Tag: Chevron Championship

Chevron Championship: Jin Young Ko fights her way back into contention with second-round 68

Jin Young Ko is the No.1 player in the Rolex rankings and the winner of six of her last 11 starts on the LPGA.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Jin Young Ko, the No.1 player in the Rolex rankings and winner of six of her last 11 starts on the LPGA, found herself outside of the cut line at the start of the second round of the Chevron Championship. She shot a 74 on Thursday that snapped her consecutive rounds under-par streak at 34. Ko responded like a top player.

Playing with Lexi Thompson, Ko rallied with a 4-under 68 in the second round Friday. That pushed her to 2-under par for the tournament, well inside the cut line that came at 1-over 145. That’s still seven shots behind 36-hole leader Hinako Shibuno.

Several big names who struggled Thursday played their way back into the cut with solid rounds Friday, including past Chevron winners Inbee Park (69 in the second round) and Seon Yo Ryu (68), both at even par for the first two days.

Perhaps the biggest name to miss the cut is Yuka Saso, the reigning U.S. Women’s Open champion, who finished two rounds at 2-over par.

Jin Young Ko of South Korea walks down from the second tee box during round two of the Chevron Championship at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, Friday, April 1, 2022.

Home cooking

Last week Gabriela Ruffels was in the field of the developmental Epson Tour event in Beaumont. That’s where Ruffels, whose home course is Toscana Country Club in Indian Wells, will play most of her golf this year since she does not have status on the LPGA after failing to maintain her LPGA playing privileges through qualifying school.

This week, Ruffels is playing for a major championship on the LPGA Tour at the Chevron Championship. While she is not exempt for the regular tour, she made the field of the Chevron by finishing in the top 20 of the Mission Hills event in 2021. A final-hole birdie allowed her to finish 19th.

Ruffels, the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, is obviously pleased to be back at Mission Hills this year even as she’s planning a year on the Epson Tour.

“I can’t really control that. Yeah, I don’t have any status, but I just feel like I’m so grateful to be out here,” Ruffels said. “When I do get a start, I’m just so grateful to be here.”

Ruffels has played in the tournament twice, finishing 15th in 2020 and then 19th last year.

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“It’s really cool to be out here again. I had exemptions last year on the LPGA Tour but couldn’t quite get status through Q-School,” she said. “I just think it’s just being grateful to be out here and just having a lot of fun playing against the best in the world.”

Through 36 holes, Ruffels is 5-under 139, including a 71 Friday.

Red-hot player

There is lots of talk about how well Jin Young Ko has played in the last few months on the LPGA, but it is Nanna Koerstz Madsen who might actually be the hottest player on the tour. In her last two starts, she has a win at the Honda LPGA Thailand and a playoff loss at the JTBC Classic in Carlsbad last week.

That has Koerstz Madsen in second place in the Race to the CME Globe points behind Danielle Kang. Koerstz Madsen said her solid play is just a matter of taking her time.

“I’m just staying patient and trusting my game. I was very frustrated after my round yesterday,” Koerstz Madsen said about her opening 71. “I didn’t hit the ball good at all yesterday. I really fought around. Only hit eight greens yesterday.”

She rebounded with a 5-under 67 on Friday to get back in the hunt.

Nanna Koerstz Madsen hits her second shot on the 9th hole during the second round of the Chevron Championship at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, April 1, 2022.

“So just really that I grinded it out yesterday and ended up getting it to minus-1, and then I had some time on the range,” she said. “As long as I think I can play good, then I believe it.”

Give us the cheers

Georgia Hall played in the Chevron Championship when there were no fans on the course because of COVID-19, and she knows she didn’t like it.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s a big difference having fans,” Hall said Friday after shooting a 1-under 71 to get to 5-under for the tournament. “It was really quiet the first time we came out and there was no one here. It didn’t feel like a major.”

Things have changed and for the better with fans back on the course this week, and Hall notices that the crowds seem to be a bit bigger than three years ago.

“Now everyone is back out and kind of back to normal,” she said. “It’s really nice. Always nice to get some support even though I’m out of the U.K.”

