DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., July 5, 2018 – The field for the second-annual Senior LPGA Championship presented by Old National Bank is beginning to take shape. The LPGA opened entries for the championship, which will be contested October 15-17, 2018 at the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort in Indiana, on June 5 and several high-profile players are already committed to play.
LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member Betsy King highlights the list of early entrants, which also includes World Golf Hall of Fame member Laura Davies and major champions Catriona Matthew, Janet Anderson and Brandie Burton.
King, a 34-time LPGA Tour winner and six-time major champion, will compete in a field featuring 81 current and past LPGA stars over 54 holes. 20-time LPGA Tour winner and four-time major champion Davies will be back for a second time after narrowly missing out on the $90,000 first-place prize with a T3 finish in the inaugural senior major championship in 2017.
31-time LPGA winner and Team USA Solheim Cup captain Juli Inkster previously announced her intentions to compete this year after missing the inaugural event because she was broadcasting the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open on FOX.
“It's a great opportunity for the Legends Tour players to compete and play a first-class golf course,” said Inkster. “We all look forward to the event and can't wait until October. Dave Harner and his people do an amazing job setting up the tournament. I'm sure once again it will be a first-class tournament.”
Matthew, a nine-time Team Europe Solheim Cup member and 2019 European Solheim Cup Captain, will be making her debut at the Senior LPGA Championship and is one of six LPGA major champions in the early field who will be competing for the $600,000 purse.
“I’m really looking forward to playing in my first Senior LPGA Championship and catching up with all players I played the LPGA Tour with,” Matthew said.
1982 U.S. Women’s Open champion Anderson will be back for round two of the senior major championship, as will five-time LPGA Tour winner Burton. Seven-time LPGA Tour winner Danielle Ammaccapane and three-time LPGA Tour winner Wendy Doolan are also committed to the event, which will be televised live on Golf Channel from 4-6 p.m. ET during the three competition days.
Englishwomen Trish Johnson won the inaugural Senior LPGA Championship in wire-to-wire fashion and she is excited to return in 2018 to French Lick Resort, the site of both her Legends Tour victories.
“I am looking forward tremendously to defending my Senior LPGA Championship title,” Johnson said. “French Lick is without doubt one of my favorite courses. There is something extremely special about the place and the people, and the fact that the Riley Children’s Hospital kids get to benefit from the tournament always makes it that much extra special.”
The Championship is open to female professionals age 45 and older as of Monday, October 15, 2018.
Entries will close on September 14, 2018.
There will be a qualifier held at The Pete Dye Course on Thursday, October 11, with the top two finishers gaining entry to the Senior LPGA Championship.
Practice rounds will begin on October 10th. The tournament will again benefit Riley Children’s Foundation, which is connected to Riley Children’s Hospital, the premier children’s hospital in the region.
French Lick Resort is also host to the Donald Ross Classic at French Lick Resort, a Epson Tour tournament held from July 12-14 on The Donald Ross Course. The Epson Tour’s 54-hole tournament will have a purse of $200,000. 2018 LPGA Tour rookie Erynne Lee won the inaugural event in 2017.
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