Hall of Fame Australian icon Karrie Webb will play her first LPGA Tour event in America in close to 18 months when she contests this week’s Pelican Championship at the Pelican Golf Club in Florida.
As the tournament season begins to wind down for all of the major men’s tours, the LPGA Tour is building to a big finish as the game’s best players eye off a US Women’s Open that will this year be played in December.
Back-to-back US Women’s Open champion 20 years ago, Webb’s last start in the US was at the 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship where, after missing the cut, she became the No.1 cheerleader for Hannah Green on her way to a major breakthrough.
Webb has not played a tournament of any note since the ISPS HANDA Women’s Australian Open in mid-February and will no doubt revel in being around the likes of Green, Minjee Lee and Katherine Kirk again.
At the other end of the career spectrum, rising amateur Gabriela Ruffels gets another opportunity to mix in professional company, paired with world No.26 Jessica Korda for the opening round.
There is a strong Aussie contingent on the PGA Tour too this week.
Jason Day is backing up from The Masters to try and break a two-year winless drought at the RSM Classic at Sea Island where he will be joined by Cameron Davis, Matt Jones, Cameron Percy and Aaron Baddeley for the penultimate event of 2020.
Round 1 tee times (AEDT)
PGA TOUR
RSM Classic
Sea Island Resort, Sea Island, Georgia
Seaside Course
1.30am Cameron Davis, Rory Sabbatini, Denny McCarthy
2.20am Matt Jones, Maverick McNealy, Bo Hoag
2.40am Tim Wilkinson, Charl Schwartzel, Lucas Glover
3.20am Jason Day, Hudson Swafford, Harris English
Plantation Course
1.30am Cameron Percy, Russell Henley, Doc Redman
1.40am*Aaron Baddeley, James Hahn, Patrick Rodgers
Defending champion: Tyler Duncan
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Top Aussie prediction: Jason Day
TV schedule: Live 5am-8am Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday on Fox Sports 503
European Tour
Joburg Open 2020
Randpark GC, Johannesburg, South Africa
9.30pm Scott Hend, Michael G Palmer, Jaco Ahlers
Defending champion: Shubhankar Sharma (2017)
Past Aussie winners: Nil
TV schedule: Live 6pm-9pm, 12am-2am Thursday; Live 9pm-2am Friday; Live 9pm-1.30am Saturday and Sunday on Fox Sports 503.
LPGA Tour
Pelican Women’s Championship
Pelican Golf Club, Belleair, Florida
10.21pm* Gabriela Ruffels (a), Jessica Korda, Gerina Piller
10.43pm Hannah Green, Mina Harigae, Mi Hyang Lee
10.54pm Katherine Kirk, Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Xiyu Lin
10.54pm* Minjee Lee, Brittany Altomare, Austin Ernst
11.16pm Su Oh, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Alena Sharp
11.38pm* Sarah Jane Smith, Nicole Broch Larsen, Daniela Darquea
2.59am Lydia Ko, Nasa Hataoka, Brooke M. Henderson
3.10am Karrie Webb, Stacy Lewis, Sung Hyun Park
Defending champion: Inaugural event
Past Aussie winners: Nil
Top Aussie prediction: Katherine Kirk
TV schedule: Live 6.30am-9.30am Friday and Saturday; Live 5am-8am Sunday; Live 6am-9am Monday on Fox Sports 507.