Ft. Lauderdale’s Collins Captured the South Florida PGA Section Championship in September, the First Woman to win the Championship in its 42-year History
Madan, a four-time winner on the Cactus Tour, will compete on the Epson Tour in 2022
BOCA RATON, Fla., Jan. 11, 2022 – Fort Lauderdale’s Taylor Collins and India’s former top-ranked women’s amateur, Nishtha Madan, have accepted sponsor exemptions to compete in the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio, taking place Jan. 24-30 at Boca Rio Golf Club in Boca Raton, Fla.
“We are excited that Taylor and Nishtha have accepted our sponsor invitations and will be joining the 2022 tournament field,” said Dan Towriss, CEO & President of Group 1001, the parent organization of Gainbridge. “Taylor had such a memorable year in 2021 in becoming the first woman to win the South Florida PGA Section Championship and has had a decorated amateur and professional career in Southeast Florida. Nishtha had an outstanding rookie season as a professional on the Cactus Tour and we’re honored that she will be making her LPGA Tour debut at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio.”
Collins, 32, is currently a PGA Teaching Professional at Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale. In September, she won the South Florida PGA Section’s signature event – the PGA Professional Championship – by four strokes at 8-unde par, becoming the first woman to win in its 42-year history. The victory earned her a spot to compete in the 2022 PGA Professional Championship in April at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas. She also was named the 2021 South Florida PGA Women’s Player of the Year and the 2021 PGA of America Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year.
Collins played collegiate golf at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, where she was the individual medalist at the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship; a member of the three-time DII National Championship team (2009, 2010, 2011); and a five-time tournament winner. She turned professional following graduation, competing on both the Epson and LPGA Tour, and was the winner of Golf Channel’s Big Break Mexico reality competition series in 2013. Her longtime coach is Hall-of-Famer Bob Toski.
Madan, 24, was India’s top-ranked women’s amateur golfer (2019-20) and a two-time member of the Indian National Team. She turned professional in 2020 and has accumulated five victories – including four Cactus Tour wins – finishing second on the Cactus Tour money list in 2021. A
standout collegiate golfer at Sacramento State University, she graduated in 2020 with the lowest accumulative career scoring average in Sacramento State women’s golf history. She will make her LPGA Tour debut at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio and will be competing on the Epson Tour in 2022.
Tickets are on sale for the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio, including exclusive hospitality and general admissions tickets offering a wide degree of entertainment and access. Tickets are now available for purchase exclusively at www.GainbridgeLPGA.com.
The 2021 Gainbridge LPGA was contested at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Fla., in late February, when Nelly Korda captured her fourth LPGA Tour win at 16-under par. The win was her first on American soil and with her parents in attendance. Korda, now World No. 1, is scheduled to defend her title when the tournament returns to Boca Rio Golf Club in January. The Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio made its debut in 2020, with Madelene Sagstrom capturing the inaugural championship, her first LPGA Tour victory. Group 1001 has been a proud sponsor of the LPGA since 2017.
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