The strongest field in the history of the T-Mobile Match Play will be at Shadow Creek next week when the LPGA Tour returns for the fifth edition of the tournament.
Defending champion and world No. 1 Nelly Korda headlines the 64-player field, which was finalized Friday afternoon with one spot still remaining for the third and final sponsor exemption.
Korda will be joined by 16 of the top 20 players in the world, a list missing only No. 5 Hannah Green, No. 6 Lilia Vu, No. 14 Miyu Yamashita and No. 15 Rio Takeda. It also includes 16 players — one-fourth of the field — who are major championship winners.
Sponsor invites have already been awarded to Ina Yoon, an LPGA rookie and the reigning player of the year on the Korean Tour, and Las Vegas resident Danielle Kang, the unofficial host of the tournament on her home course.
Other stars committed to play include Brooke Henderson, Jeeno Thitikul, Charley Hull, Lydia Ko and Jin Young Ko, who hasn’t played at Shadow Creek since the tournament’s first edition in 2021.
The tournament is a long haul for players, who must navigate seven matches over five days to hoist the trophy Sunday night.
Players will be divided into 16 four-player pods for round-robin play Wednesday through Friday, with the winner of each pod emerging for the weekend knockout rounds. The round of 16 and quarterfinals will be played Saturday, and the semifinals and finals will be on Sunday on one of the most difficult courses players see all year.
Tickets, starting at $43 for a daily grounds pass, are available on the tournament page at LPGA.com.
Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.
T-Mobile Match Play field
Brittany Altomare
Narin An
Pajaree Anannarukarn
Celine Boutier
Ashleigh Buhai
Peiyun Chien
Hye-Jin Choi
Carlota Ciganda
Allisen Corpuz
Lauren Coughlin
Ayaka Furue
Nataliya Guseva
Nasa Hataoka
Brooke Henderson
Esther Henseleit
Charley Hull
Jin He Im
Ariya Jutanugarn
Moriya Jutanugarn
Danielle Kang
Megan Khang
A Lim Kim
Auston Kim
Grace Kim
Hyo Joo Kim
Sei Young Kim
Jin Young Ko
Lydia Ko
Nelly Korda
Jennifer Kupcho
Stephanie Kyriacou
Andrea Lee
Mi Hyang Lee
Minjee Lee
Lucy Li
Gaby Lopez
Nanna Koerstz Madsen
Leona Maguire
Yuna Nishimura
Yealimi Noh
Ryann O’Toole
Alexa Pano
Gabriela Ruffels
Haeran Ryu
Madelene Sagstrom
Mao Saigo
Yuka Saso
Sarah Schmelzel
Hinako Shibuno
Jenny Shin
Maja Stark
Linnea Strom
Jasmine Suwannapura
Bailey Tardy
Patty Tavatanakit
Jeeno Thitikul
Albane Valenzuela
Chanettee Wannasaen
Amy Yang
Angel Yin
Ruoning Yin
Ina Yoon
Rose Zhang
Alternates
Somi Lee
Hira Naveed
Anna Nordqvist
Georgia Hall
Paula Reto