SPRINGFIELD, NJ — The best golfers in the world will compete in the 69th edition of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, one of five major championships on the LPGA Tour and the most prestigious major championship in women’s golf, which will take place at historic Baltusrol Golf Club, in Springfield, from June 21 to 25.
The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, operated by the PGA of America in close collaboration with the LPGA, was built on the history and tradition of the LPGA Championship, which began in 1955 and is the second-oldest major in women’s golf. The event, which will take place on the iconic and newly restored Lower Course at Baltusrol Golf Club for the first time ever, annually boasts one of the strongest fields in women’s golf. The 156-player field also includes the top eight finishers from the previous year’s LPGA Professionals National Championship plus the winner of the PGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship.
Among the top women golfers in the world who will be competing in the 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship include world No. 1 Jin Young Ko, Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson, Lydia Ko, defending champion In Gee Chun and rising star Rose Zhang, who recently became the first woman golfer to win in her professional debut since 1951.
Adding to the 2023 field are two special exemptions: Mariah Stackhouse and Gabi Ruffels. Stackhouse was a four-year All-American at Stanford who helped the Cardinals to an NCAA title in 2015. In 2011, at the age of 17, she became the youngest black woman to earn a spot in the field at the U.S. Open. In 2014, she became the first black woman to make the Curtis Cup team, which the United States won. Ruffels, the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, plays on the Epson Tour and currently sits at No. 1 on the Race for the Card, after two wins in the past two months at the 2023 Carlisle Arizona Women’s Classic and the 2023 Garden City Charity Classic, respectively.
“This is an exciting time for professional golf in New Jersey, as the famous lower course at Baltusrol Golf Club will test the best players in the world when the PGA of America hosts the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship from June 21 to 25,” said Jackie Endsley, championship director, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. “We can’t think of a better setting for this major championship and we expect golf fans in New Jersey will embrace the championship in a big way.”
Broadcast in partnership with NBC and Golf Channel, one of the unique aspects of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is the combination of a major golf championship with the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit and an ongoing charitable initiative called the KPMG Future Leaders Program – all focused on the development, advancement, and empowerment of women on and off the golf course.
“Now in our ninth year as title sponsor of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, we are excited to help bring this Major Championship to the New York-Metropolitan market, while furthering our unmatched commitment to women’s leadership,” said Yesenia Scheker-Izquierdo, KPMG New York Office managing partner. “The KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit and KPMG Future Leaders Program — both components of this championship — are making an impact for women away from the course, and we can’t think of a better location for this event than Baltusrol.”
Photo Courtesy of Baltusrol Golf Club