Caddie Dean Herden’s unforgettable week at the KPMG Women’s PGA was noteworthy before his boss even hit a shot.
BETHESDA, Md. – Caddie Dean Herden’s unforgettable week at the KPMG Women’s PGA was noteworthy before his boss In Gee Chun even hit a shot in competition.
On Wednesday, a man was found shot to death at the Red Roof Inn in Rockville, Maryland, where Herden said he and about 20 other caddies were staying for the week. Herden said other caddies heard the shots, but he slept through it.
WUSA9 reported that Montgomery County Police found 39-year-old Javier Gonzalez-Mena around 11:30 p.m. Police say Gonzalez-Mena answered a knock on the door of his hotel room and was fatally shot. Two men were later arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
Herden said while half the caddies found a new place for the rest of the week, he decided to stay on.
“It’s gotta be the safest place on earth,” he said. “Every time I left the hotel, there were two cop cars there.”
A month ago, when Chun came to Congressional for a practice round, Herden stayed at the Rockville Red Roof Inn about 20 minutes from the golf course. He thought the location and rate of $550 for the week was so great that he told the rest of the caddies about it in the group chat.
In Gee Chun celebrates with caddie Dean Herden after winning the 2022 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. (Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)
Herden, 58, has caddied for 30 years after playing professionally for six years on the Asian Tour and in Canada. He has been on the bag for 54 titles worldwide, including five majors.
This week’s wire-to-wire victory with Chun is their second together. Herden was on Chun’s bag when won she the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club.
Lee’s 1-2 finish at the last two majors has earned her $2,518,827 in those two events alone.
The 2022 KPMG was staged at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, marking the first time a professional women’s event has been held at the historic Blue Course.
“Through the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, we are accelerating the advancement, development and empowerment of women both on and off the golf course,” Paul Knopp, KPMG U.S. Chair and CEO, previously said in a statement.
“The significantly increased purse size – along with top courses in major markets, network TV coverage, and advanced data and analytics capabilities provided via KPMG Performance Insights – are tangible examples of our commitment to elevate the world-class athletes on the LPGA Tour.”
Lexi Thompson closes with a 73 but In Gee Chun survives after going 75-75 over the weekend.
BETHESDA, Md. – In the shadow of the nation’s capital, the LPGA’s most tortured American star suffered heartbreak once more at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Eight years after Lexi Thompson won her first major, she fell just short of her second.
The golf world held its collective breath for a woman who has experienced more heartbreak inside the ropes than anyone in recent memory. Thompson hadn’t won in 50 starts on the LPGA, and her penchant for short missed putts – the kind of jab that looks like a kid next to a hot stove – haunted her down the stretch.
In Gee Chun opened with a course-record 64 at the KPMG Women’s PGA to storm out to a five-shot lead after the first round. By early Saturday, she was seven clear of the field.
But that near perfect play began to unravel late Saturday and Chun slept on – only – a three-stroke lead in pursuit of her third different major title. Chun became an LPGA member after winning the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open and then recorded the lowest 72-hole score in major championship history at the 2016 Amundi Evian Championship.
Shades of a runaway victory similar to Rory McIlroy’s at the 2011 U.S. Open covered Congressional until Sunday. Suddenly there was an anything-can-happen vibe with major champions Thompson, Hannah Green and Sei Young Kim within striking distance along with super rookies Hye-Jin Choi and Atthaya Thitikul.
Thompson struck fast, birdieing the first hole to cut the lead to two strokes and it wasn’t long before the American was in command as Chun came unraveled with a front-nine 40.
Thompson led by two with nine holes to play.
Lexi Thompson plays her shot from the fifth tee during the final round of the 2022 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. (Photo: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports)
But the ghosts of short misses that have haunted her in pressure-packed moments came to visit on the back nine. A two-foot par putt on the 14th hole that never had a chance was the most egregious.
With Minjee Lee breathing down her back and the lead cut to one, Thompson poured in a statement birdie putt from just off the green on the 15th to push her lead to two with three to play.
A tournament that looked like the ending had been written at the halfway point suddenly had an endless supply of dramatic turns.
After a short miss for par on the 17th, Lee stuffed her approach on the 18th to post the clubhouse lead at 4 under.
Then Thompson made a mess of the par-5 16th, dropping four strokes with a series of miscues around the green to make bogey and fall into a tie with Chun at 5 under.
