The Old American Golf Club in Texas hosts the Ascendant LPGA Benefiting Volunteers Of America, where a strong field including six of the world’s top 10 compete.
Last year, South Korean Jin Young Ko claimed her eighth LPGA Tour title in the tournament. Her victory was helped by a blistering start where she tied the course record with an opening round 63. The win was made all the sweeter by the fact is was her first LPGA victory with her parents in attendance. However, despite living just a few miles away from this week’s tournament, the World No.1 misses out on the chance to defend her title because of a wrist injury.
Despite Ko's absence, there is still a hugely impressive field as the tournament marks its 10th anniversary. World No.2 Nelly Korda will be among the favourites to win this week, along with World No.4 Lydia Ko and World No.5 Atthaya Thitikul. Evian Championship winner Brooke Henderson and American Lexi Thompson also appear, with Japanese player Nasa Hataoka completing the entrants from the world’s top 10. As well as Henderson, two other winners of this year's Majors are in the field - Chevron Championship victor Jennifer Kupcho and Ashleigh Buhai, who won the AIG Women's Open in thrilling fashion at Muirfield last month.
Cheyenne Knight, who won the tournament in 2019, also appears, as does 2020 victor Angela Stanford. Knight’s victory was particularly impressive. She finished on a record 18 under to win by two shots over runner-up Brittany Altomare three years ago. Other high-profile players in the field include American World No.13 Jessica Korda, 2017 Women’s PGA Champion Danielle Kang, 2018 Women’s British Open winner Georgia Hall and three-time Major winner Anna Nordqvist.
The players are competing for a purse of $1.7m, an increase of $200,000 from last year. The winner will earn $255,000.
Below is a full breakdown of the field and prize money.
Volunteers Of America Classic Field
- Brittany Altomare
- Narin An
- Pajaree Anannarukarn
- Aditi Ashok
- Ana Belac
- Celine Boutier
- Ashleigh Buhai
- Matilda Castren
- Tiffany Chan
- Jennifer Chang
- Peiyun Chien
- Hye-Jin Choi
- Cydney Clanton
- Jenny Coleman
- Allisen Corpuz
- Lauren Coughlin
- Paula Creamer
- Casey Danielson
- Daniela Darquea
- Karis Davidson
- Brianna Do
- Amanda Doherty
- Gemma Dryburgh
- Lindy Duncan
- Allison Emrey
- Jodi Ewart Shadoff
- Ally Ewing
- Maria Fassi
- Fatima Fernandez Cano
- Dana Finkelstein
- Ayaka Furue
- Isi Gabsa
- Georgia Hall
- Haylee Harford
- Lauren Hartlage
- Nasa Hataoka
- Muni He
- Brooke Henderson
- Esther Henseleit
- Celine Herbin
- Yaeeun Hong
- Wei-Ling Hsu
- Charley Hull
- Caroline Inglis
- Nuria Iturrioz
- Janie Jackson
- Linnea Johansson
- Ariya Jutanugarn
- Moriya Jutanugarn
- Danielle Kang
- Haeji Kang
- Megan Khang
- Sei Young Kim
- A Lim Kim
- Christina Kim
- Frida Kinhult
- Cheyenne Knight
- Lydia Ko
- Nelly Korda
- Jessica Korda
- Jennifer Kupcho
- Stephanie Kyriacou
- Agathe Laisne
- Brittany Lang
- Maude-Aimee Leblanc
- Min Lee
- Mi Hyang Lee
- Jeongeun Lee5
