The LPGA returns to the Cincinnati area for the first time in more than 30 years with this week’s inaugural Kroger Queen City Championship.
Mexico’s Gaby Lopez, who captured her third LPGA title last week at the Dana Open, will be among the headliners at Kenwood Country Club’s Kendale Course, where 144 players will compete for the $1,750,000 prize pool. Last week in Sylvania, Ohio, the 28-year-old Lopez rallied from four strokes down on the final day to secure a one-shot victory over Megan Khang. Lopez, who hails from Mexico City and played college golf at Arkansas, closed with three straight birdies to post an 8-under 63 in the final round and finish at 18-under 266.
Women’s professional golf was last in the Cincinnati area in the 1980s, when the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship was held at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Center at nearby Kings Island from 1978 through 1989. The first championship was won by Nancy Lopez, who ultimately won three Women’s PGA titles at the course, including the last tournament held there in 1989.
How to watch the 2022 Kroger Queen City Championship
Coverage of the 2022 Kroger Queen City Championship from Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio, can be found on Golf Channel, with streaming options available any time on any mobile device and online through NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.
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Thursday, Sept. 8: 4-7 p.m. ET, Golf Channel
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Friday, Sept. 9: 4-7 p.m. ET, Golf Channel
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Saturday, Sept. 10: 2-5 p.m. ET, Golf Channel
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Sunday, Sept. 11: 2-5 p.m. ET, Golf Channel
Who’s playing in the 2022 Kroger Queen City Championship
Notable names in the field of 144 players at Kenwood Country Club include six of the top 10 players (and 16 of the top 25) on the Rolex Rankings:
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No. 3 Minjee Lee
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No. 5 Brooke Henderson
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No. 6 Atthaya Thitikul
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No. 7 Lexi Thompson
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No. 8 Hyo Joo Kim
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No. 9 Nasa Hataoka
Four of this year’s major champions – Chevron Championship winner Jennifer Kupcho, U.S. Women’s Open champion Lee, Evian Championship winner Henderson, and AIG Women’s Open winner Ashleigh Buhai – also are in the field along with Jessica Korda, Sei Young Kim, Lexi Thompson and Danielle Kang.
Three amateurs are in the field, including Anna Davis, who won the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur and was given a sponsor’s exemption along with Emma McMyler, who plays college golf at nearby Xavier and is a two-time Big East Women’s Golf Player of the Year.
For the third week in a row, 14-year-old Gianna Clemente earned her spot in an LPGA event through Monday qualifying. Of the 22 players who attempted to qualify at Kenwood on Monday, only two broke par, with Clemente earning medalist honors at 7-under par. Clemente is the youngest player ever to Monday qualify for three straight LPGA events and just the second overall to do so, joining Hee-Won Han who qualified for the LPGA Takefuji Classic, Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open and Welch’s-Circle K Championship in 2001.
More about Kenwood Country Club
Kenwood Country Club was created in 1929 chose its location northeast of Cincinnati with the help of noted golf course architect Donald Ross, who was hired to give a written report detailing his first-choice location. Indianapolis architect Bill Diddel was hired to lay out the original 36 holes, all of which were renovated by Fry/Straka Global Golf Course Design firm during the pandemic. Approximately 1,000 trees were removed from the property, and all 18 greens were expanded to their original size, with bunkers throughout the course restructured to fit the original design.
The official scorecard for Kenwood’s Kendale Course plays as a par 72 (36-36), with yardage stretching to 6,515 yards. The Kendale Course has hosted several national championships, including the 1933 men’s U.S. Amateur, the 1946 men’s U.S. Open (won by Lloyd Mangrum) and the 1963 U.S. Women’s Open, which was won by Mary Mills. The then-23-year-old Mills was the only player to finish under par for the tournament, beating Louise Suggs and Sandra Haynie by three strokes.
The NBC golf research team contributed to this report.
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2022 Kroger Queen City Championship: How to watch, who’s playing in LPGA’s return to Cincinnati originally appeared on NBCSports.com