On the 18th, Thompson gave herself a birdie chance to tie Chun at 5 under, stuffing her approach to about 10 feet but Thompson didn’t hit a firm putt, leaving it short and right. She posted a final-round 73 to finish at 4 under.
Moments later, Chun had a four-footer for par for the championship and she made it to win her third different women’s major.
Chun shot 75-75 on the weekend yet pulled out the victory to break her 0-for-75 winless streak worldwide.
“Seems like a good read the room situation,” Thomas tweeted.
Justin Thomas was watching some major championship golf Sunday and didn’t like what he saw.
During the final round of the 2022 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club outside of Washington, D.C., the final group of Lexi Thompson, In Gee Chun and Hye-Jin Choi were put on the clock with just two holes remaining.
Slow play has been a topic of discussion over the weekend at the women’s PGA, especially after the last group Saturday played in 5 hours and 45 minutes, causing the last half hour of coverage to be bumped off of NBC.
The two-time PGA champion admitted there’s a problem with slow play on Twitter, but also wanted officials to read the room, especially that late into a final round of a major.
I’m all for helping slow play, but putting those ladies on the clock with 2 holes left trying to win a major seems like a good read the room situation and don’t put them on the clock 🤷🏽♂️
Thompson hasn’t won on the LPGA in her last 50 starts and hasn’t claimed a major title since 2014.
BETHESDA, Md. – In Gee Chun’s major romp at the KPMG Women’s PGA hit a speedbump when she was forced to take an unplayable on the par-5 16th that resulted in a double-bogey seven. After Chun’s lead swelled to seven on a blistering day outside the nation’s capital, she closed with only a three-shot advantage after a third-round 75 on Congressional’s Blue Course.
“If it’s going to be too easy, then I feel it is boring,” said Chun with that delightful smile.
Lexi Thompson, Sei Young Kim, who won this event in 2020, and Hye-Jin Choi share second at 5-under 211. Only two players – Jenny Shin (69) and Atthaya Thitikul (68) – broke 70 on a day when the scoring average was 73.59. The final group took 5 hours and 45 minutes to play.
“I found like they’ve put a few tricky pins out there,” said Hannah Green, the 2019 KPMG champ who trails by four. “You can’t really be too aggressive with the pins that they’ve put. If you go for it and it doesn’t work your way, you can easily make a bogey or a double.”
In Gee Chun of South Korea and her caddie Dean Herden look for her golf ball behind the 16th green during the third round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club on June 25, 2022, in Bethesda, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Chun, a two-time major champion who led by six after 36 holes, opened with a course-record 64 to take the early command at the first women’s professional event ever held at Congressional. After making it look so easy the first two rounds, Chun was pleased to make par on the last two holes.
“I’m so proud of myself because I hang in there after I had double bogey on 16,” said Chun.
Lexi Thompson of the United States signs her autograph for fans on the 18th green during the third round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club on June 25, 2022, in Bethesda, Maryland. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Thompson hasn’t won on the LPGA in her last 50 starts and hasn’t claimed a major title since 2014, though she has come painfully close on several occasions. She’s playing with a renewed perspective since the loss of her grandmother, Mimi, in late May. She’s also playing inspired.
“She was my No. 1 supporter,” said Thompson. “It gives me the drive to be out here and do it for her.”
Thompson will be in the final group alongside Chun and Choi, a 22-year-old LPGA rookie who finished runner-up at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open as an amateur. She finished third at this year’s Women’s Open at Pine Needles.
Choi has veteran caddie Pete Godfrey on the bag, husband of longtime LPGA player Jane Park. Their daughter Grace began suffering seizures last summer that led to brain damage. More than $120,000 has been raised on a GoFundMe account as Park has stepped away from the tour to care for Grace.
The LPGA community can certainly come together like a family at times. This weekend, Chun and Kim, who are neighbors in Irving, Texas, will battle it out for another major title.
Kim was the first to move to the Los Colinas community, where the LPGA used to hold the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout. Chun bought the house next door to Kim in 2020 and Minjee Lee, winner of the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open, has a home there as well. Together, they have five majors between them.
Chun enjoys cooking dinner for her friends. Kim particularly enjoys her macaroni and cheese with tuna. Chun says she’s looking to up her game, though.
“I like to cook different type of rice with all the veggies or meat,” she said, “but recently I’m trying to find how I better cook for steak with all the different seasonings or oil.”