- Jeongeun Lee6
- Stacy Lewis
- Xiyu Lin
- Yu Liu
- Ruixin Liu
- Gaby Lopez
- Nanna Koerstz Madsen
- Caroline Masson
- Brooke Matthews
- Stephanie Meadow
- Wichanee Meechai
- Gerina Mendoza
- Morgane Metraux
- Giulia Molinaro
- Yealimi Noh
- Haru Nomura
- Anna Nordqvist
- Sanna Nuutinen
- Ryann O’Toole
- Su Oh
- Amy Olson
- Lee-Anne Pace
- Bianca Pagdanganan
- Kaitlyn Papp
- Annie Park
- Emily Kristine Pedersen
- Pornanong Phatlum
- Rachel Rohanna
- Pauline Roussin
- So Yeon Ryu
- Madelene Sagstrom
- Lizette Salas
- Yuka Saso
- Sarah Schmelzel
- Sophia Schubert
- Alena Sharp
- Hinako Shibuno
- Bailey Shoemaker
- Jennifer Song
- Angela Stanford
- Maja Stark
- Lauren Stephenson
- Jasmine Suwannapura
- Maddie Szeryk
- Elizabeth Szokol
- Emma Talley
- Kelly Tan
- Atthaya Thitikul
- Charlotte Thomas
- Lexi Thompson
- Ayako Uehara
- Alana Uriell
- Albane Valenzuela
- Lilia Vu
- Lindsey Weaver-Wright
- Dewi Weber
- Angel Yin
- Ruoning Yin
- Yunxuan Zhang
- Avery Zweig
Volunteers Of America Classic Prize Money
| Position | Prize Money |
|---|---|
| 1st | $255,000 |
| 2nd | $158,182 |
| 3rd | $114,750 |
| 4th | $88,768 |
| 5th | $71,448 |
| 6th | $58,457 |
| 7th | $48,931 |
| 8th | $42,869 |
| 9th | $38,539 |
| 10th | $35,074 |
| 11th | $32,476 |
| 12th | $30,310 |
| 13th | $28,405 |
| 14th | $26,674 |
| 15th | $25,114 |
| 16th | $23,729 |
| 17th | $22,517 |
| 18th | $21,478 |
| 19th | $20,612 |
| 20th | $19,918 |
| 21st | $19,226 |
| 22nd | $18,533 |
| 23rd | $17,841 |
| 24th | $17,147 |
| 25th | $16,542 |
| 26th | $15,936 |
| 27th | $15,328 |
| 28th | $14,722 |
| 29th | $14,117 |
| 30th | $13,597 |
| 31st | $13,077 |
| 32nd | $12,557 |
| 33rd | $12,037 |
| 34th | $11,518 |
| 35th | $11,086 |
| 36th | $10,652 |
| 37th | $10,220 |
| 38th | $9,786 |
| 39th | $9,352 |
| 40th | $9,007 |
| 41st | $8,661 |
| 42nd | $8,315 |
| 43rd | $7,967 |
| 44th | $7,621 |
| 45th | $7,361 |
| 46th | $7,101 |
| 47th | $6,841 |
| 48th | $6,582 |
| 49th | $6,322 |
| 50th | $6,062 |
| 51st | $5,890 |
| 52nd | $5,716 |
| 53rd | $5,542 |
| 54th | $5,370 |
| 55th | $5,196 |
| 56th | $5,022 |
| 57th | $4,850 |
| 58th | $4,676 |
| 59th | $4,504 |
| 60th | $4,330 |
| 61st | $4,244 |
| 62nd | $4,156 |
| 63rd | $4,070 |
| 64th | $3,984 |
| 65th | $3,897 |
| 66th | $3,811 |
| 67th | $3,724 |
| 68th | $3,637 |
| 69th | $3,551 |
| 70th | $3,465 |
Who Is Playing In Volunteers Of America Classic?
This year's tournament has some of the world's best players, including six of the top 10. While World No.1 and 2021 champion Jin Young Ko misses out because of a wrist injury, Kelly Norda, Lydia Ko Atthaya Thitikul. Brooke Henderson and Lexi Thompson are among others competing.
Where Is The Volunteers Of America Classic Being Held?
The tournament is being held at The Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas. It's the fifth time in the 10-year history of the event that it has been held there. The course was designed by Tripp Davis alongside Justin Leonard.
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