The task of following arguably the most compelling season in LPGA history is about to begin.

This week’s inaugural Coates Golf Championship presented by R&L Carriers marks the beginning of the 2015 LPGA Tour season, and players are rested and ready to step inside the ropes again. The $1.5 million event boasts a talented 120-player field that includes nine of the 10 top-ranked players in the world taking on the Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club in Ocala, Fla.

The 72-hole event runs Wednesday through Saturday, providing a top-notch lead-in to Sunday’s Super Bowl, and golf fans across the globe can tune in to Golf Channel to watch the drama unfold. The tournament, a passion project for Mollie and Randall Coates, has just about everything a golf fan could want.

Two-time and reigning Rolex Player of the Year Stacy Lewis, 2013 Rolex Player of the Year Inbee Park and 2014 Race to the CME Globe winner Lydia Ko headline the stellar field and are set to begin another epic battle for the LPGA’s top hardware. Michelle Wie, Suzann Pettersen, So Yeon Ryu and Lexi Thompson are just a few of the other big-time players who have entered the first-year tournament, so the field is stacked with talent.

New challengers are sure to emerge throughout the course of the 33-event season, and one of them could announce their presence this week in Florida. In addition to the established superstars who normally litter the leaderboard, 16 LPGA rookies will tee it up in their first tournament as official members, all the while battling nerves as they try to find their place among the best players in the world.

Players will compete on one of the more unique courses in the country, and it will remind them of some of the world’s most celebrated tracks. The Ron Garl-designed course, which opened in 1986, includes eight “tribute” holes that replicate legendary courses from Augusta National to the Old Course at St. Andrews, so LPGA stars will have the thrill of experiencing those iconic courses.

The domestic event kicks off a string of five tournaments in six weeks that continues with the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic next week. After a week off, the Tour moves on to Australia for the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open Feb. 19-22, the Honda LPGA Thailand Feb. 26-March 1 and the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore March 5-8.

It all begins on Wednesday, and the Tour’s first tournament champion of the year is just waiting to hoist the trophy skyward. Let the games begin!

Inaugural event kicks off 2015 season with style in Florida

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