In Gee Chun is at 11 under and holds a six-shot lead over Lydia Ko and Jennifer Kupcho.
BETHESDA, Md. – In Gee Chun described her first round at historic Congressional as a near “perfect game.” She knew her opening 8-under 64, a course record on the renovated Blue Course, would be a tough act follow.
When asked if her second-round 69 at the KPMG Women’s PGA felt disappointing in comparison, Chun smiled broadly and said, “No, I think it’s still a great score.”
Who could argue?
Chun’s 11-under 133 total gives her a six-shot lead over Lydia Ko (67) and Jennifer Kupcho (68). Through two rounds she ranks tied for first in greens in regulation (31/36), tied for 15th in fairways (26/28) and second in putts per green in regulation.
After making four birdies with her 7-wood in the first round, she made three consecutive with her 9-wood early Friday. Both clubs are new to her bag this week, replacing her 4-hybrid and 3-hybrid. She got the idea after a scouting trip to Congressional a month ago.
“I used the 7-wood when I was really young,” she said. “I think at the beginning to start golf. I don’t know what age I stopped to use it, but I think almost more than 10 years. The 9-wood, it’s the first time to use.”
In Gee Chun plays her shot from the tenth tee during the second round of the 2022 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. (Photo: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports)
Chun earned LPGA status by winning the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club. The following year, she sank a 10-foot par putt on the last hole of the Amundi Evian Championship to finish at 21 under, setting a record for the lowest 72-hole score in men’s and women’s major championship history.
While the feat gave her more confidence, it also created higher expectations.
“That’s how I got a lot of pressure from my golf,” she said. “I just wanted to make perfect and another perfect. … I don’t want to get more stressed, or I don’t want to try to make a perfect game on the course. I just want to enjoy my golf game. That’s the key. I believe it’s the key.”
Ko, a two-time major winner who has yet to win the Women’s PGA, is in the midst of four consecutive starts. She has finished in the top five in each of her last three, including a fifth-place at the U.S. Women’s Open. Keeping her focus over the weekend will be key, she said.
“I know that sometimes when you are fatigued, you could lose focus and then hit some mistakes that you normally wouldn’t if you were a bit more sharp,” she said. “I think being rested is also really important for the weekend.”
Kupcho comes into this week fresh off a playoff victory at the Meijer LPGA Classic. In April, she held a six-stroke lead going into the final round of the Chevron Championship and held on to make her first victory on the LPGA a major.
“I think just in general, being back is a lot better,” said Kupcho, “whether it’s with a lot of people or not. I think being behind and trying to catch up is better.
“I mean, I had the lead at Chevron by a few strokes, so I know how it feels to be in her position. Being behind is at least my preferred way.”
The soft-spoken In Gee Chun, a two-time major champ, put together one of the most dominant rounds in recent memory.
BETHESDA, Md. – The last time Congressional Country Club hosted a major championship, Rory McIlroy blistered the field by eight strokes at the 2011 U.S. Open.
More than a decade later, In Gee Chun might deliver a similar master class.
The soft-spoken South Korean, a two-time major champion, put together one of the most dominant rounds in recent memory, carding nine birdies en route to a course record of 8-under 64. The Blue Course, which has hosted five previous majors, recently underwent a complete renovation.
Only six other players in the morning wave broke par, and all six shot 1-under 71. World No. 2 Nelly Korda was among them and was quite pleased with the round, given how long the course played. When Chun walked off the course, the scoring average was 76.01.
Congressional received two inches of rain overnight and early groups played in 10 or more holes in the rain Thursday morning on what turned into a slow grind. Inbee Park expected several tees to be moved up given the soft conditions but said the actual yardage of 6,809 yards felt more like 7,200, calling it “a beast.”
“I am one of the longer hitters on tour,” said Korda. “It was long.”
After coming to the course early for a preview last week, Chun decided to put a 7-wood in the bag. Caddie Dean Herden said she hit it four times Thursday and flushed it every time, leaving herself nothing more than 10 feet.
Chun took only 25 putts and notched nine birdies on the day. Herden noted that the performance reminded him of when Chun won the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club, the first time they ever worked together. The only shot she missed all day at Congressional, he said, was a thinned 9-iron on the eighth.
In Gee Chun stands with her caddie during the first round of the 2022 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. (Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)
Chun, who is trying to enjoy herself more inside the ropes, said conversations with Herden that don’t involve golf help keep her relaxed.
