The event known as “Asia’s major” restarts the LPGA season this week after a month-long break.
The event known as “Asia’s major” restarts the LPGA season this week after a month-long break. LPGA Hall of Famer Inbee Park is the only two-time winner of the HSBC Women’s World Championship (2015, 2017), and she’s one of four past champions in the field, including last year’s winner Hyo Joo Kim, Sung Hyun Park (2019) and Stacy Lewis (2013).
This week also marks the return of World No. 1 Jin Young Ko, who spent much of the winter honing her game in the Palm Springs area. Here’s a closer look at this week’s field at the Sentosa Golf club, where the temperatures should be as hot as the competition.
“I’m extremely lucky to have the privilege to pursue a passion and a childhood dream and play in this event.”
The field list for the upcoming Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio features a who’s who list of stars including World No. 1 Nelly Korda, Inbee Park, Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko, Lexi Thompson and 2020 champion Madelene Sagstrom.
But there’s also a name that most golf fans aren’t familiar with, a 32-year-old local teaching pro who beat the men to make history late last year and on Tuesday was named the 2021 PGA of America Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year.
Madelene Sagstrom during the final round of the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in Boca Raton, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Taylor Collins, winner of Golf Channel’s “Big Break Mexico” and longtime pupil of the legendary Bob Toski, will compete in Boca Raton, Florida, later this month on a sponsor exemption.
The Gainbridge LPGA is the first full-field event for the 2022 LPGA season and will feature 120 players competing for a share of a $2 million purse Jan. 24-30 at Boca Rio Golf Club. Last year’s event, won by Nelly Korda, was held at Lake Nona due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Collins played collegiately at Nova Southeastern, winning the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship and helping her team win titles in 2009, 2010, 2011. She turned professional after graduation, but ultimately had to walk away from the game after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.
“I was struggling to pretty much walk,” said Collins, who also struggled to grip a club. “I almost bought a cane to start walking with, so I had to take like a year off of golf.”
Medications now help to keep the arthritis in check, though she still deals with flare-ups.
Last September, Collins, a PGA assistant pro at Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, won the South Florida PGA Section’s signature event – the PGA Professional Championship – by four strokes at 8-under par, becoming the first woman to win in its 42-year history.
Collins said the men she competed alongside and the guys she works with have been supportive, but it wasn’t entirely without controversy given that she played from 81 percent of the distance the men played, as stipulated by tournament rules.
“I do happen to be one of the long hitters out there,” said Collins, “so it could look unfair sometimes with myself hitting the ball, but perhaps not other ladies when they are playing. So it wouldn’t be fair to just judge it off the long-ball hitters.
“And I think something that’s forgotten a lot when you’re playing is I’ll hit my driver, I’ll happen to hit it long and one of the long guys will hit it past me and I might be hitting a pitching wedge and he’s hitting a sand wedge, or I’m hitting an 8-iron and he’s still hitting a pitching wedge. So I understand, I guess, all sides of it. It’s a tricky one, but I’d say it’s fair for the most part if I’m honest.”
Collins said she hits it anywhere from 240 to 270 yards, depending on the day.
Competing in an LPGA event so close to where she lives and works is dream scenario for Collins, who plans to have the junior players she coaches each mark a golf ball that she will play with during the competition. It will be good for her to be reminded of her day job while in the heat of battle, she said, and also fun for the kids to have a souvenir.
“I love the job that I have outside of it,” said Collins, “but I’m extremely lucky to have the privilege to pursue a passion and a childhood dream and play in this event.”
After years of debate, 2022 is promising to be much more lucrative on the women’s side.
After years of debate over the discrepancy between purses on the men’s and women’s professional golf tours, 2022 is promising to be much more lucrative on the women’s side.
The USGA announced on Friday that the first-place prize for the U.S. Women’s Open this year will climb to $1.8 million, up from $1 million in 2021. Also, the CME Group Tour Championship’s total purse will jump up by $2 million (to $7 million), and its $2 million first-place prize will become the largest in professional women’s golf history.
To put that in perspective, only 27 times in the history of the LPGA has a player amassed $2 million or more in a single season, let alone a standalone week.
Here’s a look at those who have made this sum for an entire year (heading into the 2022 campaign).
With $1.5 million on the line, here are 18 players to watch this week in Naples.
It’s all come down to this. The last tournament of the LPGA tour season is this week at Tiburon Golf Course. The CME Group Tour Championship is loaded with star power, including last week’s winner of the Pelican Women’s Championship and World No. 1, Nelly Korda.
