After two weeks across the pond, the LPGA Tour returns to the U.S. for the second edition of the Indy Women in Tech Championship Driven by Group 1001. Rolex Rankings No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn and defending champion and top-ranked American No. 5 Lexi Thompson lead the field of 144 players who hope to take a victory lap around the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Seven of the top 10 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and 14 of the top 20 players have made their way to Indiana, which will be played as a 72-hole event this year (54 holes in 2017).
The IWiT Championship and the upcoming Cambia Portland Classic are the last domestic events for the LPGA before the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Fla. in November. After Portland, the Tour heads to France for the fifth major championship of the season, The Evian Championship, and then to Asia for the fall swing, which will be kicked off by the UL International Crown in the Republic of Korea.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE INDY WOMEN IN TECH CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVEN BY GROUP 1001
- The inaugural Indy Women in Tech Championship in 2017 was one of four new events on the 2017 LPGA schedule
- Lexi Thompson won the inaugural event with a 19-under 197 at Brickyard Crossing Golf Course, to beat out Lydia Ko by four strokes
- After capturing the victory in 2017, Thompson became the first woman in history to kiss the bricks after a victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; she participated in the traditional Indianapolis 500 celebration of dousing herself with milk on the Yard of Bricks and finished off her celebration by taking victory laps behind the driver’s seat of a Corvette
- 2017 LPGA rookie Olafia Kristinsdottir, the first Tour player from Iceland, chipped in for eagle at No. 18 in 2017 to take solo fourth at 14-under 203; it remains her lone top-10 finish in 44 career starts
- Traditional holes 7-10 at Brickyard Crossing Golf Club, which are located inside the 2.5-mile oval track, will be rerouted to become tournament holes 15-18 for the IWiT Championship
- The event in 2017 was the LPGA’s first stop in Indiana since the ninth Solheim Cup in 2005, where the U.S. captured the first of three consecutive victories, the only time that has been accomplished in Solheim Cup history
- The IWiT Championship is the only LPGA Tour stop in Indiana; however, the second edition of the Senior LPGA Championship will be held Oct. 15-17 at The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort, one of two major championships for the Legends Tour. The Epson Tour makes two stops in Indiana, the Four Winds Invitational in South Bend and the Donald Ross Classic at French Lick Resort in French Lick
JUTANUGARN ENTERS THIRD WEEK AT NO. 1
This week’s Indy Women in Tech Championship driven by Group 1001 marks the third week since Ariya Jutanugarn ascended back to Rolex Rankings No. 1 with her third win of the season at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open. Jutanugarn has finished in the top-15 in her last three starts, and said she feels refreshed and confident after the off-week.
“Right now, I feel like if I really focus, I think I'm in control,” Jutanugarn said. “And what I focus through the end of the year, like I want to improve myself every day.”
Jutanugarn said the wide-open fairways at the Brickyard Crossing Golf Club might tempt her to hit driver this week. “I have been practicing so hard with my driver,” Jutanugarn said. “So, I hope I'm going to still feel good to the tournament day, then I can be able to bring my driver out.”
Jutanugarn leads the LPGA in the Race to the CME Globe (3,323 points), Official Money List ($2,161,185) Rolex Player of the Year (194) and Rolex ANNIKA Major Award points (88).
INDY IS LAP 23 IN RACE TO THE CME GLOBE
This week’s Indy Women in Tech Championship marks the 23rd lap of the 2018 Race to the CME Globe. Ariya Jutanugarn continues to hold a sizeable lead atop the standings with 3,323 points, followed by Minjee Lee with 2,199 points. Moriya Jutanugarn sits third with 1,932 points, followed by So Yeon Ryu (1,876) and Jin Young Ko (1,804).
Throughout the season’s official events, LPGA Members will battle for position, with the top 12 players after the Blue Bay LPGA heading into the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship with the opportunity to take home a $1 million bonus, the biggest prize in women’s golf.
All tournaments have the same point values except for the five major championships, which carry 25 percent more value. For all events with a cut, points are awarded to members who make the cut, while for events without a cut, points are awarded to members who finish in the top 40 and ties.
Points will be reset for the CME Group Tour Championship following the Blue Bay LPGA, with the top 72 LPGA Members, as well as any non-Member winners and alternates, seeded into the championship field. For the top five players, it’s easy – win the CME Group Tour Championship and take home $1 million. However, the top 12 in the points race all have a mathematical chance to take the title of Race to the CME Globe Champion and win the coveted check.
In 2017, Lexi Thompson became the first American winner of the Race to the CME Globe and the accompanying $1 million prize. She joined Lydia Ko (2014, 2015) and Ariya Jutanugarn (2016) as the only players to hoist the crystal trophy.
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