kaufman says her experience continues to shape the way she approaches competition.

"I think I have a different perspective," Kaufman said. "It's easy to go back to your old ways and get angry about little things. That's human nature. But I do try to actively remind myself of where I was last year at this time and how grateful we are to be out here doing this."

As another tournament week unfolds in Avon, the Hartford HealthCare Women's Championship continues to offer more than a chance to compete. For a tour whose players spend much of the season traveling from event to event, bringing preventive care directly to tournament week has become another way the championship supports the people behind the scorecards.

A Commitment Beyond Competition: Hartford HealthCare Champions Player Wellness

Related Articles