Defending champion Lydia Ko and World No. 1 Nelly Korda will headline the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. The field closed on Tuesday at 5 p.m. E.T. for the Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 event, held at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Florida. Once again, several top-ranked players won’t make the trip south, including three ranked in the top five.
One year after Lilia Vu made her debut in the event, the Californian has decided to delay the start of her 2025 season. In addition, No. 3-ranked Ruoning Yin of China and Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul, No. 4, will skip the event.
LPGA winners from the past two seasons are invited to compete for a $2 million purse while a field of celebrities vie for $500,000.
2024 first-time winners Lauren Coughlin, Bailey Tardy, Rio Takeda and Linnea Strom will make their debuts in the event as will former No. 1 Jin Young Ko.
Other top-ranked players in the field include Hannah Green, Haeran Ryu, Ayaka Furue, Celine Boutier and past champion Brooke Henderson.
Once again Lake Nona resident and LPGA Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam will compete in the celebrity division along with NBC’s Dylan Dreyer, actor Don Cheadle, NBA All-Star Blake Griffin and Wells Adams of “Bachelor” fame.
Other women in the celebrity field include Golf Channel and NBC Sports reporter Kira Dixon, winner of the 2015 Miss America title, and content creator Hally Leadbetter, daughter of renowned instructor David Leadbetter.
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