Bradenton Country Club hosts the first full-field event of the season as the Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands gets underway on Thursday in Bradenton, Fla. A field of 120 of the top-ranked players in women’s golf will compete for a $2 million purse, with many athletes making their season debuts. Here is a closer look at who will compete in the second event of the 2025 LPGA Tour season, including some recent retirees who are returning to play at the event that honors the 13 founding members of the LPGA Tour.

New Date, New Location

The Founders Cup has moved to a February time slot and relocated to a new home for its 2025 edition. The tournament had previously been played in Arizona and New Jersey before moving to Bradenton Country Club in Florida. Last season, the course hosted the Tour for the first time when it welcomed the LPGA Drive On Championship and produced an epic final round and subsequent playoff between Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko from which Korda emerged victorious.

The Field

Bradenton native Nelly Korda headlines the field at the Founders Cup, where she will look to build on the momentum of her second-place finish at last week’s Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

Also in the field are major champions Lydia Ko, Hannah Green, Jin Young Ko, Brooke Henderson and Celine Boutier, who will make their second starts of the season after also playing in the season-opener in Orlando. Those who didn’t qualify for the first event of the year will make their season debut at the Founders Cup, a list of athletes that includes Charley Hull, Danielle Kang, Madelene Sagstrom, Stacy Lewis, Georgia Hall and Gaby Lopez.

The top-10 finishers in the 2024 Epson Tour Race for the Card earned LPGA Tour Membership for the 2025 season and are getting their first chance to compete this week in Bradenton. Ingrid Lindblad, Fatima Fernandez Cano and Brooke Matthews are among those making the move to the LPGA in 2025.

The top-25 finishers at the Final Qualifying portion of 2024 LPGA Q-Series will also get a chance to compete at the Founders Cup, including 2024 NCAA Division I individual champion Adela Cernousek along with LPGA Tour veterans Azahara Munoz and Alena Sharp.

Welcome Back

It didn’t take long for Lexi Thompson and Brittany Lincicome to tee it up once again on the LPGA Tour. Both players announced last season that they were stepping away from full-time competitive golf at the end of 2024, but they will each be making their respective returns this week at the Founders Cup. Lincicome is a Tampa resident and received one of two sponsor exemptions into the field, while Thompson last competed at the Grant Thornton Invitational in December.

After taking an extended break, both In Gee Chun and Sung Hyun Park are teeing it up at the Founders Cup. Park, who has been dealing with a wrist injury, did not compete on the LPGA Tour in 2024 and will be making her first start since October 2023 when she returns to competition at the Founders Cup. Like Park, Chun took time away to deal with an injury, but hers was in her back, and the major champion will make her first start since the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open this week.

Rose Zhang Won in 2024

Last season, Rose Zhang made a flurry of birdies during the final round of the Founders Cup at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, N.J., to secure her second career LPGA Tour title. Zhang recorded four birdies in her last five holes to edge Madelene Sagstrom and capture the win. This year, Zhang is in the midst of taking classes at Stanford University and will not defend her title at Bradenton Country Club. But Zhang kicked off her season with a tie for 10th at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions last week. She plans to make her next start on Tour in March at the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass.

Significance of the Founders Cup

Former LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan created the Founders Cup in order to honor the 13 original founding members of the LPGA Tour. What began in 2011 as a celebratory event for charity, which didn’t offer a purse for players, has grown into a full-fledged Tour stop, one that has moved from Arizona to New Jersey to Florida. This year’s event features a $2 million purse and will no doubt produce another outstanding champion who will add their name to the illustrious list of former winners of the Founders Cup, which includes World Golf Hall of Fame member Karrie Webb, seven-time major winner Inbee Park and former world No. 1 Jin Young Ko.

Five Things to Know About the 2025 Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands

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