Where is 2024 LPGA Drive On Championship being played? All you need to about the venue
The 2024 LPGA Drive On Championship is the second tournament of the LPGA Tour this season and the first full-field tournament. Most of the world's top stars have already confirmed their participation in the event.
The LPGA Drive On Championship will be played at Bradenton Country Club in Florida from January 25-28. It is a private club established in 1924, and the tournament is one of the activities to celebrate its centenary.
Bradenton Country Club has a championship course of 6,526 yards and is par 72. Several relevant tournaments have been played on it, including the 2017 Senior Amateur Championship and the 2019 Women's Senior Amateur Championship. The LPGA Drive On Championship will be the first premier Open-category tournament hosted by the facility.
The course was designed by renowned designer Donald Ross. It was subsequently restored in 1999 by Ron Garl and renovated in 2018 by Tony Jacklin. It has a rating of 72.7 and a slope of 130.
Several golf stars are members of the club and regularly play on the course, most notably, Hall of Famer and winner of 18 LPGA Tour tournaments Hollis Stacy, and winner of 12 PGA Tour tournaments Paul Azinger.
One of the main stars present at the LPGA Drive On Championship, Nelly Korda, resides in Bradenton, so she will be playing as a local.
A look at the history of the LPGA Drive On Championship
The LPGA Drive On Championship was born as a pop-up tournament launched by the LPGA Tour to fill in for events suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For that reason, it was played twice in 2020. The inaugural and 2022 editions were played to 54 holes only.
The event has never been played twice on the same course. It has been played in Ohio, Georgia, Arizona, and twice in Florida, where it will return for the third time in 2024.
The first winner of the tournament was Danielle Kang (Aug. 2020). The list of players who have captured the title includes Ally McDonald (Oct. 2020), Austin Ernst (2021), Leona Maguire (2022) and Celine Boutier (2023).
The tournament's record-low score (72 holes) is Boutier's 20-under 268. The largest margin of victory was Ernst's (five strokes). By winning the 2022 edition, Maguire became the first Irishwoman to win on the LPGA Tour.
The 2024 edition of the LPGA Drive On Championship will have a purse of $1,750,000 and the winner's share will be $262,500. The winner will also earn 500 points toward the Race to CME Globe ranking.
The field for the event has not been made official, as registration closes on January 16. However, in addition to Nelly Korda, players such as Ariya Jutanugarn, Lydia Ko, Stacy Lewis, Ruoning Yin, Allisen Corpuz, Brooke Henderson, Jennifer Kupcho, and Patty Tavatanakit have already committed to the event.