Following a 2024 LPGA Tour season that saw Nelly Korda claim seven wins and Jeeno Thitikul take the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship title, the 2025 campaign gets underway as the last one began – with the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
This season marks the 75th anniversary of the circuit and originally, it had been set to feature 35 events. However, that is now 34 with the decision to cancel the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship in March after the event underwriter failed its payment obligations to the LPGA Tour.
Even without the $2m purse that tournament was slated to offer, there is still huge prize money to be earned throughout the season, with a total of around $130m up for grabs.
The first slice of that comes with a $2m payout at this week’s season opener, which is being held at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida. That’s an increase on the $1.5m that has been available at the event for each of the last three seasons, and it means the winner’s share will increase from $225,000 to $300,000 after the 72 holes of no-cut strokeplay.
There are also 500 Race to CME Globe points available to the winner.
The players will tee it up alongside celebrities competing in a separate points-based Stableford. A $500,000 purse is available in that competition, with the winner earning $100,000. Celebrities taking part include actors Don Cheadle and Anthony Anderson, the NBA’s Blake Griffin and soccer player Brandi Chastain.
Who Are The Star Names In The Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament Of Champions?
Nelly Korda won seven times in the 2024 LPGA Tour season
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The field is limited to LPGA Tour winners over the last two years, and this year, just 32 will be teeing it up in the event.
One of those is the defending champion, Lydia Ko. The New Zealander quickly put a disappointing 2023 season behind her on that occasion by beating Alexa Pano by two shots. The 20-year-old American is also in the field.
While she was made to wait, that was the first victory of what turned out to be a glorious season for Ko. She went onto claim gold at the Olympics in August, her third Major title at the AIG Women’s Open later that month and the Kroger Queen City Championship title in September. As if that wasn’t enough, her Olympics gold…
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