Rainbow Foods LPGA Classic (Northgate Classic)

The Rainbow Foods LPGA Classic, as it was named when it was last played (it was the Northgate Classic at the beginning), was an LPGA Tour golf tournament during the 1990s. It was 54 holes of stroke play, and it was played in Minnesota.

First played: 1990

Last played: 1998

The tournament debuted in 1990 as the Northgate Classic and had a prestigious inaugural champion: Future Hall of Famer Beth Daniel. It was the 23rd of Daniel's 33 career LPGA wins. Daniel almost made it two in a row in 1991, losing a playoff to Cindy Rarick.

Daniel's winning score of 203 in 1990 held up as the tournament's scoring record, as did her 6-stroke margin of victory.

Kris Tschetter's only win on the LPGA Tour happened in this tournament in 1992, when it was named the Northgate Computer Classic. The tournament had two multiple winners, Liselotte Neumann and Hiromi Kobayashi. Both of Kobayashi's wins were via playoff, and Kobayashi also finished runner-up twice.

Also known as: This tournament had five names in nine years, starting with Northgate Classic in 1990 and ending with Rainbow Foods LPGA Classic in 1998. In-between, it was the Northgate Computer Classic, Minnesota LPGA Classic and First Bank Presents the Edina Realty LPGA Classic.

Winners of the Northgate Classic/Rainbow Foods LPGA Classic

1990 — Beth Daniel, 203
1991 — Cindy Rarick, 211 (def. Beth Daniel, Jody Anschutz in playoff)
1992 — Kris Tschetter, 211
1993 — Hiromi Kobayashi, 205 (def. Cindy Rarick in playoff)
1994 — Liselotte Neumann, 205
1995 — Julie Larsen, 205
1996 — Liselotte Neumann, 207 (def. Brandie Burton, Suzanne Strudwick, Carin Koch in playoff)
1997 — Danielle Ammaccapane, 208
1998 — Hiromi Kobayashi, 206 (def. Tracy Hanson in playoff)

Golf courses: The tournament was always played in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul) area of Minnesota. It was played at Edinburgh USA Golf Course in Brooklyn Park its first seven years; and the Rush Creek Golf Club in Maple Grove the final two years.