LPGA: Founders Cup Preview

Mar 19, 2015; PHOENIX, AZ, USA; A two hour rain delay halted the start of round one of the JTBC Founders Cup at Wildfire Golf Club at JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2015; PHOENIX, AZ, USA; A two hour rain delay halted the start of round one of the JTBC Founders Cup at Wildfire Golf Club at JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Lydia Ko of New Zealand waves to the crowd. Mandatory credit: Luke Franke/Naples Daily News via USA TODAY NETWORK /

The LPGA is in the Arizona desert as an elite field preps for the major championship season

The LPGA settles in for a three-week West Coast swing starting with this week’s Bank of Hope Founders Cup.

The tournament pays homage to the LPGA’s 13 founders: Alice Bauer, Patty Berg, Bettye Danoff, Helen Detweiler, Marlene Bauer Hagge, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Betty Jameson, Sally Sessions, Marilynn Smith, Shirley Spork, Louise Suggs and Babe Zaharias.

A pretty impressive field is assembled at Wildfire Golf Club in Phoenix this week at an event that has had a unique purse, has seen broken records and is situated in a crucial place on the schedule with the ANA Inspiration, women’s golf’s first major, looming two weeks away.

Low scores are frequent at Wildfire and the weather is looking perfect for the field to turn in some impressive cards. Over half of the country could be covered in snow by the weekend, but 90s and sun are in the forecast all four days in Arizona.

Live coverage will air on the Golf Channel from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 7 to 9 p.m. on the weekend (Eastern time).

The field is vying for a $225,000 winner’s share of a $1.5M purse.

Let’s take a look at what’s in store this week: