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Lexi Thompson/Lydia Ko- 1^stTee, 8:19 A.M.

The 2014 and 2016 ANA Inspiration champions tee off together, as Lexi Thompson has seen the most success of any player in recent ANA history. She’s had three top-5 finishes, alongside a 7^thplace and T20 result since her 2014 victory. With the Dinah Shores Tournament Course narrowing fairways and adding length this year, Thompson plans to be as aggressive as possible. “Even if you do hit it in the rough, you want to have a shorter club in because the rough is thick on some of those holes. You want as short of a shot in as you can.”

Lydia Ko enters the week playing very consistently, finishing between T19 and T8 in her last four starts this season. She’s finished at (-7) in her last two appearances in Rancho Mirage since her victory good for T11 and T20 respectively the past two years. Her best finishing round of 68 came in last year’s event. She’s teeing it up for the seventh time at the ANA Inspiration, as the 15-time career winner looks for her third major victory.

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Sung Hyun Park/Georgia Hall- 10^thTee, 1:11 P.M.

The number one player in the world has her first chance to make it three years in a row with a major victory, looking to match Inbee Park’s run from 2013-2015. Park has played well coming into the event, finishing at (-15) for three consecutive tournaments. Those scores have resulted in her win at Singapore, a T14 finish at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup, and a T2 finish at the Kia Classic. If she continues her (-15) streak, it would match Lindberg’s winning total from last year. Park has played extremely well the opening two rounds of the tournament, posting (-6), (-7), and (-12) before the weekend in her three ANA Inspiration appearances from 2016 through 2018, respectively.

The defending Ricoh Women’s British Open champion makes her first ANA Inspiration appearance. Georgia Hall has had a slow start to the year, making cuts but not finding herself in contention, with her only top 20 finish on the season in 9^that the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions. She’s still comfortable with her game, mentioning in her press conference she just needs more birdies. Hall’s bringing her father back on the bag for this week, her same caddy when she won the Ricoh Women’s British Open.

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Pernilla Lindberg/Ariya Jutanugarn- 1^stTee, 8:27 A.M.

The defending champion gets partnered with the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 2 golfer for the opening two rounds. When asked to reflect on her championship, Lindberg responded that, “I just couldn’t have scripted the week any better, any more exciting.” The Swede has been consistent out in the Palm Desert, with four top 20 finishes including her victory since the tournament name changed to the ANA Inspiration in 2015. Her wire-to-wire victory was due to her strong open, with two of her three best rounds in her ANA Inspiration coming on Thursday and Friday with a 65 and 67 to start the event.

Jutanugarn’s name has been a staple near the top of the leaderboard since 2016, where she has finished in the top 10 in the last three ANA Inspirations. She hasn’t shot over par at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course since her final round of 2015. Her stretch of strong play has run concurrently with her major victories, as she won the Ricoh Women’s British Open in 2016 and the U.S. Women’s Open last year.

Jessica Korda/Jin Young Ko- 1^stTee, 8:11 A.M.

Korda makes her second start of the year, following a T2 result at the Bank of Hope Founder’s Cup. She’s played stupendously coming off injuries, with a victory in Thailand returning last season from jaw surgery, and in Phoenix two weeks ago returning from a forearm injury. She had her best finish in Rancho Mirage last year, finishing one shot out of the playoff at T4, (-14). She carded a final round 66, a personal best for her in the ANA Inspiration. It’s a performance she’d like to replicate as she looks for her first major championship.

Ko, the current leader of several season awards, is making her fourth appearance at the ANA Inspiration. It’s a tournament that she’s still looking to find success in, but her current hot streak of play is as encouraging a sign as any that her trend of play in Rancho Mirage will change. Her last three finishes are T3 at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, a victory at the Bank of Hope Founder’s Cup, and a T2 finish at the Kia Classic last week.

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Karrie Webb/Annie Park- 1^stTee, 12:47 P.M.

Karrie Webb returns to the ANA Inspiration after skipping the 2018 event, her first time not in the field since 1995. The 2000 and 2006 champion missed the cut for the first time at the ANA Inspiration in 2017. She’s played in two tournaments this year, finishing T38 at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, which included a 67 along with a missed cut at the ISPS Handa Vic Open. There’s still plenty of juice in the Hall of Famer’s game.

Annie Park joins Webb, as the ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer Winner makes her first appearance at the ANA Inspiration. Park’s game showed consistency in Phoenix, where she finished T27, posting all four rounds under par, going 7-under for the weekend.

ANA Inspiration Featured Pairings Highlighted by Past Champions

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