A couple of top-tier LPGA players are subject to a $25,000 fine for skipping this year’s Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. The LPGA’s 1-in-4 requirement stipulates that players in the top 80 of the CME points list compete in a domestic event once every four years.
Both Minjee Lee and Jin Young Ko have been absent from the TOC field in recent years and would need to compete in 2023 to avoid penalty. Tommy Tangtiphaiboontana, VP of tour operations for the LPGA, said that both players have the right to appeal, and the decision would go to the commissioner. Ko had signed up for the event but withdrew.
This year’s season-opening TOC is on an island on the 2023 schedule, with a full month off before the second event of the season in Thailand. For players like Ko and Lee, it’s much easier to take more time to rest and prepare for the upcoming season near home before starting the Asian swing.
Ko, of course, battled a wrist injury at season’s end and no doubt needed an extended period of rest over the offseason. Lee’s 2022 season extended into December as she competed in the Australian Open to close out her year. It’s a 24,000-mile round-trip hike for Lee to come from Perth, Australia, to Orlando for one event, a costly journey in more ways than one.
The history of the 1-in-4 rule dates back a little more than 20 years and originally applied to domestic events only, as those made up the bulk of the schedule. With names like Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb and Se Ri Pak dominating headlines, it was important for tournament directors to get those LPGA Hall of Famers into their fields. The rule was put in place, said Tangtiphaiboontana, to protect title sponsors.
As the tour grew more international, former commissioner Mike Whan extended the rule to apply to international events as well, before switching back to domestic only in 2016. The reason the rule no longer applies to international events, said Tangtiphaiboontana, is because the tour doesn’t supply the same level of service overseas. There’s no childcare, for example, and no physio. Players who might have dietary concerns, security concerns or travel restrictions aren’t forced to go.
Ko and Lee have the option of applying their one-time exemption from the 1-in-4 to the TOC.
In time, there is long-term relief. Once a player competes in 230 official LPGA tournaments as a member, she will be exempt from the 1-in-4 rule for the rest of her career, beginning the following season.
If she receives a $25,000 fine and doesn’t compete in that event in the next two years (if eligible), the fine goes up to $35,000.
Players must win to be eligible for the TOC. When asked why the rule applied to this event in particular, a tournament that’s essentially a reward for excellence, Tangtiphaiboontana said to protect the sponsor.
Lee and Ko aren’t the only players skipping this year, though other top players have competed in recent editions. The field will be missing World No. 1 Lydia Ko, who has been on her honeymoon. Ko also happens to have a house at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, where the tournament is hosted.
In Gee Chun won’t be there. In fact, seven of the top 10 players in the Rolex Rankings won’t be in Orlando this week. Atthaya Thitikul, last year’s Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year, didn’t sign up. Neither did No. 9 Hyo Joo Kim.
Lexi Thompson, currently No. 6, didn’t qualify for the event as she hasn’t won on the LPGA since 2019.
While the schedule this year makes it extremely tough for international players to come back for the TOC, it’s been a tough sell even when there’s another event in Florida, given how short the offseason often feels to top players and how long the travel is for Asian and Australian players in particular, who’d rather begin their season in Asia.
The field of 30 will compete for a purse of $1.5 million this week alongside a host of celebrities. A substantial purse hike, along the lines of what was done at the CME Group Tour Championship, would certainly do more to draw players from the other side of the world.
No. 2 Nelly Korda currently headlines the TOC, which takes place Jan. 19-22, along with No. 7 Brooke Henderson and defending champion Danielle Kang. Korda won the 2021 Gainbridge LPGA at Lake Nona.
The PGA Tour has a policy that stipulates that players who don’t compete in 25 events in a season must add an event they had not played the previous four seasons to their schedule the following year. Players who are in the Player Impact Program, however, are now not required to do so given that have already committed to up to 17 designated events plus three non-designated events.
