BELLEAIR, Fla., July 31, 2023 – The 2023 ANNIKA Intercollegiate, a premier event on the NCAA Division I women’s golf fall schedule that is taking place Sept. 10-13 at Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minn., is raising the stakes in its ninth year with the addition of awarding a sponsor exemption to a player from this year’s winning team to The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.
The ANNIKA, Tampa Bay’s signature LPGA Tour event and the penultimate event on the 2023 LPGA Tour schedule, will be hosted by World Golf and LPGA Hall-of-Fame member Annika Sorenstam, taking place Nov. 6-12 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla. The tournament will offer a $3.25 million purse – one of the largest outside the major championships – with proceeds from the tournament benefiting the ANNIKA Foundation.
This year’s ANNIKA Intercollegiate will see 12 top NCAA Division I women’s golf programs compete in a 54-hole stroke-play event, including defending champions Wake Forest University.
The tournament field includes:
Baylor University
Duke University
Florida State University
Mississippi State University
San Jose State University
Texas A&M University
University of Minnesota Twin Cities (host program)
University of Oregon
University of South Carolina
University of Texas at Austin
University of Virginia
Wake Forest University
“This is one of the tournaments I look forward to most each year. It allows the ANNIKA Foundation to advance its mission by providing an opportunity for talented golfers to compete and make connections,” said Annika, founder of the ANNIKA Foundation and host of The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. “We are thrilled to raise the stakes this year by extending the winning team an LPGA tournament exemption, further cementing our event as a launch pad for the nation’s top programs and players.”
The Royal Golf Club features The Queen’s Nine, a front nine designed by Annika herself. The back nine, named The King’s Nine, was designed by Arnold Palmer. The tournament also will feature a junior day at the Royal Golf Club Par 3 course and College-Am with Minneapolis-based fortune 500 companies, offering ample playing and networking opportunities to both college and junior players.
Nelly Korda is the two-time defending champion of The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican (formerly the Pelican Women’s Championship). She defeated Lexi Thompson by one stroke at 14-under par, solidifying her comeback in 2022 after missing four months early in the year due to injury. The win also elevated Korda back to World No. 1 at the time. In 2021, Korda defeated Thompson, Lydia Ko and 2020 champion Sei Young Kim via a one-hole playoff. The Pelican Women’s Championship made its debut in 2020, with Kim capturing the inaugural title.
For more information on The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, visit www.TheAnnika.com and on social media: @TheAnnikaLPGA on Twitter, @TheAnnikaLPGA on Instagram and The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican on Facebook.
For more information on the ANNIKA Intercollegiate tournament and past winners, visit: https://www.annikafoundation.org/annika-intercollegiate.
About the ANNIKA Foundation
Annika created the ANNIKA Foundation (www.annikafoundation.org) to develop and empower the next generation of women around the world through the game of golf. More specifically, it provides opportunities in women’s golf at the junior, collegiate and professional levels while teaching young people the importance of personal development, including living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition. The Foundation has partnered with key organizations to promote healthy, active lifestyles for children, including SPARK, Florida Hospital for Children in support of its Healthy 100 Kids initiative and The First Tee in development of the Nine Healthy Habits curriculum for children, and an endowment of the AJGA’s ACE Grant program.
The ANNIKA Foundation annually conducts several “Share My Passion” grassroots clinics designed to introduce kids to the game. It also conducts six major golf events for aspiring junior girls: the Hilton Grand Vacations ANNIKA Invitational presented by Rolex, in the U.S.; ANNIKA Invitational Asia; ANNIKA Invitational Europe and ANNIKA Cup in Sweden; the Women’s Amateur Latin America, with the R&A in Argentina; and the ANNIKA Invitational Australasia in New Zealand. Since 2014, the Foundation has annually hosted the ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M, a women’s college tournament featuring 12 top Division I schools. Moreover, with the support of the Haskins Foundation, the Foundation created the ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel, which is given annually to the best collegiate female golfer. In 2022, the ANNIKA Development Program was created to support recent college graduates pursue their dreams of playing professional golf. The Foundation also will be the main beneficiary of The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, a new tournament tradition that will begin on the LPGA Tour November 6-12, 2023.
About The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican
The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican is the LPGA’s annual tournament in the Tampa Bay region and features the world’s best female golfers competing over four rounds for a share of the $3.25 million purse, the largest purse on the LPGA Tour outside of major championships and the season-ending event. The tournament is contested at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla., a Donald Ross design that offers world-class amenities and an unmatched golf experience. The sole namesake event on the LPGA Tour, Annika Sorenstam serves as tournament host with proceeds benefiting the ANNIKA Foundation. The championship is operated by Outlyr, a global sports, event management and lifestyle marketing agency. For more information on The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, visit www.TheAnnika.com.
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Media Contacts:
Jeremy Friedman
The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican
Outlyr
407-721-9752
jfriedman@outlyr.com
Taylor Britton
ANNIKA Foundation
732-284-9950
taylorb@annikafoundation.org