MAY 11-14, 2023
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) has announced that defending champion Minjee Lee will headline an elite field in the 2023 LPGA Cognizant Founders Cup (www.thefounderslpga.com), taking place May 10-14 at historic Upper Montclair Country Club.
Returning to northern New Jersey for the third straight year of play on one of the state’s premier golf courses, the tournament will celebrate Mother’s Day Weekend with six moms on tour competing in the field. This event helps drive the LPGA’s mission to engage, empower, and support girls and women in sports and business while honoring the 13 founding members of the LPGA. The event also kicks off the Year of Women’s Golf in New Jersey, with four professional golf events scheduled in the Garden State during May and June.
NJ-based Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH), one of the world’s leading professional services companies, will continue to serve as Title Sponsor for the 2023 Cognizant Founders Cup. The event offers a $3 million purse, one of the largest of any LPGA Tour events outside the majors and the CME Group Tour Championship.
The 144-player field will be filled with the Tour’s most talented and accomplished players. Among these athletes will be two special exemptions, including current NJSGA Women’s Amateur Champion and Player of The Year, Katie Lu and the winner of The John Shippen Cognizant Cup, an 18-hole stroke play competition for Black women golfers taking place at Upper Montclair Country Club Country Club on May 7-8.
“The LPGA is excited to once again host our prestigious Cognizant Founders Cup at iconic Upper Montclair Country Club in northern New Jersey, where women’s golf is so passionately embraced by fans and sponsors alike,” said Scott Wood, Sr. Director, Cognizant Founders Cup. “Now in our third year, this event has found a home in New Jersey and there is no better place to salute the founders of the LPGA and continue the conversation on empowering women.”
Wood adds, “What makes 2023 even more special is that the Cognizant Founders Cup kicks off the year of women’s golf in New Jersey and fans across the state will get to get to watch the best players in the world
The Cognizant Founders Cup, an event that honors the 13 founding members of the LPGA, held its 2023 Media Day on Tuesday, April 25, at Upper Montclair Country Club, in Clifton. Pictured from left are Becky Newell, senior director sponsorships, LPGA Properties; Current NJSGA Women’s Amateur Champion and Player of The Year, Katie Lu (2023 Cognizant Founders Cup Exemption); and Antonella Bonanni, chief marketing officer for the Americas, Cognizant Technology Solutions.
compete in four professional events over a six-week span.”
“We are thrilled to help support the talented athletes of the LPGA through our Title Sponsorship of the Cognizant Founders Cup,” said Gaurav Chand, Chief Marketing Officer. “Cognizant is committed to creating equal opportunity and diversity both in and out of the workplace and recognizes the important role that women's professional sports can play in creating a better future for the next generation of women and girls. We look forward to the 2023 LPGA season in NJ and beyond.”
The Cognizant Founders Cup joins a long list of prestigious events to be held at Upper Montclair Country Club, which is one of few country clubs worldwide to have hosted tournaments for all three professional golf tours, including the LPGA in 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, and 2007-2009. Long considered one of NJ’s premier golf clubs, this legendary A.W. Tillinghast golf course design underwent a major renova-
tion in the 1950s, directed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. The renovation transformed Upper Montclair Country Club into its present 27-hole Championship layout. The acclaimed venue, which has hosted hundreds of the world’s best players over many decades, will challenge an elite field of LPGA golfers.
“The membership of Upper Montclair Country Club is excited to host the Cognizant Founders Cup for a second straight year,” said Charlie Dimpfl, CCM, General Manager/Chief Operating Officer, Upper Montclair Country Club. “There is no greater supporter of women’s golf and the professional game than UMCC, and we expect today’s world-class women professionals will find our golf course as challenging, yet as fair as their predecessors.”
A fun-filled week of “family entertainment” awaits fans of all ages, as the greatest professional golfers in the world compete in one of the most prestigious tournaments on the LPGA calendar. Among the event’s ben-
eficiaries is LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, a nonprofit 501-c3 junior golf program that positively impacts over 100,000 girls who are learning and loving the game.
To purchase individual and week-long ticket packages along with an assortment of hospitality options, golf fans can now visit www.thefounderslpga.com. General admission tickets, providing access to the tournament grounds any day Thursday through Sunday are $45, with a weekly 5-day pass available for $125. Hospitality packages, which begin at $100 per day, include access to on-course hospitality and an assortment of food and beverage options. Juniors 17 and under receive free general admission, and active and retired Military can show their ID at the gate, giving them access to a free grounds pass on that given day (accompanying guests not included).
Keep up-to-date with all of the latest on the LPGA Cognizant Founders Cup on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
The LPGA is the world’s leading professional golf organization for women. Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Daytona Beach, Fla., the association celebrates a diverse and storied membership with more than 2,300 Members representing more than 30 countries.
