Pernilla Lindberg takes 3 shot lead in ANA Inspiration
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Pernilla Lindberg glanced at Poppie’s Pond walking off the 18th green Saturday at the ANA Inspiration, knowing she put herself in perfect position to celebrate her first professional title with the traditional victory plunge.
“I’ve played a lot of golf in my life and I just feel like the pieces are kind of falling together,” Lindberg said. “I’m just letting it happen.”
The 31-year-old Swede shot a 2-under 70 on another hot and mostly calm day at Mission Hills, pulling away when playing partner Sung Hyun Park collapsed on the back nine.
“I felt calm out there. I had fun,” Lindberg said. “I went out there today and said, ‘How often do you get this chance? So I’m just going to enjoy it.’ And that’s what I did.”
Amy Olson was second after a 68. The 25-year-old former North Dakota State star – and the LPGA Tour’s only certified public accountant – also is seeking her first victory as a pro.
Lindberg was two strokes behind Park after the fourth-ranked South Korean player made her third straight birdie on the par-5 11th. They were then put on the clock for slow play, and Park dropped five strokes in the next five holes.
“It was a rough day,” Park said.
The U.S. Women’s Open champion bogeyed Nos. 12 and 13, had a double bogey on the par-4 14th after taking two shots to get out of the back bunker, and bogeyed the 16th.
“There were a bunch of fairways that I (missed), so that was something that I am disappointed in my shots,” Park said. “But I had a lot of great play, a lot of good aspects in my game.”
Lindberg scrambled for pars on the first four holes on the back nine, ran in an 18-foot birdie putt on 14 and made a 25-footer for par on 15 for a two-stroke swing. Lindberg bogeyed the par-3 17th and then hit a wedge to 5 feet to set up a birdie on the par-5 18th. She broke the tournament 54-hole mark at 14-under 202.
Park finished with a 74 to fall into a tie for third at 10 under. She shot a 64 on Friday for a share of the second-round lead with Lindberg.
Inbee Park, the 2013 winner and a seven-time major champion, had a 67 to get into the group at 10 under with Moriya Jutanugarn (66), Jennifer Song (68), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (69) and Charley Hull (69). Inbee Park won the Founders Cup two weeks ago in Phoenix, playing the final 36 holes in 14 under.
“Definitely a much better putting day than the last couple days,” Inbee Park said. “Especially on the back nine, I was able to hit some good bunker shots and make those par saves.”
Lindberg made a 20-foot birdie putt on the first hole, bogeyed the par-3 fifth for her first dropped stroke of the week, and rebounded with a 20-foot par save on the par-4 sixth. The former Oklahoma State player added a 35-footer for birdie on the par-3 eighth.
“My putter obviously saved me a few times,” Lindberg said.
Olson, from Oxbow, North Dakota, had five birdies and a bogey. Ranked 218th in the world, she won an NCAA-record 20 titles for the Bison.
“You have to learn to win on every level,” Olson said. “I’m excited to be in the position that I’m in and just give myself a learning opportunity.”
Ayako Uehara (70) was 9 under, and top-ranked Shanshan Feng (67) and Jessica Korda (73) were another stroke back.
Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (75) was tied for 41st at 2-under par to tie for 41st. Brooke Henderson (70) of Smiths Falls, Ont., sits 1 under to tie for 49th.
Stanford sophomore Albane Valenzuela shot 71 to get to 7 under and top the four amateurs to make the cut. Minjee Lee also was 7 under after a 64, the best round of the day.
“The first two days I was hitting it really well, but I just didn’t make any putts,” Lee said.
Lexi Thompson was tied for 17th at 6 under after a 70. She won in 2015 and lost a playoff to So Yeon Ryu a year ago after being penalized four strokes during the final round for a rules violation the day before.
Michelle Wie was 2 under after a 72. She has fought dizziness caused by a virus.
Alena Sharp surges at mid-point of ANA Inspiration
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Alena Sharp made the most of Friday’s opening tee slot, posting a 4-under 68 to climb 25 spots into a tie for 11th at the mid-way point of the ANA Inspiration.
