LPGA Tour set to begin in Bradenton. How did Manatee County land the golf tournament?

Jason Dill
·5 min read

Through his history and connections in the golf industry, Bradenton Country Club general manager Dave Taylor said he knew the LPGA Tour was looking to bring a tournament back to Florida and to the Manatee County area for the 2024 season.

The 2023 LPGA Drive On Championship was contested in Arizona, but a return to the Sunshine State was on the horizon. By June, the tour searched for a Manatee County venue and approached Bradenton Country Club.

The club’s board members gave the go-ahead for the club to pursue the tournament. After the tour visited the course multiple times through the summer, Bradenton Country Club members learned in September that their course was awarded the 2024 Drive On Championship.

“It’s a one-time deal right now to see how it goes on both sides,” said Taylor, who played professionally before shifting into the golf club industry side in the 2000s. “But if we were to host anything, it would definitely go to the general membership for dialogue. The board would ultimately vote on it, but it would, certainly, the general membership would be involved.”

The LPGA Tour last held a regular tour stop in the area during the 1980s at Bent Tree Country Club in Sarasota. Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez was the last winner of that tournament.

The Epson Tour, previously known as the Symetra Tour, held an event at Sara Bay Country Club from 2012 to 2017. The tour serves as a developmental circuit with direct promotion, based on the year’s end money list, to the LPGA Tour.

LPGA Tour comes to Bradenton

Both Sara Bay and Bradenton Country Club are Donald Ross-designed tracks known for their table-top greens and are among the oldest courses in the area.

And, coincidentally, Bradenton Country Club is celebrating its 100th birthday this year.

“That was kind of the goal,” Taylor said. “They had come a year before and they even talked about doing it at Lakewood National. Lakewood National had turned it down this past year (2023). They mentioned something to us and we just couldn’t at the time, but I said, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if we could do it for our centennial to kick off our 100-year anniversary?’ And that’s when it just kind of snowballed.”

This week’s tournament marks the third pro golf tournament in the area in a short window. The PGA Tour Champions held a team event in December at The Concession Golf Club and the Korn Ferry Tour, the circuit just below the PGA Tour, comes to Lakewood National Golf Club in April.

Justin Kristich is the tournament director for the Korn Ferry stop and is serving as an assistant tournament director this week.

“Obviously, we have the two events in East County already at Lakewood National and at The Concession,” Kristich said. “Manatee County is very big and spread out, and we thought West Bradenton and Bradenton proper could definitely sustain an LPGA event and that was our suggestion to them. And they agreed.”

Bradenton’s challenging golf course

Brittany Lincicome is one of several Floridians in this week’s field, and the LPGA Tour veteran isn’t a stranger to the golf courses in the area. She’s tuned her game in the past on the West Florida Golf Tour, a men’s mini-tour, and last played Bradenton Country Club for a U.S. Women’s Open qualifier in May.

“I remember thinking when I went down there to play that it was really fun and it would actually be really fun to have an LPGA event at, so it’s kind of crazy when they announced which course,” said Lincicome, who is from Seminole. “I knew they were kind of going in that area, but I didn’t know which course obviously. But yeah, I think it’ll be great. … There’s some tricky holes, but there’s definitely some gettable holes. And I think it’s just set up great.”

One of the trademarks for the Ross courses in Manatee County is its defense mechanism: sloping greens.

A past winner of the Drive On Championship, Leona Maguire said chipping can be tough this week.

“Greens are very slick,” Maguire said. “If you get above the pin this week, it’s going to be really tricky. There is going to be no guaranteed two-putt unless you’re below the hole this week. Lots of break. Lots of speed. Putting and chipping, you can make your life very difficult or very easy depending on where you hit it into these greens.”

Ticket info

Tickets are on sale at different price points. General admission daily tickets start at $30, while weekly passes are $99. Champions Club hospitality tickets begin at $225 for daily admission and $800 for weekly passes. Tickets can be purchased at SeatGeek.com.

Current and former military members can get complimentary admission with certain guests, regardless of sellouts. They must fill out an online form. Juniors aged 17 and younger have free entry with the purchase of an adult ticket.

Parking info

General public parking costs $5 and is cash only. It’s at G.T. Bray Park, where a shuttle will take fans to the course.

The field of 120 is cut to the low 65 scores and ties after Friday’s second round. The 72-hole tournament is played on the par-71, 6,557-yard Bradenton Country Club layout.

It’s a $1.75 million purse, with the winner earning $262,500.

The tournament airs on the Golf Channel and streams on Peacock throughout the week. The TV/streaming times are as follows:

  • 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday (Golf Channel and Peacock)

  • 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Friday (Golf Channel and Peacock)

  • 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday (Golf Channel/Peacock) and 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)

  • 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday (Golf Channel/Peacock)