ORLANDO FL – Continuing its tradition of empowering and supporting women’s golf, Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, for the third consecutive year, played host to the LPGA’s season opener: the 2024 Hilton Grand Vacations (HGV) Tournament of Champions. This was the first of back-to-back events contested in Florida before the tour heads for its annual swing through Asia in February.
Opened in 1986, the 18-hole Lake Nona Golf & Country Club is a private golf course, designed by Andy Banfield and Tom Fazio. The track starts off under a canopy of tall trees on the front nine, becoming more open on the inward half with the final five holes laid out around natural inland lakes. The LPGA tour set up its own tee boxes to arrive at a total yardage of 6,608.
As one of LPGA tour’s premier events of the year, the Tournament of Champions’ distinctive format featured tour champions playing alongside celebrity and amateur golfers. For the 35 LPGA players the format was stroke play, while the 46 celebrities and amateurs played a modified-Stableford format.
This year’s Tournament of Champions featured a total purse of $1.5 million, an impressive figure for an LPGA event with only 36 players. The winner’s portion was $225,000. The pot for the celebs and amateurs was $500,000 with the winner pocketing $100,000.
Round 1
Japan’s Ayaka Furue fired a 7-under par 65, closing with back-to-back birdies to seize a two-stroke lead after Thursday’s opening round of the LPGA Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona in Orlando.
Furue’s bogey-free 18 holes gave her the top spot, with Mexico’s Gaby Lopez (67) and Sweden’s Maja Stark (67) sharing second in the opening event of the 2024 LPGA campaign.
“All of my play today, that was really fantastic for me,” said Furue. “This course is really difficult. Not only my shot but also my putting was really good today.”
Furue, an eight-time winner on the Japan Tour, qualified for the event with a victory at the 2022 Women’s Scottish Open. Lopez secured a spot in the field by virtue of a win at the 2022 Dana Open while Stark punched her ticket by capturing the 2022 Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland.
The celebrities were using the modified-Stableford scoring format: 10-double eagle, 8-hole-in-one, 5-eagle, 3-birdie, 2-par, 1-bogey and 0-double bogey and worse.
The day-one leaderboard for the celebs had Annika Sorenstam in the lead with 40 points, two clear of Jeff McMcNeil (38). Jeremy Roenick (36) was two further back, while Whit Merrifield (35) rounded out the top-4 leaders.
Round 2
The top-5 leaders at the start of the second round: Furue (-7), Lopez (-5), Stark (-5), Danielle Kang (-4), and Ally Ewing (-4).
One further back, and tied for sixth-place at -3, was a seven-player logjam, headlined by Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko, and Rose Zhang.
The second round brought with it scattered showers and a much softer golf course. Threatening skies, along with sustained 14 mph winds, that at times reached gusts over 20 mph, made club selection a perpetual challenge.
Ko and a few other late finishers, including Furue, dealt with rain at the close of the round. Lopez, who didn’t pack any rain gear, wasn’t prepared for the conditions.
“It wasn’t easy, especially the wind picking up after nine holes,” Ko said of her 67. “So that’s going to be the mindset for the next couple days … but definitely glad that I’m done and it’s still raining outside.”
The leaderboard at the end of the second round saw Furue (65-71) and Ko (69-67) sharing the marquee at 8 under.
Two back was the duo of Gemma Dryburgh (70-68) and Lopez (67-71), tied at -6, one clear of Henderson (69-70) and Alexa Pano (69-70), who rounded out the top-5 leaders after 36 holes.
In the celebrity category, Sorenstam entered the weekend with 75 points, sharing the lead with Roenick (36-39). Derek Lowe was four back with 71 (33-38), one ahead of Jeffery McNeil (38-32).
Lowe, who shot a 2-under 70 on Friday, and was four points behind Sorenstam and Roenick, said, “It was one of my better rounds that I played in these events. Lucky enough to shoot 70 for me, which is a little above my pay grade.”
Round 3
The third round brought with it a morning more suited for ski parkas than golf apparel. The temperature was in the low forties with a wind chill that made it a bit uncomfortable for golfers and spectators alike.
Ko, though, fired a bogey-free 4-under 68 to seize a two-stroke lead over Pano, who shot a low-round 67 to move into the second spot.
“I played really solid,” Ko said. “There’s still a lot of golf to be played. I’m just going to enjoy it. I’m sure there are going to be nerves, wake up a couple times overnight, but that’s part of it.
“I’m going to take it all in and be excited to play one more round.”
Ewing birdied three of the last five holes to post 68 and claim the 54-hole bronze position.
The leaderboard through 54 holes: 1. Lydia Ko -12 (69 67 68), 2. Alexa Pano -10 (69 70 67), 3. Ally Ewing -8 (68 72 68), 4. Gemma Dryburgh -7 (70 68 71), 4. Gaby Lopez -7 (67 71 71), and 4. Ayala Furue -7 (75 71 73).
The celebrities, meanwhile, had little or no movement during Saturday’s round. Roenick was alone in the pole position with 107 points (36 39 32), two in front of Sorenstam (40 35 30) and Lowe 105 (33 36 34), who were tied for second with 105.
McNeil (103-38 32 33) and John Smoltz (101-29 35 37) rounded out the top-5 leaders.
Final Round
Unseasonably cold weather greeted the golfers for the second straight morning as temperatures dipped into the mid 30’s, with an added wind chill, from the cold north winds off Lake Nona, making it an uncomfortable morning for both golfers and fans.
As play continued into the latter stages of the tournament, it became obvious that the persistent cold winds were becoming more difficult. Playing on her home course, Lydia Ko (-15) seemed to be oblivious to the conditions as she continued to add to her lead. Defending champion Henderson (-10), and Pano (-10) were doing their best to keep it somewhat interesting.
With Ko on cruise control, the battle for the silver spot came down to Pano (-11), Henderson (-10), and Ewing (-9).
Champion
The winner of the 2024 LPGA Tournament of Champions was Lydia Ko -14 (69 67 68 70) 274. The 26-year-old New Zealand native, who turned professional in 2014 and currently resides here at Lake Nona.
With the victory, Ko earned $225,000 and will move to No. 12 in the Rolex World Rankings. It was her 20th career LPGA title, which brings her career earnings to over $17 million ($17,167,692).
“Maybe if I had found the keys to my form that I found a little earlier, maybe I could have had a better season [last year]. I think if you keep going down a spiral of thinking like ‘what if’, it’s endless. I worked hard in the two weeks leading up to this event.” Lydia Ko’s response to a reporter’s question about her winning two tournaments in the past two months [Grant Thornton Dec 23].
Alexa Pano -12 (69 70 67 70) finished runner-up and picked up a check for $165,659. Brooke Henderson -10, (69 70 71 68) finished in solo third, good for a $120,174 payday.
The 2024 celebrities tournament was won by Jeff McNeil 138, ($100,000). Annika Sorenstam 136, ($50,000) finished in second while Derek Lowe 135 ($27,500) and Mark Mulder 135 ($27,500) shared the bronze podium.
