Henderson repeats at Lotte Championship, ties Canadian record
KAPOLEI, Hawaii – Brooke Henderson didn’t join the LPGA Tour thinking she would end up amongst the best Canadian golfers of all-time. At least not so soon, anyway.
Henderson tied the Canadian record for most career victories on the LPGA or PGA Tour on Saturday when the 21-year-old captured her eighth career title by shooting a 2-under 70 to win the Lotte Championship for the second year in a row.
Sandra Post had eight career victories on the LPGA Tour between 1968 and 1981, while Mike Weir and George Knudson equalled that on the PGA Tour.
“When I was younger it was just a goal to be on the LPGA Tour, to win my first event,” Henderson said.
“And when that happened and I won my first major the year after, things kind of just started to fall into place. I knew the record was eight. Just kept creeping toward it the last three years, which was really exciting.”
Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., won last year’s event in Hawaii for her sixth Tour victory and followed that up in August 2018 as the first Canadian in 45 years to win the CP Women’s Open.
“I think starting last year I sort of saw that it was within my reach if I had two good seasons. Last year put me into great position, and coming back this year it’s been on the back of my mind every week that I tee it up. I’m just really happy that I have finally done it.
“Looking forward to overtaking it now.”
She finished 16 under on Saturday at Ko Olina Golf Club to beat South Korea’s Eun-Hee Ji by four strokes.
All the highlights from Brooke’s repeat performance in Hawaii ???? pic.twitter.com/XDRFo8KBht
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) April 21, 2019
Nelly Korda, tied with Henderson for the third-round lead, finished with a quadruple-bogey 8 for a 77 that left her seven strokes back at 9 under. She hit into the water twice on 18, then threw her ball in after finishing. The 20-year-old American also had a double bogey on the par-4 seventh.
“Pretty bad,” Korda said. “I mean, it was a tough day, but I ended really poorly and I’m pretty disappointed in that. … It was an unfortunate final round, but there is nothing I can do about it anymore.”
Ariya Jutanugarn (73) and 2016 winner Minjee Lee (74) tied for third at 11 under.
Henderson bogeyed her first hole, but that was the only blemish in the final round as she followed that up with three birdies and 14 pars.
She looked to be in some trouble on the par-4 16th, but saved par when she hit a put from off the green.
“It’s really amazing to even be mentioned in the same sentence as Mike Weir, George, and Sandra,” Henderson said. “This week was really special. I always love coming to Hawaii. Last year was such an incredible week for me, to be able to hoist that trophy for the first time. Coming back I knew I knew the golf course really well.”
Fellow Canadian and Olympic teammate Alena Sharp watched Henderson play out the round and joined her in celebration.
“Congrats my friend ?BrookeHenderson! Unbelievable title defense and tying Sandra Post’s record for most wins by a Canadian on the ?LPGA tour. So freaking proud of you!,” tweeted Sharp (72), who finished 2 under for 40th place.
Henderson takes home US$300,000 for the win. Through seven events in 2019, she has made six cuts, has one victory, three top-10 finishes and one top-15 finish for $498,151 total earnings.
Henderson, ranked No. 12 in the world, has one major among her tournament victories, winning the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship after beating Lydia Ko in a playoff when she was only 18.
Brooke Henderson tied for the lead in Hawaii
KAPOLEI, Hawaii – Defending champion Brooke Henderson shot a 3-under 69 on Friday at blustery Ko Olina Golf Club for a share of the third-round lead with Nelly Korda in the Lotte Championship.
Korda had a 71, matching Henderson with a bogey on the par-4 18 to get to 14-under 202.
“There are still 18 more holes left and a lot can happen” Korda said. “The weather is unpredictable. The wind swirls and gusts, so it’ll be an interesting day. We’re all going to be fighting.”
The 21-year-old Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., is trying to match Sanda Post record for LPGA Tour victories by a Canadian with eight.
“It was really windy today,” Henderson said. “Really had to stay patient.”
The 20-year-old Korda won the Women’s Australian Open in February for her second LPGA Tour title. She opened the season with five straight top-10 finishes before tying for 52nd two weeks ago in the major ANA Inspiration. On Friday, she birdied Nos. 12, 14 and 16, before dropping the stroke on 18.
