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The next stop on the LPGA Tour will be the Ford Championship to be played starting this Thursday, March 28th. This will be the inaugural edition of the event and will feature a remarkable field headed by the Top 5 of the world ranking.
The event will be at the Seville Golf and Country Club in Gilbert, Arizona. It is a 6,734-yard, par 72 course, with a rating of 72.6 and a slope of 124, designed by Gary Panks. The course features several sand and water hazards, including a TPC Sawgrass-style island green (17th hole).
The Ford Championship will have a purse of $2,250,000, with about $330,000 in prize money for the winner. The tournament will be played March 28-31.
2024 Ford Championship: The Field
The field of the Ford Championship will be 144 players and its level will be extremely high, thanks to the presence of practically all the best players in the world. This includes Nelly Korda, who has just climbed to number one in the rankings, as well as the rest of the Top 5, Lilia Vu, Celine Boutier, Ruoning Yin and Minjee Lee.
All of the current season's LPGA Tour winners will make the trip to Arizona. In addition to Korda, Lydia Ko, Bailey Tardy, Patty Tavatanakit and Hannah Green will be there. Also in Seville will be 33 major champions as well as the full podium of the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games: Nelly Korda (Gold), Mone Inami (Silver) and Lydia Ko (Bronze)
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2024 Ford Championship: Storylines
Like every LPGA Tour event, the Ford Championship will have many interesting storylines. Nelly Korda won back-to-back tournaments in her two most recent starts (with seven weeks off in between) and fans will be watching to see if she can keep up that pace.
But undoubtedly the most attractive storyline will be to see if Lydia Ko can get another victory that will take her into the LPGA Hall of Fame. The Kiwi has accumulated 26 points and a victory in Arizona would give her her exaltation at only 26 years old.
Alison Lee seekx her first LPGA Tour victory at the Ford Championship. Lee has been close in three of her last four official starts, including the previous week at the Se Ri Pak Championship, where she led after 54 holes and finished T3, just two strokes behind Korda.
Ryann O'Toole will arrive in Arizona with the momentum of her excellent performance the previous week. O'Toole made a five-stroke deficit during the fourth round at Palos Verdes, tying for first place with Korda Although she ultimately lost in the playoff, the veteran can find her A-game for her second win at the highest level.
