Sei Young Kim, Brooke Henderson, Stacy Lewis
1:01 p.m. – 1st Tee
Sei Young Kim has consistently played well in Phoenix, where she notched a top 10 in her debut in 2015 and followed with a record-breaking victory in 2016 when won at 27-under par. But this week, Kim’s status remains in question as she makes her first start since withdrawing midway through the first round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship due to a back injury. Kim will play the opening rounds alongside Brooke Henderson and Stacy Lewis. Henderson is off to an impressive start in 2019, finishing no worse than 15th in her first three starts of the season. She’s had an up and down run in Phoenix where she had a rare missed cut last year, which was one of only three cuts that Henderson missed in 2018. Lewis is making her second start of the season in Phoenix. She picked up a top 10 in the season opener, which was also her first start since giving birth in the Fall of 2018. Lewis has consistently played well in Phoenix, where she won in 2013 and only once has finished outside the top 10 in seven starts.
Shanshan Feng, Lydia Ko, Sung Hyun Park
1:12 p.m. – 1st Tee
This week, Shanshan Feng makes a rare appearance at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup, where she hasn’t competed since 2016. The former Rolex Rankings world No. 1 is making her fourth start of the season in Phoenix where she recorded a T-13 in 2011. She is grouped with two other world No. 1s during the opening rounds as she’s grouped with Lydia Ko and Sung Hyun Park. This week, Ko is making her fifth start of the season. The desert has been kind to the Kiwi, who other than a missed cut last season, has never finished outside the top 10 in this event. Park, the current world No. 1, is making her third start of the year in Phoenix and is already a winner in 2019. Park picked up her sixth career win on the LPGA Tour at the HSBC Women’s World Championship and will look to continue that momentum this week in Phoenix where she finished T13 in 2017.