2024-01-24 21:53:22
Year six of the LPGA Drive On Championship takes us back to where the LPGA’s flagship tournament first started: Florida. Just a quick trip to the west coast from Orlando, the Tour will see its first full-field event of the 2024 season. A list of 120 players is regarding to descend upon a very cool classic course located just south of Tampa surrounded by a community of golf fans.
Bradenton Country Club was established in 1924, and the par-71 layout was designed by Donald Ross, who did some very clever work around the region. Pelican Golf Club is another of his designs nearby that hosts The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican in November, and funny enough, that’s likely the last time many of our competitors have played. If you didn’t qualify for the CME Group Tour Championship or the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Championships, this week will officially mark the end of your offseason.
The 120-player field features 14 of the top 25 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, many of whom warmed up last week in Orlando. As we break down the field, consider that a very strong edge over those who haven’t competed in two-plus months. World No. 1 Lilia Vu headlines alongside Nelly Korda, Brooke Henderson, Lexi Thompson and last week’s winner Lydia Ko.
Those are the favorites on the betting board and much better priced than a week ago when only 35 players were competing. The field is playing for $1.75 million and a first-place check of $262,500. The top 65 and ties will make the cut and have a chance at the cash. For those looking to cash in from home, let’s take a deeper look at the venue.
The Ross design at Bradenton Country Club is a layout measuring 6,557 yards with three par 5s, four par 3s and 11 par 4s making up the scorecard. Eleven par 4s are attention-catching and should be a focus for the players as well. The nines have been flipped, so the back nine now has six par 4s to finish, and scoring on those holes will take a composite of skills that are an excellent measure for success at this venue. Linn Grant is the best par-4 scorer on Tour, but her four rounds in Orlando were inconsistent. A couple of other par-4 greats to keep your eye on are Xiyu Lin, defending champion Celine Boutier, Henderson and Nasa Hataoka.
Bradenton Country Club has 12 holes where water comes into play and has 53 bunkers. Fifty-three may sound like a manageable number, but you must see these sandy areas to appreciate their size as some of the bunkers stretch hundreds of yards. It’s hard to imagine any player in the field who plays all 72 holes not hitting it in at least one.
The greens are an average of 5,800 square feet, which is pretty small by LPGA standards. Not only will a player find themselves in the sand, but they are likely to miss some greens in regulation too.
The best scrambling players will be tested just as they were last week at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club. Boutier is not just the best scrambler in this field but also on Tour. Ruoning Yin, Leona Maguire and Cheyenne Knight are accomplished short-game artists, and those creative skills will be needed around this Donald Ross design. Very quickly, you can start to see the archetype of a player that should ultimately drive on to victory.
To conquer this Ross test, also look for an accurate approach player who can hit these greens and not suffer the fate of a close miss. A player must be able to perform well from the fairway and greenside bunkers and above all else, keep the ball dry. Speaking of wet, the region has received over four inches of rain in the past three weeks so 5,600 yards might play a little longer than expected.
Just a couple of players possess the skills listed above along with some distance in their driver. Most of their names are well known, but there are a couple of others who are great Bermudagrass putters to watch too. I would keep my eyes on the likes of Leona Maguire, Vu, Ayaka Furue and Georgia Hall.
It’s great to have the full-field events back so please don’t take this one for granted. These two weeks are just a small Florida swing before the LPGA Tour heads off to Asia in late February.
So, if you like to watch, attend or wager, drive on up to that window and get behind your favorite to win. Lydia Ko was great last week, but all of those who were under par at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions are hitting it well. Keep an eye on them, because unlike those just getting started, they are already warm in the Sunshine State.
Keith Stewart is an award-winning PGA Professional. He covers the LPGA and PGA TOUR for Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, LPGA, and PGA of America. If you are looking to raise your golf acumen and love inside information regarding the game, check out his weekly newsletter called Read The Line.
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