The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) today announced that defending champion Minjee Lee will headline an elite field of golfers in the 2023 LPGA Cognizant Founders Cup, set to take place May 10-14 at the Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton. As the first of four women’s golf tournaments in the Garden State, New Jersey will be the epicenter of women’s golf and will inspire young girls and women throughout the tri-state area, elevating women’s golf and the conversation about women’s leadership, Scott Wood, Sr. Director, Cognizant Founders Cup, said at a media day event held at the Upper Montclair Country Club on Tuesday.
“The year of women’s golf is here in northern New Jersey,” Wood said. “As one of few states to host multiple women’s professional golf events in the calendar year, New Jersey will establish a significant women’s golf footprint in 2023. On the heels of the 50-year anniversary of Title 9, 2023 golf fans and corporate hospitality partners and sponsors will get an up-close look at the game’s best professional golfers and compete for record purses.”
Returning to northern New Jersey for the third straight year, the tournament aims to support girls and women in sports and business while honoring the 13 founding members of the LPGA. The event is the first of four professional women’s golf events scheduled in the Garden State during May and June.
NJ-based Cognizant, one of the world’s leading professional services companies, is the Title Sponsor for the 2023 Cognizant Founders Cup. The tournament offers a $3 million purse, one of the largest of any LPGA Tour events outside the majors and the CME Group Tour Championship.
“We are thrilled to help support the talented athletes of the LPGA through our Title Sponsorship of the Cognizant Founders Cup,” said Gaurav Chand, Chief Marketing Officer. “Cognizant is committed to creating equal opportunity and diversity both in and out of the workplace and recognizes the important role that women’s professional sports can play in creating a better future for the next generation of women and girls. We look forward to the 2023 LPGA season in NJ and beyond.”
The 144-player field will include two special exemptions, one of whom made an appearance on media day. NJSGA Women’s Amateur Champion and Player of The Year Katie Lu is a Michigan State college student from Plainsboro who will get to participate in the prestigious tournament.
Lu spoke about how she got her start at age 10 when her mom signed her up for a golf camp. “I remember telling my mom there is absolutely no way I’m going to a golf camp and then after the first day I had so much fun. We were on the range for two hours and on the putting green and I told them I wanted to go back and they signed me up for two more weeks of the summer camp and honestly, that’s how it all started.” Lu continued to be involved with the game through The First Tee, the PGA Junior League and other organizations.
The tournament will feature a lineup of “family entertainment” for of all ages. Among the event’s beneficiaries is LPGA USGA Girls Golf, a non-profit junior golf program that supports 100,000 girls who are learning the game.
To purchase individual and week-long ticket packages along with a variety of add-on hospitality options, head to thefounderslpga.com. General admission tickets, providing access to the tournament grounds any day Thursday through Sunday are $45, with a weekly 5-day pass available for $125. Hospitality packages, which begin at $100 per day, include access to on-course hospitality and an assortment of food and beverage options. Kids and teens 17 and younger get free general admission, and active and retired military members can show their ID for access to a free grounds pass on each day (accompanying guests not included).