With a vision to inspire, empower, educate and entertain by showcasing the very best of women’s golf, LPGA Tour Professionals compete across the globe, while the Epson Tour, the official development and qualifying tour of the LPGA, consistently produces a pipeline of talent ready for the world stage.
Additionally, LPGA Professionals directly impact the game through teaching, coaching and management. The LPGA demonstrates its dedication to the development of the game through The LPGA Foundation. Since 1991, this charitable organization has been committed to empowering and supporting girls and women through developmental, humanitarian and golf community initiatives, including LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, the LPGA Women’s Network and the LPGA Amateur Golf Association. Follow the LPGA on its U.S. television home, Golf Channel, online at www.LPGA.com and on its mobile apps. Join the social conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
The 2023 Cognizant Founders Cup will utilize off-site parking for spectators. Event shuttles will be scheduled Wednesday - Sunday. Daily parking is $20 and will not require a pass and will be collected onsite, cash only. Weekly Parking Passes are $50 plus tax and are now available online at cuetoems.com/founders_2023/ Tickets.aspx?
The address for GPS directions is 200 Metro Blvd., Nutley, NJ, 07110
Directions from Route 3 Westbound:
Take the exit on right for Passaic Avenue, towards Nutley, Passaic
Turn left on Passaic Avenue
Turn right onto Kingsland Street
Follow signage to parking garage
Directions from Route 3 Eastbound
Turn right onto Metro Boulevard
Follow signage to parking garage
For taxi and rideshare pick up or drop off use the following address:
Upper Montclair Country Club 177 Hepburn Road Clifton, NJ, 07012
Shuttle information
Wednesday, May 10, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 11, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday, May 12, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 13, 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 14, 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The LPGA owes its long and distinguished history to the hard work and commitment of its 13 founding members. These trailblazers are responsible for creating one of the most successful women’s sports organizations in history and were dedicated to golf as a game and a career.
They “did it all” back then: planned and organized the golf tournaments, drafted the bylaws, supervised membership, set up the courses, and much more. The LPGA recognizes the sacrifice and devotion of this group of distinguished women and honors them through several respects, including the annual LPGA Tour event, the Founders Cup. In these pages, learn more about the LPGA’s 13 founders.
(1927-2002)
Rookie year: 1950
Career earnings: $26,156
At the age of 22, Bauer became one of 13 founders of the LPGA Tour in 1950. As one of the “moms on tour” at the time, Bauer was one of the first to travel to golf tournaments with her two children. Being a mother was her first priority; therefore she only played on the tour occasionally. She had an outstanding amateur career, was voted South Dakota’s Amateur Women of the Year when she was 14 years old and won the South Dakota Amateur title.
She was accompanied by her sister, Marlene Bauer Hagge, as LPGA founding members and together they were widely known in golf circles because of their history as prodigy performers in the game. Bauer never won on the LPGA Tour, but she forced a playoff against Marilynn Smith in the 1955 Heart of America tournament. In 1956, she finished 14th on the LPGA’s season money list.
(1918-2006)
Turned pro: 1940
LPGA victories: 60
Career earnings: $190,760
Nicknamed “Dynamite” in the early ages of the LPGA Tour, Berg was one of the most dominant players of the 13 founders. To this day, she is credited with more wins in women’s majors than any other golfer, topping off at 15 championship titles.
Berg’s golf career began well before the formation of the tour with eight majors before 1950. She was a major force on the course during the first decade of the LPGA Tour, winning majors, money titles and scoring titles. Because of her stellar play during her career, she was in the first class inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
All her life, Berg remained an ambassador for the game she loved, playing recreationally with friends well through her 70s and conducting more than 10,000 golf clinics in her lifetime. The LPGA annually awards the Patty Berg Award, established in 1978, to “the lady golfer who has made the greatest contribution to women’s golf during the year.”
(1923-2011)
Rookie year: 1950
Known to the founding members of the LPGA Tour as “Mighty Mite,” the shortstatured Danoff joined the tour with an impressive golf resume. She began playing golf at an early age after her family opened its own driving range and ninehole golf course. She won four straight Dallas Women’s Golf Association Championships from 1945 through 1948, the women’s division of the Texas PGA in 1945 and 1946, and the Texas Women’s Amateur in 1947 and 1948.
Although she was winless on the LPGA Tour, she still played a huge role in its formation. She earned her the LPGA Commissioners Award in 2000, which honors a person or organization who has contributed uniquely to the LPGA and its members, who has furthered the cause of women’s golf, and whose character and standards are of the highest order.
(1914-1990)
Rookie year: 1950
Growing up in a family of golfers in the Washington, D.C., area, Dettweiler graduated from Trinity College with degrees in history and English and headed to Florida to launch a golf career with money her grandmother had given her as a graduation present. Dettweiler won the first tournament she entered, capturing the 1939 Women’s Western Open as an ama-
teur. Later that year, she joined Wilson Sporting Goods as a staff professional, along with fellow future LPGA Tour cofounders Opal Hill and Helen Hicks; Patty Berg followed in 1940.
