Click here for complete groups and tee times for the opening rounds of the 2019 LOTTE Championship.
*All tee times are local
Alena Sharp, Minjee Lee, Yu Liu
7:44 a.m. – 1st Tee
Alena Sharp is riding high in Hawaii where she arrives fresh off her career best finish in a major after a T17 performance at the ANA Inspiration. The Canadian looks to build on that momentum this week at the LOTTE Championship where she finished T5 in 2017. But it wasn’t the first time she contended at a windy venue, having also finished T5 at the Blue Bay LPGA in 2015. Sharp will play the opening rounds alongside Minjee Lee and Yu Liu, who are both off to a great start in 2019. Lee, the winner of the 2016 LOTTE Championship, has two runner-up finishes to start the year and is in search of her first win of the year. Liu, who is looking to make the cut for the first time in Hawaii, also recorded her first career runner-up finish in March at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup where she nearly won for the first time on Tour.
Hyo Joo Kim, Wei-Ling Hsu, Azahara Munoz
7:55 a.m. – 1st Tee
Hyo Joo Kim is a player to keep an eye on any time the Tour tees it up on a windy, island venue. Kim, a winner of the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic in 2016, knows what it takes to successfully navigate the challenges of Mother Nature. Additionally, she has three top 10 finishes at the LOTTE Championship. This could be her breakthrough week as the major champion looks to be building towards a victory with a top 10 finish in her last four starts. Kim will play the opening rounds in Hawaii along with Wei-Ling Hsu and Azahara Munoz. Hsu is another player, like Kim, who has played well in gusty conditions. She finished runner-up at the season opening event in the Bahamas in 2018 and she’s off to another solid start in 2019 with a third-place finish at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open. Munoz, like her playing partners, is another player to watch when the wind kicks up. The Spaniard finished runner-up in Hawaii in 2018 and is off to an incredible start in 2019. Munoz has four top 10s in her first six starts of 2019 as she looks to return to the winner’s circle for the first time on Tour since 2015.
So Yeon Ryu, Nasa Hataoka, Shanshan Feng
8:06 a.m. – 10th Tee
So Yeon Ryu, the two-time major champion and former Rolex Rankings No. 1, arrives in Hawaii looking to find a spark to her season. Ryu is coming off a T39 finish at the year’s first major and remains in search of her first top 20 finish of 2019. The return to the LOTTE Championship could provide the boost the Korean needs as she’s twice finished inside the top 10 in Hawaii. Ryu is grouped with Nasa Hataoka and Shanshan Feng for the opening rounds. Hataoka, who is already winner in 2019 at the Kia Classic, is making just her third appearance at the LOTTE Championship where she finished T19 in 2018. Feng, on the other hand, is looking to return to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2017. She could breakthrough this weekend on a venue where she has consistently played well with a top 10 finish in four of her last five appearances.
Jin Young Ko, Nelly Korda, Amy Olson
12:39 p.m. – 1st Tee
Jin Young Ko, the top-ranked player in the world, makes her debut this week in Hawaii. Ko is the first multiple winner of the 2019 season after capturing both the Bank of Hope Founders Cup and the ANA Inspiration in two of her last three starts on Tour. The 2018 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year looks to continue her incredible start to the year this week in Hawaii, as she hasn’t finished worse than T29 in 2019. Ko is grouped with another hot player this season in Nelly Korda and Amy Olson. Korda, despite a T52 showing at the ANA Inspiration, has otherwise played incredible in the start to her third year on Tour. She’s recorded five top 10s and a win in the early start to 2019. Korda is making her debut this week in Hawaii. Olson, who also struggled at the season’s first major, has showed signs of breaking through for the second consecutive year, with two top 10 finishes to start the year. She’s making just her second appearance at the LOTTE Championship where she was T39 in 2018.
Gaby Lopez, Brooke Henderson, Celine Boutier
1:12 p.m – 10th Tee
Gaby Lopez is making her fourth appearance at this week’s LOTTE Championship. Lopez captured her first win on Tour at the end of 2018 and is already building on that momentum this season, as she recorded a T7 at the Kia Classic in March. She’s looking to crack the top 20 in Hawaii for the first time this week. Lopez is grouped with defending champion Brooke Henderson and Celine Boutier. Henderson knows what it takes to successfully defend, having done it in Portland, and will be one to keep an eye on this week as she’s already recorded three top 10s in her start to 2019. Boutier is also off to a solid start having picked up her maiden victory on Tour at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in February. Boutier is making just her second start in Hawaii where she finished T44 in 2018.
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