Defending champ @BrookeHenderson making it look easy at @LPGALOTTE! She’s tied for the lead heading into the finale ???? pic.twitter.com/WGzseMJOQQ
— CP Women’s Open (@cpwomensopen) April 20, 2019
“Was a bit of a frustrating day on the front nine,” Korda said. “Was not hitting it well. I was not putting well at all. Kind of got it back on the back nine. It was pretty frustrating today. Wasn’t the happiest camper out there.”
Minjee Lee and second-round leader Eun-Hee Ji were a stroke back. Lee, the Australian who won the 2016 event, had a 70. She was bogey-free and also birdie-free, but did chip-in for eagle on the fifth hole.
“It was pretty hard out there,” Lee said. “The wind was really gusty and the pin placements were pretty hard for the wind direction we had.”
Ji shot 74 after opening with rounds of 65 and 74.
“It’s still a really packed leaderboard, and whoever plays really well tomorrow is going to come out on top or close to the top,” Henderson said. “Right now it’s hard to say what that number is going to be. Kind of all just depends on the wind.”
Ariya Jutanugarn made the third day’s most dramatic move, shooting a 66 to bolt from nine back to two. She avoided bogeys, drained long putts – she needed just 23 – and birdied all but one of the par 5s.
“I think the most important thing today is I feel I’m really too far behind the lead,” Jutanugarn said. “I feel like I can’t catch anyway, so what I want to do is just be patient, do my best every shot.”
Henderson was even par on the front nine, then birdied four of the first six on the back, slam dunking a speeding putt from off the 13th green.
“I knew I had to get going a little bit, make some birdies,” she said. “I was hitting it well the last few holes on the front nine, just wasn’t converting. It was nice to get that birdie-birdie (10-11). Gave me a little momentum going into a couple of par 5s, and I was able to make some putts, which was really nice.”
Her approach to the 18th – Ko Olina’s toughest hole this week – squirted into the back trap. After a good bunker shot, she lipped out a 5-footer for par.
Korda watched from the fairway and missed the green with her approach. She chipped to the fringe then left her par putt short.
Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (72) was tied for 44th.
Henderson tied for third mid-way through Lotte Championship
KAPOLEI, Hawaii – Eun-Hee Ji rebounded from a bogey on the par-4 18th with a pitch-in eagle on the par-5 first and shot a 7-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead over Nelly Korda on Thursday in the Lotte Championship.
Ji had a 15-under 129 total to break the tournament 36-hole record by five strokes.
“I think it was lucky (today),” Ji said. “I had to chip it in three times. Makes a lot of difference for me.”
She played her final nine in the afternoon at Ko Olina in 6-under 30, following the eagle with birdies on four of the next seven holes.
“I just kept focus on my game,” Ji said. “I hit it well and made a lot of putts from there. That makes it a lot different.”
The 32-year-old South Korean won the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in January in Florida for her fifth LPGA Tour title. Her biggest victory came in the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open.
Defending champion Brooke Henderson (68) of Smiths Falls, Ont., and 2016 winner Minjee Lee (68) were tied for third at 11 under. If the 21-year-old Henderson claims her eighth LPGA Tour title Saturday, she will tie Sandra Post’s record for victories by a Canadian. Henderson and Korda played junior golf together.
“It’s pretty cool to have us both make it this far on tour,” Henderson said. “Growing up playing junior events together I think this was both of our dreams, so it’s pretty cool to come out here and have it be a reality every single day.”
Korda birdied four of her final five in the breezy morning session in a 68, also finishing on No. 9.
“It was completely different to yesterday,” Korda said. “I actually experienced Hawaii weather today. It was tough. I didn’t hit every shot perfect. I had a couple bogeys. But I ended up playing pretty solid today.”
Driver off the deck!! @BrookeHenderson with another look at eagle early ???? pic.twitter.com/sp8DHYmf9u
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) April 19, 2019
The 20-year-old American won the Women’s Australian Open in February for her second LPGA Tour title. She opened the season with five straight top-10 finishes before tying for 52nd two weeks ago in the major ANA Inspiration.
Azahara Munoz (66) and Moriya Jutanugarn (67) were 10 under.
Michelle Wie shot her second straight 77 to finish ahead of only one of the 143 players to complete two rounds. The 2014 winner in her home event, she has struggled with pain in her right hand following off-season surgery.
Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (73) was tied for 49th place, 13 shots back. Anne-Catherine Tanguay (73) of Quebec City was 16 shots back, Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee (76) was 5 over and Orangeville, Ont., native Brittany Marchand (79) was 9 over.
Defending champion Henderson 2 shots back at Lotte
KAPOLEI, Hawaii – Nelly Korda took advantage when Hawaii’s tough trade winds took a break.
Korda rolled in the last of her nine birdies at the 18th in a bogey-free round of 63 Wednesday for a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Lotte Championship at Ko Olina Golf Club.
“I got here Saturday and I swear I couldn’t even walk because it was so windy,” said Korda, who is making her Lotte debut. “But I like the place. Everyone is really friendly and it just feels good to be here.”
Eun-Hee Ji birdied six of the final eight holes for an 8-under 64.
Ji won the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions for her fifth LPGA Tour victory. The 2009 U.S. Women’s Open champion also had a bogey-free round
Ji has played in all eight Lotte events, never shooting lower than 66 before Wednesday. She admitted she was uncomfortable in the wind and surprised at how peaceful it was in paradise.
“It’s always windy out here,” Ji said. “But today was no wind and this course . a lot of changes if no wind, so that makes it little easier today.”
Defending champion Brooke Henderson and Hyejin Choi, playing on a sponsor exemption, are two shots back.
Defending champ @BrookeHenderson kept the momentum at the @LPGALOTTE, with an eagle ? en route to an opening 7-under ?pic.twitter.com/aZb0PnpGhZ
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) April 18, 2019
Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., won last year in wind gusts of 30 mph. On Wednesday, she offset her only bogey by chipping in for eagle on the 15th.
“I think I was able to use some of that strategy from last year this year,” Henderson said, “which is a big help.”
Ji turns 33 next month, making her the oldest LPGA winner this year. Korda, who turns 21 in July, was one of the youngest when she snagged her second win in February in Australia.
In her third LPGA season, she is now No. 10 in the Rolex Rankings and has five top 10s in six starts this year. She also leads the tour in birdies.
Hannah Green, of Australia, who holed out for eagle from just inside 100 yards on the third hole, is tied for fifth at 66 with So Yeon Ryu of South Korea.
A big group at 67 includes 2016 Lotte champ Minjee Lee, In Gee Chun, sisters Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn and rookies Suzuka Yamaguchi and Lilia Vu.
Jin Young Ko, the new No. 1 after winning two of her last three starts, finished at 69. She is coming off a victory at the year’s first major and has finished outside the top five just once in her last six starts.
Kim Kaufman had a hole-in-one on the fourth hole – the first of her six-year LPGA career. She shot 71.
Hawaii’s Michelle Wie – the 2014 Lotte champion who is coming back from a wrist injury – shot 77.
“Just coming back, some shots are going to hurt,” Wie said. “Trying to figure my way around that and just trying to get back in the swing of playing again.”
Alena Sharpe (69) of Hamilton was six shots back. Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay shot 72, Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee shot 73 and Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont.., had a 74.
Canada’s Tanguay has eyes on Olympics as she prepares for LOTTE Championship
On a day-to-day basis Anne-Catherine Tanguay likes to focus on the process of being a professional golfer. But when she takes a step back from her daily regimen of practise, journaling, and evaluation, she does have some pretty lofty goals.
The Quebec City native is in the field at the LOTTE Championship that teed off on Wednesday along with fellow Canadians Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., Hamilton’s Alena Sharp, Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee and Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont.
Tanguay is the third-highest Canadian on the Race to the CME Globe rankings behind No. 20 Henderson and No. 39 Sharp. Although she’s not much of a rankings watcher, Tanguay’s aware that she needs to keep moving up from her current position of 90th to achieve some of her long-range goals.
“I think that this year it’s been more important for me to focus on the process rather than the results,” said Tanguay, who arrived in West Oahu, Hawaii, for the tournament on Sunday. “I feel like the rankings are more of a collateral to the rest of the work I put in toward my goals.”
Her most immediate goal? Representing Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
The top 15 world-ranked players will be eligible for the Olympics field of 60 women, with a limit of four players from any given country. Beyond the top 15, players will be eligible based on the world rankings, with a maximum of two eligible players from each country that does not already have two or more players among the top 15. The women’s qualification period will end June 29, 2020.