Dettweiler was instrumental in getting the Women’s Professional Golf Association off the ground in 1947, later serving as the vice president of the LPGA when it was formed in 1950. While she was there for the LPGA’s beginning, Dettweiler left the tour in the early years to teach golf, returning to California to become the head professional at Indian Palms.
(1934- )
Rookie year: 1950
LPGA victories: 23 Career earnings: $481,032 Hagge and her sister, Alice Bauer, got an early start in golf at age 3, thanks to golf pro father, Dave Bauer. In fact, their father billed them as “The Bauer Sisters” in golf exhibitions around the country in the mid-1940s. By age 10, Hagge had won California’s Long Beach City Boys Junior Championship and, by age 13, she had captured crowns at the Western and National Junior Championships, the Los Angeles Women’s City Championship, the Palm Springs Women’s Championship and the Northern California Open. Just before her 16th birthday, she joined the LPGA Tour in 1950 to launch her professional career.
From 1952 through 1972, Bauer recorded 26 victories and was voted into the LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame in 2002, through the Veteran’s Category ballot. One of the 13 founding members of the LPGA, Bauer will long be recognized for her longevity, playing in each of the LPGA Tour’s first five decades. The petite blonde will also be remembered as the player who brought a splash of California glamour to the LPGA Tour.
(1911-1974)
LPGA victories: 2 Hicks launched her golf career with several top amateur wins, including a victory over legendary American amateur Glenna Collett Vare at the 1929 Women’s
Canadian Open. She recorded two other key wins at the 1931 Women’s Eastern Championship and at the 1931 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, where, once again, she defeated Vare in the finals.
Known for her length and strength, as well as her non-classic reported “baseball swing,” Hicks was also the first woman to have signature Wilson golf clubs bearing her name. The company actually gave her the title of “business woman golfer” and sent her out on the road to engage customers with the power of her game and her big personality. Hicks then helped train future LPGA co-founders and Wilson staff members Opal Hill and Patty Berg on how to conduct golf clinics.
Rookie year: 1950
LPGA victories: 2 Hill began playing golf at age 31, when physicians urged her to add gentle exercise as she battled a longtime kidney ailment. At one point, she was told she only had three years to live. She not only conquered her illness, but grew to love the game, ultimately winning the Kansas City Championship nine times, capturing three Doherty Cup titles, being the 1928 North and South Women’s Amateur champion and being named to four U.S. Curtis Cup teams.
She was sometimes called “the matriarch of women’s golf” because she entered the game late and was older than many of her fellow competitors. She was the first LPGA Teaching and Club Professional honorary member from the Midwestern Section. Hill also was the first recipient of the National Golf Foundation’s Joe Graffis Award and was a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
Rookie year: 1950
LPGA victories: 13
LPGA earnings: $91,740
Jameson established her reputation as a top American amateur long before she became one of the LPGA’s 13 founders. The lanky player, who possessed what her peers
See THIRTEEN, Page 6
(Continued from Page 4) called “the perfect golf grip” and a “natural beauty,” won 14 top amateur titles, including the 1939 and 1940 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships. In 1942, she became the first player to win the Western Women’s Open and the Western Women’s Amateur in the same year. Her amateur career had been launched when she won the 1932 Texas Publinx Title at age 13.
Jameson turned pro in 1945, and won seven times prior to the start of the LPGA. Two years after her professional debut, she won the 1947 U.S. Women’s Open with a 295 total. That score marked the first time a woman had scored lower than 300 for a 72-hole tournament. She went on to win 13 LPGA tournaments, including three major championships, and was one of the LPGA’s first six Hall of Fame inductees.
Jameson’s greatest legacy is the Vare Trophy, which she donated in 1952, in the name of her idol, American amateur star, Glenna Collett Vare. It was the idea of this freethinking player to institute the concept of the Vare Trophy, which continues to be awarded to the LPGA Tour player with the lowest scoring average each year.
(1923-1966)
Rookie year: 1947
Growing up in North Muskegon, Mich., Sessions was a gifted athlete in both tennis and golf. She won the Michigan State Tennis Championship at age 16, and won both the city of Muskegon’s tennis and golf championships on the same day in 1942. Eventually, however, Sessions directed her focus solely toward golf. She won the 1946 Michigan Women’s State Championship and in 1947 became the first woman to break par-72 at Pinehurst Country Club in Pinehurst, N.C., with a score of 69. That same year and playing as an amateur, she finished as runner-up to Betty Jameson at the 1947 U.S. Women’s Open Championship, also adding a win at the 1947 Mexican Women’s Open.
