Tag: Brooke Henderson

2024 Olympics golf: Here are 5 things to know before players hit the first tee in Paris

Since the Olympics aren’t on an organized tour, many fans might not know what to expect.

Golf in the Summer Olympics might not quite rise to the level of importance of the major championships for either men or women professionals. After all, golf is still a relatively new sport in the Summer Games, and for many professional golfers, it simply adds complications to their schedules.

But for fans of the Olympics, or just fans of some of the top players in the world gathering for competition, Olympic golf is back. The men will play first in the Summer Games in Paris next week, with the women’s event the following week. Fans in Southern California can already look forward to the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, when golf will be played at historic Riviera Country Club.

More: USA Today’s 2024 Olympics hub

But since the Olympics aren’t an event on an organized tour, and because the Summer Games come around once every four years, many golf fans might not know what to expect in the next two weeks. So here are a few things you need to know about golf in the Olympics:

The field

2023 Women's PGA Championship
Brooke Mackenzie Henderson looks on at the 5th hole during the third round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The Olympics have 60 golfers in the field, both for men and women. The players are determined by the Official World Golf Rankings for men and the Rolex World Rankings for women. No country can have more than four golfers in the field in order to make the 60-player field more representative of the world.

So the top four Americans in the rankings when the field was closed – Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark – will play for the gold medal. This makes for a field that is not the strongest possible field – for instance U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau and world No. 8 Patrick Cantlay are not in the field – but one that allows the most countries to be represented. American women playing next week will be Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang.

Meet the 60 players who qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympic women’s golf competition in Paris

Meet the 60 players who qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympic men’s golf competition in Paris

The competition

Olympics: Golf-Mens
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan tees off on the tenth hole during the final round of the men’s individual stroke play of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Kasumigaseki Country Club. Photo by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

A sticking point for some critics is that the format for Olympic golf is straightforward 72 holes of stroke play with no cut.

That tends to make the Olympics look like many other tournaments you might see week to week on any number of tours around the world. The top three players after 72 holes will receive the gold, silver and bronze medals.

The men’s event begins Thursday, Aug. 1 and the women’s event begins Aug. 8. There is already talk of a mixed team format being added for 2028.

Here’s what the United States golf teams will wear at the 2024 Olympics in Paris

The course

Early morning preparations are made prior to the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National on September 27, 2018, in Paris, France. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Le Golf National is certainly no stranger to the best players in the world. It is the annual site of the French Open on the DP World Tour, a task it was specifically designed for in 1991.

In addition, it was the host of the 2018 Ryder Cup between the United States and Europe. It can measure up to 7,331 yards with a par of 72.

LIV golfers in the field

2021 Olympics
Poland’s Adrian Meronk tees off from the 1st tee in round 1 of the men’s golf individual stroke play during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Kasumigaseki Country Club. (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images)

Since the Olympics uses the world ranking to determine its field, and LIV golfers can be ranked, then it makes sense that some LIV players will be in the Olympics.

After all, this isn’t a PGA Tour or DP World Tour event, but an event put together by the International Golf Federation.

In all, seven LIV golfers will be in the field, though that won’t include some big names like DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, who were eliminated by the rankings and the four-play rule for countries.

These are the 7 LIV Golf players who will compete at 2024 Olympics

Past champions

Nelly Korda of Team United States celebrates with the gold medal at the victory ceremony after the final round of the Women’s Individual Stroke Play on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Kasumigaseki Country Club on August 07, 2021 in Kawagoe, Japan. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

When the Olympics included golf once again in 2016 in Brazil, the winner was Justin Rose of England, with Henrik Stenson of Sweden taking the silver and Matt Kuchar of the United States taking the bronze.

Perhaps it says something that eight years later, none of the medalists in Rio de Janeiro are in the field in Paris.

Men’s medalists in Japan in 2020 (actually held in 2021 because of the pandemic) were Xander Schauffele with the gold, Rory Sabbatini, who represented Slovakia, with the silver and C.T. Pan of Taiwan winning a playoff for the bronze. Schauffele and Pan are back in the field in Paris.

