The state of New Jersey hosts three of the next four stops on the LPGA Tour, beginning with this week’s Cognizant Founders Cup. The 13th edition of the tournament, which honors the 13 founding members of the LPGA Tour, will be played for the third time at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, N.J., and offers one of the biggest purses of the regular season with $3 million in prize money. Here are five things you need to know about this week’s Cognizant Founders Cup.
Nelly Korda Chasing History
Nelly Korda will be chasing a historic sixth consecutive victory when she tees it up at the Cognizant Founders Cup. Korda captured her record-tying fifth straight win at The Chevron Championship and opted to skip the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro in order to give herself a two-week break before competing again. When Korda tees it up in the Garden State, she’ll be looking to achieve what has never been done before on the LPGA Tour: winning in six straight starts. Korda missed the cut last season in her first appearance at Upper Montclair Country Club.
Jin Young Ko Goes for Win No. 4
Defending champion Jin Young Ko returns to New Jersey not only seeking a successful title defense but also her first win of the season. Ko, who has enjoyed an epic run of success at the Cognizant Founders Cup, will be looking to collect her third tournament victory in five years, as the tournament wasn’t contested in 2020. Last season, Ko came from four strokes back on the final day to force a playoff with Minjee Lee, the 2022 champion, and ultimately defeated Lee on the first extra hole. Ko has played a limited number of events this season on the LPGA Tour as she’s dealt with injuries but has found some form coming into the week as she picked up her second top 10 of the season and best finish of the year so far with her tie for fourth at the JM Eagle LA Championship.
The Field
More than two dozen major champions are poised to tee it up in New Jersey in honor of the Tour’s 13 Founders. Major champions Celine Boutier, Ruoning Yin, Brooke Henderson, Hannah Green, Anna Nordqvist and Patty Tavatanakit are among those slated to compete.
Atthaya Thitikul, who made her first start of the season at The Chevron Championship after rehabbing a thumb injury, will tee it up for just the second time this year in the Garden State. Thitikul took the lead in her return to competition at The Chevron Championship but then faded on the final day with a closing round of 76. She’s played well in the Cognizant Founders Cup since it made the move to Upper Montclair Country Club, where she carded a final-round 63 in 2022 to finish in a tie for eighth and tied for fifth in 2023.
Two of the hottest players in recent weeks, Maja Stark and Hae Ran Ryu, are also in the field and will be looking to keep their good form rolling. Stark has finished inside the top three in three of her last four starts, including runner-up finishes at both The Chevron Championship and the JM Eagle LA Championship. Ryu, who earned Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors in 2023, has recorded three top 10s in her last three starts and picked up a season-best third-place finish at the JM Eagle LA Championship. She’ll be one to watch in New Jersey, where she finished fourth last season.
Lexi Thompson returns to action at the Cognizant Founders Cup after a right-hand injury hampered her success at The Chevron Championship. Thompson recently took to Instagram, where she posted a photo of herself wearing a brace on her right wrist and hand following her missed cut at the major championship.
Lydia Ko Continues HOF Chase
The quest to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame continues for Lydia Ko at the Cognizant Founders Cup. Each victory on the LPGA Tour earns players a point towards qualifying for the Hall, and when Ko won the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at the start of the season, she put herself within one point of automatic qualification. Ko needs 27 points to earn her way into the Hall, and with a victory at the Cognizant Founders Cup, she would earn her place in the LPGA Hall of Fame alongside the women whom this week’s tournament honors. Ko has enjoyed two weeks off since her tie for 17th finish at The Chevron Championship, where she was lurking heading into the weekend but couldn’t convert after carding a final-round 75. Ko has had mixed results at Upper Montclair Country Club, tying for 12th in 2022 and tying for 42nd last year.
LPGA Founders
In 2011, the Cognizant Founders Cup was created to honor the 13 founding members of the LPGA Tour. And since its inception, some of the biggest names to have played the women’s game have won the event, including the likes of World Golf Hall of Fame member Karrie Webb and LPGA Hall of Fame member Inbee Park, as well as major champions Stacy Lewis, Anna Nordqvist, Sei Young Kim and Yani Tseng.
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