A year later, Sessions turned pro, tying for 10th at the 1948 U.S. Women’s Open. She recorded a fifth-place finish at the 1949 Tam O’Shanter All-American tournament. Just like many other women professionals of her time, she became a staff professional for Wilson Sporting Goods and performed clinics and exhibitions around the country as a member of the Wilson staff. She never won on the LPGA Tour during her brief golf career, but Sessions served as the association’s first secretary.
Rookie year: 1950 LPGA victories: 21 LPGA earnings: $296,258
Smith was known as “Miss Personality” and the “LPGA’s goodwill ambassador” on the LPGA Tour in its early years. And it was Smith, wearing pearls and heels, who was often pushed out to adlib the LPGA’s earliest public relations efforts in front of fans, sponsors and the media. Accompanied by her fellow pros, she would often hit balls from home plate to the outfield and invite fans at Major League Baseball parks to come watch the local LPGA tournament. Once, she even attended a boxing match with the goal of reminding fans between rounds to attend that week’s LPGA event; unfortunately, the grueling nature of the sport made Smith swoon and one of her fellow pros had to jump into the blood-splattered ring to invite boxing fans to come watch women’s golf.
But while Smith was a true girl-nextdoor native of Topeka, Kansa, who called herself “just an ordinary gal from the Kansas prairie who has lived an extraordinary life,” she was a solid competitor on the LPGA Tour from 1957 to 1976, playing a more limited schedule until 1985. During that time, Smith won 21 tournaments, including two major championships at the 1963 and 1964 Titleholders Championships. Her first LPGA win came at the 1954 Fort Wayne Open in Indiana, with her final professional title notched at the 1972 Pabst Ladies Classic. She recorded nine top-10 finishes on the LPGA’s money list from 1961 through 1972.
(1927-2022)
Rookie year: 1946 Spork was always a player with a keen eye for golf swing technique, leading her to become one of six inaugural members of the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals Hall of Fame. Spork graduated from Eastern Michigan University, where she won the first-ever National Collegiate Championship in 1947, which was the equivalent of today’s NCAA Championship. A teacher at heart, she was the Western educational
director for the National Golf Foundation for seven years and taught golf in the early 1950s at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Typical at that time, she spent the summer months competing on the LPGA Tour and the winter months teaching golf in the California desert.
In 1959, Spork helped found the LPGA’s teaching division along with Marilynn Smith, Betty Hicks and Barbara Rotvig. She was named LPGA National Teacher of the Year in both 1959 and 1984. She also served as the LPGA’s Teaching and Club Professionals chairperson for eight years. But Spork could also hit the shots, finishing among the top 10 on the LPGA’s money list in 1950, placing second in the 1962 LPGA Championship and fourth in the Carling Eastern Open that year. Widely considered the LPGA’s resident “trick-shot artist,” Spork would please crowds with golf shots on command and entertain fans in clinics wherever the tour traveled.
Rookie year: 1950
LPGA victories: 58
LPGA earnings: $190,475 Suggs always let her clubs do the talking. Nicknamed “The Little Hogan” by the media in the early years, Suggs brought a sparkling amateur career with her to the newly formed professional golf association. The Georgia native was no stranger to golf fans, as she had wowed media and galleries throughout the 1940s with amateur wins that included two Georgia State Amateur Championships, wins at the 1941 and 1947 Southern Amateur Championship, three wins at the North and South Women’s Amateur Championship, the 1947 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, and the 1948 Women’s British Amateur Championship, as well as being a member of the 1948 U.S. Curtis Cup team.
Suggs is credited with 58 LPGA career wins and 11 major championships. In 1957, she won the Vare Trophy for low scoring average and also became the LPGA’s first player to complete the career grand slam, which included the U.S. Women’s Open, the LPGA Championship, the Western Open and the Titleholders Championship, at that time. Suggs became one of the six inaugural inductees of the LPGA Hall of Fame, as well as a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, and the LPGA’s Teaching and Club Professionals Hall of Fame. Over the years, she was honored with numerous awards, including the Patty Berg Award in 2000, the 2007 Bob Jones Award for “distin-
guished sportsmanship in golf,” and the William D. Richardson Award in 2008, which recognizes “individuals who have consistently made an outstanding contribution to golf.”
Rookie year: 1950
LPGA victories: 36
LPGA earnings: $66,237
Mildred Ella
Didriksen was born in 1911 as the child of Norwegian immigrants who settled in Port Arthur, Texas. But this LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member became better known as “The Babe” during her lifetime in sports. Moreover, she was the centerpiece for the LPGA Tour in its early days.
Zaharias was an Olympian who was often called the “greatest female athlete in history.” She starred in track and field, winning gold medals and setting or tying world records in the 80-meter hurdles and the javelin, and winning the silver medal in the high jump at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Calif. She also was an All-American basketball player, earning her nickname after hitting five home runs in a single baseball game in the style of home run king Babe Ruth, and was said to have been equally adept in tennis, bowling, billiards, diving and roller skating.