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Can two players from a Mississippi town of 3,500 win on the PGA Tour and LPGA in back-to-back weeks? Ally Ewing charging at Chevron

Ewing has two top-10 finishes in four starts at this event, finishing tied for seventh last year.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — If the LPGA and PGA Tour ever resurrect a team event, watch out for the pair from Fulton, Mississippi. As of last week, the town of 3,500 has produced both PGA Tour and LPGA champions in Chad Ramey and Ally Ewing. The two friends grew up together at Fulton Country Club, a hilly nine-hole course that tips at 5,700 yards for two loops.

Ramey, a rookie on the PGA Tour, won last week’s Corales Puntacana Championship in his 16th career start. Ewing is a two-time winner on the LPGA and is currently tied for fifth at the LPGA’s first major of the year, the Chevron Championship. She’s three strokes back of leader Hinako Shibuno after a 4-under 68.

Ewing was on the range warming up for a practice round at Mission Hills Country Club on Sunday when she saw that Ramey was in the hunt after four consecutive birdies on Nos. 13-16. By the time she got to the fairway on the second hole, he’d won.

“I sent him a text immediately,” said a proud Ewing, “which I’m sure he got a billion.”

There’s no driving range at Fulton Country Club. The longest putt on the putting green might be about 45 feet. Ramey was the only kid at the course close to Ewing’s age and his dad happened to run the place. He was longer and stronger and had a better short game, and Ewing soaked up every chance she could to practice alongside him.

The 29-year-old Mississippi State grads pushed each other, and the members never complained when their cross-country golf occasionally got in the way.

“They saw what we were going to be capable of,” said Ewing.

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Chad Ramey celebrates with the trophy after winning during the final round of the 2022 Corales Puntacana Championship at the Corales Golf Course in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Ramey once shot 27 on the par-35 course with an ace on the last hole. His father would often throw down four balls inside 100 yards and challenge them to get two of the four up-and-down.

Many people joined Fulton for the good-sized pool. But there was Ewing, winning the club championship while in grade school.

“I remember a guy came up to me and said, ‘I put money on you in the calcutta,’” said Ewing. “I went back to my parents and said ‘What’s a calcutta?’ ”

She chipped in on the last to take the title.

A group of members went out to Pebble Beach earlier this year to watch Ramey compete in the AT&T, and they’ve come out to the LPGA to watch Ewing, too. The two-time Solheim Cup player is currently ranked No. 25 in the world.

Ramey and Ewing both work with the same instructor, V.J. Trolio at Old Waverly Golf Club, and if they have a lesson the same day they’ll go out and play nine holes.

“We knew it was only time,” said Ewing of Ramey getting his first PGA Tour victory.

No doubt Ramey will be checking scores at the Chevron this weekend as his childhood friend seeks to win her first major. Ewing has two top-10 finishes in four starts at this event, finishing tied for seventh last year.

“I feel like the more disciplined I am around this golf course,” said Ewing, “obviously it takes shots, I have to execute, I have to roll putts in, but I’m really disciplined out there, looking away from holes that just kind of say, Hey, hit it at me.

“But I don’t do that. I try to stay really disciplined. My caddie and I just really stick to targets, and it certainly helps to roll in putts.”

To that end, she recently started working with Vision 54’s Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott on putting, shortening her routing and trying to think less and react more like an athlete. Naturally an analytical person, the less she can free up her body on the greens the better.

Channel those two kids from Fulton Country Club who grew up to take on the world.

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Chevron Championship: Patty Tavatanakit continues quest for consecutive wins and date with history

Only two players have won the Chevron title in consecutive years.

Anyone who watched Patty Tavatanakit dominate the field at the Chevron Championship in winning the 2021 major championship can’t be surprised that Tavatanakit is looking for back-to-back wins in the event this year.

A pair of late birdies Friday pushed Tavatanakit to 8-under 136 after 36 holes on the Dinah Shore Course at Mission Hills Country Club. That puts Tavatanakit, the reigning LPGA rookie of the year, just one shot behind leader Hinako Shibuno after the morning wave of players in the second round.

Only two players, Sandra Post in 1978-79 and Annika Sorenstam in 2001-02, have won the Chevron title in consecutive years.

Shibuno, the 2019 AIG Women’s Open winner, shot one of the best rounds of the morning, a 6-under 66 that included seven birdies. Shibuno is at 9 under, and like Tavatanakit, she is seeking her second major title.

