Tseng, Sorenstam to play in Charity Classic

BARRINGTON, R.I. (WPRI) - Five big name LPGA Tour pros are headlining the field of the 2012 CVS Caremark Charity Classic golf tournament, including the LPGA's top player Yani Tseng.

Tournament co-hosts Brad Faxon and Bill Andrade announced Monday a portion of the field that will be playing in the tournament, which is set for June 17-19 at Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington.

• Meet the Field

Yani Tseng, a Taiwanese professional golfer who has been ranked #1 in the world by the LPGA for more than a year, will play in her first Charity Classic.

World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam, who has won 72 times on the LPGA Tour, will also make her first tournament appearance.

They will be joined by LPGA stars and fellow first-timers Lexi Thompson (ranked 24th in the world) and Lorena Ochoa (four-time LPGA Rolex Player of the Year) as well as longtime Charity Classic participant Juli Inkster.

Also playing the tournament will be several PGA Champions Tour professionals, including Mark Calcavecchia, Corey Pavin, and Peter Jacobsen.

Other PGA, LPGA, and Champions Tour pros will be announced in the coming weeks.  In all, 20 golfers will participate.

Faxon and Andrade also announced that the tournament will have a slightly different format for 2012.

The Tuesday round will be played with a scramble format.  In a scramble, each player tees off on each hole. The best of the tee shots is selected and all players play their second shots from that spot. The best of the second shots is determined, then all play their third shots from that spot, and so on until the ball is holed.

Tickets to the event can be purchased for the CVS Caremark Charity Classic website .

The Charity Classic is Rhode Island's largest charitable sporting event raising $15 million for charities from around the region for the last 14 years.