Minjee Lee, Angel Yin, Jodi Ewart Shadoff
8:10 a.m. – 1st Tee
Minjee Lee returns to action this week in Canada where she makes her first start since finishing tied for second at the LPGA Volvik Championship. Lee has put herself in contention throughout the season with four top-5s to start to 2017 and it’s only a matter of time before she picks up her fourth career win.
Lee will play alongside Angel Yin and Jodi Ewart Shadoff in the opening rounds of the Manulife LPGA Classic. Yin, a 2017 rookie on the LPGA Tour, makes her first start in this event and will have an opportunity to close the gap on Sung Hyun Park who currently leads Yin in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings with Park not in the field this week. Ewart Shadoff is in search of her second top-10 of the year at Whistle Bear Golf Club, where she finished tied for 26th last season.
In Gee Chun, Caroline Masson, Angela Stanford
8:21 a.m. – 1st Tee
Two-time major champion In Gee Chun has struggled in recent weeks to show the same kind of consistency she displayed in 2016. Despite five top 10s in 2017, Chun has missed the cut in two of her last four starts – she missed only one cut the entire 2016 season. But the 2016 rookie could turn it around this week in Canada where she played well last year with a tie for eighth.
Chun will play alongside defending champion Caroline Masson, who has enjoyed the experience of being a first time defending champ. She took to Instagram to show her excitement while attending the Tournament’s media day and is looking forward to having her mom on-site with her last week after she missed seeing her daughter’s win in 2016.
Stanford is the final member of this group in search of her third top-10 of the season. A fixture on the Solheim Cup’s team U.S.A., Stanford is currently seventh in the Solheim Cup point standings and will look to further solidify her position with a strong finish this week in Canada.
Suzann Pettersen, Lizette Salas, Lexi Thompson
8:32 – 1st Tee
This week, Suzann Pettersen returns to the site of her last victory on Tour. Pettersen captured the 2015 Manulife LPGA Classic for her 15th career win on the LPGA Tour. Pettersen is likely to contend in Canada this week, where she has three top-10s in addition to her victory. She’s put herself in contention throughout the 2017, but will need to get more putts to drop to capture her first win of the year.
Pettersen will play alongside Lizette Salas and Lexi Thompson in the opening rounds in Canada. Salas is making her first start since posting her best finish of 2017 at the LPGA Volvik Championship where she finished tied for fourth. Changes she made to her swing that week in Michigan yielded immediate results and she’ll look to carry those north of border in search of her third top-10 of the year. Thompson is the final member of this group and making her first start in this event since 2013. Thompson has been a consistent presence on leaderboards throughout 2017 with a win at the Kingsmill Championship and three more top-4 finishes.
Danielle Kang, Alena Sharp, Sung Young Yoo
8:32 a.m. – 10th Tee
Danielle Kang has had a solid start to 2017 with three top-10s as she looks to play her way onto her first U.S. Solheim Cup team. This week, Kang is making her sixth start at the Manulife LPGA Classic where her best finish was 24th in 2014.
Canada’s Alena Sharp will enjoy playing in front of a home country crowd this week. She’s continued to play inspired golf at home where she finished tied for 26th at the 2016 Manulife LPGA Classic and fourth at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open. Her best finish this season came in a fifth place showing in Hawaii. Sun Young Yoo is the final member of this group and makes her fifth start at the Manulife LPGA Classic where her best finish was a tie for 18th in 2012.
Shanshan Feng, Brooke Henderson, Ariya Jutanugarn
1:32 p.m. – 10th Tee
Fresh off her victory at the Volvik LPGA Championship, Shanshan Feng returns to action this week in Canada. Feng was recognized around the world for her seventh career win on Tour and will look to keep the momentum rolling this week in hopes of notching back-to-back wins for the second straight season.
Canada’s Brooke Henderson and world No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn round out this group. Henderson has struggled to play well at home but put in some hard work with her entourage this week in hopes of picking up her first win of 2017. While Henderson says she is disappointed with her start to the year, she says her game is close and the extra boost from her fans could be the edge she needs to break through this season. Jutanugarn is making her first start since the LPGA Volvik Championship. While she has yet to win in 2017, she has been a consistent presence week after week atop the leaderboard with eight top-10s so far in 2017. The top-ranked player in the field has played well in Canada where she won the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open last season and finished tied for fifth in this event last year.
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