Tavatanakit is tied at 8 under with Annie Park, who for the second day in a row played without a partner. Park shot a 67 on Friday.

A group of players is tied at 6 under for the tournament, including overnight leaders Minjee Lee and Jennifer Kupcho, who have afternoon tee times.

Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand reacts after a birdie on the 17th hole during the second round of The Chevron Championship at The Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa on April 01, 2022, in Rancho Mirage, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Tavantanakit said she left too many shots on the course Friday, but was happy with the two closing birdies

“I think 17 was definitely a bonus,” Tavatanakit said of the 20-foot birdie putt on the par-3. “That pin position (tight to the left side of the green) was just taking it one shot at a time, and it ended up being a great shot.”

Knowing the tee is up on the 485-yard par-5 18th hole, Tavatanakit was again able to reach the island green in two shots but missed the putting surface to the left. She hit a delicate chip shot to within three feet and made the birdie putt in front of applauding fans who were not at the tournament last year because of COVID-19 restrictions.

“I remember being here as an amateur and making birdie on that hole (the 18th) is always a cheery feeling,” Tavatanakit said.

Park playing well

Annie Park, the 26-year old from New York who attended USC, was the first player out on the course Friday, and she played by herself as the odd woman out in the 115-player field. She took advantage of the solitude by firing a 5-under 67 to move her to 8 under for the tournament.

Annie Park tees off on the 9th hole during the second round of the Chevron Championship at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, on April 1, 2022.

Park being in contention could be considered a bit of a surprise. This is Park’s 23rd major championship, and she’s never finished inside the top 15. Her best finish in this event is a tie for 56th.

“Just overall it was a great day and I feel pretty — a lot better about my long game. Been putting a lot better. Made some really good putts out there. Did leave some out there, but overall I’m stroking it pretty solid,” said Park, who’s just plain having fun on the course this week. “Yeah, it’s nice. I think the fans are very supportive. So nice to see just fans out there again, always supporting, Hey, go Annie, fight on.”

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Angela Stanford’s last trip to the Dinah carries great emotion, three weeks after her mom’s death

“I want to be the best of who she was … I don’t know if I can do that.”

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – No matter where Angela Stanford traveled around the world, she always sent her mom a text on the plane. The first trip without her was rough. At the Palm Springs airport baggage claim, Stanford fought the urge to run back to Texas.

Golf had always been a tool – to go to college, to escape, to help others, to bring joy to her mom as she bravely battled cancer.

“It’s never felt like I played golf for me,” she said.

Now what?

When Stanford, 44, turned into Mission Hills Country Club for the first time this week, she noticed that the flower beds were covered in luscious pink and purple petunias, the same colors that Nan wanted on her casket.

She lost it.

When the desert sky spit rain during that first practice round at the Chevron Championship, Stanford thought it might have been the first sprinkling she’d ever felt in 20 years of coming here. Then she saw a rainbow, arched in the sky like a bridge to heaven. A reminder of God’s promises.

Hi mom.

The night before the first round, Stanford went to the Sunglass Hut to find something that would hide her tears. On the first tee Thursday, she sobbed as she prepared her yardage book and pin sheet in the shade of the grandstand.

She thought she’d cried it out by the time Jenny Shin hit. But when the first tee announcer said, “from Saginaw, Texas,” Stanford’s head tilted back in a shock of pain.

“She basically built that city,” said Stanford.

Angela Stanford celebrates her 40th birthday with her mom in Las Vegas. (Courtesy photo)

Laura Nan met the love of her life, Steve, in the fifth grade in Saginaw, a suburb of Fort Worth, and the two married in 1974 shortly after high school graduation. Nan’s mind for numbers had her overseeing the city finances for decades, without a college degree. She somehow managed to build a police station, rec center, and city hall without raising taxes. She was city manager for 17 years.

When Nan was approached by a councilman about naming rights one day, she thought they were going to put Angela’s name on the water tower. Instead, it’s Nan’s name that’s on city hall.

Nan Stanford died on March 9 at home in Saginaw at age 66. She’d battled cancer – first in the breast and then in her bones and liver – for more than a decade. During the funeral procession out to Aurora, the police officer stopped in front of city hall for 15 seconds to honor her life’s work.