“It’s brand new and I feel like it’s not really part of our culture in the golf industry to have this in mind, unlike every other sport where their ultimate goal is to make the Olympics,” said Tanguay. “For us it’s been more play majors, win majors. It’s become my focus more in the past year and more and more people are asking me about it.”
Tanguay is excited to be back at the Ko Olina Golf Club, home of the LOTTE Championship. She enjoys how the course plays and has been preparing all week for the windy conditions on the Hawaiian island.
“This is my third time here, so there’s no surprise that it’s going to be windy,” said Tanguay, who says she hardly has to consult her yardage book for the course. “I’ve been practising my side-hill lies but the No. 1 factor here is the wind. I just wanted to come prepared.”
Golfers live longer
Whose turn is it this week to treat golf as their whipping boy?
Mainstream media feed on the sport as a source of unsubstantiated headlines, many based on the fallacious stereotype of golfers as overweight entitled middle-aged men riding in golf carts while smoking a cigar and chugging a beer. (I do wish they would stop using my foursome as an example.)
For their edification, and yours, here are some verifiable facts about just one positive aspect of golf.
Last fall, Dr. Andrew Murray and his colleagues at Edinburgh University’s Physical Activity for Health Research Centre reported on the results of a review conducted by researchers into 5,000 existing studies about golf.
5,000 studies!
What they found was stunning.
Golf not only has physical and mental health benefits for everyone who plays, but those benefits increase with age. Older folks improve their balance and endurance as well as respiratory and cardiac health.
“We know that the moderate physical activity that golf provides increased life expectancy, has mental health benefits and can help prevent and treat more than 40 major chronic diseases such as heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, breast and colon cancer,” Murray told the BBC.
“Evidence suggests golfers live longer than non-golfers, enjoying improvements in cholesterol levels, body composition, wellness, self-esteem and self-worth.”
The Edinburgh University study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and is part of the Golf and Health Project, which is led by the World Golf Foundation.
A visit to the Golf and Health web site www.golfandhealth.org is a revelation. (Highly recommended for those mainstream media types mentioned above.)
Other studies show that walking 18 holes is equivalent to an eight-kilometre hike. That hike can drop blood glucose levels by up to 30 per cent in older golfers and helps everyone with weight maintenance and physical fitness. Walking and carrying your clubs can burn up to 2,000 calories per round. Even if you can’t carry, get off the power cart and use a manual or electric push cart (what the Brits call “trolleys”).
Heck, even being a spectator at a golf tournament is good for you.
“Spectators at golf events have been reported to walk significantly further than the 7,500 to 10,000 steps recommended daily for health,” according to Golf and Health. So you don’t have to actually play the game to reap the health benefits associated with it.
Even if the preceding hasn’t persuaded you to get out and golf, how about this for a kicker?
The death rate for golfers is 40 per cent lower than for non-golfers of the same age, sex and socio-economic status, according to a study of 300,000 golfers by Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet. That equates to a five-year increase in life expectancy for regular golfers.
When the Edinburgh University study was released, the London Daily Mail ran this above the story:
“Play golf and you’ll live longer.”
Now, that’s a headline you can believe.
Conners off to strong start at Masters
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The last guy into the Masters left no doubt he deserved his spot.
Corey Conners followed up a thrill at the first tee – a greeting from Jack Nicklaus – with a 2-under 70 that put the Canadian in solid position after the opening round Thursday.
“I feel like I belong,” Conners said.
Playing in the first group of the day, he got a chance to watch Nicklaus and Gary Player hit the ceremonial tee shots that traditionally kick off the first major of the year. On his way back to the clubhouse after his one and only swing, the 79-year-old Nicklaus congratulated Conners on last weekend’s victory at the Valero Texas Open – the performance that got him into the Masters as the final entrant in the field.
“That felt pretty special,” Conners said. “It’s cool that that Jack Nicklaus knows who I am.”
The 27-year-old native of Listowel, Ont., endured a sluggish start, playing the front nine at 1 over. He was solid off the tee, but a little too cautious on the treacherous greens. Then in the middle of the back side, Conners made his move.
He rolled in back-to-back birdies at the 13th and 14th holes before making eagle at the par-5 15th.
