OLYMPIA FIELDS, IL -- A star-studded lineup of celebrities and athletes are scheduled to compete in the KPMG Women's PGA Championship Pro-Am Tuesday morning at the Olympia Fields Country Club, 2800 Country Club Drive. In all, seven celebrities will team with professional golfers in the fun event that begins championship week of the LPGA Tour event.
The following celebrities and Chicago sports stars will compete at the event set to begin at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice U.S. Olympic Medalist Michelle Kwan Former NFL and MLB star Bo Jackson Chicago Bears Legend Brian Urlacher Chicago Cubs/Baseball Hall of Fame Member Ryne Sandberg Chicago Cubs/Baseball Hall of Fame Member Greg Maddux TV personality, author and entrepreneur Drew Scott (HGTV's "Property Brothers") The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Pro-Am takes place during Championship Week of the event, which runs from June 27 through July 2. The championship is a collaboration of the PGA of America, KPMG and the LPGA Tour. Tickets can be purchased here.
The Women’s PGA Championship was renamed in 2015 after the PGA of America began running the event, which was originally known as the LPGA Championship under varying sponsorship arrangements.
Essentially, the move elevated the event to a major championship of the world rather than just that of the LPGA Tour and thereby offering perhaps greater credibility than previously was the case. The bulk of the field is, however, comprised of LPGA Tour players although there are several from the Japan Ladies, Korean LPGA and Ladies European tours.
Somewhat like the men’s version of the same event, however, the field is one of the strongest in the game with all 100 of the leading players on the Rolex World Ranking participating and, indeed, all 100 of the leading players on the LPGA Tour's money list..
With that elevation in status and the involvement of KPMG, the event has enjoyed a significant elevation in prize money to the point where the US$3.5 million purse is the second-richest in women’s golf behind the US Women’s Open.