2024 Dana Open: These 5 names could take home the trophy

The Dana Open’s 40th birthday party officially tees off Thursday morning at Highland Meadows Golf Club with the first shot of the four-day, 72-hole tournament.

The best women’s golfers in the world will convene for their annual stop in northwest Ohio. The 144-person field features major champions, rising stars, and LPGA Tour stalwarts. Each wants to be added to the glowing list of winners the Dana Open has produced.

With an ideal weather forecast, birdies, as usual, should be plentiful. Whoever finds a hot putter and avoids mistakes should be at or near the top of the leaderboard.

Here are five favorites to hoist the Dana Open crystal and cash the winning $262,500 check.

■ Xiyu Lin: The highest-ranked player in the field, China’s Lin is No. 15 in the world. She has nine top-five finishes in her last 28 worldwide events. Her Dana Open record isn’t sterling, but it’s solid — only one missed cut in eight appearances and a T7 and T4 finish the past two years.

■ Lexi Thompson: In what could be her final Dana Open, the fan-favorite Thompson figures to be on the Sunday leaderboard. She has earned nearly a half-million dollars in her career at Highland Meadows, with two runner-up finishes at 20 and 17 under. She has never missed the cut and has finished in the top 20 six times.

■ Linn Grant: It’s hard to go wrong with the defending champion, especially when she blitzed the field, finishing in first by three strokes and clearing third place by six. Grant is undoubtedly one of the LPGA Tour’s future stars, but it hasn’t been a smooth year. She’s down to No. 26 in the world from a high of 18. Still, she possesses immense talent and has tamed the golf course once before.

■ Jodi Ewart Shadoff: She only has one career LPGA Tour victory, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Ewart Shadoff’s second win came at Highland Meadows, a course she feasts on. The England native has two top-three finishes and her 24 career rounds are the envy of anyone who’s ever put a golf ball on a tee: 63, 66, 66, 66, 67, 67, 67, 68, 68, 68, 68, 69, 70, 70, 70, 71, 71, 71, 71, 71, 73, 73, 73, 73.

■ Caroline Masson: The German took off last season after the birth of her first child. She has only made five cuts in 10 events this season, but she has a strong record at Highland Meadows, where she has finished in the top five three times in six appearances. Her only missed cut came back in 2016.