But it was golf, and specifically the LPGA, where Zaharias made her final mark. She began focusing on golf in 1934, and won her second tournament a year later at the 1935 Texas Women’s Invitational. Two weeks later, the USGA ruled that she was a professional athlete because of her earnings in baseball and basketball, but she regained her amateur status in 1943, and won 17 amateur events from 1946-47, including the 1946 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship and the 1947 Women’s British Amateur Championship. She turned professional in August 1947. Her swaggering style and athleticism gave her 41 professional wins, with 10 victories prior to the LPGA’s start in 1950, with 36 professional titles on the LPGA Tour, including 10 major championships. She still holds the LPGA’s record as the player who reached 10 wins, 20 wins and 30 wins the fastest.
The LPGA owes so much to these pioneering women, who used their voices and athletic ability to create an enduring legacy. As this year’s phenomenal golfers compete in the Cognizant Founders Cup, take a moment to remember and honor these incredible, trailblazing women.
Upper Montclair Country Club, located less than an hour from New York City, has a long standing and rich history dating back to the 20th Century.
April 1901: the beginning At the turn of the 20th century, a small group of golfers playing on a rudimentary 5-hole golf course in a Montclair meadow merged with a social organization called the Upper Ten Club. Thus was formed the Upper Montclair Country Club in 1901. The first recorded meeting was held at the Inwood Tennis Club on April 15, 1901. That same year, four new holes were added to the original five. Circa 1912, property was purchased across
Broad Street from the Hepburn family farm, from which the club owes its present mailing address.
1929: the early stages: By the early 1920s, after land had been acquired in the area of the present site, the legendary A.W. Tillinghast designed an 18-hole golf course and a brand new clubhouse started construction in 1928. The clubhouse opened on Nov. 9, 1929, just weeks after “Black Friday,” the day the stock market crashed and signaled the beginning of the Great Depression.
1950-2000s: championship designs : In the 1950s a major golf course renovation was directed by
Robert Trent Jones Sr., which transformed the Upper Montclair Country Club into the present 27-hole championship design. Starting with the Thunderbird Classic in 1962, Upper Montclair Country Club was the host of many professional tours through 2009. UMCC is one of only a few country clubs worldwide known to have hosted tournaments for all three Professional Golf Associations.
2011: continued improvements: Most recently in 2011 the club completed a master plan golf course renovation project that included installing a new stateof-the-art drainage and irrigation
system,while reshaping and restoring all of the bunkers throughout the 27hole facility.
Present day: going strong: The clubhouse has continually been updated over the years to maintain the history and charm of the 1926 clubhouse, while modernizing to meet members’ needs. All rooms in the clubhouse have been renovated in the past few years and, in 2013, the country club finished a major state-of-the-art kitchen renovation.
Recently the club’s traditional metal lockers, many signed by the golfing legends who toured these grounds, were all replaced with new wooden lockers.
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and The PGA of America (PGA) have announced that 2023 will be the Year of Women’s Golf in New Jersey, with four prestigious golf tournaments descending on the Garden State, highlighted by a Major Championship.
The 2023 lineup of tournaments that will take place over a six-week span across Northern and Southern New Jersey include:
Cognizant Founders Cup: May 10-14 at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton. An event that celebrates and honors the 13 Founders of the LPGA Tour.
Mizuho Americas Open: May 30 - June 4 at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City. A total of 24 female junior golfers to compete in an AJGA Invitational alongside the 120-player LPGA Tour field.
ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer: June 7-11 at Seaview in Galloway Township. A Jersey Shore/South Jersey tradition.
KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: June 21-25 at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield.
As one of a few states to host multiple women’s professional golf events in a calendar year, New Jersey will establish a significant women’s golf footprint in 2023 that will showcase the best players in the world, while highlighting the importance of business leadership, mentorship and the empowerment of women and young girls through a host of unique marketing programs that coincide with the respective tournaments.
On the heels of the 50-year anniversary of Title IX, in 2023 golf fans and corporate hospitality partners/sponsors will get an up-close look at the game’s best professional women golfers who will compete for record purses that continue to positively impact the sport. Additionally, through philanthropic initiatives, special events and on-site activations, the combined efforts of these events will further elevate opportunities in the
sport so the next generation can dream big.
“We are thrilled that N.J. will be the epicenter of women’s golf in 2023, allowing the LPGA, PGA of America and our sponsors to use our collective platform to inspire young girls and women throughout NJ and the surrounding Tri-state region,” said Mollie Marcoux Samaan, LPGA Commissioner. “The combination of these four truly first-rate and meaningful events played at some of the best golf courses in the world in a major market provides a rare and exciting opportunity to not only elevate Women’s golf but also elevate the conversation around Women’s leadership and empowerment more broadly.”
