2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Primer: History, TV, Field, Odds

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Hannah Green
Hannah Green walks down the 9th fairway during the third round of the KPMG PGA Championship at Hazeltine National GC on June 22, 2019 in Chaska, Minn. (Photo by Streeter Lecka PGA of America via Getty Images)

The LPGA Tour is in Georgia for the 67th staging of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

The 156-player field will compete for a $4.5 million purse, including a $675,000 payday, with the chance to hoist the LPGA’s biggest and best looking trophy.

Headlining the field this week will be each the season’s 13 winners, including last week’s Meijer LPGA winner Nelly Korda.

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is the season’s third of five majors, and the 14th event of the 32-tournament LPGA season.


2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship


The Skinny

Tournament: KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
Tour Debut: 1955
Dates: June 24-27, 2021
Where: Johns Creek, GA
Course: Atlanta Athletic Club
Distance: Par 72, 6831 yards
Architect: Robert Trent Jones
Purse: $4,500,000
Winning Share: $675,000
Defending Champion: Sei Young Kim


How to Follow the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

TELEVISION: Thu-Fri: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (GOLF), 5-7 p.m. (Peacock); Sat: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (GOLF), 1-4 p.m. (Peacock); Sun: 12-3 p.m. (Peacock), 3-6 p.m. (NBC)

LINKS: Website | Instagram | Facebook


Women’s PGA History

The 18th hole and Pavilion prior to the start of the 2018 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes GC in Kildeer, Illinois. Credit: Getty Images/Scott Halleran for KPMG

The third major of the LPGA season is also one of the Tour’s major mainstays, ranking second in longevity after first being staged in 1955.

Formerly known as the LPGA Championship, with McDonald’s as the title sponsor for nearly two decades. In 2014, the LPGA announce that the PGA of America would become a partner of the event, and that it would be renamed the Women’s PGA Championship, and become a sister event to the men’s PGA Championship (in a similar manner to the U.S. Women’s Open being a sister event to the men’s U.S. Open).

The partnership included a new title sponsorship agreement with KPMG, an increase in purse, a commitment by NBC to provide network television coverage of the weekend rounds, and a vision for the event to be contested on some of the nation’s most proven championship venues.

With Atlanta Athletic Club playing host in 2021, it marks the seventh straight iconic venue since the PGA of America took it over: Westchester (2015), Sahalee (2016), Olympia Field (2017), Kemper Lakes (2018), Hazeltine (2019), and Aronimink (2020).

Many of the most iconic names in women’s golf have their names engraved on the silver trophy, including Mickey Wright, who’s legacy as one of the LPGA’s all-time great champions is tied to the Women’s PGA.

Wright won the title four times, all in a six-year span – with her first in 1958, back-to-back in 1960 and ’61, and then her final title two years later in 1963.

Five more of the all-time LPGA greats each won the title three times including Nancy Lopez, Se Ri Pak, Annika Sorenstam, Kathy Whitworth and, most recently, Inbee Park.

Se Ri Pak
Se Ri Pak poses with the trophy after winning the McDonald’s LPGA Championship at the Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, MD on Sunday, June 11, 2006. (Photo by Jim Rogash WireImage via Getty Images)

Park and Sorenstam won their titles in three consecutive years.

Other marquee names to have won the LPGA major include Betsy Rawls, Beth Daniel, Betsy King, Juli Inkster, Laura Davies and Cristie Kerr.

Recent superstars to win the KPMG include Danielle Kang (2017) and Brooke Henderson (2016).

With the ANA Inspiration and the U.S. Women’s Open already in the books for 2021, the two remaining majors after this week are: the Ricoh Women’s British Open and the Evian Championship.

History: Tournament Names
  • KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (2015–)
  • Wegmans LPGA Championship (2011-14)
  • LPGA Championship by Wegmans (2010)
  • McDonald’s LPGA Championship by Coca-Cola (2004-09)
  • McDonald’s LPGA Championship by AIG (2001-03)
  • McDonald’s LPGA Championship (1994-00)
  • Mazda LPGA Championship (1987-93)
  • LPGA Championship (1973-1986)
  • Eve-LPGA Championship (1971-72)
  • LPGA Championship (1955-70)
History: Recent Winners

2020: Sei Young Kim (-14)
2019: Hannah Green (-9)
2018: Sung Hyun Park (-10)
2017: Danielle Kang (-13)
2016: Brooke Henderson (-6)
2015: Inbee Park (-19)
2014: Inbee Park (-11)
2013: Inbee Park (-5)
2012: Shanshan Feng (-6)
2011: Yani Tseng (-19)

History: Records

Wins
4 – Mickey Wright (1958, 1960-61, 1963)
3 – Kathy Whitworth (1967, 1971, 1975)
3 – Nancy Lopez (1978, 1985, 1989)
3 – Se Ri Pak (1998, 2002, 2006)
3 – Annika Sorenstam (2003, 2004, 2005)
3 – Inbee Park (2013, 2014, 2015)

Scoring
267 – Betsy King (1992)
-19 – Inbee Park (2015)
-19 – Yani Tseng (2011)
-19 – Cristie Kerr (2010)


Women’s PGA Field and Odds

Lexi Thompson
Lexi Thompson smiles as she walks off the green after making a putt for eagle on the 18th hole during the final round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer on the Bay Course at Seaview on June 9, 2019 in Galloway, New Jersey. Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images

The betting favorites this week include four Koreans in Inbee Park (14-1), Jin Young Ko (16-1), Sei Young Kim (18-1), and So Yeon Ryu (18-1) along with American Nelly Korda (14-1).

Rounding out the top-10 betting favorites were two more Americans in Danielle Kang (20-1) and Lexi Thompson (22-1), alongside Thai Ariya Jutanugarn (20-1), New Zealander Lydia Ko (22-1), China’s Shanshan Feng (25-1), and Canadian Brooke Henderson (28-1).

Top-10 Betting Favorites

1. Inbee Park (14-1)
1. Nelly Korda (14-1)
3. Jin Young Ko (16-1)
4. Sei Young Kim (18-1)
4. So Yeon Ryu (18-1)
6. Danielle Kang (20-1)
6. Ariya Jutanugarn (20-1)
8. Lydia Ko (22-1)
8. Lexi Thompson (22-1)
9. Shanshan Feng (25-1)
10. Brooke Henderson (28-1)

Full Field: Odds To Win

KPMG Women’s PGA Championship . Johns Creek, GA . Atlanta Athletic Club


Carey Hoffman contributed to this preview of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship


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