The LPGA Tour will be returning to Arizona for the 71st time after a blistering event in California. The Seville Golf and Country Club, which is more than 20 years old, will host the inaugural FORD Championship Presented by KCC event.

The championship is the latest addition to the LPGA Tour’s 2024 calendar and has a part in the grand $120 million overall prize pool. 144 LPGA players will tee up this week, and undoubtedly everyone’s aim will be to grab the win and, with it, a berth into the Chevron Championship, the season’s first major.

The top 5 contenders at the FORD Championship

Amongst the highly competitive field, interesting are all the top five from the Rolex rankings. The likes of Lilia Vu, who has not had a great start in 2024, Minjee Lee playing her third event, and Celine Boutier eyeing her seventh Tour win, will be playing. However, there can be only one winner, and the top 5 most probable players to take home the trophy this week are as follows:

1. Nelly Korda: What more is there to say about the 10-time LPGA Tour winner? In the three starts, Nelly Korda has won two of her events: the Drive One Championship and last week’s Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. The one-time major winner won both events in a playoff, making the result much more dramatic than it already was.

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In the only event she didn’t win, the Hilton Grand Vacations TOC, Korda was T16. Surprisingly,this is the worst finish for Korda so far. To say the least, Korda has regained the world number one spot, has better control over her game, and has found her form. The pro has better chances of making another winning putt at the Seville G&CC than any other player in the field.

2. Lydia Ko: The Kiwi pro has been chasing the Hall of Fame since the start of the 2024 season. After winning the season-opening event, the HGV Tournament of Champions, Lydia Ko made a runner-up finish at the Drive On Championship. Later, she scored her worst finish of T34 at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.

However, in the next event, Ko quickly redeemed herself with a T4 finish at the Blue Bay LPGA in China. In the last four starts, Ko’s performance has been nothing but consistent. With her form back, the 20-time LPGA Tour winner may get the one point left for her Hall of Fame induction.

3. Ruoning Yin: Among the young talent on the LPGA Tour, her performance speaks volumes greater than most veterans. Ruoning Yin was the defending champion at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship, and though she couldn’t stop Korda, Yin did finish tied for eighth. Furthermore, in the last six starts, the 21-year-old has made four top-25 finishes already. Yin, though not at her peak yet, has shown enough prowess to have her name as the top contender to win the FORD Championship.

4. Alison Lee: At the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship, Alison Lee was a lot closer to taking her maiden victory on the LPGA Tour. The 29-year-old was second on the leaderboard at the end of day three. However, there were a few missed shots, and Lee finished T8. Regardless, Lee’s performance to card her first top 10 in the 2024 season was commendable. It was a kind of 180-degree turn from her last performance (T51) at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in late February. Lee, already a 2-time Ladies European Tour winner, will be giving another shot for his maiden victory on the LPGA Tour at the Arizona Greens.

5. Sarah Schmelzel: Another golfer chasing the first win on the LPGA Tour. In the last three starts, Schmelzel’s performance has been in the top 10. She was T8 at the HSBC Women’s World Championship and the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. Moreover, at the Blue Bay LPGA, the 29-year-old was the solo runner-up with 6 under 278. Schmelzel has recently found her groove and may clinch a maiden win at the FORD Championship.

Defending champion and prize purse

Since the event has been added to the roster only this year, evidently, there will be no defending champion on the course. The players will have the opportunity to become the first winners of the inaugural FORD Championship, which will start on March 28th. On March 31st, the announcement of the winner will take place after four days. The winner of the event will get a 15% cut from the $2.25 million in prize money set for the event.

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The field of the FORD Championship has some of the highest-ranked and most talented golfers from the LPGA Tour. Though not everyone can taste the victory at Seville G&CC, one definitely will. According to you, who will be the lucky one? Tell us in the comments.

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