By Cynthia Charlene Greason

Dana Open

Highland Meadows Golf Club| Sylvania, OH | July 18-21, 2024

Wednesday Pre-Tournament Notes

July 17, 2024

NOTABLE PLAYERS IN THE DANA OPEN FIELD

Linn Grant (Rolex Rankings No. 26)

“Obviously I just have a lot of good memories. I remember that I really like this course. It reminded me a lot of playing at home as a junior. Just the same grass type, just layout looks very familiar, so gives me a good feeling coming back. Yeah, other than that, just some good memories. I’m glad to have my brother on the bag this year, kind of show him the grounds, and hopefully we’ll be ready this year as well.” – Grant about what she remembers most about her win here last season

• Grant is making just her second start at the Dana Open
  • She became a Rolex First-Time Winner in 2023
  • In her win last season, she set her career-best 72-hole score, 263
    • On the LET, she has a 72-hole score of 264 set at the 2022 Volvo Car Scandinvian Mixed, an event she also won
  • Her 263 tied the third-lowest 72-hole score alongside In Kyung Kim in 2017
  • She became the first player from Sweden to win the Dana Open since Annika Sorenstam in 2000
• According to KPMG Performance Insights, Grant averaged two strokes gained per round with her approach play during her win last season, more than any event over the last three seasons she has been on Tour

• Grant is representing Sweden at the 2024 Olympic Games this July with fellow countrywoman Maja Stark
• Grant is making her 15th start of the 2024 season
  • This season, she has made 12 cuts in 14 starts with two top-10 finishes
  • Her season-best finish came at the Cognizant Founders Cup where she finished T7
• On the Ladies European Tour this season, she won the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed for the second time in her career
  • She started the final day of play 11 shots behind the 54-hole leader and came back to win
• This is just Grant’s third season on the LPGA Tour
  • She has one win on the LPGA Tour and nine additional top-10 finishes with over $2 million made in career earnings
  • She finished T35 in the LPGA Q-Series to earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2022 season after turning professional in 2021

• She also competes on the Ladies European Tour
  • She has made 30 starts with six wins and six additional top-10 finishes
    • Four of those wins came in 2022
    • In 2022, she earned Rookie and Player of the Year honors as well as the Race to Costa del Sol

Lexi Thompson (Rolex Rankings No. 33)

“It would mean a lot. Of course, I step into every tournament wanting to win, whether I’m retiring from a full schedule or not. That’s my No. 1 goal. I’ve been working extremely hard on and off the golf course. I’ve probably worked harder than ever this year just because if it is my last full-time year, I want to play strong and finish strong, to be able to do it in front of all the fans, to do it for myself, knowing that the hard work’s paid off.” – Lexi Thompson to the Toledo Blade ahead of the Dana Open

• This is Thompson’s ninth start at the Dana Open and she has never missed a cut at Highland Meadows
  • She has had very impressive finishes at the Dana Open, including two runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2018, a T3 finish in her first start at this event in 2013 and four other top-20 finishes
  • In 2013, Thompson, at 18 years of age, made a hole in one in the final round of the Dana Open, the very first of her career
• Friday of the Dana Open will be ‘Lexi Thomspon Day’ at Highland Meadows and will feature:
  • A “pink-out” of fans, players and tournament staff wearing Thompson’s favorite color
  • Giveaways of hats and pins for fans in attendance
  • An exciting (and loud!) surprise ahead of Thompson’s afternoon tee-time on Friday
• In 2024, Thompson has made five cuts in 10 starts
  • In all five cuts she has made, she has not finished outside the top-20
  • She has four top-10 finishes including two top-three finishes
  • She has finished inside the top-10 in her last three starts including a T9 finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
  • She has a season-best T2 finish at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give after falling in a playoff to Lilia Vu
• Since she was a rookie in 2012, Thompson has 11 victories on the LPGA Tour, including 1 major championship
  • Thompson has 80 additional top-10 finishes and has made over $14.5 million in career earnings
    • She is the third-highest earning player from the United States and 10th on the all-time official money list
    • She is $25,559 behind Stacy Lewis, who is ninth on the all-time official money list and the second-highest earning American on Tour
    • Cristie Kerr is the all-time leading American and third on the all-time official money list
  • She won the 2017 Race to the CME Globe and Vare Trophy
  • Thompson has represented the United States multiple times throughout her career
    • She has been on the U.S. Solheim Cup team six times
    • She is a four-time member of the International Crown team
    • She has been to two Olympics and finished T19 in 2016 and 33rd in 2020

Gaby Lopez (Rolex Rankings No. 64)

“Yeah, I love this event. I think the community just reunites. We get so many volunteers, a lot of young kids coming out and watch the game. I’ve seen familiar faces back-to-back years, so I think it’s just the golf course plays really, really awesome. I think the par-5s are really fun. You have to work your way around it to make some birdies or eagle chances. So, yeah, it can get windy. I think it’s a great challenge of golf.” – Lopez on what makes this event so enjoyable

