Field Set for LPGA Drive On Championship at Reynolds Lake Oconee

Great Waters 11th Hole (Photo: Evan Schiller)

Great Waters ready to challenge top women golfers this week

(Greensboro, Ga.) – The field for the LPGA Tour Drive On Championship at Reynolds Lake Oconee, October 22-25, 2020, has been set and features an exciting mix of current top-1o players and perennial stars, even a Hall of Famer. 

Joining current top-10 LPGA players Danielle Kang, Ariya Jutanugarn, Minjee Lee, and Carlota Ciganda will be Tour superstars Lydia Ko, Stacy Lewis, Lexi Thompson, Morgan Pressel, and Cristie Kerr, along with Hall of Famer Juli Inkster and major winners Brittany Lang, Angela Stanford, and Sophia Popov. 

Golf Channel will broadcast all four rounds from 1 to 4 pm ET, Thursday through Sunday.

The event will be played at Great Waters, one of six outstanding courses available to Reynolds Members and guests. Great Waters, which first opened in 1992, recently underwent an extensive renovation led by its designer, Jack Nicklaus. The completely rebuilt, modernized, and reconditioned course is a visually breathtaking test of championship golf along the Lake Oconee shoreline that looks almost exactly the way Nicklaus first designed it—but better.

Reynolds stepped in to host the world’s best women golfers after the LPGA Tour was forced to change its fall schedule due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Great Waters maintenance team has been hard at work preparing for this high-profile event.  According to Golf Course Superintendent Brandon Hayes, the typical daily maintenance team of 20 will be more than doubled to 50.

“Fortunately, even though we didn’t have the lead time normally associated with an event of this caliber, our courses are maintained in tournament condition year-round,” says Hayes. “We are confident that the course is going to shine this week. 

A much-loved course for members and guests alike, Great Waters will be tweaked and adjusted to accommodate the professional golfers. 

“Knowing that these are the best players in the world, we are thrilled to share this tough, but fair test of golf that we are confident they will enjoy,” says Vice President of Agronomy Lane Singleton. “The course setup and speed may be a little different than what our members would typically experience, but not that much since we keep all of our courses in top condition throughout the year.”  The course will play at 6,664 yards.

Great Waters has hosted many great players, at the professional, college, and junior levels. It was the site of the Andersen Consulting World Championship of Golf (now the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship) on the PGA Tour from 1995-97. And in 2014, Great Waters hosted the first-ever Big Break Invitational, a 72-hole tournament featuring a select field of 40 past Big Break participants, televised live on Golf Channel. Additionally, Great Waters continues to host the Linger Longer Invitational, an annual collegiate event.

In adhering to LPGA Tour’s safety protocol for conducting events, spectators will not be allowed.

For more information about Reynolds Lake Oconee, visit www.reynoldslakeoconee.com.