One of the longest-running events on the LPGA Tour’s schedule returns again this season as the Dana Open at Highland Meadows Golf Club gets underway on Thursday. The world’s top-ranked players are making the trip from the fourth major of the season – The Amundi Evian Championship in France – and fans will also get a chance to see some of their favorite players who will be making a return to competition this week in Ohio. Here are five things you need to know about this week’s Dana Open.
Lexi Thompson Day
Friday has been designated as Lexi Thompson Day at the Dana Open. In celebration of Thompson, who has announced she will be stepping away from full-time competition at the end of the 2024 season, the Dana Open will recognize the 29-year-old with a flyover by two F-16s from the Ohio Air National Guard. The flyover will occur at 1:02 p.m. local time on Friday which is also Thompson’s second-round tee time. Adding to the festivities, a limited number of pink hats emblazoned with the name “Lexi” will be given to fans on-site as will buttons with her photo and the words “Thank you, Lexi.” Thompson has fond memories of her trips to Toledo, Ohio, where in 2013, at just 18 years of age, she made a hole-in-one to win a car during the final round. “It was the best feeling,” Thompson said afterward as she high-fived fans lining the par-3 14th hole at Highland Meadows Golf Club. Thompson is riding high ahead of her return at the Dana Open, where she is competing for the first time since 2022, as she is coming off three consecutive top-10 finishes. She’ll be seeking to become the first American to win the Dana Open since Danielle Kang in 2020 and just the second to do so since 2009.
Grant Defends
Linn Grant was already a proven winner on the Ladies European Tour when she began to play full-time on the LPGA, so much was expected from the rising Swedish star. In 2023, Grant quickly delivered on those expectations when she fired a third-round 62 at Highland Meadows Golf Club and went on to win by three strokes over Allisen Corpuz to become a Rolex First-Time Winner on the LPGA Tour. Grant is already a winner again this season on the LET at the Scandinavian Mixed but is searching for a spark to ignite some LPGA Tour as she has earned just two top 10s so far this season. Grant will head to her title defense off a T26 showing at The Amundi Evian Championship.
The Field
Several of the world’s top-ranked players will be battling jet lag as they make the trip from France to Ohio for the Dana Open. And while she might be a touch sleep-deprived, Stephanie Kyriacou will no doubt be feeding off the momentum generated by recording her career-best finish at The Amundi Evian Championship. Kyriacou, after being a factor for much of the week, ultimately came away as the runner-up. She also has fond memories to lean on at Highland Meadows where she finished tied for fourth last year.
Also riding the momentum of a solid week in France is the reigning Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year, Haeran Ryu, who came fifth at The Amundi Evian Championship. The solid showing marks her third top-10 finish in a major championship this season and is one of six top 10s this year. Ryu finished T19 last year in her debut at the Dana Open. Xiyu Lin will be continuing her pursuit of her first LPGA Tour victory at the Dana Open, where she was tied for fourth in 2023 and tied for seventh in 2022. Gaby Lopez, winner of the 2022 Dana Open after defeating Megan Khang by a single stroke, also makes her return to Sylvania, Ohio.
Blast From the Past
Fans will enjoy seeing some familiar faces this week at the Dana Open with the return of Karrie Webb, Sandra Gal and Natalie Gulbis.
Karrie Webb, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and a 41-time winner on the LPGA Tour, is making a rare appearance in what is just her second start of the 2024 season. In 1999, at Highland Meadows, Webb was a part of a six-person playoff, the largest in LPGA history, which was ultimately won by Se Ri Pak. Webb made her only other appearance this season at the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer where she missed the cut.
Germany’s Sandra Gal, a longtime fan-favorite, is making just her fifth start of the season as she has played a limited schedule this year. She returned to the LPGA Tour this season for the first time since 2022 after dealing with Lyme disease and undergoing hip surgery. Natalie Gulbis will also make her season debut at the Dana Open.
History at Highland Meadows
Established in 1984 as the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, this week’s LPGA Tour stop is one of the longest-running events on the LPGA Tour’s schedule. The tournament in Sylvania, Ohio at Highland Meadows Country Club, has been won by an illustrious list of players which includes Se Ri Pak, who won this event five times in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2007. Other major champions who have hoisted the trophy in Ohio include Annika Sorenstam (2000), Meg Mallon (2004), Paula Creamer (2008), Lydia Ko (2014, 2016), In-Kyung Kim (2017), Sei Young Kim (2019) and Danielle Kang (2020). Creamer set the course record en route to her victory in 2008 when she opened with a round of 60.
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