*All tee times are local.
Carlota Ciganda, Cristie Kerr, Jin Young Ko
8:10 a.m. – 1st Tee
Carlota Ciganda has been a fixture on leaderboards this season as she’s fought to return to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2016. The Spaniard has a total of five top 10s in 2018, with three of those coming in her last three events. She’s making her first appearance in Indy where she’ll play the opening rounds alongside Cristie Kerr and Jin Young Ko, who is also making her first start in Indy. Ko, a rookie in 2018, is coming off her first missed cut of the year at the Ricoh Women’s British Open. Otherwise, Ko has had a nearly flawless season with eight top 10s and a victory. She also leads the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year race. Kerr remains in search of her first win of the year with just two top 10s in 2018, but she’s found momentum in recent weeks with a T11 finish in Scotland. Kerr played well in the first edition of the Indy Women in Tech Championship in 2017 when she fired rounds of 67-67-72 to finish T11 for the week.
Lexi Thompson, So Yeon Ryu, Shanshan Feng
8:32 a.m. – 1st Tee
Defending champion Lexi Thompson returns to action this week, as she is making her first start on the LPGA Tour since her T38 finish at the Marathon Classic in mid-July. Thompson took to social media to announce she’d be taking a short hiatus from the LPGA Tour and skipped the season’s fourth major championship in order to spend some time mentally recharging. She won for the ninth time on the LPGA Tour with her victory in Indy in 2017 with rounds of 63-66-68. Thompson has yet to win in 2018 but has been trending towards a victory with five top 10s on the year. She will play the first two rounds alongside So Yeon Ryu and Shanshan Feng, who are both coming off a top 10 finish at the Ricoh Women’s British Open. Ryu picked up her second top 10 in three starts as she’s come close to picking up her second win of the season. Feng, who fired weekend rounds of 69-69 at Royal Lytham & St Annes, recorded her fifth top 10 of the year. She’s making her first appearance this week in Indy.
Brooke Henderson, Moriya Jutanugarn, Sung Hyun Park
1:21 p.m. – 10th Tee
Brooke Henderson returns to Indy where she found success at the inaugural event in 2017 with rounds of 67-68-69, which was good enough for a tie for fifth. The Canadian, who won in April in Hawaii, has come close to winning again throughout the year with six top 10s. She’s joined by two other winners in 2018 for the opening rounds in Indy. Moriya Jutanugarn, winner of the HUGEL-JTBC LA Open and two-time winner, Sung Hyun Park, are grouped with Henderson. Jutanugarn also played well in Indy in 2017 after an opening round 65 that helped her to a 10th place finish for the week. Park is making her first start in Indy. How Park will perform in Indy is an unknown as the two-time major champion has had a rollercoaster season with two wins, one top 10 and six missed cuts.
Minjee Lee, Pernilla Lindberg, Ariya Jutanugarn
1:32 p.m. – 10th Tee
Minjee Lee has been a consistent presence week in and week out on the LPGA Tour as she’s notched eight top 10s and a victory in 2018. She also played well in Indy in 2017, where she recorded rounds of 69-66-67 to finish third for the week. She arrives back in Indiana with momentum on her side as she’s finished in the top 10 in her last two starts. Lee is grouped with 2018 major champions Pernilla Lindberg and Ariya Jutanugarn during the opening rounds in Indy. Lindberg has struggled to capitalize on the momentum she found at ANA with just one other top 10 in 2018. She is coming off a T35 in her last start at the Ricoh Women’s British Open. Meanwhile, Jutanugarn has dominated the 2018 season with three wins and nine more top 10 finishes. The 2018 U.S. Women’s Open champion leads every race and major statistical category this year. She’s making her first start in Indy in search of her fourth win of the season.
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