• This is Lopez’s fifth start at the Dana Open
  • She earned her third LPGA Tour victory at this event in 2022
    • She defeated Megan Khang by just one stroke
  • Her best non-win finish came last season when she finished T7
  • She missed the cut in 2018 and finished T44 in 2016
• Lopez is representing Mexico for the third time in her career at the 2024 Olympic Games in France
  • She finished T38 at the Tokyo Games in 2020 and T31 at the Rio Games in 2016
  • She and Maria Fassi will represent Mexico for a second time together
    • Fassi finished T23 at the Tokyo Games
• This is her 15th start of the 2024 season
  • She has made 11 cuts with one top-10 finish
  • Her best finish came at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro, T8
  • She withdrew from the LPGA Drive On Championship after the third round earlier this season
• This is Lopez’s ninth season on the LPGA Tour
  • She is a three-time winner with 22 additional top-10 finishes
  • She has earned over $4.5 million in career earnings
    • She is the second-highest earning player from Mexico behind Lorena Ochoa who amassed over $14 million in earnings throughout her career
  • She and Ochoa are the only two players in LPGA Tour history from Mexico to win on Tour
• She competed collegiately at the University of Arkansas and finished runner-up at the 2015 NCAA National Championships
  • She won three collegiate events and was the winner of the Mexican Amateur Championship in 2013

KPMG INSIGHT OF THE WEEK

Last season, top-10 finishers at the Dana Open gained nearly 50% of their strokes with their approach play. That was a drastic change from 2022, when top-10 finishers gained just over 25% of their strokes via their approach play at Highland Meadows.

QUOTABLES

Sponsor Invite Mia Hammond on how her start at the Dana Open last year prepared her for future LPGA starts

“Yeah, so it definitely taught me how to calm my nerves. The first tee shot last year I was visibly shaking. I think it’s just how to handle it and kind of pull myself back from that moment and just take it in. Instead of worrying about what’s in front of me worry about what’s around me and who is out there supporting and just — because I might not get many experiences like this and I want to make sure I’m taking advantage of the time I do have out here while I’m still able to play. Yeah, it’s a lot of fun and a really great experience.”

Ohio native Allie White on seeing the continued success of an LPGA tournament for 40 years in her home state

“Yeah, it’s unbelievable. It’s a huge commit to women’s sports. Tammy Green — so I work at Lancaster Golf Club now. Work most of my time and I get to play a little bit. Old time pro Tammy Green came down because lot of gals are getting ready for the Senior Open at Fox Chapel. She’s from my area, and Ohioan, and she was like, oh, you’re going up to Toledo. I would like to come up there and kick your butt. Yeah, all the Ohioans know about Toledo, and that we’ve been such a solid force for the LPGA for so long it’s great and I hope we keep getting better.”

THINGS TO KNOW

• This is the 40th anniversary of the Dana Open and 39th playing of the event
  • The tournament was founded in 1984 but was not played in 1986 and 2011
  • The Dana Open has been played at Highland Meadows since 1988
  • Since it’s inception, the event has raised $14 million for local children’s charities
• Six patient champions will attend the Dana Open as part of the tournaments Champions for Children initiative
  • On Thursday, eight-year-old patient champion Greyson will hit the ceremonial first tee shot to begin tournament play
  • Toledo native and 13-time LPGA Tour winner Stacy Lewis will caddy for Greyson as he hits the first tee shot
  • The first tee ceremony will begin at approximately 6:40 a.m. on Thursday
• There are six native Ohioans in the Dana Open field including amateur sponsor invite Mia Hammond, 2024 Solheim Cup captain Lewis, LPGA Tour mom Lindsey Weaver-Wright, 2023 LPGA Professionals National Championship winner Allie White, University of Findlay All American Mary Kelly Mulcahy and Marissa Steen
  • Michigan natives Jennifer Song and Kris Tamulis are also in the field
  • Additionally, Rachel Rohanna is a University of Ohio alumna
• Other notable players in the Dana Open field include:
  • Sarah Schmelzel is a combined -31 at this event over the past 3 seasons, the lowest score to par of any player in the field this week

*Not in field this week

• • Schmelzel is making her sixth start at the Dana Open and has never missed a cut
  • She has a career-best finish of T4 in 2022
  • Schmelzel is the only player in the field with a chance to move into the top 7 on the USA Solheim Cup points list – if she wins, she would earn 225 points and have 1,124.5 points to rank 7^th
    • The U.S. Team will comprise the top seven players in the U.S. Solheim Cup points standings, the top two players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings not already eligible, and three captain’s picks
    • The team will be finalized on Aug. 25, 2024, following the AIG Women’s Open
  • Cheyenne Knight, Thompson and Marina Alex can also improve their chances with a top-40 finish
    • The higher the finish, the closer they will be to the current top 7 threshold – Andrea Lee with 1,121 points
  • Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 23 Maja Stark is making her first start at Highland Meadows
    • On the LPGA Tour this season, Stark has 7 Bogey free rounds and is in second behind only Ayaka Furue, who has 10 Bogey free rounds this season
  • Stephanie Kyriacou comes to Toledo following her career best finish at the Evian Championship
    • She gained over 18 strokes on the field last week in France, her most in a single event over the past 3 seasons
    • Kyriacou’s second most strokes gained over the past few seasons came at the Dana Open in 2023, in which she was +12.4.
      • In that start in 2023, she finished T4, her best finish of the season