Lexi Thompson, who fell short down the stretch at the Pelican and is surely looking to bounce back, is also in the field.
The winner of the CME Group Tour Championship will be walking away with $1.5 million, the largest prize in the history of women’s golf.
Tiburon will play as a par 72 throughout the week, measuring in at 6,556 yards.
Here are 18 players in the field to keep your eye on.
Jin Young Ko
Jin Young Ko of South Korea tees off on the fifth hole during the first round of the BMW Ladies Championship at LPGA International Busan on October 21, 2021 in Busan, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
Age: 26 Home country: South Korea Resides: Seoul, South Korea LPGA Career Victories: 11 Race to CME Globe: 1
Nelly Korda
Nelly Korda poses with the trophy after winning the Pelican Women’s Championship in a playoff at Pelican Golf Club on November 14, 2021 in Belleair, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Age: 23 Home country: U.S. Resides: Bradenton LPGA Career Victories: 7 Race to CME Globe: 2
Lydia Ko
Age: 24 Home country: New Zealand Resides: Orlando LPGA Career Victories: 16 Race to CME Globe: 3
Patty Tavatanakit
Patty Tavatanakit waves after putting out on the 10th green during the second round of the U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament at The Olympic Club. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Age: 22 Home country: Thailand Resides: U.S. LPGA Career Victories: 1 Race to CME Globe: 4
Inbee Park
Inbee Park plays her shot from the second tee during the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship golf tournament at the Atlanta Athletic Club. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports
Age: 33 Home country: South Korea Resides: Las Vegas LPGA Career Victories: 21 Race to CME Globe: 5
Ariya Jutanugarn
Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand plays her shot from the first tee during day four of the The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club on July 25, 2021 in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Age: 25 Home country: Thailand Resides: Bangkok, Thailand LPGA Career Victories: 12 Race to CME Globe: 6
Lexi Thompson
Lexi Thompson and her caddie on the first tee during the first round of the AIG Women’s British Open at Carnoustie Golf Links on August 19, 2021 in Carnoustie, Scotland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Age: 26 Home country: U.S. Resides: Coral Springs LPGA Career Victories: 11 Race to CME Globe: 7
Brooke Henderson
Brooke Henderson of Canada tees off on the 9th hole during the pro-am prior to the AIG Women’s Open at Carnoustie Golf Links on August 18, 2021 in Carnoustie, Scotland. Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Age: 24 Home country: Canada Resides: Smiths Falls, Ontario/Miromar Lakes LPGA Career Victories: 10 Race to CME Globe: 8
Minjee Lee
Minjee Lee of Australia waves at the 18th hole during Day Three of the AIG Women’s Open at Carnoustie Golf Links on August 21, 2021 in Carnoustie, Scotland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Age: 25 Home country: Australia Resides: Perth, Australia LPGA Career Victories: 6 Race to CME Globe: 9
Nasa Hataoka
Nasa Hataoka hits her tee shot on the second hole during the second round of the Marathon LPGA Classic presented by Dana at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio on July 09, 2021 in Sylvania, Ohio. Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Age: 22 Home country: Japan Resides: Japan LPGA Career Victories: 5 Race to CME Globe: 10
Sei Young Kim
Sei Young Kim tees off at one during the third round of the CME Group Tour Championship, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020, at the Tiburon Golf Club in North Naples, Florida.