The Hamilton, Ont., native notched five birdies against one bogey on the par-4 12th, bringing her to 5 under par for the tournament — seven strokes back of the leading Pernilla Lindberg and Sung Hyun Park, the 2017 CP Women’s Open champion.
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., slipped with a 3-over 75 to sit at 1 over par, making the cut on the number.
Park and Lindberg shared the lead at a tournament-record 12-under 132, three strokes ahead of Jessica Korda after two rounds in hot and mostly calm conditions at Mission Hills.
Lexi Thompson was 4 under after an even-par 72, undone by a series of short missed putts a year after a rules violation cost her four strokes in regulation in an eventual playoff loss.
“I hit it really well today,” Thompson said. “I just struggled on the greens.”
Fighting dizziness caused by a virus, Wie followed her opening 75 with a bogey-free 67 to get to 2 under.
“Saw one golf ball today, which was good,” Wie said.
With little fanfare five groups in front of the Thompson-Wie morning pairing, the fourth-ranked Park shot a 64 for the best round of the week. The U.S. Women’s Open champion played a nine-hole stretch in 7 under. She holed out for eagle from 100 yards on the par-4 15th to cap the run.
“I was super-focused at the U.S. Open, and felt just as focused today,” the 24-year-old South Korean player said. “I just felt really good about my driver. The shots fell in just as I wanted.”
Lindberg had a 67 in the final group of the morning session. The 31-year-old Swede had the first-round lead at 65, and was the only player without a bogey the first two days.
“Just not put myself in too much trouble and then my short game and putting have been great,” Lindberg said. “I’m just collecting so much experience out here every year, that I’m getting more and more ready just to be in this situation. Every time I’m there, I’m just so much more comfortable.”
She hit inside 2 feet to set up birdies on the par-4 13th and par-4 14th and parred the final four holes. The leaders broke the 36-hole record of 11 under set by Lorena Ochoa in 2006.
Thompson missed five putts inside 4 feet, four of them to the right side. She three-putted the par-3 fifth and par-4 12th, missing from 4 and 3 feet on 12. She also missed a 4-foot par try on 13.
The 2014 champion rebounded to birdie three of the last four , beginning the run with a downhill 12-footer on the par-4 15th. She went right at the back left pin on par-3 17th and got a 4½-footer to fall on the left side, then hit a lob wedge to 4 inches on the par-5 18th.
Wie often sat and rested in the shade in the 90-degree morning heat on the 97-degree day. She walked with a sun umbrella and relied on caddie Matthew Galloway more than usual.
“I just sat down every chance I could,” Wie said. “My caddie helped me a lot out there, just getting all the numbers. I asked him to read every putt for me because I just couldn’t see everything.”
Wie was stricken Thursday afternoon, leading to two double bogeys and a bogey in a four-hole stretch.
“Yesterday I wasn’t prepared for it at all,” said Wie, the winner four weeks ago in Singapore. “I felt good, felt good on the range, and all of a sudden I started seeing multiple golf balls, and that scared me a little bit. But today I woke up feeling dizzy. I knew exactly what I was getting into.”
Korda birdied five of the last 10 holes in a 68 to get to 9 under. She won last month in Thailand in her return from reconstructive jaw surgery.
“It all depends on if these putts are going to drop or not,” Korda said. “That’s the difference out here.”
Jodi Ewart Shadoff (67), Charley Hull (68), Amy Olson (68) and Ayako Uehara (66) were 7 under.
Stanford sophomore Albane Valenzuela was 6 under after a 71.
“I had to kind of save my pars today, but still a good round overall,” the Swiss Olympian said. “I put a good fight out there.”
Valenzuela was one of four amateurs to make the cut, with Rose Zhang (70), Atthaya Thitikul (71), Lilia Vu (70) also advancing. Zhang and Thitikul were tied for 34th at 2 under, and Vu was tied for 41st at 1 under. The 14-year-old Zhang, from Irvine, won the ANA Junior Inspiration on Sunday to get into the field.