“There aren’t many buildings named after women,” said Stanford.

Looking back, Stanford said she should’ve backed off of that first tee shot at Mission Hills until she was ready to hit. Instead, she hurried through and pulled it left out of bounds. The opening triple-bogey proved difficult to recover from in a first-round 77.

But there were shots, like the 48-foot birdie putt she drained on the third hole and the tiny window she laced it through in the trees on No. 11, that she credits mom for the assist.

She plans to play in Hawaii next because mom loved it there. Nan even touched base with her sister about an upcoming trip mere days before she died.

Stanford, a seven-time winner on the LPGA, gets her strength from Nan, that stick-to-itiveness that saw her win her first major at age 40. She started a foundation that awards college scholarships to those whose lives have been impacted by cancer because she knows that if Nan’s cancer had come when Angela was in high school, there’s no way she would’ve gone to college. And Angela was the first from her family to go to college.

It’s the reason she wears blue on Sundays – ­in honor of her blue-collar roots.

“We’ll give scholarships until we run out of money,” she said.

A hug from mom at the 2015 Solheim Cup, where Stanford defeated Suzann Pettersen in singles play. (courtesy photo)

Nan loved people. In Rancho Mirage, she’d get out to the first, ninth, 10th, and 18th to watch golf but would otherwise stay in the clubhouse and talk to those she knew on tour about their families.

“That’s the thing I’m having the hardest part with,” said Stanford. “I want to be the best of who she was … I don’t know if I can do that.”

It’s difficult to say what comes next for Stanford, beyond this week and Hawaii, because she’s still battling an emptiness inside.

The good news is that there will never be another first round without mom.

And there will be more rainbows.

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The Dinah deserves an epic finish. Is there a more popular choice than Lexi Thompson to deliver it?

“I’m enjoying every last step I have at Mission Hills.”

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Lexi Thompson was a combined 43 under at the Chevron Championship the past five years heading into this week. Lydia Ko stood closest to her in that stretch at 37 under.

Mission Hills is Thompson’s favorite stop on tour. The 27-year-old won here in 2014 and then put herself in the conversation at the season’s first major nearly every year after that. Of course, what happened in 2017 on the back nine of the Dinah Shore Tournament Course became a legendary nightmare: a four-stroke penalty that rocked the golf world and a comeback that sent chills down the spines of all who gathered around Poppie’s Pond to watch the finish.

But, of course, Thompson came up short to So Yeon Ryu that week. The rules of golf have since changed and many feel Thompson is owed one here. Had she won that week, what kind of trajectory would that momentum have taken her?

We’ll never know, but a Thompson victory on the last lap around Dinah’s Place would be the popular choice of many if such a thing could be scripted.

Lexi Thompson cries in a towel as she walks to the 18th green after her second shot during the final round of the ANA Inspiration on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club on April 2, 2017, in Rancho Mirage, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

Thompson opened with a 3-under 69 on a day of tremendous ball-striking and seemed relaxed after what could’ve been a silly low round. When asked if she felt like there might be some kind of destiny in the cards for her this week, she shrugged it off.

“Destiny, I don’t know,” said Thompson. “I’m enjoying every last step I have at Mission Hills because it’s one of my favorite venues.”

Jennifer Kuphcho and Minjee Lee hold the early lead at 6 under. Thompson played alongside World No. 1 Jin Young Ko in the morning’s marquee pairing. Ko, who boldly said her best golf would have her winning by five this week, broke a streak of 34 consecutive rounds under par on Thursday after she struggled to a 74.

“I was hitting lots of great shots, said Ko, “but my putting wasn’t good on the green. I couldn’t see the break as much or speed, everything was wrong.

“I don’t know what happened.”

Jin Young Ko watches her tee shot off the first tee at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course during round one at the Chevron Championship at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, on Thursday, March 31, 2022.

Coming into this week, Ko was a combined 50 under par in the major championships since 2019, the best of any player in that span. She amassed eight top-20 finishes in 10 starts in the majors during that stretch.

How shocking is Ko’s 74? Her scoring average over the past 11 events is 67.54.

Expectations are enormously high for a reason.

