Tag: Brooke Henderson

Celine Boutier holds three-shot lead on home soil at 2023 Evian Championship

Can Boutier close the deal on Sunday with several big names chasing her down?

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Celine Boutier is the 15th-ranked player in the world, has won three times on the LPGA, has played in two Solheim Cups and represented France at the Olympics. But if she wins Sunday, she’ll elevate her career to the next level.

Boutier holds a three-shot lead after 54 holes of the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France.

The 29-year-old followed up her first two rounds (66-69) with a 4-under 67 on Saturday to solidify her spot atop the leaderboard at 11 under.

The Frenchwoman will have to hold off a slew of big-name players on Sunday if she wants to hoist her first major championship trophy on home soil.

The low round of the day belonged to Nelly Korda, who shot a bogey-free 7-under 64. She rocketed up the board on Day 3, now sitting at T-5 with Yuka Saso, five back of Boutier.

Nasa Hataoka is alone in second at 8 under while Minjee Lee and Brooke Henderson are tied for third at 7 under.

Coverage of the final round will be available on Golf Channel from 5:30-11 a.m. ET Sunday.

Photos: 2023 Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club

Here are some of the best photos from the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship.

The fourth women’s major of the year is here as a field of the best players in the world has descended upon Evian Resort Golf Club for the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship in Evian-les-Bains, France.

Brooke Henderson, who’s finished inside the top 15 in three of her last four starts including the last two majors, is the defending champion. The Canadian star defeated Sophia Schubert by one shot last season.

World No. 2 Nelly Korda hasn’t had her game on the LPGA of late. She missed the cut at the Cognizant Founders Cups and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship before tying for 64th at the U.S. Women’s Open. However, she won a Ladies European Tour event in London on July 16. We’ll see if that serves as a catalyst for the rest of her season.

Paula Reto fired a 64 in the opening round on Thursday to jump to the top of the leaderboard. Wichanee Meechai, Celine Boutier and American Alison Lee all finished the day two shots back.

Here are some of the best photos from the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship.

LPGA: Yu Jin Sung holds lead while Georgia Hall, Celine Boutier, Brooke Henderson lurk at 2023 Lotte Championship

Here’s how it stands after three rounds in Hawaii.

Yu Jin Sung was one of the 36-hole leaders at the LPGA’s Lotte Championship at Hoakalei Country Club in Ewa Beach, Oahu, Hawaii, and thanks to a third-round 1-under 71, she will enter the final round with a one-shot lead.

Sung is in the field on a sponsor invitation.

On her heels is a group of players at 8 under, one of them being Georgia Hall who ranks second in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.

After a Friday 66, Hall signed for a third-round 1-under 71. Grace Kim and Linnea Strom are with Hall at 8 under.

Nasa Hataoka and Christian Kim are among four golfers sitting two back at 7 under while Celine Boutier and Brooke Henderson are tied for ninth with two others at 6 under, three back.

Henderson and Boutier are each seeking to become the first two-time winner on the LPGA this season.

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LPGA Drive On: Gaby Lopez, Jenny Shin, Alison Lee tied for lead at first full-field event of 2023

The field of 144 golfers consists of six of the top 10 players in the latest Rolex Rankings.

SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN, Ariz. — The field of 144 golfers who descended on Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club east of Phoenix consists of six of the top 10 players in the Rolex Rankings.

Nelly Korda, No. 2 in the rankings, is here, along with No. 3-ranked Jin Young Ko, who won the last LPGA event that was held to Arizona in 2019. Other top 10 golfers in the field include Atthaya Thitikul (3), Lexi Thompson (6), Brooke Henderson (7), and In Gee Chun (8).

Top-ranked Lydia Ko and fifth-ranked Minjee Lee skipped the event, just the second on U.S. soil in 2023, but otherwise it’s a who’s who of LPGA golfers.

Three tied for the lead

After 18 holes, there’s a three-way tie for the lead and all three golfers played late in the afternoon wave, with two of them finishing just in time to beat the setting sun.