“The PGA of America is especially proud to be a part
of this important moment for women’s golf when we return to iconic Baltusrol Golf Club, the host of so many historical events, including the 2005 and 2016 PGA Championships, and showcase the world’s best women golfers in a Major championship setting for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship,” said Seth Waugh, CEO, PGA of America. “N.J. loves professional golf, and we are excited to be part of such a powerful lineup of women’s professional events across the Garden State in 2023.”
Waugh adds, “Not only will 2023 be engaging for fans and sponsors alike but hosting a Major Championship and three LPGA Tour events across the state during a six-week span presents a significant economic impact for N.J., especially in the communities surrounding the tournament venues.”
In advance of the four events coming to New Jersey in 2023, women’s professional golf has experienced significant growth on a global scale and with readily growing purses. In 2023, the LPGA Tour’s 33 tournaments will offer a record-high $101.4 million in prize money to athletes representing more than 35 countries.
In 2022, purses increased at nine existing events, including the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship’s $7 million purse, with $2 million awarded to the champion.
In June 2022, the purse at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship doubled from $4.5 to $9 million. The figure represented a 300% surge since 2014 ($2.25M), while the winner’s share on Sunday doubled to $1.35 million.
Adds Samaan, “This is a great time for women’s professional golf, but we will not stop here. The LPGA and its partners and sponsors are fully committed to exponential growth in both events and purses, allowing the talent of our great players to be showcased to the world.”
The LPGA-USGA Girls Golf Program is the primary beneficiary of the Cognizant Founders Cup. The Founders Cup is an innovative tournament created to honor the 13 women who founded the LPGA over 60 years ago. Over the past six years, the Founders Cup has raised almost $4 million dollars for the Girls Golf Program. Those donations allowed Girls Golf to add 34 new sites and support growing locations that doubled in size. They have also been able to support new and existing sites with additional marketing materials, signage and event support.
The LPGA-USGA Girls Golf Program was established in 1989 to provide an opportunity for girls, ages 7 to 17, to learn to play golf, build lasting friendships, and experience competition in a fun, supportive environment. This program also teaches them life skills through golf such as patience, respect, honesty, confidence, focus, determination, which will benefit them in the challenges they face in future. The Girls Golf program puts emphasis on illustrating five main elements through teachings and friendly competition, which are also known as ‘The 5 E’s’.
EMPOWER:We empower our girls to feel they can accomplish their goals.
ENRICH:We enrich their lives by teaching them a game they can play and enjoy with friends for a lifetime.
ENGAGE:We engage the girls to become involved and make a difference in their communities.
EXERCISE:We exercise their minds & bodies and help them realize their potential.
ENERGIZE:We energize them with our vitality and enthusiasm by sharing our love for the game.
To learn more go to: girlsgolf.org/home.
Becoming a parent is a life-changing experience and for professional female athletes, becoming a mom also brings some unique challenges.
The LPGA has worked to provide programs and policies to help its players pursue their goals both as an elite athlete and a mom while helping themto thrive both on and off the golf course as they travel with their young children.
The LPGA pioneered the concept of providing the children of its athletes with consistent, high-quality and familiar child development services. The Smucker’s LPGA Child Development Center was the first traveling childcare center in the world of professional sports and has been with the LPGA Tour for more than 25 years.
The program has provided childcare services to LPGA athletes and staff since its inception, and it is vital to helping the athlete moms continue their careers after having children. Three full-time credentialed child development staff members travel to each North American event to care for the children of LPGA Tour moms.
Week after week, as the LPGA Tour travels, the children receive consistent care and education because these same staff members travel with the center. The facility is also supported by temporary credentialed staff and volunteers.
In 2019, the LPGA introduced an
updated maternity policy designed to provide new moms with more flexibility regarding maternity leave. A few keys of the policy:
• Policy designed to be pro-athlete and pro-mom
• Structured to give moms flexibility and options regarding their maternity leave
• Players can take maternity in year of child’s birth or the year after
• Moms have two years from date of baby’s birth to return to playing
• Once moms return, they have the
same status they had entering the season of maternity and have 12 months, which is also the same number of tournaments, to compete at that status.
In addition to the LPGA’s updated maternity policy, all five majors on the LPGA Tour schedule now have maternity clauses that exempt a player into the championship who qualified for the previous year but did not compete due to maternity.
The following is a list of mom’s on the tour with the names of their children and the year they were born:
• Paula Creamer, Hilton Kennedy in 2022.
