A bogey-free final-round 2-under 70 wasn’t enough as Canada’s Brooke Henderson finished second and three shots back of winner Danielle Kang at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions on Sunday.
Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., had 16 pars and two birdies en route to carding 275.
“It wasn’t really the day I was looking for,” said Henderson, who hit 12 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens. “At the same time, you grind it out pretty well, and I was happy to make two birdies. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough. Still proud of how we played out there today in those tough conditions. Danielle played amazing, so it was pretty cool to watch her go so far ahead of everybody else. I came into this week thinking I had put in some solid work in the offseason, so it’s nice to see that it’s paying off. Hopefully, I can use this momentum over the next couple of weeks and get a couple more top finishes.”
Henderson, 24, will tee it up at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in Boca Raton, Fla., riding a bit of momentum.
“For the most part, I think I did a lot of things really well,” she said. “It was nice to get up and down as many times as I did, and even a couple of times when I hit the green, I made long putts. It was nice to go bogey-free the last two days. I would’ve liked to make a few more birdies, make a little bit more of a charge, but at the end of the day, I can’t complain too much. If you had told me at the beginning of the week I would be in the top-five, I would be very happy. Definitely excited moving forward.”
Kang, 29, fired a 4-under 68, with two bogeys and six birdies, to coast to her sixth career win.
On a difficult championship test at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, Kang ran off five birdies in a seven-hole stretch in the middle of her round, posted the low score and sprinted away to a three-shot victory at the season-opening tournament.
“My mental game was really good,” said Kang, who was winless in 2021 after having won in each of her previous four LPGA seasons. “I had a really good attitude all day today and yesterday. I know I left some putts out there, but I never let it get to me, and I kept having to give myself birdie chances as much as possible.”
Kang was the lone player to break 70 on both weekend days (69-68), and the only player to shoot in the 60s all four rounds. The 29-year-old American now has six LPGA titles.
In her only previous visit to Lake Nona, Kang missed the cut at the Gainbridge LPGA last year. But when asked about it during this tournament, Kang said she had no recollection.
On a blustery, cool Florida day that made birdies scarce and scoring difficult, Kang poured in more than her share, making six birdies. She took control of the tournament early on the back nine with three consecutive birdies starting at the par-3 13th.
A highlight of the round was a hard-earned bogey at the 393-yard 16th, where Kang pulled her approach nearly into a penalty area and had to play away from the hole on a difficult bunker shot. She then two-putted from about 90 feet, converting a bogey putt from 10 feet.
“A massive bogey,” said Kang’s caddie of five years, Englishman Olly Brett.
Gaby Lopez, one of three players to hold the lead Sunday, experienced an up-and-down day, cooling after a hot front nine to finish third, four shots behind Kang. She played her way into the lead with three consecutive birdies starting at the fifth hole, but couldn’t keep up the pace and ended up with a 72.
Playing alongside Nelly Korda and Annika Sorenstam – one a current No. 1, one a former, and 72-time LPGA champion – Lopez found the experience to be valuable and educational.
“Starting Sunday with the World No. 1 and Annika? It’s exactly where I want to be,” she said.
Korda, who took a one-shot lead into Sunday, shot 75 and slid to a tie for fourth. Korda did not make her first birdie of the round until the 15th hole. It certainly wasn’t a continuation of her first 54 holes, when Korda made 16 birdies and an eagle.
“Overall, you know, I didn’t play very good,” Korda said, “but I’m going to take some positives away from this week, and hopefully I can kind of take it into the next two.”
She plans to play the LPGA’s first three events in Florida, then take six weeks off, creating her own offseason after a long and highly successful 2021 campaign.
Given how Korda had been a solid closer all last season, her play Sunday was somewhat stunning. She had entered the final round coming off seven consecutive rounds in the 60s at Lake Nona, and 11 consecutive rounds in the 60s overall dating to last season.
She didn’t have to look far to find the LPGA record-holder for consecutive rounds in the 60s: Sorenstam, who once put together 14 in a row, was in her group, vying against former MLB pitcher Derek Lowe for the title in the celebrity division.
Lowe and Sorenstam would go to extra holes to decide a celebrity winner, with Lowe shocking the World Golf Hall of Famer when he rolled in a 25-footer for birdie on the first extra hole, the par-4 18th. Sorenstam had a putt just inside Lowe’s but when the ball failed to drop, victory was his.
“I basically beat her on one hole,” Lowe said. He had someplace to be. “See you at the bar.”
–with files from Sportsnet staff
[relatedlinks]
1:42
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.