Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship: The LPGA Tour heads to California to begin a 12-week stint in the United States

Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship hosted by Seri Pak

The LPGA Tour returns to the US with a star-studded field set to battle it out at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship

The LPGA Tour’s record-breaking season continues in the United States at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. With the first Major of the season less than a month away, a strong field is lining up this week in California.

This is the first year of this tournament being named the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship, with legendary LPGA star Seri Pak hosting the tournament. In recent years it has been named the DIO Implant LA Open, Hugel-Air Premia LA Open, and Hugel-JTBC LA Open. 2024 marks the sixth playing of this tournament, and it’s the sixth event of the 2024 LPGA Tour season.

Last year was the first tournament held at Palos Verdes Golf Club, having previously been played at Wilshire Country Club from 2018 to 2022. This year the players return to Palos Verdes Golf Club. So far, there hasn’t been a multiple winner of this event – could this be the year one of the past champions regains their crown in LA?

Who is playing in the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship?

Sadly, Seri Pak won’t be playing this week, but there are plenty of great golfers making their way to LA to fight it out for the championship. Last year’s winner, Ruoning Yin, is in the field, and she’ll be hoping to retain her title, just as Scottie Scheffler did at the Player’s. Other past champions returning to a happy hunting ground are 2022 champion Nasa Hataoka, 2021 victor Brooke Henderson, and 2018 winner Moriya Jutanagurn. Minjee Lee, who won this tournament in 2019, is the only past champion not playing this week.

With 33 of the top 50 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings teeing it up in California it will take more than course knowledge to get the job done this week. It’s hardly surprising seeing so many of the best golfers in the world playing this week because the first Major Championship – The Chevron Championship – is just around the corner.

Winner of the last event on the LPGA Tour, Bailey Tardy, is in the field this week looking for back-to-back victories. Another golfer hoping to continue their winning ways is Alexandra Forsterling, who claimed top spot at the Aramco Team Series Tampa the other week.

In the five events played on the LPGA Tour so far this season, we’ve witnessed five different winners – Lydia Ko, Nelly Korda, Patty Tavatanakit, Hannah Green, and Bailey Tardy. Lydia Ko is the only victor this season not playing this week.

World No.1 Lilia Vu is chasing her first victory of the season, as is Rose Zhang. Both are from the greater Los Angeles area, so expect to hear a lot of crowd support for those two.

What is the format of the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship?

It is a standard strokeplay event played over 72 holes with a cut after 36 holes (two rounds) that sees the leading 65 players and ties make the final two rounds. The player who achieves the lowest score over four rounds will win the tournament.

Where is the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship being played?

The Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship is played at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, a suburban area to the southwest of Los Angeles, California. In 2024, Palos Verdes Golf Club is celebrating its centenary. This is just the second year that this tournament will be held at Palos Verdes Golf Club, with the first four occurrences of this tournament being played at Wilshire Country Club.

The golf course at Palos Verdes Golf Club measures 6,447 yards for the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship and it’s played as a par 71.

Who will win the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship?

With such a star-studded field, it’s going to be tough for any golfer to emerge victorious at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. We could see a huge upset, but at the same time, we could see one of the tournament favorites win by a country mile. This year’s already thrown up some surprising winners and some expected victors on the LPGA Tour.

This has been the case on the PGA Tour, which is staying on the East Coast this week for the Valspar Championship, and the DP World Tour, which is starting its Asian Swing at the Porsche Singapore Classic. Plenty of golf to keep you entertained this week!

On the West Coast of the USA, there’ll be a whole host of golfers bidding to win the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. It’s going to be a fiercely competitive four rounds of golf, but the early, clear favorite to win this week is Nelly Korda. Looking through the betting odds, there are some seriously good players at high odds. The competitive nature of the LPGA Tour this season is highlighted by the fact that second favorite Brooke Henderson is five points behind favorite Nelly Korda. It really is anyone’s to play for this week in LA.

Selected odds (correct at 1 pm GMT on Mar 18, 2024)

Nelly Korda 9/1

Brooke Henderson 14/1

Patty Tavatanakit 16/1

Ayaka Furue 22/1

Lilia Vu 22/1

Rose Zhang 30/1

Ruoning Yin 30/1

Hannah Green 40/1

Linn Grant 66/1

How much does the winner of the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship get?

As part of the record-breaking 2024 LPGA Tour schedule, the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship is one of ten events that has received an increased purse from the one on offer in 2023. Last year’s purse stood at $1,750,000, but this year’s stands at $2,000,000.

The prize for first place in 2023 was $262,500, won by Ruoning Yin. In 2024, the champion of the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship is set to receive $300,000.

How to watch the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship

UK viewers can catch all the action on Sky Sports Golf

All times GMT

Thursday, March 21: Not available to watch

Friday, March 22: Not available to watch

Saturday, March 23: Sky Sports Golf, 22.00

Sunday, March 24: Sky Sports Mix, 19.00

US viewers can catch all the action on Golf Channel

All times EST

Thursday, March 21: The Golf Channel, 18.00

Friday, March 22: The Golf Channel, 18.00

Saturday, March 23: The Golf Channel, 18.00

Sunday, March 24: The Golf Channel, 15.00

Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship Tee Times

Tee time information for the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship can be viewed here.

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About the author

James Hogg – Golf Equipment Writer

James has a degree in English Language from Newcastle University and an MA in Journalism from Kingston University.

He spent seven years working for American Golf as part of the sales and fitting team alongside his studies and is a specialist in putters, golf balls, and apparel.

James took up golf as a teenager and, thanks largely to his length and consistency off the tee, he plays off a handicap of 4.7 at Cleveland Golf Club.

You can contact James via email for loads more golf equipment insight.