After a booming drive left only 212 yards to the green at the bottom of the hill, Conners launched his approach over the water, the ball coming to a stop just 6 feet past the cup for barely more than a tap-in.
A three-putt bogey at the final hole put a bit of a damper on his day.
But Conners wasn’t complaining.
Not after his improbable journey just to claim a spot in the first major of the year.
Since he’s currently ranked outside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup, Conners had to go through Monday qualifying just to get into the Texas Open. He made a 20-foot birdie at No. 18 to sneak into a six-man playoff for the final berth in the actual tournament. Then, with a birdie at the first extra hole, he eliminated the other five contenders.
With a 10-birdie round on Sunday, Conners captured the first PGA Tour victory of his career – and an invite to Augusta.
Conners certainly understands the enormity of the odds of everything falling into place the way it has.
“Look, I’m a math and stats guy,” he said, standing near the giant magnolia tree that shades the porch of the stately clubhouse. “I know I was very unlikely to be here. I can say with certainly that I didn’t think I would be here, but it worked out very well.”
Conners is off to a much better start than his only other appearance in the Masters.
The fun continues! @coreconn holds the lead at #TheMasters ?? pic.twitter.com/1ENLpNAK7U
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) April 11, 2019
After qualifying as an amateur in 2015, he opened with an 80 that left him no real chance of making the cut.
Now, with another solid round, he’ll be heading on to the weekend for the first time.
He has plenty of fans cheering him on.
“There are way more Canadian people than I was expecting – or at least people pretending to be Canadians – out there,” Conners quipped. “It was awesome.”
Mike Weir, the 2003 Masters champion and the only other Canadian in the field, shot a 72.
McIlroy juggling mind and game in Masters quest
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Rory McIlroy feels as prepared as ever for the Masters.
He is spending more time with his nose in a book than with his hands on a putter. “The Greatest Salesman in the World” by Og Mandino is among the best books he has read in the last year. He has been working with Brad Faxon on his putting, but their best sessions take place over a cup of coffee.
His morning routine goes beyond stretching. There is juggling – yes, juggling – meditation and mind training.
“I was watching the Women’s Amateur over the weekend and I saw a few women on the range juggling, so it’s catching on,” McIlroy said Tuesday. “How many balls can I juggle? Just three. I’m a rookie.”
It’s all geared toward becoming a complete person.
And whether it makes him a complete player by capturing the only major he has yet to win, well, that would be a bonus.
McIlroy is in the early stages of this process, and it’s hard to argue with the results, even if results don’t drive him like they once did. He has yet to finish out of the top 10 in his seven tournaments this year, which includes a victory at The Players Championship.
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Welcome to the RBC Canadian Open, @rorymcilroy – see you in JUNE! ?? #SummersOpen #RBCCO
But that green jacket is a powerful pull on the mind, and McIlroy has reason to believe he can fit comfortably into one.
He famously lost a four-shot lead with an 80 in the final round in 2011 but, even at age 21, showed enough resolve and enormous talent to win the U.S. Open in the very next major. He played in the final group on Saturday in 2016 with Jordan Spieth until falling back with a 77. He played in the final group Sunday last year with Patrick Reed, three shots behind, and fell out of the mix before reaching the back nine.
“I know I’ve played well enough and I’ve shot enough good scores around here over the years that if I can put my best effort forward, I’m going to have a good chance to do well here,” McIlroy said. “But it’s definitely different. My mind set is a little different in terms of … I’m still practicing. I’m still getting better. I’m not getting ahead of myself, not thinking about the tee shot on Thursday or thinking about what is to come this week.
“I would dearly love to win this tournament one day,” he said. “If it doesn’t happen this week, that’s totally fine, I’ll come back next year and have another crack at it. But I’m happy with where everything is – body, mind, game.”
No one was particularly happy with Mother Nature on Tuesday, as more storms arrived that shut the course down for about three hours in the morning and pounded an already soft Augusta National with rain before giving way to patches of sunshine in the afternoon.
Wednesday is a short day of practice because of the Par 3 Tournament.
The curtain raises Thursday with a host of players capable of getting in McIlroy’s way of joining golf’s most elite club. Only five other players have captured the career Grand Slam – Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
This is McIlroy’s fifth crack at the Masters with a Grand Slam at stake. In the modern era of the Grand Slam that dates to 1960, no one went more than three years between the third and final leg.
