2026 ShopRite LPGA Tournament brings new storylines to South Jersey

One of the biggest sporting events on the South Jersey calendar each year is the annual ShopRite LPGA Event that has been hosted at the Bay Course at Seaview Golf Club since 1998.

For over 30 years, ShopRite has been the presenting sponsor of this showcase of the best women's golfers in the world each year. Originally debuting in 1986, it is one of the oldest active non-major tournaments on the LPGA Tour.

The 2026 edition of the tournament will feature a 144-woman field competing for an event record a $2 million purse, a 14.3 percent increase over last year's tournament. This year's event features a new look to the aesthetic of the Seaview Golf Club Bay Course, and an incredible blend of veteran LPGA Pros with young up-and-coming golf stars.

Top Four Storylines To Watch For at 2026 ShopRite LPGA powered by Wakefern

When you go out to the Seaview Golf Club Bay Course to watch the 38th edition of this South Jersey Tradition from May 29th to 31st, here are the biggest topics I will be watching at this year's event:

1. There has been no repeat ShopRite LPGA champions in a decade
Since 2010, there have been 14 different women's golfers to win this South Jersey event, but no repeat ShopRite LPGA Champions since 2016.  But that was Anna Nordqvist winning back-to-back years, and she is one of the greatest women's golfers of all-time.

Only five women have won multiple ShopRite LPGA Tournaments:
*Juli Inkster (1986, 1988)
*Betsy King (1987, 1995, 2001)
*Annika Sörenstam (1998, 2002, 2005)
*Stacy Lewis (2012, 2014)
*Anna Nordqvist (2015, 2016)

But there are two past winners to keep an eye out for at this year's tournament:

*Brooke Henderson (2022 winner) had a strong start to the 2026 season, with three of her first four tournaments finishing -7 or better. Even though she has not finished in the Top 25 since the Aramco Championship in April, Henderson has one of the best Drive Accuracy Percentages on the LPGA Tour this year (77.27 - 11th).  Driving accuracy is one of the most important keys to success at the Seaview Golf Club Bay Course.

Henderson finished last year's tournament at -7 (Tied for 20th) in a crowded field in a weekend full of lousy weather. In her last five ShopRite LPGA Tournament appearances, she is averaging -8.4 under par.

"I think being able to have played here every year since 2015 I feel like I know the course really well, and I definitely have a lot of good memories here," Henderson said at Wednesday's Press Conference. "This course can play tough if it gets windy. There's been a lot of rain this week, so it's softer, which is nice, but you really have to pay attention to the windy conditions and adjust accordingly. But I feel like it's nice to have a good feel for the course layout and kind of how the holes will play generally."

*Jennifer Kupcho is the winner of the 2025 ShopRite LPGA, and that win laid the groundwork for one of the best years in her professional golf career. She finished the 2025 season with four more Top Ten finishes and nine tournaments in which she finished at least six-under-par.

At her four most recent tournaments in 2026, she finished the no worse than 13th, and she is ranked as one of the 25 best players on the LPGA Tour so far this year.  Kupcho at her Press Conference on Wednesday had a quiet confidence knowing that her win last year helped with her understanding more about her golf game coming into this season:

"Last year made me realize I kind of do the same thing every year. Looking back on it, I start out slow from the offseason. I would say compared to most girls, I take a lot of time off. I put my clubs away this year for an entire month during December and January." Kupcho explained to the media.
"Most girls don't do that, so I know I'm going to start out rough beginning of the year, and kind of around (the end of April to the) beginning of May, I start to come out. So, yeah, I think through that win last year I was able to understand like this is the trend that I do, so just be patient with it and just keep working, and then I'm going to spring when I spring."

2. Top 10 Women's Golfer Makes Her Return after a four year absence
Charley Hull is the number seven-ranked Women's Golfer in the LPGA Tour Rolex Rankings, and has three top 15 finishes this season. It was the 2021 edition of the ShopRite LPGA tournament that was Hull's last time competing at the Seaview Golf Club Bay Course.

But that year's tournament was hosted in October, which is much different weather on the course compared to the late spring/early summer. Hull splits her time between the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour, which gives her unique experience as a professional golfer coming into this weekend's tournament.

3. Who Is Playing well in recent weeks that could be in contention this weekend
Over the years, the Seaview Golf Club Bay Course has seen many first-time winners at the ShopRite LPGA Tournament. So I did some research about what golfers who have played well in 2026 that could be "sleepers" to win this year's event:

*Hye-Jin Choi is currently number 15 in the Rolex Top-25 Rankings, and has three Top Ten finishes in 2026. She was a very accomplished Amateur Golfer before joining the LPGA Tour in 2022.
While Hye-Jin Choi has not won on the LPGA Tour this year, she has the fourth-most Sub Par Rounds on the tour in 2026, and a contender in most tournaments.

*Cassie Porter is in her second year playing on the LPGA Tour, and has finished inside the Top 30 in four of her nine tournaments played in 2026. The Australian Golfer has the 11th most Sub Par Rounds on the LPGA Tour in 2026, and only 20 golfers have a better Scoring Avg Per Round (70.97) than Porter.

*Robyn Choi finished tied for 8th at the LPGA Tour's most recent tournament, the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G in Cincinnati.

She has played the most round (40) of any woman on the tour in 2026, so no golf last weekend may have been more of a positive for her than anyone else in the field. Choi finished in 11th place at last year's ShopRite LPGA, and shot a First Round 66 in 2024.

*Melanie Green has finished in the Top 20 in three of her last five LPGA Tour events played. She had ten Top-10 finishes on the Epson Tour in 2025, and her recent run of success could be a good omen heading into the 38th ShopRite LPGA powered by WakeFern.

4. Team ShopRite Golfers could make noise this weekend
Just because Cheyenne Knight is six months removed from giving birth to her first son, and is not playing this weekend, doesn't mean the other three women representing Team ShopRite are to be overlooked:

*Azahara Munoz finished tied for fifth place in last year's ShopRite LPGA tournament, and shot -8 under par at the 2024 event. Munoz has made the cut in 51 percent of tournaments played over the last four years. That is the type of experience as an LPGA Tour Veteran that could be a factor playing in a tournament field with 23 LPGA Tour Rookies at the Seaview Golf Club Bay Course.

*Gianna Clemente is just 18 years old, but is playing well in her first year on the Epson Tour. She finished in the Top 12 in three of her last six tournaments, and has the 11th most Sub Par Rounds on the Epson Tour in 2026.

This is Clemente's third consecutive year receiving a tournament sponsor invitation for the ShopRite LPGA tournament. In the rough weather conditions, she finished with a +1 over par n 2025; But in 2024, when the weather was better, Gianna finished with a -4 under par on the Seaview Golf Club Bay Course.

*Rachel Kuehn has finished in the Top Five in two of her last 3 tournaments played on the Epson Tour. The Two-time ACC Women’s Golfer of the Year (2022, 2023)has played the most rounds of golf on the Epson Tour (23) of any player on the Epson Tour in 2026. Kuehn finished -5 under par at the 2024 ShopRite LPGA Tournament.

973 ESPN Radio South Jersey will be broadcasting live on location for the first two days of the 2026 ShopRite LPGA Classic: The Sports Bash with Mike Gill 2-6pm on Friday, May 29th, and Hanging with Hennig on Saturday, May 30th from 12-3pm.