In Gee Chun, Terry Francona, John Hart
9:00 a.m. – 10th Tee
In Gee Chun played her way into the field at the inaugural Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions with her victory last fall at the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship. Chun’s victory was her first non-major victory on the LPGA Tour and her first win in more than two years. She will play the opening round at Tranquilo Golf Club along with the MLB’s Terry Francona and John Hart.
Ariya Jutanugarn, Josh Beckett, Kevin Millar
9:40 a.m. – 1st Tee
Ariya Jutanugarn begins her fifth season on the LPGA Tour at the top of the world, ranked No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings. Jutanugarn, who made history in 2018 with her record-breaking performance, took a break from golf for much of the off-season. She began preparations for the 2019 season in recent weeks with new instructor Chris Mayson. Their focus is on improving her wedge game and getting her comfortable again hitting driver, a club the long-hitter regularly removes from her bag. The two-time major champion will play Thursday’s round alongside MLB’s Josh Beckett and Kevin Millar, who are both making their fourth appearance in this event.
Brooke Henderson, Michael Flaskey, Ray Allen
9:50 a.m. – 1st Tee
Brooke Henderson has an advantage over many of her fellow competitors in the field in that she already has several rounds under her belt at Tranquilo Golf Club. The Canadian received a sponsor invite to compete in the event when it was on the PGA Tour Champions’ schedule and beat more than half the male professionals in the field with her seventh place showing in 2018. Henderson will play with the man responsible for giving her that invite, Michael Flaskey who is the CEO of Diamond Resorts Invitational. She’ll also be grouped with NBA All-Star Ray Allen.
Nelly Korda, Mardy Fish, Mark Mulder
10:20 a.m. – 1st Tee
Nelly Korda broke through for her first win on the LPGA Tour with her victory at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship, which earned her a spot in the field this week in Orlando. While Korda may not be familiar with Tranquilo Golf Club, she’ll enjoy the advantage of playing with two former champions of this event. Thursday, Korda is grouped with tennis Olympic silver medalist Mardy Fish, who was the winner of the celebrity division of this event two of the last three years and Mark Mulder, who won the event in 2017.
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