OLYMPICS CORNER

There are 16 of the 60 players competing in the 2024 Olympics women’s golf competition teeing it up this week at the Dana Open:

Players alphabetically by their National Olympic Councils:

Canada: Alena Sharp

Colombia: Mariajo Uribe

Germany: Alexandra Forsterling, Esther Henseleit

India: Aditi Ashok

Ireland: Stephanie Meadow

Mexico: Maria Fassi, Gaby Lopez

Norway: Celine Borge

People’s Republic of China: Xiyu Lin

Philippines: Dottie Ardina

South Africa: Paula Reto

Spain: Carlota Ciganda

Sweden: Linn Grant, Maja Stark

Switzerland: Morgane Metraux

For the most updated 2024 Olympic golf competition fields, click here: https://www.igfgolf.org/news/2024/07/09/fields-announced-olympic-golf-paris-2024

Of Note:

• The last two champions of the Dana Open are 2024 Olympians: Linn Grant (2023) and Gaby Lopez (2022)
  • Gaby Lopez on participating in her third Olympic Games: “It’s a dream come true. I am one of those people that is very, very proud to represent their country and to wear the colors every Sunday I play on the LPGA Tour. So it’s a dream come true. I’m super excited to be teeing it up in Paris among these amazing athletes. We have this opportunity in Mexico where golf is not big, but everyone in the country can relate to the Olympic Games. So not only golf when it’s playing a major championship, U.S. Open, Evian, KPMG, British Open, but we’re also relating the whole country to have an opportunity to show our people what golf is like and we all can relate to a medal, right, Olympic medal. Having that opportunity to me just to inspire the next generations not only for golfers, but for any other kid, Mexican, that can dream about playing the Olympic games and having sport as an education is exactly what I lived. I’m just trying to make sports in Mexico just bigger and bigger, because for me it was a change in my life and me as a person, and being able to have this education of the discipline, integrity, honesty, all the values that sports gives to all these athletes, it is a big opportunity for me and Mexico.”
  • Linn Grant on representing Sweden with friend Maja Stark: “I think we’re both on the same plane there with like wanting to watch other sports and be a part of like the Swedish team and not just the golf team. Just really go and cheer for other sports. I mean, we both played — well, we played European teams as amateurs. We both love those events, and those are the best memories representing Sweden and being in those events. I think we both just have great memories from past tournaments like that.”
• There are 13 of the 2024 Olympians at this week’s Dutch Ladies Open on the Ladies European Tour: Sarah Schober and Emma Spitz (Austria), Manon De Roey (Belgium), Klara Davidson Spilkova and Sara Kouskova (Czech Republic), Ursula Wikstrom (Finland), Perrine Delacour (France), Alessandra Fanali (Italy), Anne Van Dam (Netherlands), Madelene Stavnar (Norway), Shannon Tan (Singapore), Pia Babnik (Slovenia), Albane Valenzuela (Switzerland)

Countdown to the beginning of the Olympic Women’s Golf Competition:

Thursday, July 18: 20 days

Friday, July 19: 19 days

Saturday, July 20: 18 days

Sunday, July 21: 17 days

Key Dates for Olympic Golf:

• 23 July – Olympic Torch visits Le Golf National
• 29 July – Groupings and tee times announced for the men’s golf competition
• 1-4 August – Men’s golf competition
• 5 August – Groupings and tee times announced for the women’s golf competition
• 7-10 August – Women’s golf competition

Overview on the Olympic Golf qualification process: the Olympic field is restricted to 60 players for each of the men’s and women’s competitions. For the women’s golf competition, the International Golf Federation (IGF) uses the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings to create the Olympic Golf Rankings as a method of determining eligibility. The top-15 world-ranked players will be eligible for the Olympics, with a limit of four players from a given country. Beyond the top 15, players will be eligible based on their Rolex Rankings position, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top-15. The host country – France – gets a minimum of one spot in each competition, regardless of rankings.

Scoring Records at Highland Meadows:

18 holes: 60, Paula Creamer (R1, 2008)

36 holes: 125, Paula Creamer (2008)

54 holes: 194, Nasa Hataoka (2021)

72 holes: 261, Se Ri Pak (1998)

SOCIAL MEDIA

LPGA Tour: @LPGA, @LPGAMedia (X), @lpga_tour (Instagram, TikTok)

Tournament: @danaopenlpga (Instagram, X)

TV/STREAMING TIMES (All times EST)

Thursday, July 18: 12:00-3:00 p.m.

(Golf Channel/Peacock/International)

Friday, July 19: 12:00-3:00 p.m.

(Golf Channel/Peacock/International)

Saturday, July 20: 2:00-5:00 p.m. (Peacock/Digital);

8:00-10:00 p.m. Tape Delay (Golf Channel/International)

Sunday, June 21: 1:00-2:00 p.m. (Golf Channel/  Digital/International); 2:00-4:00 p.m. (CBS)

ON LPGA.COM

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