In women’s golf, Inbee Park of South Korea, Lydia Ko of New Zealand and Shanshan Feng of China won gold, silver and bronze in Brazil, with only Ko back in the field this year. In 2020, Korda won the gold, Mone Iname of Japan took silver and Ko became the first two-time medal winner in the return of the sport to the Olympics with a bronze medal.

Before Brooke Henderson became Canada’s winningest golfer, then-teenager Sandra Post blazed the trail

Post won eight times on the LPGA, but never this event.

Brooke Henderson might be the winningest Canadian golfer, but Sandra Post was the first female athlete from Canada to make a living playing a sport. Post became the first Canadian to join the LPGA in 1968 at age 19 and promptly became the first Canadian — male or female — to win a major championship that same year when she defeated Kathy Whitworth in an 18-hole playoff at the LPGA Championship.

“It was really quite shocking,” recalled 76-year-old Post, who still plays regularly and gives lessons just outside Toronto.

No one was likely more shocked than Post, who received a pep talk from the great Mickey Wright the night before.

“We didn’t have that team around us to shelter us,” said Post of traveling solo those early years. “We had each other.”

This week, the CPKC Women’s Open celebrates 50 years of a tournament that, for many years, was known as the Canadian Women’s Open. A former major championship, the event has inspired generations of Canadians, including Henderson.

2018 CP Women's Open
Brooke Henderson kisses the trophy after winning the 2018 Canadian Pacific Women’s at Wascana Country Club in Regina, Saskatchewan. (Photo: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports)

For many years, the Henderson family had a photo of the tournament trophy hanging in the hallway near their bedrooms in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Every day sisters Brooke and Brittany would walk by it.

“It was really powerful,” said Henderson, “and definitely motivation to be competing in this championship, and not only just competing, but to try to win it someday.”

That day, of course, came in 2018 when Henderson became the first Canadian to win the CP Women’s Open since Jocelyne Bourassa won the first edition in 1973. She’s won 13 times on the LPGA, including two majors.

Needless to say, there are new photos up on the walls of the Henderson home.

Post won eight times on the LPGA, but never this event.

“I came close a couple of times,” she said, “but, you know, you just try too hard sometimes.”

The low Canadian at this week’s CPKC Women’s Open — there are 17 in the field of 156 — will receive the Sandra Post Medal.

Brooke Henderson poses with the Sandra Post medal for the low Canadian after the final round of the 2017 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open golf tournament at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Henderson was in elementary school the first time she met Morgan Pressel at a clinic in Ottawa and later followed her around at the Canadian Women’s Open as a fan. Outside of her older sister Brittany, Pressel was Henderson’s biggest role model growing up.

Post tells a similar story from watching her first LPGA event in Florida in 1953 at the age of 5. It was LPGA founder Marilynn Smith who caught her attention that week. Post began writing her letters and Smith wrote back.

More: Marilynn Smith had great ambition and an even bigger heart

At age 13, Post played in an exhibition with an LPGA rookie named Whitworth and couldn’t have imagined that seven years later she’d be squaring off against another one of her idols for a major title.

Post thought that after becoming the first player from Canada to win a major that she might be in line for female athlete of the year in her home country. But 1968 was an Olympic year, and Post came in fifth in the voting. She did, however, win LPGA Rookie of the Year honors.

“It was actually quite good for me,” said Post, who thought “boy, do I have a lot of work to do.”

Canadian golfer Sandra Post practicing her swing at Sunningdale golf course in preparation for the first Colgate European Open Championship, Aug. 5, 1974. (Photo by Dennis Oulds/Central Press/Getty Images)

After such a successful rookie campaign, Post struggled to find the winner’s circle again in the ensuing years. On a flight to Melbourne, Australia, in December of 1974, she left seatmate Judy Rankin to go sit with Whitworth and ask a simple question: “How do you win?”

Whitworth, who won 88 times on the LPGA, noted all the occasions that Post had come up just short of late and said, “You think it’s always something you did wrong, but it was something they did a little bit better than you.”

Post went on to win that week at the Colgate Far East Open, and while it wasn’t an LPGA-sanctioned event, she’d go on to win seven more times from 1978 to 1981. She was finally named Canada’s Female Athlete of the Year in 1979.

Post nearly comes to tears when she talks about the LPGA pioneers who helped shape her career. She still marvels at their genuine kindness.

