2024 The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican Media Preview
November 11 through 17
By: Bill “The GolfFather” Cuebas
The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican is the LPGA’s annual tournament in the Tampa Bay region and features the world’s best female golfers competing over four rounds for a share of the $3.25 million purse, one of the largest on the LPGA Tour.
The tournament will be contested at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla., a Donald Ross design offering an unmatched golf experience for the LPGA Ladies.
World Golf and LPGA Hall-of-Famer, Annika Sorenstam serves as tournament host with proceeds benefiting the ANNIKA Foundation. Each of the top eight and 16 of the top 20 ladies in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings are entered into the championship.
If you are in the St. Pete/Tampa Bay area and want to experience the best of the LPGA… check out the tickets for The ANNIKA exclusively at www.TheAnnika.com.
Defending Champion Lilia Vu is feeling good about her chances to defend her title, despite recently returning to play after a back injury. Nelly Korda is a two-time champion at The ANNIKA (2021 and 2022), with Sei Young Kim winning the inaugural event in 2020. All three are committed to the 2024 championship.
WMBA Superstar, Caitlin Clark is scheduled to play in the Wednesday Pro-Am at the Pelican. Caitlin “a lefty,” will be playing next to Annika. We’ll have to see how she does, trading a large basketball for a small golf ball for the day.
Joining the Sorenstam and Clark group will be a couple of IndyCar drivers. These two past Firestone Grand Prix of St. Pete winners, Colton Herta and Marcus Ericsson will be guest caddies for this this powerhouse duo on Wednesday.
The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican also announced 3 sponsor exemptions. Louise Rydqvist, University of South Carolina senior. This was courtesy of the Annika Intercollegiate tournament in South Carolina won that event this year.
Rachel Kuehn, Wake Forest All-American, received the second sponsor exemption. Rachel announced that she will turn professional for this event. This will be her second year playing in the event as a sponsor exemption.
And lastly, but not least, hometown LPGA Superstar, Brittany Lincicome will occupy the third sponsor exemption. This also will be her final event of the 2024 season. Playing The Annika will also complete her final full-time LPGA Tour season. Brittany will play a few events in 2025 but will be focusing on being a mom going forward in 2025.
Justin Sheehan, Director of Golf and COO, Pelican Golf Club, mentioned, “Hurricane Helene didn’t really affect us. It affected the beach communities and everybody in low-lying areas, just devastation.”
“Hurricane Milton, on the other hand, hurt us bad. I’m sure everybody has seen the photos of the golf course, but we had five greens fully underwater. We lost 32 trees; pine straw was everywhere. It was just a disaster. – But our Team was Awesome! It was amazing how quickly the water went down to normal levels, and within 24 hours, the clean-up process started.”
“The Pelican course looks better than ever, minus a few places where there were trees. I think the course is drying out nicely. The greens are perfect. They will probably be a little firmer and faster than they’ve been the last couple of years. We have a new superintendent this year. He’s 28 and he’s off to prove himself, so I think the ladies are going to have a nice test.”
We will be covering the final rounds of The Annika by Gainbridge… so watch for some exciting shots and updates along the way!
LIVE COVERAGE will be on the GOLF CHANNEL
Thursday and Friday – 10 AM to 1 PM
Saturday – 2 to 4:30 PM
Sunday – 2:30 to 5 PM
Bill Cuebas
Bill Cuebas is the Co-founder/Publisher of Ignite Golf Network and co-host of the weekly golf talk radio show, Biggs Golf Talk. After spending more than a decade working in PR and Communications within the golf industry, Bill knows what drives the professionals and customers and actively seeks to provide the communication and input needed to help industry leaders be successful in presenting these things to the consumers. Bill knows that having a passion for something increases the desire and ability to do the best you can do. This passion has allowed Bill to combine his love of golf and country in a unique way with his charitable work with different organizations. Bill’s years in law enforcement gives him strong communication skills and a keen understanding of how to read people which are invaluable tools when seeking to promote and grow a business.