Age: 28 Home country: South Korea Resides: South Korea LPGA Career Victories: 12 Race to CME Globe: 11
Danielle Kang
Danielle Kang of Team USA reacts during competition rounds of the Solheim Cup golf tournament at Inverness Club. (Photo: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)
Age: 29 Home country: U.S. Resides: Las Vegas LPGA Career Victories: 5 Race to CME Globe: 12
Jessica Korda
Jessica Korda (USA) tees of on the ninth hole during the first round of the women’s individual stroke play of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Kasumigaseki Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Age: 28 Home country: U.S. Resides: Bradenton LPGA Career Victories: 6 Race to CME Globe: 13
Moriya Jutanugarn
Moriya Jutanugarn tees off at the tenth hole during the first round of the LPGA’s 2021 Hugel-Air Premia LA Open tournament at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles. (Photo: Ashley Landis/Associated Press)
Age: 27 Home country: Thailand Resides: Thailand LPGA Career Victories: 2 Race to CME Globe: 14
Jeongeun Lee6
Jeongeun Lee6 of Korea lines up a shot during day three of the The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club on July 24, 2021 in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Age: 25 Home country: South Korea Resides: South Korea LPGA Career Victories: 1 Race to CME Globe: 15
Yuka Saso
Yuka Saso hoists the US Open trophy after winning in a sudden death playoff following the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. Photo by Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Age: 20 Home country: Philippines Resides: Philippines LPGA Career Victories: 1 Race to CME Globe: 16
Leona Maguire
Leona Maguire reads a putt on the third green during round two of the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give at Blythefield Country Club on June 17, 2021 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Age: 26 Home country: Ireland Resides: Ireland LPGA Career Victories: 0 Race to CME Globe: 17
Celine Boutier
Celine Boutier (FRA) tees off on the ninth hole during the first round of the women’s individual stroke play of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Kasumigaseki Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Age: 28 Home country: France Resides: France/Dallas LPGA Career Victories: 2 Race to CME Globe: 18
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Celine Boutier tied her career-low with a final-round 9-under 63 to come from behind and win the ShopRite LPGA Classic.
Celine Boutier birdied the final hole to capture her second LPGA Tour title and first on U.S. soil at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in Galloway, N.J.
Boutier, 27, tied her career low with an eight-under 63, at Seaview Golf Club’s Bay Course to vault past two of the game’s brightest lights in Inbee Park and Jin Young Ko.
“It’s unbelievable,” she told Golf Channel’s Kay Cockerill in the aftermath. “I think I’m still not realizing it yet.”
France’s Boutier, who reached World No. 1 as an amateur while playing collegiately at Duke, enjoyed her first LPGA win at the 2019 ISPS Handa Vic Open. On Sunday, she rode a hot putter to six birdies on the front nine to join the trophy hunt.
Park, 33, seeking her 22nd LPGA win, missed a 10-foot birdie putt to force a playoff. She settled for 69 and finished tied for second.
Ko, who shot 66-65 in the first two rounds to share the overnight lead with Park, was bidding to become the fifth Korean player in LPGA Tour history with 10 wins, joining Se Ri Pak, Ji-Yai Shin, Sei Young Kim and, of course, Park. But neither of the South Korean stars had their best stuff in the final round.
Boutier’s charge lifted her into a tie at 13 under with the overnight leaders as well as Canadian Brooke Henderson, who played in the same group with Boutier and chipped in for birdie at the eighth en route to a 64. Boutier, a member of the winning European Solheim Cup team, broke the deadlock with a birdie at the par-5 18th and then had to sit and wait.
Her biggest challenge of the day? Finding a TV to watch the final holes play out. She went to wash her hands and found a TV in the locker room.
“I just kind of chilled and watched TV there because I couldn’t find one anywhere else,” she said.
Both Park and Ko failed to make birdie putts from roughly 10 feet to force the playoff and the trophy belonged to Boutier, who shot a 54-hole total of 14-under 199.
“It feels like my first victory in Australia was so long ago,” she said. “It definitely was time for another one.”
This would be Jin Young Ko’s third win in five starts
The LPGA is in New Jersey this week for the ShopRite LPGA Classic at Seaview’s Bay course and two of the game’s biggest names are tied for the lead. Inbee Park and Jin Young Ko both sit at 11 under, two shots clear of the next challenger.
Park had it going on the greens, carding seven birdies, along with one bogey, for a 6-under 65. She’s looking for her first win since late March 2021, despite having six top-10 finishes during that stretch.
Ko shot the same score as Park on Saturday, but she did it without carding a bogey. A flawless 65 has put her in position to win for the third time in five starts. Her most recent triumph came at the Cambia Portland Classic just a few weeks ago.
(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
Other big names in the mix include 2021 ANA Inspiration champion Patty Tavatanakit (9 under, 3rd), 13-time LPGA winner Stacy Lewis (-6, T-10), 10-time winner Brooke Henderson (6 under, T-10), Maria Fassi (5 under, T-16), and 2021 U.S. Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso (5 under, T-16).
The 2021 Women’s PGA Championship takes place this week at Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Georgia. Sei Young Kim looks to defend her major title from October; 155 other golfers are looking to dethrone her. Below, we look at the 2021 Women’s PGA Championship odds and make our picks and predictions to win.