Thompson’s love affair with Mission Hills can be seen in her performance numbers. Since winning here in 2014, she leads the tour at the Chevron in scoring average (69.75), rounds in the 60s (14), top-5 finishes (5), top-10 finishes (6), and cumulative score in relation to par (72 under). She also leads in proximity to the hole from 100-125 yards at 22 feet, 11 inches.

Thompson, who works with instructor Martin Hall, said she’s grinding harder than ever on her game, particularly putting.

“I don’t know how my back is still intact with how many putts I hit every day,” she said, “the hours that I’ve put in, but that’s what it takes.”

Thompson and her family rent a house every year in Rancho Mirage and she enjoys mom’s cooking each night. It’s been five years since that shocking Sunday in the desert knocked the wind out of her chest.

Despite it all, she can’t get enough of the place.

“There’s nothing like this event,” said Thompson.

Which is why the old Dinah deserves an epic conclusion, exactly the kind a people’s champion like Thompson could deliver.

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Chevron Championship: Jennifer Kupcho is feeling comfortable on the golf course, fires opening round 66

Kupcho kept repeating the same word about her round Thursday, “comfortable.”

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Jennifer Kupcho is having a great 2022, and her opening round of 6-under 66 at the Chevron Championship on Thursday isn’t the reason.

Kupcho got married on February 19 in Arizona, and the sampling of wedding day photos she posted on Instagram includes a picturesque sunset shot of her taking a swing at a driving range with her wedding dress on.

She opted for the more traditional golf attire of green shorts and a black shirt on Thursday as she tore through the Dinah Shore Tournament Course. After four straight birdies on the back nine, she reached 8 under through 14 holes, which put her in striking distance of the record round of 10 under (shared by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko). But back-to-back bogeys on 15 and 16 had her settling for a fine round of 66.

Kupcho singled out one club, the biggest one in her bag, for the reason she started so fast.

“I haven’t been hitting my driver particularly well recently, and that’s usually my strongest suit, so to come out and you really need to hit fairways on a major golf course and that was my big thing today,” the 24-year-old from Colorado said. “I hit a bunch of fairways, and that really set me up for my birdies.”

Kupcho said she grinded on the driving range Wednesday night with her driver after hitting it all over the place during Wednesday’s pro-am. That extra work paid off. She hit 11 of 14 fairways with an average drive of 271 yards. That helps you get nine birdies in 18 holes.

Jennifer Kupcho of the United States reacts to a missed putt on the seventh hole during the first round of The Chevron Championship at The Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort & Spa on March 31, 2022, in Rancho Mirage, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Kupcho may not be a household name yet, but she’s getting close. She was a top amateur player out of Wake Forest, and famously won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019. She turned pro and finished tied for second in a major event later that year at the Evian Championship. Since then, she has risen high enough in the world of American LPGA players that she was on the 2021 Solheim Cup team.

She acquitted herself well at the Solheim Cup, teaming with Lizette Salas to pick up two wins and a halve in the 15-13 American loss.

Speaking of Salas, Kupcho was partnered with Salas on Thursday and will be again Friday. The two developed such a bond at the Solheim Cup that Salas attended Kupcho’s wedding.

Kupcho kept repeating the same word about her round Thursday, “comfortable.”

“Honestly, it’s just being comfortable on this golf course. I get here and I feel comfortable and I love this place and then getting to play with Lizette who is my good friend. It was just all comfortable and really fun,” she said. “This is similar to Colorado golf, so similar to Arizona golf, which is where I live now. The same type of grass. I felt good out there.”

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While the driver is traditionally her strong suit, her putter has been considered a weakness, and that was the club she focused on during the offseason.

And her putting coach during that time was none other than her now-husband Jay Monahan (that’s Jay Monahan the LPGA caddie, not Jay Monahan the commissioner of the PGA Tour). Her husband, in fact, is caddying this week for another player in the field, American Sarah Schmelzel.

Kupcho was on fire with the short blade on Thursday, needing just 24 putts to get around the course. She made a 25-footer for birdie on 14, which elicited a fist-pump.

“I’ve been working on my putting a lot.  I really just worked with actually my husband who is a great putter, and he really knows my game well so I worked on it a lot with him over the offseason and worked on my stroke and my stroke has been really good recently,” she said.