Henderson, Sharp open strong at ANA Inspiration
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Canadian duo of Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp began the LPGA’s first major of the season on a high note.
Henderson, a Smiths Falls, Ont., product, led the way with a 2-under 70 boosted by a three-birdie string on the front nine before dropping a stoke on the par-4 15th. The 20-year-old trails the leaders by four strokes heading into Friday’s second round at the Mission Hills Country Club.
“Yeah, I played really well today, so I’m happy—I got off to a really fast start on the front nine, three birdies, 7 through 9, which was exciting to get to 3-under making the turn,” said Henderson. “Unfortunately, on the back, some putts didn’t fall and things didn’t go quite my way. But I’m excited with the 2-under start, and hopefully it will continue on through the weekend.”
Hamilton’s Alena Sharp, Olympian teammate alongside Henderson, kicked off the ANA Inspiration with a 1-under 71 to sit tied for 36th. Sharp will look to improve on her best result in the ANA Inspiration, which came in 2016 with a T56 finish. She’ll tee-it-up in Friday’s opening slot at 7:10 a.m.
.@BrookeHenderson sits -2 after the first round of @ANAinspiration. Trails lead by 4 pic.twitter.com/xETLuTTS58
— CP Women’s Open (@cpwomensopen) March 30, 2018
Lexi Thompson is smiling and having fun again at the ANA Inspiration.
A year after a rules violation cost her four strokes in regulation in an eventual playoff loss, Thompson shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to finish three strokes behind leader Pernilla Lindberg.
“I don’t know if I would say it’s a relief,” Thompson said. “I was just really looking forward to just playing this week. I love coming here.”
Thompson also again overpowered Michelle Wie on a hot afternoon at Mission Hills, four years after routing her in a final-round showdown for her first major title.
Wie fought dizzy spells on the front nine in a 75 that left her in danger of missing the cut.
“I had the mad spins,” Wie said. “I just got really dizzy. I don’t know why or how. I don’t know.”
Wearing a black dress in the mid-90s heat, she birdied the second hole, then dropped five strokes in four holes with two double bogeys and a bogey.
“I fouled five balls out there on the front nine,” said Wie, the Singapore winner four weeks ago. “One that I whiffed in the rough.”
She felt much better on the back nine, but still couldn’t keep up with Thompson. The distance disparity was particularly pronounced on the par-4 12th when Thompson cracked a 348-yarder 72 yards past Wie.
“Probably my farthest,” Thompson said. “This golf course definitely sets up for my game off the tee. I get to just aim up the right and fire away.”
That got her in trouble on the par-5 ninth – her 18th – when she drove into the left trees and made her lone bogey.
Lindberg birdied her final two holes for a bogey-free 65, playing in the last group to finish the round. The 31-year-old Swede is winless on the LPGA Tour.
“I often get the question, favourite tournament, favourite golf course, and I always say this event and this course,” Lindberg said. “I like this place and I always feel good playing here.”
Beatriz Recari and Ayako Uehara were a stroke back, and Jessica Korda, Ha Na Jang and Stanford sophomore Albane Valenzuela shot 67. In Gee Chun and Cristie Kerr were at 68 with Thompson, Chella Choi, Sung Hyun Park and Brittany Altomare.
Recari had a bogey-free round , saving par on the par-3 17th with a 10-footer. The 30-year-old Spaniard has three LPGA Tour victories.
“I’ve always felt very comfortable here,” Recari said. “I felt like if I was going to win a major, it was going to be on this course.”
Uehara birdied her final two holes. The Japanese player credited instructor Ted Oh for her strong play. “Now I have confidence,” she said.
Korda birdied the 18th after bogeying 16 and 17. She birdied the first four holes and was 6 under after 11.
“A couple of weird shots there, especially on 17,” she said.
The winner last month in Thailand in her return from reconstructive jaw surgery, Korda reached the par-5 ninth with a driver from the right first cut. She hit driver off the deck twice two weeks in the Founders Cup.