• Laura Diaz, Cooper Diaz in 2006 and Lily Diaz in 2010
• Julieta Granada, Gia Granada in 2021
• Mi Jung Hur, Ji-An Wang in 2022
• Juli Inkster, Hayley Inkster in 1990 and Cori Inkster in 1994
• Cristie Kerr, Mason Stevens in 2013 and Griffin Stevens in 2018
• Brittany Lang, Shay Spann in 2020
• Stacy Lewis, Chesnee Chadwell in 2018
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• Brittany Lincicome, Emery Gouws in 2019 and Sophia Gouws in 2022
• Caroline Masson, Benton McDede in 2023
• Catriona Matthew, Katie Matthew in 2006 and Sophie Matthew in 2009
• Gerina Mendoza, Ajeo Piller in 2018
• Sydnee Michaels, Isla Muncrief in 2017
• Azahara Munoz, Lucas Vickers in 2022
• Brooke Pancake, Lucy Rende in 2018, Jackson Rende in 2020 and Palmer Rende in 2021
• Inbee Park, Baby Girl Nam in 2023
• Hee Young Park, Mino Joe Park in 2023
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• Jane Park, Grace Godfrey in 2020
• Katherine Perry-Hamski, John Hamski in 2020
• Rachel Rohanna, Gemelia Virgili in 2018
• Sarah Jane Smith, Theo Smith in 2019
• Jackie Stoelting, Baren Stoelting in 2019 and Baylor Stoelting in 2022
• Mariajo Uribe, Lucca Bautista in 2020
• Michelle Wie West, Makenna West in 2020
• Cheyenne Woods, Cameron Hicks in 2022
•Additionally, Amy Olson and Sophia Popov are expecting their first children in 2023.
The Highlawn provides elegant New American dining with sweeping views of New York City. We look forward to welcoming you at our newly renovated Grill, Bar, and Patio.
Private Dining with sweeping views of New York City Groups & Special Occasions
Our team is ready to help you plan the perfect event
For reservations: info@thehighlawn.com
For catering and events: events@thehighlawn.com
On a final day filled with drama, it took every last one of the remaining 18 holes to declare a winner of the 2022 Cognizant Founders Cup.
When the dust settled, it was Australian Minjee Lee who walked away from Upper Montclair Country Club with a hard-fought victory, the seventh of her career and the first since her maiden major championship win at the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship.
Some important facts for this year’s tournament:
• Race to the CME Globe: 500 points.
• Format: 72 holes.
• Purse: $3 million.
• Par: 71.
• Yardage: 6,656.
The following is the hole descriptions for the front nine:
• Hole 1: The first hole of the tournament course is 385 yards. This straight, medium-length par-4 features three very large fairway bunkers that collect errant tee shots. A small, bunkered green awaits an accurate approach.
• Hole 2: The second hole is a long, split fairway, par-5, though precise tee shot will leave you a chance to get home in two. But don’t try to run the ball on the green, or this large greenside bunker will leave you with a challenging third shot.
• Hole 3: Par-4 and perhaps the most difficult tee shot on the tournament
course is the 3rd hole. This hole requires an accurate tee shot to a fairway that bends from right to left. A three-tiered
green will challenge your approach shot if you expect a realistic chance at a birdie.
• Hole 4: The par-3, 4th hole has one
of the more challenging greens on the course. After a mid-iron tee shot, you must successfully negotiate the undulations and contours of this green to secure a par.
• Hole 5: The final par-5 on the front nine demands a straight tee shot, with desert areas on both sides of the fairway. Depending on the pin placement, you must decide which side of the split fairway you will hit your second shot into, which will allow easy access to this large contoured green. A well-played third shot may provide a chance at a birdie on this scenic par-5.
• Hole 6: The second par-3 on the course is the 6th hole. A long iron is needed to reach the green, which has multiple levels and is sloped from back to front.
• Hole 7: The short, par-4, 7th hole requires accuracy off of the tee, which will set up a short-iron to this demanding green. Several greenside bunkers guard this green and a severe slant from back to front makes a birdie putt difficult to attain.
• Hole 8: Perhaps the most difficult hole on the front nine is this par-4. If your tee shot manages to avoid the desert areas, you are left with a long approach and must negotiate the lake on the right side of the green. A challenging green will make you work for your par.
• Hole 9: The 9th hole on the course is
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astraight par-4 that features a very large fairway bunker that will penalize errant tee shots. A mid-iron approach must find the correct level of this large, twotiered green.
The following is the hole descriptions for the back nine:
• Hole 10: The 10th hole is a long par-4 with a slight dogleg to the right. If you find the bunker that is 40 yards short of the green, you can amass a large number of this hole. Perhaps the most undulating green on the golf course, the 10th green will challenge even the best putting strokes.
• Hole 11: The three fairway bunkers on the par-5, 11th hole provide for the narrowest tee shot on the golf course. A successful layup must stay clear of a bunker that sits 60 yards from the green. Your third shot must find the correct section of this triangle-shaped green in order to have a realistic birdie chance.
• Hole 12: The 478-yard, par-4, 12th hole is a demanding hole. If your tee shot finds the short grass, don’t be fooled on your approach by the bunker that sits 20 yards short of the green. Although the undulations on the 12th green are subtle, this green is slippery and is very easy to 3-putt.