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She’s had success at a major before, been on the Solheim Cup, won at the amateur level, so is she at the point now where she feels comfortable at an event like the Chevron Championship, or are there still nerves?

“Everyone gets nervous, but I think it’s more of just getting used to the nerves and figuring out how to deal with it and learning different tactics, and that’s what I’ve definitely tried to do in the big events that I’ve played in,” she said.

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.

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Minjee Lee co-leads at Chevron, plans to caddie for brother Min Woo Lee at Masters Par 3 Contest

This will be Minjee’s first trip to Augusta National.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Cali. – It’s a special fortnight for Australian siblings Minjee Lee and Min Woo Lee. Minjee Lee, last year’s Amundi Evian champion, holds a share of the early lead with Jennifer Kupcho at the Chevron Championship, where the women are taking their final major championship laps around the Dinah Shore Tournament Course. Minjee, 25, opened with a 6-under 66 on a picture-perfect day in the desert.

Next week, Min Woo, 23, will make his debut in the Masters. On Wednesday, Minjee plans to caddie for her younger brother in the Par 3 Contest.

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Min Woo Lee of Australia celebrates with the trophy after winning the abrdn Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club on July 11, 2021 in North Berwick, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Minjee won’t be the first major champion to caddie in the Masters Par 3. In 2018, former No. 1 Ariya Jutanguarn looped for good friend Kiradech Aphibarnrat. In 2016, Lydia Ko caddied for Kevin Na and even hit a tee shot.

“He kind of asked me very casually,” said Minjee, who will also make her first trip to Augusta.

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 06: Lydia Ko, signs an autograph as Kevin Na of the United States looks on during the Par 3 Contest prior to the start of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 6, 2016 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Min Woo qualified for the Masters by finishing in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking at year’s end (49th). He has twice won on the DP World Tour, most recently last summer at the Scottish Open.

The Lees became the first siblings to win USGA titles. Minjee won the 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior while Min Woo won the 2016 U.S. Junior.

Minjee, currently ranked No. 4 in the world, has won six times on the LPGA, including last year’s Evian in a playoff. Her previous best finish at the ANA is a share of third in 2017.

“I know I have one under my belt,” said Minjee of winning majors, “but I do want a little bit more.”

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With new 46-inch driver in play, Brooke Henderson looks to continue strong play at Chevron

“Definitely miss my 48-inch driver, but this one, it’s good.”

RANCHO MIRAGE, California —  Brooke Henderson tested a number of different driver shafts and heads trying to find the perfect match heading into the Chevron Championship.

This marks her first week of competition using a shorter driver after the LPGA put in place the new Model Local Rule last week, which gives tours the option to limit the maximum length of a driver to 46 inches. Henderson, who said she feels at peace now about the new club, has used a 48-inch driver since junior golf and is one of the best overall drivers of the golf ball on tour.

Why wait until a major to make the change?

“You know, I’ve played over 46 inches since I was 15,” said Henderson, “so I was going to use the 48 up until I couldn’t anymore. But it was nice to have such great finishes with it coming into this week.”

Henderson, 24, hasn’t finished outside the top 11 in five starts this season, with her best coming at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, where she finished second.

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Currently ranked 10th in the world, Henderson lost in a playoff in this event in 2020 and usually enjoys a strong Canadian crowd here in the desert.

When asked if she’d tried about a dozen different shafts in the search, Henderson said, “Oh, more.”

In the end, she wound up using the same shaft and Ping G400 driver head as before, just 2 inches shorter with a little extra weight in the grip.

“Went through a lot of different shafts and weights, et cetera, et cetera,” said Henderson, “but was able to I guess early January late December to pick one that I have in the bag this week that I felt was going to be the right club.

“Definitely miss my 48-inch driver, but this one, it’s good. I think as I get used to the timing and the rhythm of it I’ll be able to gain back some of the distance that I lost.”

Brooke M. Henderson of Canada plays her shot on the second tee during the third round of the HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open at Wilshire Country Club on April 23, 2021, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

Henderson chokes down on all the clubs in her bag and said that going forward, she might consider gradually choking up on the rest of her clubs as well to help with timing and rhythm.

“That’s something time will tell,” she said.

In seven starts at Mission Hills Country Club, Henderson has never missed the cut and has five top-20 finishes. She tees off on Thursday alongside fellow major champion Lydia Ko.

