SOUTH BEND — When the 144-player field tees off Friday for the eighth annual Four Winds Invitational at Blackthorn Golf Club, defending champion Maia Schechter will be among them.

When the Chapel Hill, North Carolina native won last year’s Four Winds Invitational, it was her first career victory on the LPGA Symetra Tour. Schechter would go on to finish 26th in the final Volvik Race for the Card standings and earned her a spot in the inaugural LPGA Q-Series last fall.

Schechter is looking forward to playing at Blackthorn as she has missed four consecutive Symetra Tour cuts, just like she did in 2018.

“Fairways and greens,” Schechter said. “Played a practice round yesterday with Leslie [Cloots] and the greens are rolling really well, but I think they’ll speed up as the week goes on. The rough looks a little thicker than before, so hitting fairways will be key. Stay in my process, stay present.”

The 144-player field will begin play at 7:30 a.m. Friday. The final round on Sunday is scheduled to tee off at 9 a.m. Players will tee off from No. 10 and No. 10 all three days.

The Four Winds field will once again have an international flavor as 30 countries will be represented. The United States leads the way with 74, while Canada and the Republic of Korea will each had seven players entered in the field.

A total of 24 different states will be represented, but none from Indiana. California leads the way with 13 players.

“Starting this stretch of events in the Midwest really makes me feel like I’m home,” said Gabrielle Shipley, of Hastings, Michigan. “Being from the ‘Mitten’ means having to live away from home for months on end. That includes training in Florida during the winter and traveling on tour once the weather is finally nice, so I don’t get to return often. The next few weeks give me that feeling of being back where I grew up and be surrounded by family and friends.”

The Four Winds Invitational is the 10th stop on the LPGA Symetra Tour. The Volvik Race for the Cup money list will have six of its 10 members playing in South Bend this weekend. The Symetra Tour extends memberships to the LPGA Tour to the top players in the Race for the Cup standings at the end of the year.

Jillian Hollis, of Rocky River, Ohio, is currently No. 5 on the money list. She has six top 25 finishes in her seven starts this season.

“It was super nice to have last week off and recharge,” Hollis said. “To endure such a long season, it is important for me to take the time to rest mind and body. I am excited for the next couple of weeks, my first start in South Bend and continuing to sharpen the game in all aspects.”

As in previous years, admission to the Four Winds Invitational is free thanks to Martin’s Super Markets.