After a week’s break, the LPGA Tour returns to the circuit at the Lotte Championship. With only a solitary event left before the season’s opening major championship, players would be keen on getting some much-needed match practice. But has the competition arrived too late for the sport’s best women’s golfers?

Who’s in and out at the Lotte Championship?

The 2023 Lotte Championship will head to the Hoakalei Country Club in Hawaii for the second time in its eleventh year. After a week off from the LA Open, the tournament serves as a pre-event before the Chevron Championship, the year’s opening major.

Four of the top 10 golfers in the Rolex standing will tee up at the Lotte Championship this week. Among them is Brooke Henderson, world no. 6, who has already tasted victory at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and is part of the field. Additionally, Hyo Joo Kim, world no. 9, returns as the reigning defending champion.

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The 27-year-old arrives in excellent form having registered three consecutive top-10 finishes in as many starts this season. Kim won the 2022 Lotte Championship with a score of 11-under par, which remains one of the highest 72-hole scores in recent times, indicating the nature of the course.

The Hoakalei Country Club is one of the recently-opened courses in the country. Built adjacent to a former Naval Air Station, Barbers Point, the country club is designed to tackle the local trade winds, which greatly affects its difficulty.

However, Hoakalei will miss the services of one of its previous winners, World No. 1 Lydia Ko. The 25-year-old has opted to sit out this week with the upcoming Chevron Championship on the horizon.

Ko won the 2021 edition of the tournament by a margin of seven strokes. Importantly, her victorious score of 28-under 260 scripted history as the scoring record for the event. It also stands as the third-lowest score to par in LPGA Tour history.

Prize money breakdown and winner’s benefits at the 2023 Lotte Championship

This year’s total purse for the Lotte Championship stands at $2 million. The figure is yet to rise since the tournament received a bump back in 2017.

Similarly, the winner’s share of the event stands at $300,000. Additionally, the victor will receive 500 Race to the CME Globe points, with an exemption to future editions of the tournament.

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