Las Vegas LPGA event draws stellar field full of world’s top players

The LPGA’s T-Mobile Match Play at Shadow Creek is shaping up to have its strongest field in the five-year history of the event.

Early commitments for the tournament, set for April 2-6, include eight of the top 10 players in the world and 16 of the top 20.

Defending champion and world No. 1 Nelly Korda heads the list, which also includes No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul, No. 3 Lydia Ko and No. 4 Ruoning Yin.

In addition to Korda, the entry list features all of the American players in the top 50 in the world rankings, including Lilia Vu, Angel Yin, Rose Zhang, Lauren Coughlin, Megan Khang, Yealimi Noh, Allisen Corpuz and Jennifer Kupcho. The exceptions are Las Vegas’ Alison Lee, who has yet to play any events this year and announced her pregnancy on Instagram on Monday, and 2021 champion Ally Ewing, who retired at the end of last season.

Other standouts committed to Las Vegas include Brooke Henderson, Celine Boutier, Minjee Lee and Ayaka Furue, a two-time runner-up in the tournament.

Players have until the week before the event to join or withdraw before the 64-player field is set, but getting in will be a challenge. More than 140 players have already indicated a desire to play.

Three sponsor exemptions will be added to the 61 players who qualify on their own merit. Two likely targets for those spots include MGM Resorts ambassadors Danielle Kang, the unofficial tournament host the past four years on her home course, and new European Solheim Cup captain Anna Nordqvist. Neither would make the field outright at this point.

The tournament will divide the 64 golfers into 16 four-player pods and feature round-robin play the first three days. One player from each pod will emerge for single-elimination weekend play, with the round of 16 and quarterfinals on Saturday and the semifinals and final on Sunday.

A limited number of tickets are available starting at $44 per day at LPGA.com under the tournaments tab.

Montgomery makes a splash

Las Vegas’ Taylor Montgomery found himself atop the leaderboard over the weekend at the Cognizant Classic only to be tripped up by the infamous Bear Trap at PGA National. He made a quadruple-bogey 7 on No. 17 on Saturday and a triple-bogey 7 on No. 16 on Sunday. He eventually finished in a tie for 25th, his best finish in 11 months on the PGA Tour.

Montgomery, 30, is playing on a major medical extension this season after missing a large chunk of 2024 with shoulder issues. He’s simply happy to be healthy and enjoying the game once again.

“Last year was no fun, was hitting it terrible. It just wasn’t a fun year,” Montgomery said. “This year is completely different. I’ve been feeling really good. I just haven’t been playing as well as I’ve been feeling. But I’ve been hoping the way I’ve been playing back home, stuff will kind of come out here and start to happen week to week.”

Chip shots

*UNLV’s men’s golf team has received a signed commitment from Aaron Van Hauwe for the 2025-26 season. The 17-year-old from Tours, France, has had a stellar junior career in Europe, including a runner-up finish in the prestigious Hauts de France-Pas de Calais Golf Open in 2024 and the 2023 Grand Prix Du Lys Chantilly.

*Winners of the Southern Nevada Golf Association Tour Series event at Highland Falls on Friday include Josh Crossen (Championship), John Bobroski (Senior), David Foggia (Silver) and Dave Golder (All-Ages Net).

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.