Reynolds Lake Oconee — the award-winning resort community situated on 19,000-acre Lake Oconee located between Atlanta and Augusta—will host the LPGA Tour Drive On Championship at Reynolds Lake Oconee, October 22-25, 2020.
The four-day, official full-field event will feature a purse of $1.3 million. Golf Channel will broadcast all four rounds with three hours of coverage each day.
The event will be played at Great Waters, one of six outstanding courses available to Reynolds Members and guests. Great Waters, which originally opened in 1992, recently underwent an extensive renovation led by its designer, Jack Nicklaus. The completely rebuilt, modernized, and reconditioned course is a visually breathtaking test of championship golf along the Lake Oconee shoreline that looks almost exactly the way Nicklaus first designed it—but better.
“It is great that Reynolds Lake Oconee and Great Waters are stepping up to help the game of golf,” Nicklaus said. “The course we designed and opened 28 years ago was already very special, but after this latest renovation, I believe we added some polish to a gem. I think the ladies will absolutely love playing Great Waters. I think they will find it a good test but a fair one. I hope the LPGA has a tremendous week there, and that the competitors enjoy the course and the hospitality.”
Reynolds stepped in to host the world’s best women golfers after the LPGA Tour was forced to change its fall schedule due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I am so excited to show these athletes and our global fans this incredible place that so many of us call ‘home,’” said Mike Whan, Commissioner of the LPGA Tour, who is also both a Member and resident of Reynolds Lake Oconee.
“For me and my family, Reynolds is our escape. I come here to relax. I’m sure the LPGA players will quickly see why I choose to live here and will enjoy much that Reynolds has to offer even as they compete in this exciting new event.”
Great Waters has hosted many great players, at the professional, college, and junior levels. It was the site of the Andersen Consulting World Championship of Golf (now the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship) on the PGA Tour from 1995-97. And in 2014, Great Waters hosted the first-ever Big Break Invitational, a 72-hole tournament featuring a select field of 40 past Big Break participants, televised live on Golf Channel. Additionally, Great Waters continues to host the Linger Longer Invitational, an annual collegiate event.
There will be no spectators allowed. Golf Channel broadcast times will be announced soon.