“They knew we were out there alone,” she said. “They never hovered over us or told us what to do, but we could always go to them if we needed help.”

Post won the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle twice (1978, 1979) before it became a major, just as her good friend Judy Rankin did in 1976.

Over this past winter, Post was the range at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California, working on her game next to Rankin, as they’d done for so many decades.

“I said Jude, in 1972, if I would’ve come over to you on this range, and said ‘Judy, in 2024, you and I would still be out here pounding balls,’ would you believe it?”

Rankin laughed.

There’s probably a lot they wouldn’t have believed.

Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko return to KPMG Women’s PGA at Sahalee, where they dazzled as teens

Eight years ago, Henderson hit a dagger to 3 feet on the first playoff hole to top Ko.

SAMMAMISH, Washington – It was an instant classic. Two hotshot teenagers, both ranked in the top 4 in the world, dazzling beneath the majestic firs on a course that’s name translates to “high heavenly ground.” The tree-lined fairways of Sahalee Country Club are so tight players have taken to calling it “Sa-hallway.”

Eight years ago, Brooke Henderson hit a dagger to 3 feet on the first playoff hole at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship to deny World No. 1 Lydia Ko a third consecutive major title. Ariya Jutanguarn, a 20-year-old who’d won three consecutive events coming into that week, finished solo third.

On Tuesday, the club honored Henderson with an honorary membership and a commemorative plaque on the 18th, which will play as a par 5 rather than a par 4 this year. It was after that life-changing Sunday at the KPMG, Henderson said, that she felt like anything was possible.

“Honestly, everything just went so perfectly that week,” said Henderson, who even won a car with an ace during the first round. “I felt like it was meant to be.”

Henderson actually gave the Kia K900 to her sister, Brittany, who still drives it.

Brooke Henderson swaps clubs on the T-Mobile 5G range during the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship practice round at Sahalee Country Club on Monday, June 17, 2024, in Sammamish, Washington. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America)

While Henderson went on to become the winningest Canadian player in history with 13 wins, Ko — a 20-time LPGA winner — now sits one point away from qualifying for the LPGA Hall of Fame.

The pair, who are now friends, competed in the same CN Canadian Women’s Open when Henderson was 14 and Ko was 15. Ko, of course, went on to win that week in 2012, when Henderson thought she was doing well just by being in the field.

“Her career has been phenomenal,” said Henderson of the Kiwi, “and winning here in 2016, being able to beat the No. 1 player in the world at the time, somebody that I looked up to, it was a huge turning point in my career.”

Henderson put a new putter in the bag the week that she won at Sahalee, and she’s hoping to rekindle that same magic as she makes another putter switch this week. It’s been a weak point of her game this year.

“I feel like this year I’ve kind of tried a few different things with my putting,” she said, “pin in, pin out, left-hand low, more of a traditional grip. So just kind of trying to feel it out and trying to find something that works.”

Ko has been switching things up a bit as well, adding another coach to her stable in Holton Freeman, who’s a short drive from her home in Lake Nona, Florida. She’ll still working with Siwoo Lee, too, but isn’t able to connect with the South Korean-based instructor in person as much as she’d like.

Now a good 10 yards longer than she was in 2016, Ko will tackle Sahalee in different ways this time around.

“I’m pretty sure there are things I was probably better at when I was a teenager,” she said, “and now I have a bit more experience, so I think how I handle some situations is probably a little bit better.

“I hope it’s better.”

After that magnificent 7-iron from 155 yards on the first playoff hole, the shot that sticks out the most from Henderson’s final-round 65 was the 90-foot eagle putt she drained from off the green on the par-5 11th. That cut Ko’s lead down from three to one.

“My caddie, Paul, and I were joking that you could drop like 100 balls and not get it within 5 feet,” said Ko. “For her to have holed that, wow.”

Lydia Ko of New Zealand looks on while playing a shot on the 11th green prior to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club on June 19, 2024, in Sammamish, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Of the 156 players in the field, 46 have prior experience at Sahalee. World No. 1 Nelly Korda is not among them but has already taken to the place, noting that it’s easy to get lost in the beauty. She had her phone out on Wednesday during a practice round to capture a family of ducks.