• Hole 13: Hit a long-iron or fairway wood to the 100-yard to 120-yard range and you are off to a good start on the par-
4, 13th hole. Judging the correct distance on your second shot to this uphill green will prove to be a challenge. This green slopes from right to left, so be careful with those downhill putts.
• Hole 14: At 214 yards, the par-3, 14th hole is one of many challenging holes on the inward nine. Once you have found the putting surface, this green will challenge you with its slopes and deceiving breaks.
• Hole 15: The 15th hole is a 485-yard par-5. With a desert area down the entire left side, the fairway is wide enough to be aggressive. A well-protected green will provide a reasonable birdie try to those who play it smart.
• Hole 16: A true risk-reward hole, this 314-yard par-4 will give you a few options. A layup with a mid- or long-iron will leave you with a short approach to this wellguarded green. If you try to drive the green from the tee, plenty of deep bunkers await an off-line shot. Scores frequently range from eagle to double-bogey on this short par-4.
• Hole 17: The 17th hole is a mediumsized par-3 that provides an opportunity for a birdie. However, once you find the putting surface, this multi-tiered green may turn your birdie putt into a bogey putt.
• Hole 18: The finishing hole is a 420yard par-4 that features a desert area along the entire left side. If you manage to avoid the fairway and greenside bunkers,
General admission tickets provide access to the tournament grounds, May 10 to May 14, public seating where available, and access to concessions. Tickets may be printed at home or presented electronically on a mobile device.
Grounds Tickets, which provide access to the tournament grounds, public seating, and concessions, are $45 online and $55 at the gate Wednesday and Thursday. Grounds Tickets on Friday, Saturday and Sunday are $55 online and $65 at the gate.
Junior Tickets are free to kids 17 and under with a paying adult. Please note that Junior Tickets are valid only for general admission and must be presented by a junior upon entry. A separate ticket is required for hospitality areas for those 3 years of age and older. A Grounds Weekly Pass is available online only for $125.
Drive On Pavilion
The Drive On Pavilion is a fully covered viewing area located to player left of the 9th Green. A ticket includes off-site general parking and tournament grounds access. Hospitality within the pavilion includes bottled water, coffee, soft drinks, beer, wine and select spirits. Food is available for purchase. Children 3 years of age and older, will require their own Drive On Pavilion credentials to access the area.
A Drive On Pavilion ticket is $100 online and $145 at the age for each day of the tournament.
Clubhouse Package
The Clubhouse Package provides tournament access and clubhouse hospitality. Hospitality is located in the lower level of the clubhouse with patio and indoor open seating with access to food and beverage and indoor restrooms. This includes off-site general parking, shared continental breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, water, coffee, and soft drinks. Beer, wine and select spirits served at the patio bar. Clubhouse ticket holders will share food service space. These tickets are available Friday through Sunday online only and are required for guests ages 3 and up. A ticket cost $175 and they are sold online only.
Pioneer Pavilion
The Pioneer Pavilion is a covered viewing area behind the 15th Green. Tickets allow for event entrance and access to hospitality. Ticket sales are open to sponsors and the general public Thursday through Sunday. Benefits include off-site general parking, continental breakfast, hot lunch, afternoon snack, water, coffee, soft drinks, beer, wine, and select spirits. Children 3 years of age and older, will require their own Pioneer Pavilion credentials to access the area. The Pioneer Pavilion tickets cost $175 online and $225 at the gate.
For more information or to buy tickets, visit the tournament website at thefounderslpga.com.
The Cognizant Founders Cup returns May 8th-14th, to Upper Montclair Country Club for the second consecutive year. This prestigious event pays tribute to the 13 founding members of the LPGA Tour, which was created in 1950. This will also mark the third year with Cognizant serving as the title sponsor since the tournament's transition to northern New Jersey in 2021.
Cognizant, headquartered in Teaneck, is one of the leading technological services and consulting companies in the world. They have been a huge proponent of diversity and inclusion efforts across their company culture and have been leaders of pushing the needle for more equality in women’s sports, offering a $3 million purse, the second largest of any LPGA Tour event outside of the majors and CME Group Tour Championship.
Upper Montclair Country Club is one of only a few country clubs worldwide known to have hosted tournaments for all three professional golf tours, including the LPGA Tour from 19791980, 1983-1984, and 2007-2009.
Long considered one of NJ’s premier golf clubs, this legendary A.W. Tillinghast golf course design underwent a major renovation in the 1950s, directed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., transforming Upper Montclair Country Club into its present 27hole championship layout. The acclaimed venue, which has hosted hundreds of the world’s best players over many decades, will challenge defending champion Minjee Lee, along with Lexi Thompson, and an elite field of the best professional women golfers in the world.
As the longest running women’s professional sports organization, the LPGA Tour is committed to sharing in the courage and passion of its 13 founding members. The determination to enhance not only the game of golf, but opportunities for young girls and women is what makes the celebration of the Cognizant Founders Cup so special.
