LPGA Back in the Bay
This week’s Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic will mark the first LPGA event in the Bay Area since the 2010 CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge held at Blackhawk Country Club in Danville, Calif.,

The Bay Area has been a long-time hotspot for the LPGA, hosting 27 tournaments dating back to the 1953 San Francisco Weathervane which was won by LPGA Hall of Famer Louise Suggs.

Six members of this week’s field have won events played in the Bay Area. Below is a breakdown of those winners and events:

Wie Want More
Michelle Wie captured her first win since the 2010 season with a win in-front of her hometown fans at last week’s LPGA LOTTE Championship Presented by J Golf. The win was the third of Wie’s career and her first win on U.S. soil. Wie will look to go back-to-back while competing in the Bay Area, another area she called home during her time at her alma mater, Stanford University.

Wie has had a stellar 2014 season thus far with the aforementioned win and a pair of additional top-five finishes. Wie has been a model of consistency in 2014 as she has not finished outside of the top-16 in her seven events. Thanks to her great season, Wie has jumped up to No. 13 in the latest Rolex Rankings after starting the year as the 61st ranked golfer.   

Baseball Night in San Francisco
Golf Night will be held at AT&T Park on Friday night when the San Francisco Giants take on the Cleveland Indians. Several member of the LPGA will play a prominent role. Players will take part in numerous events throughout the game, including a spin on the traditional first pitch by participating in a “first chip”. 


Pettersen is Back
Rolex Rankings World No. 2 Suzann Pettersen will be returning to action this week after missing three consecutive tournaments while dealing with a back injury.

Pettersen, who last competed at the JTBC Founders Cup, will look to regain the form that she showed in 2013 when she captured four wins and 11 additional top-10 finishes.

In four tournament appearances this year, Pettersen has made all four cuts, including a pair of top-10 finishes at the Honda LPGA Thailand and the HSBC Women’s Champions. 

Race for Rolex No. 1 Back On
For the first time since the JTBC Founders Cup, the top-3 golfers in the Rolex Rankings will be in the same field.

Rolex Rankings No. 1 Inbee Park will look to extend her 54 week reign at the top but will be closely followed by Rolex Rankings No. 2 Suzann Pettersen and Rolex Rankings No. 3 Stacy Lewis. All three players will be looking for their first win of the 2014 season this week at Lake Merced. 

San Francisco Goes global
This week’s tournament is sponsored by Swinging Skirts, a successful Taiwanese group whose goal is to grow women’s golf and the golf industry in Taiwan. The event is co-sanctioned with the Taiwan LPGA, and will feature 120 LPGA players, as well as players from Taiwan. It becomes the first ever LPGA co-sanctioned tournament on American soil. The venue has long been a strong supporter of women’s golf, as Lake Merced was one of the first golf clubs to have no gender restriction in membership.

April 24-27
Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic
Lake Merced Golf Club
Daly City, California

Field: 144 (120 professionals, 7 amateurs) 
Par: 72
Yardage: 6,507
Purse: $1,800,000
Winner: $255,000
Defending Champion: First Time Event

TV Times - Golf Channel
April 24 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
April 25 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
April 26 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
April 27 7:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
All times listed are Eastern

Qualifiers (2)
Veronica Felibert (-4, 68)
Brogan McKinn0n (-2, 70)

Rolex Rankings 
Top 10: 9/10 
Top 20: 18/20

2014 LPGA Official Money List 
Top 10: 9/10 
Top 20: 19/20

Press Conference and media event schedule

Tuesday, April 22

Time Event Location
2:00 p.m. Inbee Park Press Conference Media Center
3:00 p.m. Suzann Pettersen Press Conference Media Center
3:30 p.m. Michelle Wie Press Conference Media Center

Wednesday, April 23

Time Event Location
11:30 a.m. Stacy Lewis Press Conference Media Center
Noon Paula Creamer and Juli Inkster Press Conference Media Center