Back to Boca – Tee Times

The world’s top women professional golfers will return to our area in January when Boca Rio Golf Club in Boca Raton returns as the host venue for the 2022 Gainbridge at Boca Rio, the first full-field event for the 2022 LPGA Tour season.

The tournament will feature a field of 120 players competing for a $2 million purse, taking place Thursday-Sunday, Jan. 27-30.

“We are thrilled to continue our work with the LPGA Tour and return to Boca Rio Golf Club for the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio,” said Dan Towriss, President and CEO of Group 1001, the parent organization of Gainbridge. “In the tournament’s first two years, we have established the Gainbridge LPGA as a world-class championship. It is an honor for us to support women’s golf and provide a platform for the game’s best players to showcase their talents to fans all over the world.”

“We are excited to once again host the world’s best female golfers back to Boca Rio Golf Club for the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio,” said Elliott Wallace, president of Boca Rio Golf Club. “The inaugural event in 2020 was a tremendous success for the Southeast Florida community.”

The 2021 Gainbridge LPGA was contested at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando in late February, when Nelly Korda captured her fourth LPGA Tour win at 16-under par. The win was her first on American soil and with her parents in attendance. Korda went on to win four more times in 2021, including winning the Gold Medal at the 2021 Olympic women’s Golf Competition in Tokyo, catapulting her to Rolex Rankings World No. 1.

Korda’s Gainbridge LPGA win also sets the stage for sisters to kick off an LPGA Tour season as consecutive defending champions for the first time in LPGA Tour history. Her older sister, Jessica captured the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in January. The two wins in 2021 by the Kordas also marked the second time in LPGA Tour history sisters won consecutive events; the first was Annika and Charlotta Sörenstam in 2000.

“If we can follow in their footsteps, in Annika’s footsteps, that would be absurd,” said Korda to reporters following her 2021 Gainbridge LPGA win.

The Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio made its debut in January 2020, with Madelene Sagström capturing her first professional victory by one stroke over Nasa Hataoka at Lake Nona (2021 venue), as “surreal.”

It was an eventful week as Sagström released her courageous “Drive On” story to the world Monday of tournament week. She opened up about being sexually abused as a young girl, a story and journey that she hopes inspires men and women of any age.

“Having the LPGA’s (support) and the whole golf community just proves that they care about us so much more than just as an athlete,” Sagström said at her pre-tournament press conference at the 2021 Gainbridge LPGA. “They care about us as human beings and know that this platform can change lives.”

Joining past champions Sagström and Korda will be many of the world’s top women professional golfers, including Lexi Thompson and Brooke Henderson, among many others.

Also joining the field as a sponsor exemption will be Taylor Collins, who made history in September by becoming the first woman to capture the South Florida PGA Section Championship in its 42-year history. Collins, teaching professional at Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, captured the title by four strokes at 8-under par.

“In the end it’s all about keeping shots in play and making putts,” Collins told PGA.com after her victory. “It doesn’t matter where you’re playing from, how old you are, what gender you are, it’s just if you’re making the putts or not is what it really comes down to.”

The 2021 South Florida PGA Women’s Player of the Year, Collins is no stranger to competing on the LPGA Tour’s biggest stage. She played on the Symetra Tour for several years and was the winner of Golf Channel’s popular Big Break reality competition series, earning an exemption to compete into the 2013 Lorena Ochoa Invitational. She is coached by Bob Toski.

About the course

Boca Rio Golf Club, which was founded in 1967 and designed by Robert von Hagge, is situated just 4 miles from the Atlantic Ocean on 200 acres of native Florida wilderness. Boca Rio features no developed real estate.

Be a fan

A variety of ticket packages are on sale, including exclusive hospitality and general admissions tickets offering degrees of entertainment and access. Tickets are available exclusively at GainbridgeLPGA.com. Once purchased, tickets can be accessed either on a mobile device or printed out where they will be scanned at Boca Rio’s main gate.

All service personnel, including military (active, reserve, retired and veterans), fire, police, EMS and front-line healthcare workers (doctors and nurses) will receive complimentary admission by showing proper identification at Will Call in exchange for a daily pass.

New for 2022 is a new partnership with Menin Development’s Delray Beach Market, Florida’s newest and largest food hall destination experience at 150,000 square feet that includes more than 25 local and regional food vendors and bars. Delray Beach Market will activate an on-site “market” at Boca Rio Golf Club, offering fans a VIP hospitality experience with views of the signature 17th hole as part of the Delray Beach Market Pass.

Ticket options

Good-Any-One Day Grounds: $15. General admission daily grounds, valid Thursday-Sunday, Jan. 27-30 (tournament rounds).

Weekly Grounds: $30. General admission daily grounds, valid Thursday-Sunday, Jan. 27-30

Delray Beach Market Pass (two options): $150. Good for one day. Includes one VIP Clubhouse valet parking pass and one Delray Beach Market Pass; $50. Good for one day. VIP access to complimentary, upgraded food and beverage at the hospitality patio located at the 17th tee. Includes featured menu items from a variety of Delray Beach Market’s restaurants and beverages from the Casamigos Bar.

Delray Beach Market Pass Hospitality Package: $300. Good for one day, includes one VIP clubhouse valet parking pass and four Delray Beach Market Passes.

Be a volunteer

More than 700 volunteers serve critical needs such as marshaling, scoring, transportation, hospitality services and many other important roles. Visit GainbridgeLPGA.com/volunteer.