Alison Lee, Jenny Shin and Gaby Lopez each fired 7-under 65s. Lee had six birdies and just one bogey on her first nine holes (she started on the back nine) and then birdied Nos. 1 and 2 to get to 7 under to take the outright lead. Another birdie on the fourth got her to 8 under and briefly put her on 59 Watch.

“It was one of those days golf was just easy,” she said. “I was honestly playing so well I thought I could’ve shot a lower round.”

She closed with four straight pars and a bogey.

Gaby Lopez played late and posted a bogey-free 65. She started with a birdie on her first hole, the 10th, and three birdies later she made the turn in 32. Lopez admitted after her round she had only played Superstition Mountain one other time and it was about five years ago with Carlota Ciganda.

“When it gets cooler the ball just doesn’t go as far,” Lopez said, noting the chillier late afternoon temperatures altered her approach. “The greens get a little firmer, so you just got to make a little adjustment to how much the ball is a going to bounce.

“So, yeah, supposedly tomorrow morning is going to be a little cooler than it this afternoon, so we’ll just have to gear up.”

Jenny Shin, who said she hadn’t played the course before this week, birdied the 18th hole to get to 7 under. She had eight birdies in all, including her first and last hole, and had just one bogey.

Nelly Korda

On the 11th hole, Korda almost holed out for eagle, as her approach spun back and then a caught a bit of the edge of the cup before stopping about two feet out.

But she would then miss the short putt for birdie. Two holes later she faced another short birdie and made it to get back to even par. In all, she had six birdies but also two bogeys as well as a double-bogey 6 on the par-4 10th hole. She finished the first round strong, with birdies on Nos. 13, 14 and 18 to shoot a 2-under 70.

Jin Young Ko

A left-wrist injury derailed her 2022 season but three weeks ago, she bounced back in a big way, defending her title at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. She’s one of three winners in 2023, and all three are in the Drive On. Grouped with Nelly Korda and Brooke Henderson, Ko, much like Korda, birdied the par-5 18th to post a 2-under 70.

Brooke Henderson

Two months ago, in the LPGA’s season opener in Florida, Henderson won her 13th title in the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. The third member of the all-star threesome with Korda and Ko, Henderson had a large contingent of Canadian fans following her around.

2023 LPGA Drive On Championship
Brooke Henderson plays her shot from the seventh tee during the first round of the 2023 LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club in Arizona. (Photo: Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

One group of fans in particular were all wearing Saskatchewan Rough Riders gear. Her gallery even included fellow Canadian Mike Weir’s high school gym teacher. Henderson shot 1-under 71.

Atthaya Thitikul

The third-ranked player in the world turned 20 last month. She briefly held the No. 1 ranking last November, joining Lydia Ko as the only LPGA golfers to do that as teenagers. Thitikul has two LPGA victories and on Thursday in Arizona, shot a 3-under 69. She had four birdies on her card before bogeying the par-5 18th hole.

Lexi Thompson

Thompson, making her first start of the 2023 season, was in the early wave Thursday and her scorecard featured three birdies and three bogeys for an even-par round of 72. That leaves her tied for 94th after 18 holes. Her last victory on the LPGA was at the 2019 ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Lilia Vu

Vu was among the large group of 11 golfers at 5 under. She started on the back nine and noted how different the greens were playing on each side. Like Henderson and Ko, Vu is one of the three winners on tour this season. She won the LPGA stop in Thailand a month ago after rallying from six shots back to start the final round. It was her breakthrough LPGA win.

“I don’t really feel different. I feel like I just happened to play well and have fun, and then that’s how I ended up winning,” she said after her round Thursday. “Each week my goal is just to have fun. I know if I can do that, my golf will follow.”

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LPGA: HSBC Women’s Champions celebrates 15 years of star-studded champions, Jessica Korda turns 30 and Brooke Henderson reunites with lost luggage

Jin Young Ko was a on mission to find a good egg tart in Singapore.