“I actually caught way more air than I expected,” Korda said. “That’s kind of what I’m just trying to do is have fun out there, hit shots that normally I would probably not hit in a tournament.”
She travelling with a mini Goldendoodle puppy named Charlie.
“It’s so nice to have a puppy with you to distract you,” Korda said. “He’s so cute.”
Playing partner Lydia Ko, the 2016 winner, had a 70. She closed with a double bogey after finding the water fronting the green from the fairway bunker.
Jang birdied the final three holes for the last of her nine birdies.
“Any golf course straight ball is very important, but Mission Hills is more important,” she said.
Jang left the LPGA Tour in the middle of last season to return home to spend more time with her mother, left alone when she and her father were away. Her mother is visiting the U.S. for the first time this week.
“I’d like to play the LPGA again, but my mom’s more important than myself,” Jang said.
Valenzuela topped the seven amateurs in the field.
“I love this course,” Valenzuela said. “I feel really comfortable on it.”
Autistic brother Alexis is working as the Swiss Olympian’s caddie.
“I love having him on the bag,” she said.
Stacy Lewis had a 72 in her return from a rib injury sustained practising before the Thailand event. She won in 2011 at Mission Hills and lost a playoff to Brittany Lincicome in 2015.
Defending champion So Yeon Ryu failed to make a birdie in a 75.
Henderson leaning on length for ANA Inspiration
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Major championship golf returns to the California desert this week at the famed Dinah Shore Course at Mission Hills Country Club for the 47th staging of the ANA Inspiration. The 117-player field includes 43 of the top 50 players in the world and all six winners from this season, competing for a $2.8 million purse and the chance to hoist the Dinah Shore Trophy and make the leap into Poppie’s Pond at week’s end. The ANA Inspiration marks the third week in the LPGA’s six-tournament West-Coast swing, which Golf Channel is airing LIVE in primetime.
At the dramatic 2017 ANA Inspiration, Lexi Thompson was leading on the final day before she was assessed a four-stroke penalty for a rules violation. Thompson fought back to force a playoff with So Yeon Ryu, where Ryu came out on top with a birdie on the first playoff hole, the par-5 18th, to win her second major championship and capture her first victory on Tour since 2014.
Smiths Falls, Ont., native Brooke Henderson hopes to use her power off the tee (she ranks 13th on Tour with a driving average of 268.39 yards) as an advantage this week at Mission Hills, a venue that has been historically kind to longer hitters.
“Brittany Lincicome, Lexi (Thompson), they hit it a really long way, and they’ve won here or been close the last ten years very often, so there is something to that,” Henderson said. “I think it’s so they can reach the par 5s a little bit easier. I think if you can birdie all the par 5s every single day, you’re going to put yourself in a good position.”
At age 20, the five-time LPGA champion has already competed in the ANA Inspiration three times in her career, with her best finish coming in 2016 (T10).
“Coming down the stretch in a major championship, whether it’s on Friday trying to make the putt or Sunday on the back nine, that’s really where major championships are won,” added Henderson. “So try to keep the patience. If things aren’t going to go perfect, because at some point during the four days there’s going to be a rough patch, especially in a major championship. So just trying to persevere through that, stay patient, and when good things happen, hopefully take it on the run.”
Henderson will tee-it-up at 8:06 a.m. alongside fellow major winner In-Kyung Kim.
Click here for featured pairings.
Cristie Kerr blows 5 stroke lead in LPGA Tour’s Kia Classic
CARLSBAD, Calif. – Cristie Kerr blew a five-stroke lead Saturday in the Kia Classic to set up a final-round showdown at Aviara Golf Club.
A day after shooting an 8-under 64 to open the big lead, Kerr had a 75 to drop a stroke behind playing partner Lizette Salas, Eun-Hee Ji and In-Kyung Kim. Kerr was tied with Caroline Hedwall, Wei-Ling Hsu and Cindy LaCrosse, and four players were another shot back in the final event before the major ANA Inspiration next week at Mission Hills.
