Bank of Hope Founders Cup Top Storylines

The LPGA Tour opens the domestic swing this week for the seventh Bank of Hope Founders Cup, which will kick off a stretch of five consecutive tournaments in the United States. A field of 144 players will tee it up, including nine of the top 10 players in the Rolex Rankings (missing No. 3 Shanshan Feng), 96 of the top 100 players and all of the winners from the first four tournaments of the 2017 season.

Sei Young Kim returns to the event as the defending champion. At the 2016 Bank of Hope Founders Cup, Kim finished at 27-under par, matching the LPGA’s low 72-hole scoring record in relation to par set by Annika Sorenstam in 2001. Kim also set a new tournament scoring record with the help of a final-round 10-under par, 62 to win by five-strokes over Lydia Ko.

1 – American has won the event: Stacy Lewis (2013)

2 – Only Karrie Webb has won multiple Bank of Hope Founders Cup titles (2011, 2014)

4 – Countries have been represented by Founders Cup winners: Republic of Korea (2016, 2015), Australia (2014, 2011), U.S. (2013), Chinese Taipei (2012)

7 – This is the seventh year of the Bank of Hope Founders Cup, the first year with Bank of Hope as the title sponsor

62 – Tournament-low score, most recently shot by Sei Young Kim in the final round in 2016

30 – Stacy Lewis has never finished outside of the top-30 at this event, with a win and four top-10 finishes

261 – Tournament record 27-under par 72-hole score set by Sei Young Kim in 2016

• Five-time LPGA winner, five-time KLPGA winner, 2015 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year
• In 2016, captured two wins and recorded seven additional top-10 finishes, including two runner-ups
• Has ranked in the top-10 in driving distance every year since joining the Tour, ranks 2nd thru 4 events in 2017
• Tied Karrie Webb as the second fastest player to record a win in her rookie season, winning in her second start
• Represented the Republic of Korea in the 2016 Rio Olympics, finishing T25
• Is a third-degree black belt in taekwondo, her father owned a taekwondo academy in Korea

This week’s Bank of Hope Founders Cup will mark the fifth event in the season-long Race to CME Globe. With her win at the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open and top-5 finish at the HSBC Women’s Champions, Ha Na Jang is the early leader in the Race to CME Globe with 674 points.

In 2017, the reset points for the Race to the CME Globe will be modified slightly. As a result of these modifications:

• The Top Five (5) Finishers entering Naples will control their own destiny at the CME Group Tour Championship - meaning if they win in Naples, they will also win the $1M CME Globe
• The top twelve (12) finishers entering Naples will have a mathematical chance to win the $1M CME Globe
• Please note that previously, the Top 3 controlled their destiny and Top 9 had a mathematical chance

• The Americans started the 2017 season off with a bang at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic. Brittany Lincicome came out on top of a red, white and blue leaderboard, where five Americans finished in the top-5
• At the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, three Americans placed in the top-7, more than any other country. Beth Allen, Marina Alex and Lizette Salas led the American charge down under finishing T7th
• Eight Americans finished in the top-20 at the Honda LPGA Thailand led by defending champion Lexi Thompson who finished T4 alongside fellow American Danielle Kang
• Michelle Wie made a splash at the HSBC Women’s Champions where she was leading the field heading into Sunday - her T4 finish is her best since the 2014 Blue Bay LPGA. Wie (T4) along with Jessica Korda (T15), Morgan Pressel (T15) and Angela Stanford (20) made four Americans in the top-20
• Americans who finish in the top-20 each week earn Solheim Cup points, with double points at stake for each of the five majors

Nine LPGA players in this week's field have connections to the Phoenix, Arizona area:

Lives in Scottsdale:

Cristie Kerr (18 wins, 2 majors)

Belen Mozo (4 top-10s, 2011 rookie)

Sadena Parks - (from/lives in Scottsdale, 2015 rookie)

Attended Arizona State University:

Giulia Molinaro (2012 Pac-12 Golfer of the Year/lives in Scottsdale)

Azahara Munoz (1 win, 3x Solheim Team Europe)

Anna Nordqvist (6 wins, 1 major, World No. 13)

Lives in Phoenix:

Therese O’Hara (2015 rookie, UNLV graduate)

Cheyenne Woods (from/lives in Phoenix, career-best T6 at 2016 Cambia Portland Classic)

Lives in Chandler:

Dana Finkelstein (finished in the top-10 on the Epson Tour money list to earn LPGA membership, 2017 Rookie)

Hannah O'Sullivan (amateur, from/lives in Chandler, 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion)

Alena Sharp (8 top-10s, 2005 rookie)

The Bank of Hope Founders Cup was created in 2011 to honor the 13 women who started the LPGA. In 1950, the dreams and visions of 13 courageous women who wanted to play professional golf became a reality with the founding of the LPGA. Three of the original LPGA founders will be in attendance at the tournament: Marilynn Smith, Shirley Spork and Marlene Hagge Vossler, while 89-year-old Spork will also play in Wednesday's Pro-Am.

The Bank of Hope Founders Cup has a strong charitable component that speaks to its roots, helping to raise more than $3 million for the LPGA*USGA Girls Golf Program. The money has helped bring the program to new markets and expand the scope in existing markets.

Each year, Bank of Hope Founders Cup celebrates “Pioneers” of the LPGA, honoring their trailblazing spirit as well as their exemplary participation in the development and advancement of the LPGA Tour and women’s golf. This year, eight-time LPGA winner/major champion Sandra Post and 18-time winner/four-time major champion Hollis Stacy are being honored.

LPGA*USGA Girls Golf is a developmental junior golf program that encourages girls ages 7-17 to learn to play golf, build friendships and sample competition in a supportive environment. Girls Golf programs also focus on inspiring girls to feel confident, build positive self-esteem and live active and healthy lifestyles by incorporating the “Five E’s of Girls Golf” into their curriculum (Empower, Enrich, Engage, Energize and Exercise).

Throughout its 20-year history, Girls Golf has empowered a total of more than 300,000 girls through golf — now impacting 60,000 more young women each year. More than 380 Girls Golf programs are operated by local site directors and golf professionals in communities across the country.

At the 2017 Bank of Hope Founders Cup, Girls Golf will recognize two outstanding athletes as their Junior Reporters. Beth Doss is a 13-year-old eighth grader at L. Thomas Heck Middle School in Litchfield Park, Arizona and Meg Marty is 14 years old and attends Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale. Doss and Marty will be attending official media events at the tournament as part of a Girls Golf initiative to expose young ladies to the journalistic side of sports.