LPGA Tour: A Look at the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout Field

Multiple stars are headed to the Lone Star State for this week’s LPGA stop.

A major championship-caliber field is assembled at this week’s LPGA Tour event, the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout Presented by JTBC in Irving, Texas.

A whole 500 Race to the CME Globe points and a $1.3 million purse are on the line at Las Colinas Country Club, a Joe Finger-designed course that’s not far from TPC Four Seasons at Las Colinas, site of the PGA Tour’s AT&T Byron Nelson in May.

Let’s take a look at some of the headliners:

Rolex Ranking Leaders Aplenty

April 1, 2017; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA; Lydia Ko lines up her putt on the first course green during the third round of the ANA Inspiration golf tournament at Mission Hills CC – Dinah Shore Tournament Course. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

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Every one of the top 20 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings is in the Texas Shootout field, including world No. 1 Lydia Ko, who’s been holding steady at the top for 79 weeks.

Rounding out the top five are, in order: So Yeon Ryu, Ariya Jutanugarn, In Gee Chun and Lexi Thompson.

Ko did not play in last year’s event, and the other four were out of contention down the stretch. Thompson missed the cut, and while the others found the top 20, the closest, Jutanugarn, was still six off the pace at eight-under.

Past Champions

Jun 10, 2016; Sammamish, WA, USA; Jenny Shin hits off of the seventh tee during the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club – South/North Course. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

The quality of this week’s field is even more impressive in light of the LPGA Tour’s lack of history at Las Colinas. This year will be just the fifth edition.

All three past champions are in the field, including No. 7 Inbee Park (2013, 2015), No. 15 Stacy Lewis (2014) and No. 39 Jenny Shin (2016).

The winning score on this par-71, 6,441-yard track has fallen between 12- and 15-under par in every year since its 2013 debut. No winner has ever recorded a round above par — Stacy Lewis’ opening 71 in 2014 stands as the only score of par or worse from a winner.

Winners This Year

Aug 28, 2016; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Cristie Kerr of the Unites States reacts after sinking her putt on the 1st green during the final round of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open at Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports /

The Texas Shootout is a de facto midyear tournament of champions, as all eight 2017 tournament winners will make it to Irving this week.

With her win two weeks ago at the LOTTE Championship in Hawaii, Cristie Kerr is the most recent winner on the circuit.

Will this be the week when we finally see someone pick up her second LPGA Tour victory of the season? Winners Brittany Lincicome, Ha Na Jang, Amy Yang, Park, Anna Nordqvist, Mirim Lee, So Yeon Ryu and Kerr certainly hope so.

Major Champions

April 2, 2017; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA; So Yeon Ryu following her completed fourth round of the ANA Inspiration golf tournament at Mission Hills CC – Dinah Shore Tournament Cou. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

A total of 26 major champions will be at the Texas Shootout this week, yet another testament to the strength of the field.

So Yeon Ryu won the second big one of her career at this year’s ANA Inspiration, the first of five majors on the calendar.

Inbee Park’s win here in 2013 was sandwiched between three major wins: the ANA Inspiration before and the PGA Championship and U.S. Open after. She did it again in 2015, using the event as a springboard to PGA and British Open victories that summer.

Notable Names, Sponsorship Exemptions

Apr 3, 2016; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA; Michelle Wie hits out of a bunker on the 12th hole during the final round of the ANA Inspiration tournament at Mission Hills CC – Dinah Shore Tournament Course. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /

Other notable names in this week’s Texas Shootout field include Michelle Wie, Brooke M. Henderson, Paula Creamer, Gerina Piller, Juli Inkster, Jessica and Nelly Korda and Cheyenne Woods.

The sponsorship exemptions went to amateurs who placed in the top four of the High School/College Texas Shootout at Las Colinas on March 15. Those four are Eun Jeong Song, 17; Gina Kim, 16; Maddie McCrary, 21; and Anne Chen, 15.

McCrary is a junior two-time All-Big 12 performer at Oklahoma State and is ranked 86th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Gina Kim is No. 125 in the WAGR.

Next: Curtis Luck Starts Pro Career at Texas Open

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