By Mike May
Starting in 2023, The Pelican Women’s Championship will be renamed THE ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. It features a tournament purse of $3.25 million – the largest on the LPGA Tour outside of the major championships and the CME Group Tour Championship – with proceeds benefiting the ANNIKA Foundation.
Gainbridge, an Indianapolis-based company and has served as title sponsor for several LPGA Tour events in the past including, the Indy Women in Tech Championship held in Indianapolis, 2017-2019.
This new tournament will take place November 6-12, 2023 as the last tune up before the CME Group Championship, the final LPGA Tournament of the year.
Sorenstam will serve as tournament host,
“I’m incredibly honored to host one of the premier events on the LPGA Tour schedule starting in 2023 and give back to the game I love while mentoring the next generation of players,” said Sorenstam. “I look forward to working alongside my friends at the LPGA Tour, Pelican Golf Club and Gainbridge in continuing to elevate this championship to one of the premier events on the LPGA Tour.”
“The purse increase announcement at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican is a gigantic step forward for the LPGA and a fitting tribute to Annika’s enormous impact on women’s golf and on women’s sports more broadly. It is also a significant nod to the world-class talent of the current LPGA players,” said LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan. “We are grateful to Dan Towriss, Dan Doyle Jr., and our friends at Gainbridge and Pelican for honoring and supporting Annika, her foundation and all our amazing LPGA Tour athletes. We look forward to this unique championship continuing to elevate the LPGA and the women’s game for many years to come.”
“Having a global icon in Annika teaming up with Gainbridge and us at Pelican Golf Club to elevate the tournament purse to $3.25 million as we head into 2023 is an amazing start to our long-term partnership,” said Dan Doyle Jr. of the Pelican Golf Club.
During her 15-year Hall-of-Fame career, Sorenstam rewrote the LPGA and Ladies European Tour record books, and amassed more than 90 worldwide wins, including 72 on the LPGA Tour and 10 major championships. She won a record eight Rolex Player of the Year awards, was the first woman in 58 years to play on the PGA TOUR, the only LPGA player to shoot 59, and is still the LPGA’s all-time money leader with more than $22 million in earnings.
