LPGA Launches ESports Tournament

LPGA Launches ESports Tournament

I’m a fan of the LPGA. Having seen them in Toledo, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, I think the tour offers a terrific sports experience.

As with so many sporting leagues, the LPGA currently is in a state of uncertainty. They play to return July 15 – 18 with the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in Midland, Michigan, but even that may be unrealistic.

In the meantime, the LPGAS has launched an ESports match play tournament in partnership with World Golf Tour (WGT) by Top Golf. Eight LPGA and Symetra Tour players will play head-to-head in a series of seven nine-hole, online matches twice a week beginning Wednesday, May 13, culminating with a championship match on Wednesday, June 3. All matches will take place at 2 p.m. EDT and will stream live on LPGA and Topgolf digital platforms.

There was a point at which I laughed at my sons for watching ESports tournaments, and then I thought: how much different is it from me watching television golf or football. It’s not really that different in principle.

I watched an earlier match between Tiffany Joh and Jane Park and thought it was an amusing diversion.

I might check in for some of the others:

• Wednesday, May 13: Match 1 – Jessica Korda vs. Nelly Korda
• Friday, May 15: Match 2 – Angel Yin vs. Lizette Salas
• Wednesday, May 20: Match 3 – Tiffany Joh vs. Jenny Shin
• Friday, May 22: Match 4 – Jane Park vs. Lucy Li
• Wednesday, May 27: Match 5 – Semifinal: winners of Matches 1 and 2
• Friday, May 29: Match 6 – Semifinal: winners of Matches 3 and 4
• Wednesday, June 3 Match 7 – Championship: winners of Matches 5 and 6

The first match between Jessica Korda and Nelly Korda will feature Congressional Country Club’s Blue Course, home to the 2022 and 2027 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Players can choose from numerous famed courses in the WGT portfolio, including the Old Course at St Andrews (host of the 2007 and 2013 AIG Women’s British Open), Oakmont Country Club (1992 and 2010 U.S. Women’s Open) and Pinehurst No. 2 (2014 U.S. Women’s Open), as well as future U.S. Women’s Open venues Erin Hills (2025), the Lake Course at The Olympic Club (2021) and Pebble Beach Golf Links (2023).

The matches will stream live on the WT Twitch, YouTube and Facebook accounts, LPGA’s Twitter, Facebook, YouTube accounts and LPGA.com, and Discovery’s GOLFTV Twitter and Facebook accounts, and will be available via VOD on Golf Channel’s YouTube and GolfChannel.com. GOLFTV’s Henni Zuel and Golf Channel’s Tom Abbott will add commentary during the Wednesday matches, with Golf Channel’s Karen Stupples commentating on Fridays.