Concordia Native Abby Donovan to Compete in Pro-Am at 2022 Senior LPGA Championship in Salina
A Concordia High School graduate is slated to compete in the Pro-Am round of the Senior LPGA Championship at the Salina Country Club this week.
Abby Donovan of Concordia will be playing on the Bennington State Bank Pro-Am Team. She will be playing alongside LPGA Hall of Famer Annika Sörenstam.
Donovan was a four time state placer at Concordia High School. She capped off her career with a second-place finish in the 2020 Kansas State High School Activities Association Class 4A State Golf Tournament. As a junior, Donovan finished third in the state tournament. She tied for 19th place at state her sophomore year and placed 17th overall as a freshman.
After high school, Donovan joined the Kansas Wesleyan University Women's Golf team. In May, Kansas Wesleyan posted a 28th place finish at the NAIA National Championships at Lincoln Park Golf Course in Oklahoma City. The Coyotes qualified for the NAIA tournament by winning the Kansas Conference Championships for the second consecutive season. Donovan placed seventh at the conference championship played at The Jayhawk Club in Lawrence.
Donovan twice was named the KCAC Women's Golfers of the Week during her freshman season.
Shortly after the announcement was made that this year's Senior LPGA Championship tournament would be held at the Salina Country Club July 18th through July 24th, Donovan was surprised to receive a phone call to play in the Pro-Am round on Thursday, July 21st.
Sörenstam, originally from Stockholm, Sweden, turned pro in 1992 following a decorated collegiate career at the University of Arizona where she won seven collegiate events, including the 1991 NCAA Division I Individual Champion as a freshman.
Sörenstam went on to win a total of 72 times on the LPGA Tour, and currently ranks third on the LPGA Tour's All-Time Official Wins List and first on the Career Money List with over $22 million in official earnings. She is the only LPGA Tour player to ever win the Money List, Player of the Year and Vare Trophy in the same year for five different seasons.
Before her retirement, she was officially inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame through the points criteria and the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.
Donovan told KNCK News she's thrilled she has the opportunity to play alongside a legend of the game of golf.
This will mark the first LPGA Tour-family event for Sörenstam in the state of Kansas since her runner-up finish in the 2002 U.S. Women’s Open.
Donovan is hoping to soak up as much from the experience as she can.
During the 2022 Senior LPGA Championship tournament, Donovan also will have the chance to caddy for Maggie Will.
Will has been a PGA of America member since 2000 and a member of the LPGA Teaching & Club Professionals since 2009. She has three LPGA Tour wins and 19 top-ten finishes in her career.
Donovan has played countless rounds at the Salina Country Club throughout her career and knows the golf course well.
The Legends of the LPGA is the official senior tour of the LPGA providing competitive opportunities for female golf professionals and eligible amateurs, aged 45 and over. The tour was founded in 2000 by 25 veteran LPGA Tour professionals to highlight the talents of some of the greatest female golfers of all time. Since its inception, the Senior Championship has raised nearly $24 million for charities across America.
This year’s Senior LPGA Championship tournament in Salina will be playing for the Love, Chloe Foundation, a local non-profit that works to provide hope for families facing a childhood cancer diagnosis.