What you really should know about this week’s LPGA Tournament

Team USA just won the Solheim Cup in Gainesville, VA, and many of the star players will be at the Kroger Queen City LPGA Championship Presented by P&G happening this week here in Cincinnati at TPC River’s Bend. Here’s what you really should know to enjoy your experience at this LPGA event.

1: Kids get in free with a ticketed adult

Buy your tickets online at Seat Geek. General admission, one-day any-day tickets are $25 per day, and juniors (17 and under) get in free with a ticketed adult. There are options to upgrade your experience - the Champions Club tickets to get access to exclusive seating areas.

SATURDAY September 21 is Junior day, sponsored by Venus and Gillette, and ALL children (17 & under) get in FREE and receive a back pack & t-shirt at admission.

2. Know where to park, know what you can and can’t bring in the gates

Tournaments draw large crowds so typically there is an off-site parking location where attendees are then shuttled to and from the venue. Hit up the parking page for those details. Google maps indicates a 10 minute ride from the Oeder’s Lake lot to TPC River’s Bend, so you should count on about 30 minutes extra time - waiting for the shuttle, boarding, de-boarding, and then walking to the security gates.

Spectator info page has a ton of good nuggets to help you plan ahead. Important items like the bag policy, and concessions, course map, reminders about what to bring from home: sunscreen, sunscreen and sunscreen!

3. Peruse the tournament schedule, especially community activations

Decide which day(s) you will attend - check out the schedule to see when gates open and close. Thursday and Friday will be quieter days. Saturday and Sunday rounds will be the busiest of all. The leaders tee off later in the day, so the crowds will be lighter going into the tournament in the mornings and will get heavier as the day goes on.

The spectator info page has a map and lists areas on the course where you can get free giveaways, or participate in contests. The Kroger Freshest Putt is a 30-foot putt challenge where you can win Kroger gift cards and other prizes. Beauty on the Green will be giving away samples of beauty products and there’s a braid bar! Pampers Family Center has a private nursing station, indoor play space and changing stations for the littles.

4. Decide how you want to spectate

There are two strategies for spectating at a golf tournament.

One way is to pick one hole on the golf course, take your seats, and watch as group after group comes through that hole. The advantage is that you get to see many golfers this way. The disadvantage is that you only see them play one hole.

Another way is to pick one group and follow that group as they play. You’ll be standing and walking most of the time at the tournament. The advantage is you get to see more holes of the course, and disadvantage being that you only get to see those players. 

You can also do a little mix of both - which is what I prefer to do. As you enter the tournament gates, there should be a pairings guide you can pick up which will detail who is in which group and when they tee off. There are some big names coming to play this year: 

• Minjee Lee, Kroger Queen City LPGA champion in 2023

• Lydia Ko, 2024 Olympics golf gold medalist & 20-time LPGA tour winner

• Lexi Thompson, fan-favorite and 11-time LPGA tour winner, she is retiring after this season

• Nelly Korda, who has so far won 6 times this season alone

• Rose Zhang, World #10 and member of team USA on the Solheim cup

5. Make memories! Take the selfies, soak up the action, buy the merch

There will be an autograph zone sponsored by Secret, so bring your autograph books or buy a visor, a golf ball, something to be prepared when your favorite player is ready to sign autographs. 

Enjoy the action. Watching the LPGA golfers up close is truly an amazing experience. They are so incredibly skilled. They hit the ball with such strength and it lands with unbelievable accuracy at their targets. Even if you are not intimately familiar with golf, there are sure to be moments where your jaw will drop thinking about how they are able to do what they do.

Volunteering in the scoring command center at Kenwood Country Club in 2022

Find the right moment to take a selfie with the gorgeous TPC River’s Bend golf course in the background. Visit the fan zones and merchandising tents. The first tournament I ever attended was 2 years ago when the Kroger Queen City LPGA Championship was at Kenwood Country Club - my girls were with me and I bought them LPGA sweatshirts that they still LIVE in. While the kids enjoyed the tournament, one of the most thrilling moments for them was receiving free bottles of lemonade, granola bars, cookies and other snacks that were being given out by Kroger. They did not want to miss stopping by the Kroger free snack areas coming in and going out! It’s the little things, right?

There are more tournaments on the calendar…

Check out the full LPGA tour schedule here to see when a tournament will be hosted near you! Have you been to a tournament recently? What are your best tips for enjoying the experience? What tournament do you most want to go to? (One tournament I dream of attending one day is the Amundi Evian Championship in Evian Resort Golf Club in France - it’s so bougie, and pink is the theme color. I absolutely love looking at the pictures and videos from this tournament.)

Hope you enjoy the tournament this week or maybe this inspires you to plan a trip to see the LPGA players at a venue near you!