Following a 2024 LPGA Tour season that saw Nelly Korda claim seven wins and Jeeno Thitikul take the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship title, the 2025 campaign gets underway as the last one began - with the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
This season marks the 75th anniversary of the circuit and originally, it had been set to feature 35 events. However, that is now 34 with the decision to cancel the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship in March after the event underwriter failed its payment obligations to the LPGA Tour.
Even without the $2m purse that tournament was slated to offer, there is still huge prize money to be earned throughout the season, with a total of around $130m up for grabs.
The first slice of that comes with a $2m payout at this week’s season opener, which is being held at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida. That’s an increase on the $1.5m that has been available at the event for each of the last three seasons, and it means the winner’s share will increase from $225,000 to $300,000 after the 72 holes of no-cut strokeplay.
There are also 500 Race to CME Globe points available to the winner.
The players will tee it up alongside celebrities competing in a separate points-based Stableford. A $500,000 purse is available in that competition, with the winner earning $100,000. Celebrities taking part include actors Don Cheadle and Anthony Anderson, the NBA’s Blake Griffin and soccer player Brandi Chastain.
Who Are The Star Names In The Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament Of Champions?
The field is limited to LPGA Tour winners over the last two years, and this year, just 32 will be teeing it up in the event.
One of those is the defending champion, Lydia Ko. The New Zealander quickly put a disappointing 2023 season behind her on that occasion by beating Alexa Pano by two shots. The 20-year-old American is also in the field.
While she was made to wait, that was the first victory of what turned out to be a glorious season for Ko. She went onto claim gold at the Olympics in August, her third Major title at the AIG Women’s Open later that month and the Kroger Queen City Championship title in September. As if that wasn’t enough, her Olympics gold also earned her a place in the LPGA Hall of Fame.
She’ll be hoping for another strong start this year as she pursues a similarly impressive haul this season.
Despite Ko’s brilliant year, the player to beat is World No.1 Nelly Korda, who won seven times in 2024, the most recent of which came in November at the Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. She has yet to win this tournament, though, and will be looking to put that right this week.
In fact, along with Ko, only one other former winner is in this week’s field – 2023 champion Brooke Henderson. She’s looking for her first LPGA Tour win since beating Maja Stark and Charley Hull two years ago.
Other big names to look out for include Hannah Green, who won three times last season, and 2024 Major winners Ayaka Furue and Yuka Saso. The likes of Rose Zhang, Jin Young Ko, Celine Boutier and Minjee Lee add to a star-studded field.
Mone Inami, Grace Kim, Jeeno Thitikul, Ruoning Yin and Lilia Vu, who had all been eligible, have opted to skip the tournament.
Where Is The Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament Of Champions Played?
Since the tournament began in 2019, every edition has been held at Orlando’s Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, and this year is no exception. The course, which was designed by Tom Fazio, is known for its abundance of freshwater lakes.
Who Won The 2024 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament Of Champions?
The 2024 tournament was won by Lydia Ko. The New Zealander put a disappointing 2023 behind her early at the first time of asking with a two-shot win over American Alexa Pano.