All are competing for a share of the $4.5 million purse. Kim won the pandemic-delayed 2020 event by five strokes at 14-under par at Aronimink Golf Club. Nelly Korda comes in off a win at last week’s Meijer LPGA Classic in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Still, the biggest name to watch this week is three-time Women’s PGA Championship winner Inbee Park. She went back-to-back-to-back from 2013-2015 with her most recent Women’s PGA Championship win decided by five strokes at Westchester Country Club. She’s this week’s betting favorite at +1400.
Park is the rightful favorite for her fourth career Women’s PGA Championship title even though she hasn’t won since the Kia Classic in late March. She’s No. 2 in the Rolex rankings and in scoring average, and No. 3 in the Golfweek/Sagarin ranking.
Park tied for 10th last week by going 68-68-68-67 at Blythefield Country Club. She’s just 148th on tour in driving distance but is eighth in driving accuracy, 33rd in greens in regulation and fourth in putting average. Accuracy is more important than distance under major conditions.
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Contender
Brooke Henderson (+2800)
Henderson missed the cut in Michigan last week. She was done in by an opening round of plus-3 75 but responded with a 5-under 67 in the second round to miss the weekend on the number.
The Canadian is No. 6 in the Golfweek rankings, but she’s just 12th by the odds to win this week. She won the 2016 Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club and the 2021 Hugel-Air Premia LA Open in late April.
Henderson is fifth in the Rolex rankings and tied for fourth on tour with five top-10 finishes this season. She’s also fifth in greens in regulation and should avoid a lot of the tough rough around the putting surfaces.
Saso celebrated her 20th birthday over the weekend, just two weeks after winning the U.S. Women’s Open as a 19-year-old. She has vaulted to No. 34 in the world rankings. Unlike most of this week’s top competition, she didn’t play last week in Grand Rapids and won’t have to deal with the lengthy travel.
Saso will play the Women’s PGA Championship for just the first time, but it will be her fifth career major appearance. Her odds have fallen considerably from where they were a couple of weeks ago, but there’s still plenty of value at 50-1 for the reigning U.S. Women’s Open champ.
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“I don’t need an exact number. I don’t need anything. I just need him next to me, that’s all, just carrying the bag.”
With her husband on the bag, Inbee Park jumped out to the early lead at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore. Park, a two-time winner of the event, opened with a bogey-free 64 at Sentosa Golf Club, hitting every fairway, 16 greens and only 26 putts.
“I’m just really thankful that he’s carrying the bag,” said Park. “I don’t need an exact number. I don’t need anything. I just need him next to me, that’s all, just carrying the bag.”
This marks the second time Gi Hyeob Nam, who’s also Park’s instructor, has caddied for his wife. G.H. made his debut on the bag at last year’s AIG Women’s British Open, where Park finished fourth. The couple married in 2014.
When the LPGA went to Scotland last August for back-to-back events, players were kept in a strict bubble that included only the hotel and golf course. It’s the same this week in Singapore and Thailand, which is why having her husband step in as caddie allowed him to make the trip.
Players weren’t allowed to take guests on the two-week trip to Asia, only caddies. Protocols are so strict, in fact, that if a player’s husband happens to caddie for a different player, the couple can’t room together these next two weeks. David Buhai, for example, loops for Jeongeun Lee6, and not his wife Ashleigh.
Park, an LPGA Hall of Famer with 21 titles, said she and her husband read putts really well together on Thursday. It was so stress-free and enjoyable, in fact, that Park didn’t even know where she stood during the round.
“I hit a lot of great shots but probably left myself a lot of 10- to 15-footers,” said Park, “and I was able to make most of them, which has been the difference this year. You know, holing putts when you need to hole.”
Hee Young Park sits alone in second at 7 under while Sophia Popov, Xiyu Lin, Caroline Masson, So Yeon Ryu and Hyo Joo Kim are tied for third at 5 under.
Popov is one of 12 players making their debut in Singapore this week. As someone who loves to sightsee and get away from the game, these two weeks spent mostly inside a hotel room (even sidewalk strolls aren’t allowed) present a challenge for the 2020 AIG winner.
“Normally, I’m the kind of person, I use half my day to just go out there and experience something new and take my mind off of golf,” said Popov. “Now it’s really hard because you go back to the hotel room. You’re by yourself. You have to find other distractions other than just going out. You can’t leave the hotel. So I think that’s hard for me, being the kind of person that I am. I like to be very active.”
Park led by as many as seven strokes at the Kia, ultimately topping the field by five at 14-under 272.
