The field is set for the ANA Inspiration. The 49th edition of the tournament will be unlike any before for a host of reasons, including triple-digit desert heat, carts for caddies and Bermuda grass.
Defending champ Jin Young Ko has yet to play on the LPGA in 2020, yet remains No. 1 in the world. Ko will not be among the 105 players who return to the Dinah Shore Tournament Course Sept. 10-13 daydreaming about a leap into Poppie’s Pond.
Former No. 1 Sung Hyun Park will make her first start on the LPGA this year at Mission Hills. Several other notable South Korean players, however, will not make the trip including former ANA champ So Yeon Ryu, 10th-ranked Hyo Joo Kim and No. 11 Jeong Eun Lee6.
Could this be the week Nelly Korda collects her first major title? Inbee Park, a seven-time major winner who gave a valiant run last month at Royal Troon, feels good about her putter and highlights a short list of favorites that includes World No. 2 Danielle Kang, a two-time winner since the LPGA’s restart.
There are six amateurs in the field including recent U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Rose Zhang and runner-up Gabriela Ruffels, who won the 2019 Women’s Amateur.
LPGA rookies who made the elite field include Andrea Lee, Yealimi Noh, Patty Tavatanakit, Leona Maguire, Yui Kawamoto and Esther Henseleit.
Sophia Popov, winner of the year’s first major, the AIG Women’s British Open, is not in the event. Her five-year exemption begins in 2021.
| Categories | Player |
| Sponsor exemptions | Lei Ye (a) |
| Kaitlyn Papp (a) | |
| Gabriela Ruffels (a) | |
| Rose Zhang (a) | |
| Olivia Mehaffey (a) | |
| Emilia Migliaccio (a) | |
| Active LPGA Hall of Fame members | Inbee Park |
| ANA Inspiration winners | Pernilla Lindberg |
| Lydia Ko | |
| Brittany Lincicome | |
| Lexi Thompson | |
| Stacy Lewis | |
| Morgan Pressel | |
| Major winners previous 5 years | Ariya Jutanugarn |
| Sung Hyun Park | |
| Brittany Lang | |
| In Gee Chun | |
| Hannah Green | |
| Danielle Kang | |
| Brooke Henderson | |
| Hinako Shibuno | |
| Georgia Hall | |
| In Kyung Kim | |
| Angela Stanford | |
| Anna Nordqvist | |
| LPGA winners previous 3 years | Eun Hee Ji |
| Celine Boutier | |
| Nelly Korda | |
| Amy Yang | |
| Nasa Hotaoka | |
| Minjee Lee | |
| Sei Young Park | |
| Bronte Law | |
| Cydney Clanton | |
| Jasmine Suwannapura | |
| Cheyenne Knight | |
| Jessica Korda | |
| Moriya Jutanugarn | |
| Annie Park | |
| Marina Alex | |
| Gaby Lopez | |
| Cristie Kerr | |
| Haru Nomura | |
| Katherine Kirk | |
| Mi Hyang Lee | |
| Madelene Sagstrom | |
| Hee Young Park | |
| Top-20 ANA (2019) | Carlota Ciganda |
| Kristen Gillman | |
| Ally McDonald | |
| Jaye Marie Green | |
| Jenny Shin | |
| Charley Hull | |
| Jing Yan | |
| Lizette Salas | |
| Alena Sharp | |
| Top-5 majors (2019) | Angel Lin |
| Gerina Piller | |
| Yu Liu | |
| Mel Reid | |
| Ashleigh Buhai | |
| Jennifer Kupcho | |
| Top-80 LPGA money list (2019) | Brittany Altomare |
| Caroline Masson | |
| Azahara Munoz | |
| Megan Khang | |
| Su Oh | |
| Nanna Koerstz Madsen | |
| Mirim Lee | |
| Nichole Broch Larsen | |
| Chella Choi | |
| Amy Olson | |
| Jodi Ewart Shadoff | |
| Pornanong Phatlum | |
| Sarah Schmelzel | |
| Xiyu Lin | |
| Tiffany Joh | |
| Pajaree Anannarukarn | |
| Austin Ernst | |
| Maria Fernanda Torres | |
| Ryann O’Toole | |
| Ayako Uehara | |
| Charlotte Thomas | |
| Top-2 LET, JLPGA, KLPGA | Esther Henseleit |
| Top-20 LPGA money list (2020) | Andrea Lee |
| Jennifer Song | |
| Lindsey Weaver | |
| Perrine Delacour | |
| Emma Talley | |
| Linnea Strom | |
| Yui Kawamoto | |
| Stephanie Meadow | |
| Yealimi Noh | |
| Leona Maguire | |
| Kelly Tan | |
| Maria Fassi | |
| Christina Kim | |
| Klara Spilkova | |
| Patty Tavatanakit | |
| Dana Finkelstein | |
| Elizabeth Szokol | |
| Daniela Holmqvist | |
| Solheim Cup players | Caroline Hedwall |
| Anne van Dam | |
| Medical Exemption | Caroline Inglis |
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