Jin Young Ko was on a mission to find a good egg tart in Singapore. The defending champion has grown quite fond of the food that surrounds the event known as “Asia’s major,” and the fans there have grown quite fond of her.

After Ko’s victory last year at the HSBC Women’s Champions, she said a wealthy man in the city created a fan club for her that has 27 members, one representing each point needed for the LPGA Hall of Fame. Ko, a 13-time winner on the LPGA, currently has 18 points.

“There’s never been a time I didn’t want to play at this event,” said Ko. “I always want to come here.”

This marks the 15th playing of the HSBC, and nine of the top-10 players in the world are in the field. Lexi Thompson, No. 6, is the only one not teeing it up at Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong Course.

Ko, 27, began the 2022 season in Singapore and, after winning, looked poised to dominate. But a nagging wrist injury derailed her for much of the year and she didn’t win again. As she took an extended time to rest over the offseason, Ko booked a trip to Europe for 10 days. She asked Finland’s Matilda Castren for advice on how to see the Northern Lights and after a snowy adventure there, went to Paris for Christmas to see the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.

“One of my highlights in my life was to go and watch Northern Lights,” she said.

After spending a month in Vietnam working on her game, Ko, who took up meditating over the winter, opened the season in Thailand with a share of sixth, recording four rounds in the 60s at a tournament for the first time since the 2022 Amundi Evian.

“I’m training hard in meditation and practicing golf,” she said.

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Meet some of the longest-standing and successful player/caddie duos on the LPGA

Here’s a list of players and caddies who have found a good rhythm and seem to be in it for the long haul.

There’s turnover every season when it comes to player-caddie partnerships on the LPGA, particularly at the start of the year. World No. 1 Lydia Ko has changed caddies regularly throughout her career, including this season, despite having an enormously strong 2022.

Minjee Lee, who won a couple majors in the past two years, will begin 2023 with a new looper after enjoying much success with veteran Jason Gilroyed.

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Plenty more players have made changes, but there are a number who have stood the test of time. While not by any means exhaustive, here’s a list of players and caddies who have found a good rhythm and seem to be in it for the long haul:

Photos: Brooke Henderson through the years

View photos of Brooke Henderson throughout her career, including multiple major wins.

Brooke Henderson is one of the many young stars that shine on the LPGA Tour.

Beginning her professional career at just 17 years old, Henderson has been the face of Canadian golf since her LPGA debut in 2015.

Earning LPGA starts through Monday qualifiers and sponsor exemptions, Henderson made history when she won the 2015 Cambia Portland Classic by eight strokes. The margin of victory was the largest on Tour since 2012 and Henderson became just the second Monday qualifier ever to win an LPGA event.

In 2016, she became the second youngest women’s major winner when she won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in a playoff over Lydia Ko.

Since that moment, Henderson has since represented Canada at the Olympics twice (2016, 2020), won the 2022 Evian Championship and has tallied a total of 13 LPGA Tour wins by the age of 25, including a wire-to-wire win at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Jan. 2023.

With lots of golf still ahead of her, it’s hard to argue that Henderson won’t end up in the World Golf Hall of Fame when it’s all said and done.

Prize money payouts for each LPGA player at 2023 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions

Brooke Henderson now ranks 20th on the LPGA all-time career money list.

Brooke Henderson, the winningest golfer in Canadian history, notched her 13th LPGA victory at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Orlando. The 25-year-old now ranks 14th on the LPGA’s all-time wins list, tied with Jin Young Ko and Stacy Lewis.

With the $225,000 winner’s check at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, Henderson’s official career earnings climb to $10,825,467. She now ranks 20th on the LPGA all-time career money list. She is one of 24 women to have surpassed the $10-million mark.

