After a series of starts and stops, and the first five LPGA Tour events of the year complete, the Tour resumes its U.S.-based schedule in earnest with the JTBC Classic at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California.
The stateside return comes after an initial three-week swing through Florida that saw American Danielle Kang capture the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. Next, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko further cemented her return to the top of the women’s game with her victory at the Gainbridge LPGA. Then, it was Ireland’s Leona Maguire who capped off the Tour’s Florida swing with her maiden win at the LPGA Drive on Championship.
After nearly a month-long break, the Tour resumed again with the annual trip to Asia. It was there that the world No. 1, Jin Young Ko, made her season-debut in record-setting fashion with her victory at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore. The following week, Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen joined Maguire as the second first-time winner of the season with her breakout win at the Honda LPGA Thailand.
Thursday in California, the 12th playing of the JTBC Classic gets underway with one of the strongest fields of the season. Jin Young Ko will make her second start of the year and headlines a field that includes eight of the top 10 in the Rolex Rankings. Among them is defending champion, Inbee Park, who went wire-to-wire last season to capture her 21st career win on the LPGA Tour at the JTBC Classic. Major champions Minjee Lee, Danielle Kang, Sei Young Kim and Lexi Thompson are also in the field.
The JTBC Classic represents a final opportunity for the world's best to fine tune their games on the eve of the season’s first major of the year - the Chevron Championship at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage.
The world’s best will be chasing an opportunity to do what few in the history of the LPGA Tour have done by winning the event before a major championship and also claiming victory the subsequent week. Lydia Ko was the last player to win in Carlsbad and the next week in Rancho Mirage. That was in 2016. Nelly Korda was the last player to win an event prior to also winning a major championship when she won both the Meijer LPGA Classic and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2021.
But the world No. 2 is noticeably absent this week. Two weeks ago, while on-site at The Players on the PGA Tour, Korda suffered a blood clot. She posted an update about her condition on social media and is resting comfortably at home. Her return to the LPGA Tour remains unknown.
Each year, the annual trip to Carlsbad for the JTBC Classic feels like the official kick off of the LPGA Tour season as players will remain in the States to compete over the better part of the next eight months. And there’s a growing buzz as players make final preparations ahead of the golf’s first major championship of the year which is just a short, two-hour drive away.
After a series of stops and starts, the wait is over. Spring is here. Thursday, the 2022 LPGA Tour season gets into full swing beginning with the JTBC Classic.
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