“Overall, I think every hole looks a little different,” she said during a particularly upbeat press conference. “They’re all intimidating and great in their own way.”

Korda has missed her last two cuts coming into the KPMG but has already won six times this season.

On Thursday, it will be a reunion of sorts as the top 3 finishers from 2016 – Henderson, Ko and Jutanugarn – tee it up together for the first round. Together, they’ve won 28 LPGA titles since the 2016 KPMG.

Each has had their share of ups and downs.

A now-married Ko, who’s also a dog mom, said on Golf Channel’s Golf Central set Wednesday that she sometimes forgets she’s a major champion after winning both the ANA Inspiration and Evian as a teenager. Much has changed for Ko over the years within her team and her game as she’s grown up on tour.

For Henderson, though, much has stayed the same. Big sister Brittany is still on the bag. Her father, Dave, still looks after her on the technical side. Even so, a lot of miles, a lot of life has transpired since she first tasted major championship success on high heavenly ground.

“I’ve grown up a lot,” said Henderson, “have more victories out on tour now. A lot of good things have happened.”

With, no doubt, more good to come.

Brooke Henderson, who tied for fifth at Lancaster in 2015, is one to watch at 79th U.S. Women’s Open

Henderson tied for fifth at Lancaster Country Club in 2015 as a 17-year-old.

LANCASTER, Pa. – It’s tough for anyone to command much attention these days in the long shadow of Nelly Korda. But Brooke Henderson is certainly a name that pops at the 79th U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club.

For starters, Henderson shot a final-round 66 and tied for fifth at Lancaster Country Club in 2015 as a 17-year-old pro trying to play her way onto the LPGA. She’d go on to win on the LPGA as a Monday-qualifier later that year in Portland. Henderson is one of 36 players in the field who competed at Lancaster in 2015.

“I just remember it being so grand and beautiful and a challenge,” she said of the 1919 William Flynn design. “That’s exactly what it is right now.”

Henderson, currently No. 11 in the world, has a trio of top-3 finishes so far this season. Though the 13-time winner hasn’t won on tour since January 2023, she’s undoubtedly trending in the right direction. One of those top-3 finishes came at the 2024 Chevron Championship, the season’s first major. The two-time major winner has 16 top-10 finishes at the majors, including eight top 5s.

While the last two starts in New Jersey weren’t up to standard (T-56, T-35), she’s got a good perspective on how things stand.

U.S. Women’s Open: Leaderboard | Photos | How to watch

“I’m really excited about how this year has gone so far,” said Henderson, “and I’m really looking forward to the rest of summer because I feel like I’m right there.”

Henderson, 26, keeps many things the same from year to year on tour, especially within her tight-knit family. Her father, Dave, is still her swing coach and older sister, Brittany, carries the bag.

One thing that has changed in the past year, however, that’s pretty obvious – hers glasses.

Henderson started wearing glasses last August and said she’s always had trouble with her eyesight.

“I’ve never really been able to see the ball land or certain things since the start of my career,” she said, “but I was a feel player, so I just really leaned into that feel, and then I would just ask my sister, like ‘Is that on the green, or is it in the apron, or where is it? So I was really dependent on her for a while.

“Then I decided I wanted to be able to see where the ball was going and I wanted to maybe have a little bit better feel around the greens, which I think the glasses really help because I can see it a little clearer.”

She might switch to contacts in the coming years.

Henderson routinely draws major-championship like crowds when she plays in Canada but the galleries she saw nine years ago here in Lancaster nine are some of the biggest she’s seen.

If she’s in contention on Sunday, rest assured plenty will make the short trip over the border to watch the winningest Canadian golfer in history try to win a third different major crown.

How to watch the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open on NBC, USA, Peacock, Golf Channel

NBC, USA, Golf Channel and Peacock are teaming up for all the coverage.

The 2024 U.S. Women’s Open tees off Thursday at Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

It’ll be the 79th rendition of the longest running women’s professional golf championship.

“When I was at media day here about a month ago, I used the number nine a lot,” said USGA CEO Mike Whan on Wednesday. “Nine years ago we were here at Lancaster Country Club. This is the 91st time the USGA has teed it up in the state of Pennsylvania, more than any other state in the country. And this is the 999th USGA championship since we began running championships in 1895.”

