Major champions and Hall of Famers highlight the field of current and past LPGA stars who will compete from October 15-17, 2018 at the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort in Indiana. Of the 81 players competing for the 2018 Senior LPGA Championship title, four have received one of golf’s highest honors – induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Dame Laura Davies (class of 2015) won four major titles – the 1987 U.S. Women’s Open, the 1994 and 1996 McDonald’s LPGA Championship and the 1996 du Maurier Classic. She has notched 86 professional wins around the world, including 20 on the LPGA Tour and 45 on the Ladies European Tour (LET). Davies is considered the most successful British female player of all time, winning the LET’s Order of Merit seven times and representing Europe a record 12 times at the Solheim Cup. Earlier this season, Davies won the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open conducted by the USGA.
Juli Inkster (class of 2000) will be making her debut at the Senior LPGA Championship after missing the inaugural event because she was broadcasting the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open on FOX. Inkster is a 31-time LPGA Tour winner and seven-time major champion and is one of seven golfers to have completed the Career Grand Slam. She is also a nine-time member of the U.S. Solheim Cup Team, and the captain of the victorious 2015 and 2017 teams; she is set to captain a record-setting third time in 2019.
Hollis Stacy (class of 2012) gained golf stardom at an early age when she captured the 1970, 1971 and 1972 U.S. Girls’ Junior titles, a consecutive-wins streak that still stands. Her professional career was just as potent, as she counts the 1977, 1978 and 1984 U.S. Women’s Opens and the 1983 du Maurier Classic among her 18 career LPGA wins.
Jan Stephenson (class of 2019) is set to compete at the Senior LPGA Championship just days after the World Golf Hall of Fame announced her as part of the 2019 induction class. She was named the LPGA’s Rookie of the Year in her first season on Tour in 1974 and went on to lead an impressive career with 20 professional victories, including the three major championships. Stephenson was honored with the Order of Australia Medal in 2018 for her contributions to the game of golf and is one of the founding members of the Legends Tour.
INAUGURAL EVENT TOP FIVE
1st, Trish Johnson, 67-72-73—212 (-4)
2nd, Michele Redman, 73-69-73—215 (-1)
T3, Laura Davies, 79-70-68—217 (+1)
T3, Helen Alfredsson, 78-70-69—217 (+1)
T3, Wendy Doolan, 75-71-71—217 (+1)
TOURNAMENT SCORING RECORDS
18 holes: 67, Trish Johnson, 2017 first round
36 holes: 139, Trish Johnson, 2017
54 holes: 212, Trish Johnson, 2017
WHO’S IN THE SENIOR LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
Past Champions*:
Trish Johnson (2017, 2016), Juli Inkster (2015), Laurie Rinker (2014), Lorie Kane (2013)
*2017 was the inaugural Senior LPGA Championship presented by Old National Bank. From 2013-2016, French Lick Resort hosted the Legends Championship (a non-major).
World Golf Hall of Fame Members (4):
Juli Inkster (2000), Hollis Stacy (2012), Laura Davies (2015), Jan Stephenson (will be inducted in 2019)
LPGA Hall of Fame Members (1):
Juli Inkster (1999)
LPGA Major Champions, 17 (# of majors won):
Juli Inkster (7), Laura Davies (4), Hollis Stacy (4), Jan Stephenson (3), Brandie Burton (2), Jane Geddes (2), Helen Alfredsson (1), Donna Andrews (1), Jerilyn Britz (1), Pat Hurst (1), Christa Johnson (1), Cathy Johnston-Forbes (1) Jenny Lidback (1), Catriona Matthew (1), Martha Nause (1), Liselotte Neumann (1), Nancy Scranton (1)
LPGA Winners (# of LPGA titles won):
Juli Inkster (31), Laura Davies (20), Hollis Stacy (18), Jan Stephenson (16), Rosie Jones (13), Liselotte Neumann (13), Jane Geddes (11), Christa Johnson (9), Helen Alfredsson (7), Danielle Ammaccapane (7), Michelle McGann (7), Donna Andrews (6), Pat Hurst (6), Brandie Burton (5), Cindy Rarick (5), Maria McBride (5), Barb Mucha (5), Judy Dickinson (4), Lorie Kane (4), Catriona Matthew (4), Patti Rizzo (4), Wendy Doolan (3), Trish Johnson (3), Terry-Jo Myers (3), Martha Nause (3), Nancy Scranton (3), Maggie Will (3), Jerilyn Britz (2), Elaine Crosby (2), Gail Graham (2), Anne Marie Palli (2), Michele Redman (2), Laurie Rinker (2), Missie Berteotti (1), Barb Bunkowsky Scherbak (1), Silvia Cavalleri (1), Jane Crafter (1), Moira Dunn-Bohls (1), Cindy Figg-Currier (1), Jackie Gallagher-Smith (1), Kathryn Imrie (1), Becky Iverson (1), Cathy Johnston-Forbes (1), Laurel Kean (1), Jenny Lidback (1), Julie Piers (1), Lenore Rittenhouse (1), Kris Tschetter (1)
Sponsor Invites:
Kathryn Young-Robyn, Suzy Green-Roebuck
Qualifiers:
Jamie Fischer, Shari Lindsey
QUICK FACTS
The Senior LPGA Championship will begin with a special opening tee shot by LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member Sandra Haynie before the first round begins on Monday.
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.
This season on the Legends Tour, defending champion Trish Johnson won the Suquamish Clearwater Legends Cup while Laura Davies captured the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open. The duo also teamed up to win the BJ’s Charity Championship in August.
Qualifier Shari Lindsey (Marion, Ind.) and Jackie Gallagher-Smith (Marion, Ind.) are the lone Indiana natives in the Senior LPGA Championship field
There are three players from the bordering state of Illinois: Audra Burks (Springfield), Nicole Jeray (Berwyn) and Nancy Scranton (Centralia). There is also one player in the field from Kentucky: Myra Blackwelder (Lexington) and two from Michigan: Elaine Crosby (Jackson) and Suzy Green-Roebuck (Ann Arbor).
Players in the field will represent eight different countries: Australia, Canada, England, France, Italy, Scotland, Sweden and the U.S.
SOLHEIM CUP STARS
The Senior LPGA Championship field is stacked with players who have competed in the prestigious biennial golf tournament over the years. The 2018 Senior LPGA Championship field features 19 players who have made a combined 86 appearances at the Solheim Cup. The senior women’s major also features a battle of the 2019 Solheim Cup Captains, Team USA’s Juli Inkster and Team Europe’s Catriona Matthew.
The 2019 Solheim Cup will take place in Perthshire, Scotland from Sept. 13-15 at the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles. Inkster will captain the U.S. Team for a record-setting third time, while Matthew will make her captain’s debut for Team Europe. Matthew named fellow Senior LPGA Championship competitor Kathryn Imrie as one of her vice captains, while Inkster has yet to name hers.
Team USA:
Danielle Ammaccapane (1992)
Donna Andrews (1994, 1998)
Brandie Burton (1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000)
Jane Geddes (1996)
Pat Hurst (1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007)
Juli Inkster (1992, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011)
Becky Iverson (2000)
Christa Johnson (1998)
Rosie Jones (1990, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005)
Michelle McGann (1996)
Michele Redman (2000, 2002, 2003, 2005)
Nancy Scranton (2000)
Team Europe:
Helen Alfredsson (1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2009)
Laura Davies (1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011)
Kathryn Imrie (1996)
Trish Johnson (1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2007)
Catriona Matthew (1998, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Maria McBride (2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011)
Liselotte Neumann (1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000)