Sandwiched between the LPGA Tour’s trip north to Canada and the Olympic Games in Paris sits the Portland Classic. This beloved and long-running Tour stop returns once more to its longtime home at Columbia Edgewater Country Club, where the field will be competing for a purse of $1.75 million. Here’s a closer look at five things you need to know about the LPGA Tour’s return to Portland.
ICYMI
In her 103rd career start, Lauren Coughlin captured her long-awaited first LPGA Tour title on Sunday at the CPKC Women’s Open. The 31-year-old held the lead on Friday before going head-to-head over the weekend with Mao Saigo and reigning Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Haeran Ryu. On Sunday, as Ryu faltered down the closing stretch, carding bogeys on her final three holes, Coughlin made a critical birdie on the 71st hole to take a two-stroke lead with one hole to play. Coughlin’s success comes as no surprise to those who have followed her progress this season, as she had four prior top 10s this year, two of those coming in major championships.
Chanettee Wannasaen Defends
After struggling early in her first season on the LPGA Tour, Chanettee Wannasaen of Thailand found her form at the Portland Classic in 2023. The rookie, who missed eight consecutive cuts during her first season on Tour, managed to post 9-under par, 63 in the final round en route to a commanding four-stroke victory at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. Wannasaen won with a tournament record four-day total of 26-under and became the first player since Brooke Henderson in 2015 to win after Monday qualifying into the tournament. Wannasaen picked up her second victory on the LPGA Tour not long ago at the Dana Open and has two other top 10s in 2024. She’s coming into her title defense off a missed cut in Canada.
The Field
More than a dozen major champions are poised to compete in Portland, including 2023 U.S. Women’s Open champion Allisen Corpuz. Jennifer Kupcho, who won the 2022 Chevron Championship and then finished tied for eight in Portland that same season, is back in the field at Columbia Edgewater. Danielle Kang, who has played a more limited schedule this season, is also in action in Portland, where she tied for 12th in 2020 and tied for 14th in 2023. Jeongeun Lee6, who tied for eighth at the 2021 Portland Classic, is also in the field this week. Other notables include Epson Tour Player of the Year Gabi Ruffels, who is making her first start since The Amundi Evian Championship and will be looking to regain the form that lifted her to three top-three finishes earlier this season.
Ashok’s Final Olympic Tune-Up
Just one week before Aditi Ashok travels to Paris to represent India in the Olympics, she’s teeing it up at the Portland Classic. Ashok is the only Olympian in the field as the others who are representing their respective countries have opted to skip this week’s Tour stop ahead of their trip to France. Ashok will no doubt be a player to keep an eye on as she looks to get in one last week of preparation before competing in her third Olympics. She made headlines in both of her prior appearances in the Olympic Games as she was the youngest golfer in the field at the women’s golf competition in Rio in 2016 and then nearly came away with a medal in Tokyo as she finished fourth and just one stroke shy of the podium. Ashok returns to Portland, where she finished tied for 15th in 2017 and is fresh off a missed cut last week in Canada at the CPKC Women’s Open.
History in Portland
When the first Portland Classic was staged for the first time more than 50 years ago, it was won in its inaugural year by the incomparable Kathy Whitworth, who successfully defended her title the following season. The decades since have produced a who’s who of champions who have hoisted the trophy in Oregon including legends like Nancy Lopez, Betsy King, Amy Alcott and Annika Sorenstam. Dating back to 1972, the Portland Classic is the longest-running, non-major championship on the LPGA Tour’s schedule. This year’s tournament will see the return of past champions Stacy Lewis, who won in 2017 and donated her earnings to hurricane relief efforts in Houston, and Andrea Lee who became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the event in 2022.