Here in 2024, the USGA is partnering with the NBC Sports family to bring 26 hours of live coverage on TV with NBC and USA and streaming on Peacock.

USA and Peacock will have 16 hours over the first two rounds with NBC taking over the main TV broadcast over the weekend.

U.S. Women’s Open: Leaderboard | Photos

Fans can also stream the action and get live leaderboards on uswomensopen.com and the USGA App.

All times listed below are ET.

Thursday, May 30

First-round featured groups, uswomensopen.com, USGA App, Peacock, 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. (Morning wave: Nelly Korda, Nasa Hataoka, Megan Khang, Lydia Ko, Charley Hull, Jin Young Ko; afternoon wave: Lexi Thompson, Rose Zhang, Minjee Lee, Brooke Henderson, Yuka Saso, Hannah Green)

Live From the U.S. Women’s Open, Golf Channel and Peacock, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

First round, Peacock, noon – 2 p.m.

First Round, USA, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Live From the U.S. Women’s Open, Golf Channel and Peacock, 8 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Friday, May 31

Second round featured groups, uswomensopen.com, USGA App, Peacock, 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. (Morning wave: Lexi Thompson, Rose Zhang, Minjee Lee, Brooke Henderson, Yuka Saso, Hannah Green; afternoon wave: Nelly Korda, Nasa Hataoka, Megan Khang, Lydia Ko, Charley Hull, Jin Young Ko)

Live From the U.S. Women’s Open, Golf Channel and Peacock, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Second round, Peacock, noon – 2 p.m.

Second Round, USA, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Live From the U.S. Women’s Open, Golf Channel and Peacock, 8 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Saturday, June 1

Featured groups, uswomensopen.com, USGA App, Peacock, all day

Live From the U.S. Women’s Open, Golf Channel and Peacock, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Third round, Peacock, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Third round, NBC, 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Live From the U.S. Women’s Open, Golf Channel and Peacock, 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Sunday, June 2

Featured Groups, uswomensopen.com, USGA App, Peacock, all day

Live From the U.S. Women’s Open, Golf Channel and Peacock, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Final round, Peacock, 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.

Final round, USA, 3 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Final round, NBC, 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.

Live From the U.S. Women’s Open, (Golf Channel and Peacock, 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.

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LPGA all-time money list top 20 topped by Annika Sorenstam

This list is updated through the 2024 JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club

The LPGA has three members of the $20 million club, five who have won at least $17 million in on-course earnings, 24 with $10 million or more and 81 who have earned at least $5 million.

Annika Sorenstam leads the way. Sorenstam, Karrie Webb and Cristie Kerr are the three golfers who have surpassed $20 million.

Nellly Korda, with her win the 2024 Chevron Championship, her second major, surpassed $11 million. Jin Young Ko has become the 20th to reach the $12 million mark.

Let’s take a closer look here at the top 20 of all-time.

This list is updated through the 2024 JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club.

5 things to know from Hannah Green’s dramatic LPGA victory at the HSBC in Singapore

Green hit 28-of-56 fairways, the lowest in the field, but tied for third in total birdies with 18.

For newlywed Hannah Green, the celebrations continued just a five-hour plane ride from Perth, Australia, where she won with a flourish in her second start to the LPGA season. Green’s dramatic birdie putt on the 18th at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore sealed a narrow victory over France’s Celine Boutier, who won four times last season.

For the 27-year-old Green, who got married in January and moved into a new home right before last week’s event in Thailand, it’s been a dreamlike start to 2024.

Green birdied the last three holes at Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong Course to close with a third consecutive 67 and finish at 13 under for the tournament, one stroke ahead of Boutier.

“Almost like it was meant to be today for me, holing those two putts today on the last two holes,” said Green as she held the trophy. “I’m so happy to have this in my hands.”

Now a four-time winner on the LPGA, including the 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA, Green joins mentor Karrie Webb as the only other Aussie to win the HSBC.

Here are five things to know from a hot and rainy day in Singapore:

5 takeaways from Honda LPGA Thailand, where a ‘humbled’ Patty Tavatanakit stays hot

Here’s what you need to know from the first round of play on Thursday.

