The LPGA Drive On Championship is a series of women's professional golf tournaments on the
LPGA Tour
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...
created after several tournaments were cancelled as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Each tournament uses the tour's "Drive On" slogan to support the resilience of the tour.
Ohio
The Ohio tournament was held in July 2020 as the LPGA Tour's first tournament since the tour was halted in February 2020.
The Ohio tournament was hosted at the
Inverness Club in
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...
. The tournament did not have spectators nor a pro-am, and it featured a field of 144 players. Although lacking a title sponsor, the players competed for a $1 million purse, primarily funded by sponsors of cancelled tournaments.
Danielle Kang won the inaugural event by one stoke over
Céline Boutier.
Georgia
The Georgia tournament was announced on September 15, 2020, as the LPGA replaced all three stops (Korea, Taiwan, Japan) on the Asian Swing that were called off by further pandemic restrictions.
The Georgia tournament was hosted at the Reynolds
Lake Oconee Great Waters Course in
Greensboro, Georgia, located halfway between Augusta and Atlanta, on a
Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...
-designed course that opened in 1992 and was refurbished in 2019.
The tournament used a full field of 144 players, competing for a $1.3 million purse.
Ally McDonald won her first career tournament by one stroke over Danielle Kang, who was going for the "Drive On Championship" double.
Florida
The first Florida tournament was held in March 2021 at the Golden Ocala Golf Club in
Ocala, Florida.
Austin Ernst won by five strokes over
Jennifer Kupcho. In February 2022 at Crown Colony Golf Club in
Fort Myers, Florida,
Leona Maguire became the first Irish winner on the LPGA tour, finishing 3 strokes clear of
Lexi Thompson. The second Florida tournament was held in January 2024 at the Bradenton Country Club in
Bradenton, Florida
Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a pri ...
.
Arizona
The first Arizona tournament was held in March 2023 at the Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club in
Gold Canyon, Arizona. The 132-player field competed for a higher purse, $1.75 million, with $262,500 going to the winner.
Winners
References
External links
Coverage on LPGA Tour's official site– Ohio
Coverage on LPGA Tour's official site– Georgia
Coverage on LPGA Tour's official site– Florida
{{LPGA Tour
LPGA Tour events
Golf tournaments in Ohio
Golf tournaments in Georgia (U.S. state)
Golf tournaments in Florida
Golf tournaments in Arizona
Sports competitions in Georgia (U.S. state)
Women's sports in Ohio
Women's sports in Georgia (U.S. state)
Women's sports in Florida
Women's sports in Arizona
Recurring sporting events established in 2020
2020 establishments in Ohio