World No. 2 and Defending Champion Nelly Korda Headlines Field at the 2022 Meijer LPGA Classic
Except for two Monday qualifier openings, the final field has been set for the 2022 Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. Each year it boasts one of the strongest fields on the LPGA Tour, and 2022 is no exception.
Nine of the top-10 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings are registered, including defending champion and World No. 2 Nelly Korda.
The Meijer LPGA Classic will take place June 16-19 at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Mich.
Korda returned to competition at the U.S. Women’s Open, finishing T8 in the championship at 2-under par. At the 2021 Meijer LPGA Classic, Korda fired a tournament-record 25-under par to win by two strokes, marking it her second LPGA Tour win of that year.
“We are honored to once again attract the world’s top professional golfers and all of our past champions – including our Defending Champion Nelly Korda – back to Grand Rapids for the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give,” Executive Director Cathy Cooper said. “We know that our incredible spectators play a big role in creating a fun, supportive atmosphere for the players that makes them want to come back each year, and we’re excited to bring them some of the greatest golfers in the world next week.”
Joining Korda in headlining the 144-player field are 18 of the top-25 players in the world, including Minjee Lee (3), Lydia Ko (4), Atthaya Thitikul (5), 2015 Champion Lexi Thompson (6), Nasa Hataoka (7), Hyo Joo Kim (8), Inbee Park (9), 2016 Champion Sei Young Kim (10), 2017 and 2019 Champion Brooke Henderson (11), Yuka Saso (14), Jessica Korda (15), Jennifer Kupcho (16), Celine Boutier (17), Hannah Green (19), Anna Nordqvist (21), Mina Harigae (22) and Leona Maguire (24). The field features all Meijer LPGA Classic past champions dating back to the inaugural tournament in 2014.
Sponsor exemptions include graduating senior Valery Plata from Michigan State University, 2021 Inkster Award presented by Workday winner and graduating senior Natasha Andrea Oon from San Jose State University and Sadena Parks, a two-time EPSON Tour winner who captured the women’s division of THE JOHN SHIPPEN National Golf Invitational presented by Rocket Mortgage last week at Blythefield Country Club. For a complete list of the tournament field at the Meijer LPGA Classic, click HERE.
The women golfers will compete over 72 holes of stroke play for a share of a $2.5 million purse. Proceeds from the tournament – and each of the week’s festivities – will once again benefit the Meijer Simply Give program that restocks the shelves of food pantries across the Midwest. The 2021 tournament raised $1.1 million for local food pantries through Simply Give, and tournament officials recently announced a $1.2 million goal for this year’s event. In total, the seven tournaments have generated more than $7.4 million for the Meijer Simply Give program. Additionally, in 2021, tournament officials introduced a separate $25,000 donation to a hunger relief organization of the champion’s choice, which will continue again this year. Champion Nelly Korda chose Grand Rapids-based Kids’ Food Basket for the inaugural donation.
