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Lydia Ko is defending champion of ANA Inspiration 2017 -- the LPGA Tour's first major of the season.

(LPGA)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- World No. 1 and defending champion Lydia Ko headlines the field at the ANA Inspiration this week in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The event is LPGA Tour 2017's first major of the season.

Round 1 is Thursday.

LPGA TOUR

ANA INSPIRATION

Site: Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Course: Mission Hills CC (Dinah Shore Tournament Course). Yardage: 6,769. Par: 72.

Purse: $2.7 million. First prize: $405,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, noon-4 p.m., 7-9 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 5-9 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Lydia Ko.

Last week: Mirim Lee won the Kia Classic.

Notes: Lydia Ko will try to become the first back-to-back winner of the LPGA Tour's first major since Annika Sorenstam in 2001-02. ... Ko rallied over the closing holes to defeat a stumbling Ariya Jutanugarn last year and capture her second straight major. It turned out to be a preview of the 2016 season -- Ko and Jutanugarn battling until the end for all of the top awards. ... Lucy Li, the Californian who qualified for the U.S. Women's Open at Pinehurst when she 11, won the Junior ANA Inspiration to earn the final spot in the major. She missed the cut at that 2014 Women's Open. ... The previous two U.S. Women's Amateur champions, Eun-Jeong Seong and Hannah O'Sullivan, are among six amateurs to receive exemptions. ... So Yeon Ryu is playing so well that she leads the LPGA Tour money list without having won this year. With four runner-up finishes in her last 10 starts, she has moved to No. 3 in the women's world ranking. ... Dottie Pepper set the 72-hole record at 19-under 269 in 1999.

Next tournament: LOTTE Championship on April 13-16.

Online: www.lpga.com

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)