Events surrounding the LPGA tour are already underway and play begins Thursday as some of golf's best players converge on the Kenwood Country Club for the Queen City Championship.
"The LPGA is returning to Cincinnati for the first time in 30 years," says Emily Norell, tournament director. "Actually, back in 1963, Kenwood Country Club hosted the U.S. Women's Open, so it's pretty full circle that we're able to bring 144 of the world's best female golfers back to the same club, back to Cincinnati."
A three-year deal to bring the tour to Cincinnati was announced last September. The inaugural event Sept. 5 -11 features a $1.75 million purse.
Norell expects the course will provide a nice challenge.
"The maintenance crew, the grounds team, they've been working extremely hard. The greens are rolling quite quick, which we like to see. That gives them a little bit more of a challenge when they're around the greens putting," she says. "I think we're going to have some good scores out there."
The first round goes off at 7:30 a.m. Thursday followed by the second round at 12:30 p.m.
Some of the sport's top players are slated to compete:
- Minjee Lee, Eight Tour wins, two Majors (2013 British Open, 2011 Kraft Nabisco)
- Brooke Henderson, 12 Tour wins, two Majors (2016 KPMG Women’s PGA, 2022 Amundi Evian Championship)
- Jessica Korda, Six-time Tour winner, three Solheim Cup appearances
- Jennifer Kupcho, Three Tour wins this year, 2021 Solheim Cup appearance
- Stacy Lewis, 13-time Tour winner, 2023 Solheim Cup captain for the United States
- Paula Creamer, 10-time Tour winner, seven Solheim Cup appearances
- Ashley Buhai, winner, 2022 AIG Women’s Open
- Lexi Thompson, 11 Tour wins, one major (2014 Kraft Nabisco), five Solheim Cup appearances
The isn't the first time the tour has been in Cincinnati. In addition to the Kenwood Country Club hosting the U.S. Women's Open in 1963, the Golf Center at Kings Island hosted the LPGA Championship from 1978 to 1989.