The LPGA returned to action in Thailand after a three-week break and Peiyun Chien lit up Siam Country Club Old Course with a career-tying 8-under 64. The 33-year-old Taiwanese player poured in seven birdies and an eagle to take control.

“I like the course because I just feel the green is similar in Taiwan, so I read better,” said Chien, who needed only 24 putts in the first round of the 2024 Honda LPGA Thailand.

There are 11 Thai players in the field of 72, including last week’s winner on the Ladies European Tour, Patty Tavatanakit. The no-cut event features a purse of $1.7 million, with $255,000 going to the winner.

Here are five takeaways from a steamy start to the Asian swing:

Former world No. 1s Lydia Ko, Jason Day win inaugural 2023 Grant Thornton Invitational

The new silly season event in Florida was a hit for both the LPGA and PGA Tour.

NAPLES, Fla. – With partner Jason Day in the bunker, Lydia Ko stepped up with a 3-wood into the wind from 203 yards and struck the shot of the day on the par-5 17th, essentially locking up the victory at the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational.

“That is so nice,” marveled Day as the ball tracked through the air.

The two former No. 1s joined forces to top the mixed-team field, earning $1 million, or $500,000 each. The final round featured a new modified four-ball format in which both players teed off from their respective tees and then switched for the second shot, playing that ball for the remainder of the hole.

Ko and Day came into the penultimate hole at Tiburon Golf Club knotted with Canadians Brooke Henderson and Corey Conners – playing two groups ahead – at 25 under. While Ko didn’t manage to convert the eagle putt, the closing birdie put them one shot ahead going into the last. They parred the 18th to finish with a 6-under 66 and win by one with a 26-under 190 total.

“I don’t think I’ve seen so many female junior golfers out at an event,” said Day, “especially a PGA Tour event, as I did see them this week.

“This is something that I think we have to keep striving towards.”

The victory at Tiburon was a special kind of vindication for Ko, who failed to qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in 2023 after winning the event the year prior.

“As soon as it came off the club face, I was like, I think it’s good, please be good, and it was heading right towards the pin,” said Ko. “I don’t think I could have hit that shot 100 times and it would turn out better.”

A self-described introvert, Ko admitted to being particularly nervous coming into this week having never met Day, who is 10 years older. Day said they’ll now leave Naples lifelong friends.

Major champion Karen Stupples, who follows the LPGA all season working for Golf Channel/NBC, commented after Saturday’s round of 6-under 66 in alternate shot that Ko’s game looked as good as she’d seen it all year.

Ko spent some time with Jin Young Ko’s instructor Siwoo Lee at a couple points this season and again, as Golf Channel analyst Morgan Pressel reported, last week at Lake Nona. Pressel said that Ko’s swing looked less manufactured at Tiburon and that she appeared to be thinking less mechanics.

Ko noted that she’d won her first event of the season on the Ladies European Tour in Saudi Arabia and the final one here at Tiburon. She’d like to cut out everything in between.

“I’m just trying to keep it really simple,” said Ko, “and the less manipulation I can do, the better, and I think I have a better understanding of my swing and my tendencies.”

At No. 19 in the world, Day was the highest-ranked PGA Tour player in the field at Tiburon while Ko ranked 11th. Ko has 19 LPGA titles, including two majors, while Day owns 13 PGA Tour victories, including one major.

Day called it a mostly stress-free victory, noting that he had full confidence that Ko would step up in the end. The Kiwi delivered.

“She actually has a very strong champion mentality,” said Day. “When you’re out there talking to her, and you’re sitting there and you’re thinking, oh, you got a bad bounce or this and that, it’s never like, you’re right, I got a bad bounce or it went up against the lip … she’s always looking forward.”

Earlier this season, Day broke a five-year victory drought at the AT&T Byron Nelson and then later welcomed his fifth child with wife Ellie. With the whole brood on hand in Naples, Day joked that he and Tony Finau were fighting for strokes gained kids on the PGA Tour.

“When you win, and you’ll experience this one day when you have children yourself and you’re still playing,” Day said, turning toward Ko, “there’s nothing quite like having children run up to you after you win a tournament just because of all the emotions start to come out just because you can see how much your children love you and want to be there for you.