Phil Mickelson is in a similar situation, if not worse. He lacks only the U.S. Open – he has a record six silver medals – and is 0 for 4 since the Grand Slam has come into view. He also believes McIlroy’s game is at a high level.
“That’s always a challenge when you put so much emphasis on playing a particular event, but it’s also the chance to bring out your best,” Mickelson said. “And he’s had such a phenomenal start to the year, he’s been playing such great golf consistently week in and week out, I think contending will be a given. He’ll be in contention. You just need those little breaks … that push you over the winner’s circle and that’s probably all that he’s waiting for this week.
“You can’t force it. It just has to happen.”
The books McIlroy has been reading are recommendations from successful businesspeople. Along with Mandino’s book, he liked Ryan Holiday’s “The Obstacle is the Way” and “Ego is the Enemy,” and he’s just now starting on the biography of Steve Jobs.
In an interview at the Match Play, he was asked if he was spending more time on his golf or on his attitude.
“Life,” he said. “I hit balls once last week. That was it. So much of this game is mental. It’s taken me a while to get to this point, but the proof is there of what I’ve been doing, the way I’ve been playing, how I’ve been approaching the game.”
So what happens if he’s right in the mix Sunday afternoon, facing the most dynamic back nine in golf, the coveted green jacket there for the taking? What if that Sunday afternoon includes Woods, who eliminated McIlroy at the Match Play in a finish so irritating that McIlroy left without speaking to the media?
“I haven’t thought about it,’ McIlroy said. ”I guess there’s a lot of bridges to cross until we get to that point.“
Conners rides whirlwind week all the way back to the Masters
As the man in the green jacket recounted the incredulous events of the past week, Corey Conners cocked his head to one side and smiled ever so slightly.
Almost as if he couldn’t believe it, either.
A little over a week ago, Conners snatched the last spot in the Valero Texas Open by the skin of his teeth. Then he won the tournament with 10 birdies in the final round, claiming the last opening at the Masters.
So here he is at Augusta National.
Ready to compete for a green jacket.
“A special week, a crazy week,” Conners said. “Things are good.”
Certainly, the 27-year-old Canadian wasn’t thinking about the Masters on his way to San Antonio, where his first – and, really, only priority – was the chance to earn a much-needed paycheque. Because he was outside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup standings, he had to earn his way into the Texas Open during Monday qualifying.
Up to 100 players go at it for 18 holes during Monday qualifying, with the top four finishers getting into the actual tournament. Conners went to the final hole needing a 20-foot birdie putt just to get into a six-man playoff for the last of those spots. He made the putt, and then poured in another birdie on the first of the extra holes to vanquish the other five contenders.
Dramatic stuff indeed.
Though, in all honesty, no one was paying much attention. Since 1980, only four Monday qualifiers on the PGA Tour had gone on to win the tournament.
Make it five.
Conners’ performance was impressive. His wife, Malory, even became a bit of a celebrity for her reactions while lugging a cup of white wine.
“She’s been my biggest fan for years and my biggest supporter,” Conners said. “I’m really lucky to have her by my side. It’s pretty cool to see her in the spotlight a little bit. Her reactions were awesome. You can see how much she cares about what I’m doing, and it means a lot to me. It was pretty cool. She got a lot of messages and gained a lot of followers on social media, so she was pretty pumped about that.”
It was a rollercoaster of emotions for the Conners crew ? pic.twitter.com/WHuazSadD7
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) April 8, 2019
Count Justin Rose among those new-found fans.
“I loved the cameras being on her and you could tell what a big moment it was for the two of them,” the world’s top-ranked player said. “It was very special to see those stories out there because winning is difficult and it’s nice to see it when it does change someone’s life.”
But Conners takes issue with those who make him out to be some sort of Rocky, the hopeless underdog who makes for a good story early in the week but is quickly shoved aside as soon as the Rory McIlroys and the Tiger Woodses take to the course.
He tied for third at the Sony Open in Honolulu, shooting back-to-back 64s on the weekend, and finished second last fall at the Sanderson Farms Championship, four strokes behind winner Cameron Champ.
Conners is not even a Masters rookie. He qualified for the event as an amateur in 2015, though he was not ready for such a stiff test. He opened with an 80 and missed the cut.