Here are the prize money payouts for each LPGA player at 2023 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions:

Position Player Score Earnings
1 Brooke Henderson -16 $225,000
T2 Charley Hull -12 $152,898
T2 Maja Stark -12 $152,898
4 Nelly Korda -11 $99,457
5 Nasa Hataoka -9 $80,052
T6 Gaby Lopez -8 $56,117
T6 Yuka Saso -8 $56,117
T6 Paula Reto -8 $56,117
T9 Leona Maguire -6 $41,239
T9 Ashleigh Buhai -6 $41,239
11 Moriya Jutanugarn -5 $36,836
T12 Danielle Kang -4 $31,890
T12 Ryann O’Toole -4 $31,890
T12 Anna Nordqvist -4 $31,890
15 Wei Ling Hsu -3 $28,139
T16 Jennifer Kupcho -2 $25,907
T16 Gemma Dryburgh -2 $25,907
T18 Ayaka Furue -1 $23,158
T18 Jodi Ewart Shadoff -1 $23,158
T18 Pajaree Anannarukarn -1 $23,158
T21 Nanna Koerstz Madsen E $20,377
T21 Marina Alex E $20,377
T21 Lizette Salas E $20,377
T21 Matilda Castren E $20,377
25 Ally Ewing 1 $18,533
26 Celine Boutier 2 $17,855
27 Andrea Lee 3 $17,174
28 Patty Tavatanakit 14 $16,495
29 Ariya Jutanugarn 21 $15,816

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‘Dream start’: Brooke Henderson collects 13th LPGA title with wire-to-wire triumph at season-opening Tournament of Champions

The lifelong Ping player collected her 13th LPGA title in her first week with a full bag of TaylorMade clubs.

Brooke Henderson began her ninth season on the LPGA with a statement victory at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

After holding the 36-hole lead on three different occasions at this event, she finally closed the deal with a four-stroke victory at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club.

The lifelong Ping player quickly put to bed any questions that an equipment change might have on her year, collecting another LPGA title in her first week with a full bag of TaylorMade clubs. She now owns 13 LPGA titles, including two majors, putting her 14th on the all-time wins list, tied with Jin Young Ko and Stacy Lewis. The TOC marked her third time winning an LPGA event wire-to-wire. She has won in eight of her nine seasons on the LPGA. (She did not win in 2020.)

“I always try to win a couple times each year,” said Henderson, “so to get one right way out of the gate takes a little bit of pressure off.”

At 25 years old, Henderson is a young veteran still waiting to take that next step of becoming World No. 1 or claiming a Rolex Player of the Year award. She has long been a force on the LPGA but has never been on top of the world.

With three victories in events in her last 13 starts, including the Pelican Women’s Championship, which she withdrew from with an upper back injury, she’s certainly positioning herself to raise the bar. She has now posted 16 consecutive rounds under par on tour.

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“A lot of things have gone really well,” said Henderson. “I’m always trying to get a little bit better and chase bigger goals. Hopefully more victories are to come. Yeah, just small steps, and hopefully it pays off in the long run.”

While a number of top players who live in Asia and Australia skipped the TOC, Henderson held off the likes of Nelly Korda, Nasa Hataoka, Charley Hull and the up-and-comer Maja Stark to claim the first title of the year. She earned $225,000 for her efforts.

Tennis player Mardy Fish won the celebrity division for a second time, smashing the field by finishing 16 points ahead of former MLB pitcher Mark Mulder in the Stableford scoring format.

Henderson closed with a 2-under 70 on a windy, sun-splashed day in Orlando to finish at 16 under for the tournament. Hull birdied the 72nd hole to shoot a fourth consecutive 69 and move into a share of second with Stark, the young Swede who won an LPGA/LET co-sanctioned event in Northern Ireland last year to earn her card.

Stark said she still feels like an underdog walking around at LPGA tournaments, noting that fans have mistaken her for Charley Hull, Brooke Henderson and Jennifer Kupcho.

“I still can’t really wrap my head around it,” said Stark of her speedy ascension.