The first round of the Kia Classic was cold, wet and windy, and Inbee Park, playing her first competitive round in three months, cruised to a bogey-free 66. Park played her best golf of the week on the toughest day, and it set the tone for the rest of the week.
Lydia Ko loved what Park had to say after that first round: “I’m just warming up.”
“I was like ‘Oh yeah, she’s back,’ ” Ko said, laughing.
Park led by as many as seven strokes at the Kia, ultimately topping the field by five at 14-under 272. Americans Amy Olson and Lexi Thompson finished tied for second at 9 under. World No. 1 Jin Young Ko placed solo fourth, six strokes back.
Ko has long admired Park’s consistently even-keel demeanor and attitude on the golf course. She believes it accounts for much of her long-term success on the LPGA.
“That nickname of ‘silent assistant’ doesn’t come from nowhere,” Ko added.
Longtime caddie Brad Beecher said Park’s laid-back attitude keeps her from overpreparing for anything, including majors.
Inbee Park tees off the 3rd hole during the final round of the Kia Classic at the Aviara Golf Club on March 28, 2021, in Carlsbad, California. (Photo: Donald Miralle-Getty Images)
“She knows she’s got the game,” he said. “She knows she doesn’t need to overdo it. She hasn’t for years.”
The Kia marked Park’s 21st career title and her first since February 2020. She joins LPGA Founder Marilynn Smith with 21 wins and moves within four victories of Se Ri Pak’s mark as the winningest Korean player in tour history.
The seven-time major winner now has $17,003,925 in career earnings and becomes just the fourth player in LPGA Tour history to cross the $17 million threshold.
“It was my first week back out in three months or so, and I played so good,” said Park. I mean, I couldn’t believe how I was doing out there this week.”
This was supposed to just be sharpening session for next week’s ANA Inspiration. But Park has such a good record at Aviara Golf Club, including two previous runner-up showings, that the good vibes come naturally. Even she was surprised with how well everything came together, saying it’s a mystery even she can’t solve.
Trying to sharpen up her game though, she said, might have helped her to work a little harder under pressure and not feel too comfortable.
Her lead grew so big though, she could certainly afford to relax.
“I did not really think much about Inbee,” said Olson. “She was kind of doing her own thing and playing her own golf course. She obviously played phenomenal this week.”
Olson was quite pleased with her own personal best – a terrific turnaround on Friday that took her from 6 over with 11 holes to go to birdieing six coming in to make the cut. The momentum continued into the weekend with rounds of 67-68.
What sparked the shift?
“Ron (Stockton) and I were talking about that today,” said Olson. “I’m like, I don’t know, like I definitely got mad and I’m like, I don’t know if that’s a good way for me to play or something.”
Thompson is also happy with the state of her game heading into ANA, saying that she’s most pleased with her mental state.
“You know, I could have gotten downhill on a few holes,” said Thompson.
Park was ready to jump into Poppie’s Pond after her Kia victory to clean up after a celebratory champagne bath.
The 32-year-old entered the week No. 4 in the world and strengthened her chances of returning to the Olympics in 2021. The LPGA Hall of Famer has long said that were it not for the Olympics, she might not still be playing. Winning the 2016 gold medal renewed Park’s vigor for competition and gave her a new goal – repeating.
But in order to repeat, she’d first have to qualify. She’ll need to one of four South Koreans in the Rolex Rankings – all inside the top 15 – to punch her ticket to the Summer Games.
“I am pretty much eligible for pretty much anything in the game of golf,” said Park, “but it was quite different obviously. Plus, I am defending champion of that event and I’m not qualified. It’s just a very different approach. … It’s getting close. I wouldn’t say I’m safe, but I’m getting close.”
Inbee Park opened a huge lead on a day when there were 11 eagles at the Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California.
Inbee Park shot a second straight 69 and her third round in the 60s this week to race out to a five-shot lead heading into the final round of the Kia Classic.
Park, who has 20 wins in her LPGA career, had four birdies and a bogey on Saturday at the Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California.
Mel Reid, Minjee Lee and Mi Jung Hur are all at 7 under, five back.
Madelene Sagstrom doubled the first hole on Saturday but then ripped off birdies on seven of her next eight holes, made the turn with a 31 and went on to post the best round of the week so far with a 64. She definitely found something after posting scores of 72 and 74 the first two days. Sagstrom is in a three-way tie in 5th with World No. 1 Jin Young Ko and Lexi Thompson.