“There is still Sunday,” Kerr said. “Somebody else got to sleep with the lead.”
The 40-year-old Kerr had a double bogey on the par-4 15th after snap-hooking a drive into the trees, and hitting a hybrid off a cart path.
“I just didn’t have it,” Kerr said. “I’ve got to go work on my game a little bit. Kind of been a little bit of the story this year, a little bit of inconsistency. Just got to be grateful I’m only one back with a whole new Sunday.”
The 2015 winner at Aviara, she followed the double bogey with a two-putt birdie on the short par-4 16th and had a bogey on the par-4 18th.
“Mentally, just wasn’t quite as sharp. Swing wasn’t quite as sharp,” Kerr said. “I mean, every putt I hit like bounced horribly. Like a lot of putts didn’t have a chance to go in the hole. I don’t know why it was different today on the greens.”
Ji had a 67 to match Salas (69) and Kim (69) at 11-under 205.
“Rough is really hard out there, so I try to keep in my fairway and try to keep it on the green,” Ji said. “I really focus on that.”
Salas had a chance to pull away, but missed birdie putts of 1 1/2 feet on 16 and 2 1/2 feet on the par-5 17th.
“I will admit there were a little nerves in there,” said Salas, the former Southern California player from Azusa. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in this position. But I was having fun out there just kind of taking what I could get. Mix of luck and momentum going. A lot of could haves, but I’m not going to dwell on that. Just going to be fortunate to be in this position again and just give it my all tomorrow.”
Anna Nordqvist had a 66 to top the group at 9 under.
Top-ranked Shanhan Feng (69) and Lydia Ko (70) were four strokes back at 7 under. Inbee Park, coming off a victory last week in the Founders Cup in Phoenix, was 6 under after a 68. Singapore winner Michelle Wie had a 68 to get to 5 under.
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., was the top Canadian at 4 under after a third round of 73. Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., was at 2 under after shooting 74 on Saturday.
Henderson enters weekend with share of 15th at Kia Classic
CARLSBAD, Calif. _ Cristie Kerr shot an 8-under 64 on Friday in the Kia Classic to take a five-stroke lead into the weekend.
The 40-year-old Kerr had eight birdies in her second straight bogey-free round to reach 13-under 131 at rain-softened Aviara.
“I like winning. I like challenging myself,” Kerr said. “Definitely doesn’t get any easier as you get older with the travel and recovery time. I got up this morning and I’m like, ‘Man, why does my hamstring hurt?’ From working around this hilly golf course. The golf ball doesn’t know an age. I’ve always said that. As long as I stay hungry, going to just keep playing.”
She has 20 LPGA Tour victories, winning at Aviara in 2015. She won twice last year and helped the U.S. beat Europe in her ninth Solheim Cup appearance.
“It’s tough as you get older just being fresh and rested,” Kerr said. “I put more focus into that as I’ve gotten older. I still practice, but off the course I try to get more rest.”
Lizette Salas, In-Kyung Kim, Hee Young Park and Caroline Hedwall were tied for second. Salas shot 67, Kim 69, and Park and Hedwall 70.
“I really like this golf course. I really like the environment,” said Salas, the former University of Southern California player from Azusa. “My family gets to come out. So much confidence at the beginning of the week, and definitely showed the first two days.
Jeong Eun Lee was 7 under after a 69, and defending ANA champion So Yeon Ryu had a 70 to get to 6 under.
Canada’s Brooke Henderson (70) Ariya Jutanugarn (72) and 2016 winner Lydia Ko (71) were 5 under. Shanshan Feng (68) was another stroke back, and Singapore winner Michelle Wie (72) was 1 under.
The only other Canadian to make the cut was Maude-Aimee Leblanc at 4 under.
Lexi Thompson was 2 over after a 74, making the cut on the number in the final event before the major ANA Inspiration next week at Mission Hills.
Kerr opened with birdies on the par-5 10th and par-3 11th, added birdies on the par-4 16th, 18th and second, and ran off three in a row on the par-3 sixth, par-4 seventh and par-5 eighth.
