Play will begin on Thursday for the penultimate event on the 2022 calendar: the Pelican Women’s Championship at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. For many, there’s a lot more on the line this week beyond a piece of the increased $2 million purse.
Young Event
This week marks just the third playing of the Pelican Women’s Championship after its debut in 2020. Though the list of champions is short, it is a prestigious one, with major champion Sei Young Kim and former world No. 1 Nelly Korda taking home the trophy. Korda will have the title of defending champion this week, having won in dramatic fashion after a four-way playoff against Kim, Lydia Ko and Lexi Thompson last year.
Last Call for CME
The Race to CME Globe is quickly coming to a close and the Pelican Women’s Championship will be the last chance for anyone to move inside the top 60 and gain entry to the season ending tournament that boasts a $2 million winner’s check. For those sitting on the CME bubble, their game this week could make or break their end-of-season hopes.
Even those near the bottom of the standings have a shot, but there is no room for error. Stacy Lewis sits at No. 60 with 537 points, so for those sitting below the 70s and 80s a win or a top 10 would be crucial and definitely not impossible. With her win at the TOTO Japan Classic last week, Gemma Dryburgh jumped from No. 78 to No. 41 in the race to punch her ticket to the CME Group Tour Championship.
Clinching Scenarios
For those at the top of the Race to CME Globe don’t have time to rest on their laurels this week either. Those in the running for the end-of-season Rolex awards have a chance to clinch their trophies at the Pelican Women’s Championship. Ko, who leads the Rolex Player of the Year race over Minjee Lee, by just one point, can mathematically clinch the award with a win this week. Brooke Henderson, currently in third, has a chance to overtake Ko and Lee with a win in Belleair giving her more than a fighting chance at the honor.
Meanwhile, the battle between Atthaya Thitikul and Hye-Jin Choi for Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year is coming to a close. Choi needs to win the Pelican Women’s Championship to have a chance. If she doesn’t, Thitikul will win the award outright.
A Chance to Make History
This season has seen 25 different players find the winner’s circle. The LPGA record for the most winners in a season is 26, set in 1991 and 2018. The number not only represents the rapidly increasing parity on the tour. But the myriad of rising stars on the tour. Last week in Japan, Dryburgh became this season’s 11th Rolex First-Time winner, tying the LPGA record set in 1995. Another new winner at the Pelican Women’s Championship would make 2022 a record-breaking year for the tour – and with the way this season is going, seems more than possible.
At Home in Tampa
Two players who have a good shot at becoming this season’s 12th Rolex First-Time winner are Brittany Altomare and Elizabeth Szokol. The Pelican Women’s Championship will serve as a sort of homecoming for the Tampa Bay-residents and hopefully give both a little “home field advantage.” Altomoare and Szokol have another advantage besides being able to rest at home after each round: both work with Justin Sheehan, the director of golf at the Pelican Golf Club and are very familiar with the course.
Altomare has the added motivation of fighting for a spot at the CME Group Tour Championship. She currently sits at No. 69 in the Race to CME Globe and could break into the top 60 with a strong performance this weekend.
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