The LPGA Tour is expanding its fall swing through the Asia-Pacific region of the world, adding the McKayson New Zealand Women's Open to the 2017 schedule.
The event, which had previously been scheduled on the Ladies European Tour since its second year in 2010, will be played Sept. 28-Oct. 1, 2017 at the Windross Farm Golf Course in Auckland. The event will have a $1.3 million purse and mark the first time either the LPGA or PGA Tour sanction an event in the country.
McKayson is a newly launched sportswear brand, and the tournament will also have support from other tourism and golf bodies in New Zealand.
This is big news for Lydia Ko, who is the two-time defending champion of the event, world No. 1 and a native of the country.
“I am so excited with this announcement to bring the LPGA to my hometown in Auckland,” said Ko, who has won the event three times. “I am honored to be the first player to sign up to play. It is going to be amazing for me and my family to host my LPGA friends in my country. I want to see golf grow in New Zealand and more women playing the game, so this news today is fantastic.”
