LPGA Drive On Championship

LPGA Drive On Championship

Tournament information
Location	Bradenton, Florida, U.S.
Established	2020
Course(s)	Bradenton Country Club
Par	71
Length	6,557 yards (5,996 m)
Tour(s)	LPGA Tour
Format	Stroke play – 72 holes
Prize fund	$1.75 million
Month played	January
Tournament record score
Aggregate	268 Céline Boutier (2023)
To par	−20 as above
Final champion
Nelly Korda
Location map
Bradenton Country Club Location in the United States Show map of the United States Bradenton Country Club Location in Florida Show map of Florida

The LPGA Drive On Championship was a series of women's professional golf tournaments on the LPGA Tour created after several tournaments were cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each tournament used 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. ^[1] 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. ^[2]

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-designed course that opened in 1992 and was refurbished in 2019. ^[3] 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.

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

Year	Date	Venue	Champion	Country	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Purse ($)	Winner's share ($)
2024	Jan 28	Bradenton Country Club	Nelly Korda	United States	65-67-68-73=273	−11	Playoff	1,750,000	262,500
2023	Mar 26	Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club	Céline Boutier	France	69-66-65-68=268	−20	Playoff	1,750,000	262,500
2022	Feb 5	Crown Colony GC	Leona Maguire	Ireland	66-65-67=198	−18	3 strokes	1,500,000	225,000
2021	Mar 7	Golden Ocala GC	Austin Ernst	United States	67-67-69-70=273	−15	5 strokes	1,500,000	225,000
2020	Oct 25	Lake Oconee	Ally McDonald	United States	66-68-69-69=272	−16	1 stroke	1,300,000	195,000
2020	Aug 2	Inverness	Danielle Kang	United States	66-73-70=209	−7	1 stroke	1,000,000	150,000

References

1. Mell, Randall (June 16, 2020). "LPGA to restart at newly created Drive On Championship as part of Ohio double". Golf Channel.
2. "Danielle Kang closes with 70 to win LPGA's return". ESPN. Associated Press. August 2, 2020.
3. LPGA Communications. "LPGA Announces New Drive On Championship Amid Asia Cancellations". LPGA. Retrieved October 29, 2020.

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