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‘I completed my career’: Lorena Ochoa and LPGA founder Shirley Spork on what it means that long wait for the Hall of Fame is finally over

Spork and Ochoa practically bookend this tour, and no Hall of Fame would be complete without them.

RANCHO MIRAGE, California – Lorena Ochoa was out walking behind her house in Valle de Bravo, Mexico, with her dog when Nancy Lopez called. Ochoa thought the call, organized by her brother, was going to be about her foundation or playing in an exhibition. After a brief catch-up, an emotional Lopez told Ochoa that she was going into the LPGA Hall of Fame.

A dozen years after Ochoa retired, the LPGA Hall of Fame committee voted to remove the 10-year playing minimum that blocked one of the greatest players in tour history from receiving its highest honor.

A stunned Ochoa, 40, didn’t know what do to. Her husband was at work in Mexico City, and it was time to pick up the kids from school. She tried to explain to her three children, ages six, eight, and 10, what had happened.

“They didn’t care. They didn’t understand,” said Ochoa, tilting her head back with that infectious laugh.

“Mom, can you please put music on?” came the request from the backseat.

Perhaps another time.

It’s a sweet story, especially given that school pick-up lines are among the million little reasons Ochoa chose to leave the LPGA after amassing 27 titles, including two majors, in seven seasons.

Ochoa, who arrived at Mission Hills on Wednesday to meet with the media, said she thanks God to this day that she was strong enough to make the choice to walk away, regardless of the rule. She likened the news that she’s in to a present.

“Some of the media as well, or my sponsors or fans, golf fans in Mexico, they always ask me about this all the time,” said Ochoa, “so finally I can say, that’s it. I’m in. I think I completed my career with this great honor, so in a way I feel relief and relaxed and happy, and just this is going to be great.”

Of course, Ochoa’s wait for the Hall pales in comparison to the woman who came over on Wednesday afternoon and asked to look at a picture of her kids. LPGA founder Shirley Spork, still spry at 94, is one of eight LPGA founders who are finally being inducted as honorary members of the tour’s Hall of Fame.

Of the 13 founders, only five were already included. Spork, a local desert resident, is one of two founders still living along with Marlene Hagge, who was already in the LPGA Hall.

Spork heard the news earlier this week from LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan and said she was surprised.

“It’s a great honor,” said Spork. “I feel I’m very deserving of it, having developed the (LPGA) teaching division from 0 to 1,700 people.”

Spork, who still gets out and plays nine holes, asked Ochoa if she planned to tee it up today at Mission Hills. Ochoa, who recently played in a mixed event in Portugal in which she tied for 10th alongside Miguel Angel Jimenez and Thomas Levet, said she needed to get home.

Ochoa said she was “responsible” going into the event and did adequate preparation. Even with little media onsite and few fans, Ochoa admitted to being quite nervous.

“I started thinking, I cannot imagine being in an LPGA tournament,” said Ochoa, “like a big one or a real LPGA tournament crowded with the media and me trying to play good. Too much.”

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Fellow Mexican Gaby Lopez annually asks Ochoa to partner with her in the LPGA team event, the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. This year, Ochoa said she will have to tell her once again that she isn’t going to play.

But that’s not a no forever.

“I don’t want to say no because maybe two, three years I will come and play with Gaby and have a good time,” said Ochoa. “I do see maybe playing in the senior, you know, in the Senior Tour, just coming back and playing couple tournaments just to enjoy.

“My kids are going to be older and maybe they understand a little bit more than today, so we’ll see.”

Stacy Lewis was one of several players who came over to greet Ochoa near the putting green as she met with the press. Lizette Salas declared that she was speechless.

“She did so much for this game when she played,” said Lewis. “When she retired we had three events in Mexico; we still have players from Mexico on this tour.”

Lorena Ochoa of Mexico and caddie Greg Johnston walk across a bridge on the second hole during the third round of the Tres Marias Championship at the Tres Marias Country Club on May 1, 2010, in Morelia, Mexico. (Photo by Darren Carroll/Getty Images)

While Ochoa isn’t out at LPGA events much, she’s still having a great impact on the next generation in her country through the IGPM, Impulsando al Golf Professional Mexicano. Currently there are 14 Mexican women in the program. Ochoa is part of three to four fundraisers a year that help pay for caddies, coaching, equipment, medical costs – whatever is needed.