“I don’t think you can fall asleep on one shot,” Kerr said. “It’s a really good golf course. I think I play better on courses that demand the focus, so I think that’s why I’ve played well here in the past. … I’m trying not to put limits on myself right now. I’ve got some good things going on with my swing.”
She has long been one best putters and green-readers in the world.
“I can see the subtleties that a lot of people can’t,” Kerr said. “It’s a gift from God being able to do that. I’ve always had that, so I’m lucky.”
Laura Davies withdrew after an opening 82. The 54-year-old Davies tied for second last week in the Founders Cup in Phoenix, playing through painful left Achilles and calf problems.
Canada’s LeBlanc tied for 9th after first round of Founders Cup
PHOENIX – Jessica Korda had 240 yards to the front of the 15th green Thursday morning in the chilly first round of the Founders Cup. She reached for driver – and caddie Colin Cann didn’t stop her.
While she often hits driver off the deck at home in Florida, she hadn’t attempted it in competition.
“It’s just if my caddie has a heart attack or not,” Korda joked.
The lanky American spared her looper’s ticker with a shot to 15 feet.
“I think the crowd enjoyed it more than I did, but I did think it was really cool,” said Korda, making her third start following off-season jaw surgery.
She settled for birdie on the par 5 – her fifth in the first six holes – after the eagle try lipped out.
“I was really upset, because I was like, ‘That would’ve been so cool,”’ Korda said. “What did I do after that? Nothing. I didn’t do anything after that.”
She did make one more birdie at Desert Ridge, but closed with two of her three bogeys in a 3-under 69 that left her two strokes behind leaders Karine Icher and Chella Choi. Ariya Jutanugarn, playing alongside Korda and defending champion Anna Nordqvist, was a shot back with Inbee Park, Lizette Salas, Cydney Clanton, Mariajo Uribe and Hee Young Park.
Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., was the low Canadian, shooting a 3-under 69 to tie for ninth. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay were tied for 61st at even-par 72. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp was 3-over 75 to sit 117th.
Canadian @maleblancgolf sits tied for 9th after the first round of the @LPGAfounders ???? pic.twitter.com/WetaElo0fp
— CP Women’s Open (@cpwomensopen) March 16, 2018
Korda won three weeks ago in Thailand in her return from the surgery, which corrected a severe overbite.
“It’s been difficult,” said Korda, the daughter of former tennis champion Petr Korda and sister of fellow tour player Nelly Korda. “I didn’t know when I was going to be able to come back.”
Though she no longer has constant headaches, she’s still sore and fighting a head cold – all more difficult in the cold and wind.
“If you guys are going numb, just think about how my lips are turning blue,” she joked.
Korda has four straight top-10 finishes, tying for third and second in her final two events last year before the surgery and following the victory in Thailand with a tie for 10th in Singapore. She has worked hard to improve her short game, focusing on her chipping.
“I’m not afraid to miss a green,” Korda said. “I used to get so frustrated missing greens because I was like that’s an automatic bogey. I knew how hard I would have to work just to make par. … It was really bad. It was like really, really, really bad. If I was 40 yards out, I would probably want to putt it.”
Nelly Korda helped mother Regina Rajchrtova – also a former professional tennis player – care for Jessica.
“She was drooling, obviously, because she couldn’t feel the bottom half of her face,” Nelly said. “Taking off her clothes was a bit difficult because she didn’t have any centre of gravity, so she would fall over. It was definitely hard to see her at that stage.”
The 19-year-old Nelly had a 72 in the group behind her sister. She tied for second in Singapore, a stroke behind Michelle Wie. The Kordas’ brother, 17-year-old Sebastian, won the Australian Open junior tennis title in January and is the top-ranked junior in the world.
Icher bogeyed Nos. 15 and 18 after playing the first 14 holes in 7 under.
“With the wind picking up, it’s a little bit hard,” Icher said.
The 39-year-old Frenchwoman birdied five of her first eight holes.
