The second edition of the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic will once again be contested on the Oneida Reservation, at the aptly named Thornberry Creek at Oneida.

Located in the Greater Green Bay, Wisconsin area, the course debuted in 1994 and for the championship will play to a par 72, stretching to 6,376 yards.

The Thornberry Creek is the season’s 19th tournament, and the fourth stop on the LPGA’s five-week tour through America’s Heartland (Michigan, Arkansas, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio).

The tournament will be headlined by last week’s KPMG champion Sung Hyun Park, along with Canadian star Brooke Henderson, who was grouped with Park in Sunday’s final round. Inaugural Thornberry winner Katherine Kirk returns to defend her 2017 title.

Other top-ranked stars teeing it up in the Badger State include Minjee Lee and Lydia Ko, as well as Moriya and Ariya Jutanugarn.

THE SKINNY

Tournament: Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic
Dates: July 5-8, 2018
Where: Oneida, Wisconsin
Title Sponsor: Thornberry Creek
Course: Thornberry Creek at Oneida
Distance: Par 72, 6,376 yards
Architect: Rick Jacobsen (1994)
Format: 72-holes, stroke play, 36-hole cut
Purse: $2,000,000
Winning Share: $300,000
Defending Champion: Katherine Kirk
Marquee Players: Sung Hyun Park, Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson, Moriya Jutanugarn, Ariya Jutanugarn, Annie Park, Nasa Hataoka, Danielle Kang, Charley Hull, Georgia Hall, Natalie Gulbis, Mo Martin, Anna Nordqvist, Angel Yin

TV AND ONLINE

Round 1: Thu 6:30 – 8:30 pm (GOLF)
Round 2: Fri 6:30 – 8:30 pm (GOLF)
Round 3: Sat 5:30 – 8:30 pm (GOLF)
Round 4: Sun 5:30 – 8:30 pm (GOLF)
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HISTORY

As a new tournament the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic has a very limited history, but when it debuted in 2017 it marked the LPGA’s first trek to the greater Green Bay area and its first stop in the state of Wisconsin since the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run in Kohler.

The Oneida Indian Nation, which owns the golf course and Oneida reservation, came on board as the inaugural event’s title sponsor, signing a three-year deal through 2019. The sponsorship is part of a marketing effort to promote Green Bay and Oneida as a golf and travel destination within the state.

“When everyone thinks of Green Bay they think of the Packers, which is great; we love them and they’re wonderful, but our hope through this process is to illustrate to the world what we have to offer outside of that,” said Joshua Doxtator, PGA Professional and Chief Operating Officer of Thornberry Creek.

The host venue is Thornberry Creek at Oneida, the official golf course of the Green Bay Packers. It is part of a destination property which includes a Marriott Hotel and Oneida Casino.

DEFENDING CHAMPION

Katherine Kirk shot a final-round 2-under 70 and held on to capture her third career LPGA victory at the inaugural Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.

Kirk, the 54-hole leader, drained a clutch birdie putt on the final hole to finish at 22-under par, one stroke ahead of playing partner Ashleigh Buhai (67), who also birdied 18 to get to 21-under.

Sei Young Kim posted a 9-under 63 and finished just two back at 20-under. Pornanong Phatlum fired the round of the day, a 10-under 62 and rocketed 19 spots up the leaderboard to finish alone in fourth at 19-under.

American Cristie Kerr rode a 6-under 66 to finish at 18-under-par, while securing her fifth top 5 of the 2017 season.

TOP 5

1. Katherine Kirk -22
2. Ashleigh Buhai -21
3. Sei Young Kim -20
4. Pornanong Phatlum -19
5. Cristie Kerr -18

THE FIELD

The field of 144 LPGA Tour players will be headlined by World No. 2 Sung Hyun Park, fresh off her second major at last week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Park is one of 10 of this season’s tournament winners in the Greater Green Bay field this week:

• Jin Young Ko – ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open
• Eun-Hee Ji – Kia Classic
• Brooke Henderson – LOTTE Championship
• Moriya Jutanugarn – HUGEL-JTBC LA Open
• Lydia Ko – LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship
• Sung Hyun Park – VOA LPGA Texas Classic, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
• Ariya Jutanugarn – Kingsmill Championship, U.S. Women’s Open
• Minjee Lee – LPGA Volvik Championship
• Annie Park – ShopRite LPGA Classic
• Nasa Hataoka – Walmart NW Arkansas Championship

Park and World No. 3 Ariya Jutanugarn are also the only two-time winners on the season, both taking home a major as well.

Other former major champions in the field include:

• Anna Nordqvist – 2009 LPGA Championship, 2017 Evian Championship
• Sun Young Yoo – 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship
• Mo Martin – 2014 British Women’s Open
• Lydia Ko – 2015 Evian Championship, 2016 ANA Inspiration
• Brittany Lang – 2016 U.S. Women’s Open
• Brooke Henderson – 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
• Ariya Jutanugarn – 2016 British Women’s Open, 2018 U.S. Women’s Open
• Danielle Kang – 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
• Sung Hyun Park – 2017 U.S. Women’s Open, 2018 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

FULL FIELD & ODDS

Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic | Thornberry Creek at Oneida | Oneida, Wisconsin

Credit: LPGA Communications, Getty Images