World No. 2 Korda came into the final round three strokes back and failed to make much of a charge on Sunday, carding a 72 that included three bogeys. Korda said she goes into the tour’s second offseason – there’s a month off before the next week – motivated to get to work. Her irons, she said, will get much of the focus.

“I was hitting it really well with my driver,” she said. “I just wasn’t executing my shots well.

“I was leaving myself really long putts typically I wouldn’t, and then I kind of double crossed a couple this week, which I don’t remember the last time I did that, in a left-to-right wind. So lots to work on and I’m pretty excited about it actually.”

Korda said she instinctively woke up in the middle of the night to check on brother Sebastian’s score in the Australian Open.

“W hen I saw that it was 1-all in the tiebreak,” she said, “I was like, there is no chance I’m going to sleep now. May as well put it on.”

Korda advanced to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event for the first time in his career.

Older sister Brittany has been on the bag for nearly every shot of Brooke’s LPGA career and said she was especially impressed with how quickly Brooke transitioned into her new TaylorMade equipment, noting that that she’s seeing improvement in every area of her game.

“Honestly, they’re all I would say a little better,” said Brittany. “The wedges she gets so much more spin, they’re nice and high. I feel like we can be a lot more aggressive with those shots, even chips. The irons are nice and high and they hold as well, especially on a windy day like this. If you’re hitting shots downwind and they just release forever and get away from you, but these, I don’t really feel like they did that.”

Brooke said she was tweaking her new clubs right up until the event started and still might make a few changes after this week.

She called it a dream start to the season and now have a month off before teeing it up again on the LPGA in Thailand.

“After the way she played this week,” said Brittany, “I do feel like anything is possible.”

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Brooke Henderson takes three-shot lead over Nelly Korda, Nasa Hataoka into final round of LPGA Tournament of Champions

This week is Henderson’s first event using new clubs.

Brooke Henderson had never played alongside Annika Sorenstam until this week. Two rounds later, Sorenstam was quick to praise Henderson’s steady, even-keel performance.

“I think that was one of my strengths, a lot of fairways, a lot of greens,” said Sorenstam, one of the best to ever play the game.

Henderson has certainly made a strong first impression on the 10-time major winner, taking a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions over Nelly Korda and Nasa Hataoka, who posted a sizzling 66 on Saturday that included six birdies in her last eight holes.

Henderson, a 12-time winner on the LPGA, has a 41 percent success rate on the LPGA when holding the lead.

Henderson called it a privilege to play alongside Sorenstam at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, the Swede’s home for decades. She trails former tennis player Mardy Fish by 15 points in the celebrity division, which uses a Stableford format.

“If I can just take little pieces of her game and add it to mine,” said Henderson, “that would be phenomenal.”

What impressed Henderson the most about the 72-time LPGA winner?

“I think just the toughness,” said Henderson. “She’s a tough competitor, and I really admire that about her.”

Henderson looks to win the season-opening TOC in her first week using a full bag of TaylorMade equipment at an LPGA event.

“I wasn’t as smooth out there today,” said Henderson of her third-round 69, “but I feel like we fought it out pretty well. I still was hitting the ball very well and giving myself a lot of opportunities, so no complaints there.”

A birdie putt on the ninth hole propelled No. 2 Korda to post four more birdies on the back nine and shoot 4-under 68. Korda won the 2021 Gainbridge LPGA at Lake Nona.

“You know, my style of play is pretty aggressive,” said Korda, “so I wasn’t really hitting it too great on the front nine. I was hitting it fine. I was just missing pretty much my spot by a couple of yards here and there, and obviously, that goes from 10 feet to maybe 15, 20 feet. Right there, that’s kind of a little bit of the problem.

“On the back nine, I kind of picked a target, a little bit more of an aggressive target and really dialed into that, and I think that really helped.”

Korda’s brother Sebastian will take on Hubert Hurkacz in the fourth round of the Australian Open Saturday night, but the viewing schedule isn’t ideal.

“I think he knows what to do,” said Nelly, “and hopefully he takes care of business. And obviously good luck, too, yeah.”

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