“We’re very close to them,” said Ochoa, “because all of them are so particular, so they have different necessities. Once a year we get together for four or five days. I invite them to my home and spend time with them to see how are they feeling, how are they with their families, if they are happy, what are their goals for the year, how are they going to start the year or the changes that they’re making, if it’s working or not.

“And they call me, and we keep in touch and they ask me. I try to help them a little bit to make, I guess, less mistakes and be a little bit easier, and in a way to feel that they belong to something. They were part of the family, and all the Mexicans get together and support each other.”

It is the ultimate founder-like mentality. Ochoa became the first Mexican player to reach No. 1 in the world and lit a fire in minds of boys and girls across her country to take up a new sport. She now works to help the next generation continue what she started.

Spork and Ochoa practically bookend this tour, and no Hall of Fame that bears its name would be complete without them.

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LPGA: Talented Thai teen Atthaya Thitikul turns win last week into major opportunity at Chevron Championship

The 19-year-old rising LPGA star from Thailand won last week’s tour event in Carlsbad.

For most of us, when our travel plans get changed at the last second, it’s a bummer. Not so for Atthaya Thitikul.

The 19-year-old rising LPGA star from Thailand won last week’s tour event in Carlsbad, and that victory qualified her to play in this week’s Chevron Championship in Rancho Mirage. Needless to say, she adjusted her plans.

Just three days after her first LPGA Tour win, she will be playing in her first major as an LPGA Tour member.

“It means the world to me to be out here and winning last week and I’m excited to play this week,” Thitikul said Wednesday after playing in the pro-am. “If I wasn’t here, I probably would’ve gone home or somewhere to stay focused on my game. This is better.”

When Thitikul tees it up Thursday, it will be her first time playing the Dinah Shore Tournament Course as a pro, but it won’t be the first time she played in this event. She played here in 2018 as an amateur, made the cut and finished in a tie for 30th. She was the top amateur that year.

She finished 5-under in 2018, tied with the likes of Michelle Wie, Cristie Kerr and In Gee Chun. Not bad for a 15-year-old.

Does that mean that this course suits her game?

Atthaya Thitikul reacts on the final hole on the last day of the Honda LPGA Thailand at the Siam Country Club in Pattaya on May 9, 2021. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP via Getty Images)

“No, I think not very much,” she said matter-of-factly. “For me, and just like for all the players, if you can keep your ball in the fairway, it will be much easier.”

Thitikul said she doesn’t feel like the confidence and glow she gained by winning last week will necessarily translate to this week.

“You can’t expect anything with golf,” she said, showing the wisdom of a veteran. “That was last week not today. I don’t want to just have winning always on my back, like ‘Oh yeah just won that tournament, you should do good in this tournament too.’ It doesn’t mean that. It depends on your week, depends on the course.”

Having just turned 19 on Feb. 20, if she were to make it two in a row and win this week, she would be the third-youngest player ever to win this event.

Morgan Pressel in 2007 and Lydia Ko in 2016 both won as 18-year-olds. Lexi Thompson was 19 years, one month and 27 days old when she won here in 2014. Thitikul would be a couple weeks younger than that on Sunday.

Thitikul has another unique distinction relating to her success at a young age. She is the youngest golfer ever to win a professional golf tournament. At age 14 years, 4 months and 19 days, she won the Ladies European Thailand Championship as an amateur in 2017. It was that victory that enabled her to play here in Rancho Mirage in 2018.

A victory in the desert on Sunday would replace all of those accomplishments and become her new shining moment. She admitted that she has dreamt of jumping in Poppie’s Pond, and with the tournament moving to Houston after this year, she knows this will be the last opportunity for her to be able to do that.

There is one problem though.

“The other players have this dream, too,” she said with a laugh.

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Palm Springs Desert Sun, part of the USA Today Network. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.

Watch her play

Who: Atthaya Thitikul, 19-year-old from Thailand who won last week’s LPGA event.
Playing partner: Inbee Park, the 2013 champion here
Thursday tee time: 12:47 p.m. off the 10th tee
Friday tee time: 7:47 a.m. off the 1st tee