“The fairway doesn’t roll at all and big rough,” Icher said. “Last year, we had much more roll off the fairway and no rough. And the wind. The wind and the temperature. Usually in Phoenix we play in the 90s, so it’s a different course. We have to adapt.”
Choi also finished with a bogey.
“It was windy and tough out there, but every player in same condition,” Choi said.
Nordqvist, a Swede who played at Arizona State, closed with a bogey for a 69. Fourth-ranked Sung Hyun Park also had a 69.
Wie opened with a 70 in the afternoon.
“It was a grind,” Wie said. “This course, generally, you feel like you have to shoot 10-under par every day.”
Lydia Ko had five bogeys in a 74.
Team Canada’s Brittany Marchand signs with adidas Golf
WOODBRIDGE, Ont. – adidas Golf, a worldwide leader in golf apparel and footwear, announced today the signing of Brittany Marchand as she is coming off her most successful season as a professional. Marchand’s contract includes her wearing the 3-Stripes’ industry-leading performance apparel, footwear and headwear as she takes her game to the next level.
Since turning pro in 2015, Marchand has had five top-ten finishes on the Symetra Tour and picked up her first victory at the 2017 PHC Classic. The Team Young Pro Squad member enters 2018 with conditional status on the LPGA and will play a mixed schedule between Symetra Tour and LPGA events. Marchand was one of two Canadians to play through the weekend at the 2017 CP Women’s Open and provided much excitement at the Manulife Classic, where she was tied for 9th heading into Sunday.
#TeamCanada Young Pro Squad member @Britt_Marchand signs with @adidasGolfca ????
Read ➡️ https://t.co/6kh523EXbV pic.twitter.com/hrlj75V0e5
— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) March 14, 2018
“I’m very excited to join team adidas for the upcoming season! I’m proud to be amongst the best players in the world and to wear such an iconic brand. I wore adidas in college at NC State, I know the brand well and I’m thrilled to wear it again. It feels great to have the support of adidas Canada and the global team as I start my career on the LPGA tour!”
“We are very excited to have Brittany join team adidas, and we look forward to supporting her journey as a professional,” said Lesley Hawkins, general manager, adidas Golf. “Brittany joins a marquee roster of adidas Golf LPGA Tour athletes, which includes Paula Creamer, Jessica Korda, and 2017 Major Winner Danielle Kang”.
Henderson ties for 2nd at Women’s World Championship
SINGAPORE – Canadian Brooke Henderson closed out another strong performance with a bogey-free 67 on Sunday to share 2nd place at the Women’s World Championship.
Sunday marked the second-straight bogey-free round for the Smiths Falls, Ont., product, who notched her third top-10 performance in four events this LPGA season.
Henderson birdied four of her first eight holes to move up the leaderboard but could not get another birdie putt to drop in until the final hole when it was too late for her to catch the champion Michelle Wie.
A bogey-free final round for @BrookeHenderson at @HSBC_Sport!
Watch highlights: pic.twitter.com/EMBhCxYoe0
— LPGA (@LPGA) March 4, 2018
Michelle Wie holed a 36-foot putt from off the green on the final hole to win the championship, her first LPGA tournament since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open.
With four players in contention to win on the last hole, Wie managed to separate herself from the pack when she drained her lengthy birdie putt on the 72nd hole at the Sentosa Golf Club for a final round of 7-under 65 to finish at 17-under 271.
The 28-year-old Wie, who led the tournament after three rounds a year ago before fading on the last day, leaped into the air and clenched her fist in celebration as the ball disappeared into the bottom of the cup.
But she still faced an anxious wait before being declared the champion.
“Winning is everything. I mean, there is no better feeling than when you think you sink that winning putt. It’s a high, for sure,” Wie said.
“You go out there, and it’s this feeling that gets you going. It’s this feeling that makes you practice. It’s that winning putt that makes you practice for hours and hours and hours, and even the hard times, it gets you going back. You know that good feeling is on the other side.”