“We talk about my pimple on my lip,” she said, laughing. “So I bit, like, one time before, and then it got bigger and bigger, so I bit more than five times.
“Then we talk about the kiwis because I love to eat kiwis on the course. Especially it’s really tough to find a good kiwi from the supermarket. Luckily, we have a good Korean supermarket near here, so I got a good gold kiwi from there.”
While Chun was able to keep things light, everything about the day felt heavy to most. The par-5 ninth, at 587 yards uphill and into the wind and rain, required long-bombing Brooke Henderson to hit driver, 3-wood, hybrid. She called it the longest par 5 of her life.
Nelly Korda found herself hitting 5-irons into par 4s, noting that Park couldn’t even reach the par-4 fourth with her 3-wood.
“Some of those pins today were brutal,” said Korda. “I think because they thought it was going to play soft, I think they were going to kind of trick out with some of the pin positions. I think they were going to put them on the ridges and make them a little harder, which it did.”
Hannah Green plays her shot from the 11th tee during the first round of the 2022 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. (Photo: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports)
Hannah Green, the 2019 KPMG champ, has picked up 11 yards of carry in recent years and said had she not, she probably would’ve shot 3 over par – at best.
Instead, a longer Green shot 1 under despite hitting 5-wood in for her third shot into the ninth and a couple of hybrids into par 4s and par 3s.
“It has made a big difference,” she said.
Jennifer Kupcho, who won the first major as well as the Meijer LPGA Classic in a playoff last week, worked out a tweak in her driver by standing closer to the ball. She hit all 14 fairways in Round 1 to shoot 1 under.
“I feel like I played really well,” said Kupcho. “The course is really hard. I don’t really know how In Gee is 8 under right now.”
In Gee Chun grabs one-shot LPGA lead over Jin Young Ko and Jeongeun Lee6 in Singapore.
After more than three years without a victory, In Gee Chun wasn’t about to let a pain in her neck slow down her climb up the leaderboard Saturday at the LPGA’s HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
The three-time winner on the tour focused on her putting after suffering a spasm in her neck earlier in the week, then carded six birdies for a 66 to reach 12-under 204 at Sentosa Golf Club. That was good for a one-shot lead over Jeongeun Lee6 and World No. 1 Jin Young Ko heading into Sunday’s final round.
After hurting her neck Thursday, she considered withdrawing but instead relied on stretching, help from on-site trainers and Advil. She said she has played within herself and let her putter do the talking.
“I tried to make good focus on the putting green because I have spasm in my neck, so I didn’t try to hit hard,” Chun told the LPGA after taking the third-round lead. “I think it went really well on the putting green. …. That’s how I made a good score today.”
Chun’s most recent victory was at the 2018 LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship. She also won the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2016 Amundi Evian Championship. She likely will need to make plenty more putts Sunday to hold off the player riding the hottest streak in the women’s game.
Jin Young Ko plays a shot from the ninth tee during her third round at the HSBC Women’s World Championship on March 5, 2022, at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore. (AP/Paul Miller)
Ko shot a third-round 69, her 14th consecutive round in the 60s. That matched an LPGA record she already shared with Annika Sorenstam and So Yeon Ryu. She is in pursuit of her 13th LPGA victory and her sixth in her past 10 starts.
Lee6 had the lowest round of the day, carding seven birdies – six of them in a front-nine 31 – and an eagle to charge up the board with a 7-under 65 to tie Ko in second at 11 under par. Lee6 has one win on the tour, the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open.
American Danielle Kang fired a third-round 68 to climb into a three-way tie for fourth place at 9 under with Atthaya Thitikul (70) and Amy Yang (71) after three rounds. Brooke Henderson (71) was another shot back at 8 under.
Some rules violations hit harder than others, while others just make you scratch your head.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all on the golf course, something else comes along to baffle fans, players, and rules officials alike.
The rules of golf can come up and bite you (pun intended: see fire ants below), if you’re not paying attention. Other times, weird things just happen. Further still, sometimes golfers simply don’t know a particular rule.
New rules of golf were rolled out on Jan. 1, 2019, but most of what trips golfers up continues to be of the tried-and-true variety.
As we get set to close out the year that was 2021, here’s a rundown of some of the memorable moments that involved rules violations.
Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio, Beth Ann Nichols, Adam Schupak and Adam Woodard contributed to this article.
