The Tribune

DEFENDING champion Sei Young Kim, the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year, and World No. 2 Inbee Park, a seven-time major winner, head the field for the fourth annual Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.

The $1.4 million event, which is scheduled to begin at the Ocean Club Golf Course on January 28, is the season-opening event on the LPGA schedule. The field of 108 players features 18 of the top 25 from the 2015 LPGA Money List and 14 of the top 25 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Included are five top-10 players in the Rolex Rankings: No. 2 Inbee Park, No. 3 Stacy Lewis, No. 4 Lexi Thompson, No. 7 Sei Young Kim and No. 10 Hyo-Joo Kim.

The field will be completed Monday when a record 35 players compete for two spots in an open qualifier at the Ocean Club Golf Course. “We are super excited about this year’s Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic. What a way to kick off the 2016 LPGA calendar, in Paradise,” said tournament director Matt Truax.

“Our sponsorship remains strong, and with our initiatives in the local community, we are expecting record crowds. As always, our partners at Pure Silk, The Islands of the Bahamas, and Atlantis deliver the best in show. We are ready to go.” 

Golf Channel will provide 10 hours of live coverage beginning 11:30am to 2:30pm EST January 28. There will be live second-round coverage 11:30am to 2:30pm January 29 and live coverage of the final two rounds 3-5pm Saturday and Sunday.

Deadline for applications for media credentials is today. Media organisations can log into.lpgamediacredentials.comto make requests. A completed application is not a guarantee of credential approval. For more tournament information, contact the tournament office at 1 242 601-7351 or visitwww.puresilkbahamasclassic.com

For more information, visit.,www.puresilkbahamasclassic.comwww.facebook.com/PureSilkBahamasLPGAwww.instagram.com/BahamasLPGA, or follow the action onwww.twitter.com/PureSilkLPGA