Third-round leader Nelly Korda parred her last 8 holes in a row. The 19-year-old, who only joined the LPGA Tour last year, hit a superb approach into the 18th to set up a birdie opportunity that would have forced a playoff but missed her 8-foot putt and settled for a final-round 71.
“I had a bunch of putts that were really close and a lot of them lipped and burned edges. It definitely hurts, but that’s golf,” Korda said.
“There’s going to be another tournament. There’s going to be another feeling like this. Just have to keep going forward”.
Danielle Kang, last year’s Singapore winner, parred her last 14 holes and was unable to drain a longer birdie putt on the last to miss out on a playoff as she closed with a 70. Korda and Kang finished in a four-way tie for second at 16-under, alongside Jenny Shin (65) and Brooke Henderson (67).
“I couldn’t capitalize on those holes, which was kind of disappointing,” Kang said. “But other than that, struck the ball well and I hung in there. So she (Wie) dropped the bomb on the last. I heard it from a hole back.”
Shin held the outright lead when she teed off at the last after reeling off eight birdies between the sixth and 16th holes, but she dropped back to 16-under when she made her only bogey of the day on the final hole.
“The nerves got me, maybe,” Shin said. “Not sure if I would have made that mistake on many other holes. Oh, well.”
Plagued by injuries since capturing her first major at Pinehurst, North Carolina in 2014, Wie started Sunday’s final round five strokes off the pace and needing to shoot low after Sei Young Kim set the bar high, flirting with a 59 before settling for a course record of 10-under 62.
Wie made a strong start with three birdies on the front nine then added three more in her first five holes after the turn before saving her best for last when the pressure was at its most suffocating.
“It’s been a tough journey since 2014. I think it’s been kind of well documented. You know, I’ve had some injuries, had a really bad year, just lost a lot of confidence,” Wie said.
“But I’m just really proud of myself for pulling myself out of it. I felt like I had a good year last year, a year where I built confidence, and I just want to keep building confidence from there.”
Hamilton, Ont., native Alena Sharp carded a final-round 76 to finish the tournament at 8 over par in a tie for 60th.
Henderson surges into tie for 3rd on moving day in Singapore
SINGAPORE – Canadian Brooke Henderson came out of the gate firing in Saturday’s third round and never looked back, carding a bogey-free 65 to surge into a tie for 3rd at the Women’s World Championship.
Henderson, a Smiths Falls, Ont., product, climbed 12 spots on the strength of seven birdies to play her way into Sunday’s final group at the Sentosa Golf Club.
“It was a great day out there, a lot of birdies. I had nine putts on the back nine, which is really awesome, especially for me, so I’m really happy about that,” said Henderson. “Just a great day and got up-and-down when I needed to and climbed the leaderboard as much as I did today, I’m very happy on moving day.”
The 20-year-old trails the 54-hole leader Nelly Korda by four strokes heading into the finale.
“Yeah, I mean, hopefully I’m within striking distance going into tomorrow, and just keep doing what I’ve been doing all week, try it make as many birdies as possible and get off to a fast start,” added Henderson. “There’s a lot of birdie opportunities, especially the first five holes. So just get off to a quick start and see what happens after that.”
.@BrookeHenderson cruises into contention after firing a round of 65 ?
Check out her highlights here: #HWWC pic.twitter.com/UKMfOpZmxS
— LPGA (@LPGA) March 3, 2018
Korda, whose sister Jessica won the LPGA Tour event in Thailand last week, leapfrogged 36-hole leader Danielle Kang on the heels of a 7-under 65. Kang sits one back in solo possession of 2nd place.
Korda will look to become the second sister pairing in history to both win on the LPGA Tour.
“It would definitely be really exciting, but I can’t think about it too much. I’m just going to relax and take it shot by shot.
Henderson, Korda and Kang will tee off on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. local time.
Canadian Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., jumped to a red-hot start with a 6-under front nine, before slipping on the back with four bogeys, leaving her with a 70 on the day (-2). Sharp sits in a tie for 57th at 4 over par.
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