“Every time I get to experience that, it fills me. I’m just very grateful for that.”

Newlywed Ko, who has long said she’d be retired by 30, smiled and told Day that maybe she’d someday get that experience at a club championship.

Henderson and Conners, boosted by a pair of eagles, finished with a 9-under 63 on Sunday. A stalled-out finish of three pars to close the round – including the par-5 17th – kept the pair out of the winner’s circle.

“I was able to play with a lot of freedom knowing I had Brooke to back me up,” said Conners, who holed out for eagle on the par-4 ninth. “Yeah, it was so much fun. Just so impressed with her game.”

Madelene Sagstrom and Ludvig Aberg put together the round of the day on Sunday – a 12-under 60 – to vault up the board into solo third at 24 under. The Swedish pair have the same swing coach, and Sagstrom’s fiance is on Aberg’s bag.

The familiar duo spiced things up even more inside the ropes with some side bets. Sagstrom said she ended the round down $20.

“Personally, I’ve struggled a little bit with foursomes,” said Sagstrom, “both in Solheim Cups and in general. I think it’s kind of hard when you really don’t want to screw up someone else. “I felt comfortable today.”

Sagstrom echoed the thoughts of many this week when she that said outside-the-box events are what’s needed to grow the game.

“Lexi did get a bigger cheer than Rickie did on the tee box yesterday, and I take pride in that,” said Sagstrom. “It’s just been a great week to show off our games – even compared to each other.”

World No. 1 Lilia Vu had her visor signed by partner Joel Dahmen and his caddie after their closing 63. The camaraderie shone through for many teams who met in person for the first time in Naples.

“Our team’s going to have more fun than everyone else,” Dahmen promised at the start of the week, “that’s the No. 1 thing.”

They’re already talking about next year.

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Searching for first LPGA win, Megan Khang has impressive stretch in Canada

Khang flipped the script and the 25-year-old made five straight birdies on the back nine.

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After finishing her opening round with three straight bogeys, Megan Khang was eager to clean things up a little during the second round of the CPKC Women’s Open at Shaughnessy Golf Club & Country Club in Vancouver. She certainly didn’t want another similar stretch like the one that pulled her down the leaderboard a bit on Thursday.

But while others struggled to score during Friday’s action, Khang flipped the script and rather than stringing bogeys together the 25-year-old made five straight birdies on the back nine, posted a 66 and leapfrogged the rest of the field and grab the clubhouse lead at 7 under after the early wave at the LPGA event.

Khang was one of just two players to break 70 in the morning wave, with the other being local favorite Brooke Henderson. But after struggling to a 75 in the opening round, Henderson’s 68 on Friday merely got her back in the mix, not near the top of the leaderboard. At 1 under, she trails Khang by six strokes. Linn Grant is a stroke behind Khang while Jin Young Ko sits two strokes back with Nelly Korda three off Khang’s pace.

“Today, it was a solid day. You know, yesterday I felt pretty good myself. You know, it’s never a good feeling finishing three bogeys in a row so obviously I knew I could play some pretty good golf out here,” Khang said. “Each day is different but, yeah, no, kind of mid-round my ball striking got pretty hot and then my putter was just getting hot as well.

“So just kind of like staying patient out there. The front nine felt monotonous making one birdie, but on this kind of golf course par is definitely your friend, and sometimes it’s a really good par out there.”

While the CPKC Women’s Open marks the last event for players to qualify for the 2023 U.S. Solheim Cup team, Khang needn’t worry about her position as she joins Lilia Vu, Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz as players who have already clinched a spot. And while Khang has been a force on the LPGA since electing to forego college and turning professional at 18, she’s still searching for her first win.

She knows that despite two solid rounds, there’s plenty of work to be done if she’s finally due for her initial victory.

“Honestly, this golf course I feel like you can’t really get too comfortable on. These fairways are tight and the greens are fast and firm, so I’m not taking anything for granted,” Khang said. “I’m just going out there just trying to deal with one shot at a time. And, you know, I’m obviously in the morning wave right now, and so Yuka clearly plays this golf course just as well.

“So it’s kind of, you know, anyone’s game out there. I’m trying not to look at anyone else but just stay within myself.”

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