Conners feels much better equipped this time around.
“Everyone was calling me the Monday qualifier, but I don’t feel like a Monday qualifier,” he said. “I’ve played well in a bunch of tour events this year.”
A little more time to prepare would’ve been nice, but that’s a minor complaint. Valero flew him to Augusta on a corporate jet, his clothing supplier sent along some new duds and his manager took care of housing and other arrangements that had to be made on short notice. Conners did have to do a bit of shopping after arriving in Augusta, “so I could get a couple T-shirts and a pair of pants to go to dinner in.”
He has got good memories from his last Masters appearance.
After that rough start, he bounced back to shoot a 3-under 69 in the second round.
“I’ve been playing rounds over in my head,” Conners said. “Although the course has changed slightly, a lot of the shots are going to be pretty similar to what I faced in 2015. … I think the course suits my game really well, so I’m really, really excited to get going.”
He already is playing with house money.
Might as well let it ride.
“I was excited to watch the coverage on TV back at home for an off week,” Conners said. “But, you know, I’m even more excited to be here playing.”
Canadian pair of Sharp, Henderson share 17th place at ANA
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Jin Young Ko won the ANA Inspiration for her first major title, celebrated with the traditional winner’s leap into Poppie’s Pond and will jump to No. 1 in the world ranking.
The woman who said this year that her goal was to be the happiest player on the course was thrilled about the first two.
“I still can’t believe,” Ko said. “I’m really happy.”
She wasn’t all that excited about the No. 1 spot in the world.
“I just try to focus on my game on the course,” Ko said. “It doesn’t matter about world ranking. I don’t like numbers like No. 1 or No. 2. I’m just playing on the course.”
She did that better than anyone else over four days on the Mission Hills course made more difficult by thicker rough, tighter fairways and some longer holes. On Sunday, the 23-year-old South Korean closed with a 2-under 70 in hot and mostly calm conditions for a three-stroke victory over Mi Hyang Lee.
“If ball goes right or left it doesn’t make me happy, but I’m still trying to be happy,” Ko said. “Also, I really try, don’t think about future, doesn’t matter. Just focus on my swing, on the putting. That’s why I win this week.”
After bogeys on 13 and 15 cut her lead to a stroke, Ko made a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-4 16th and closed with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th. She also had a rough back-nine stretch Saturday, allowing In-Kyung Kim to cut a five-stroke deficit to a single shot going into the final round.
“Yesterday was a little bit hard for me,” Ko said. “I’m not robot. We are human.”
Ko won for the fourth time on the LPGA Tour, completing a desert sweep after taking the Founders Cup two weeks ago in Phoenix. She leads the money list and has five top-three finishes in six events this year.
Is she surprised by her start?
“No, no, no,” Ko said. “I had really hard practice in winter training off-season in Palm Springs.”
Ko gave caddie David Brooker his third victory in the event. The Englishman also leaped into Poppie’s Pond with Grace Park in 2004 and Lorena Ochoa in 2008.
“He knows this course,” Ko said. “He helps me all the time on the course. So really say thank you for my caddie.”
She finished at 10-under 278.
Lee parred the final six holes in a 70.
“This is really good momentum for me,” said Lee, also from South Korea. “I’m so happy with this week.”
Ko had a three-stroke lead at the turn and faced little pressure until stumbling with the two bogeys. Her drive on the par-4 13th jumped into the thick right rough and her long approach ended up short of the green in the left rough. After missing a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-3 14th, she hit into the left greenside bunker on the par-4 15th and missed a 12-foot par try.
“I had couple miss shot, but I think it will be fine,” she said.
It was.
Lexi Thompson was third at 6 under after a 67.
“My caddie, Benji (Thompson), helped out tremendously,” Thompson said. “I was getting down a little bit, but he just kept me right in there playing aggressively the whole day – making those birdies and just firing at every pin I could.”
Kim closed with a 74 to tie for fourth at 5 under with Carlota Ciganda. The 30-year-old South Korean lost a chance to win the event seven years after missing a 14-inch putt on the final hole of regulation and losing on the first hole of a playoff.
Kim declined to comment after the round.
Ciganda finished with a 68.
Brooke Henderson (72) of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (73) tied for 17th at 2-under par.