LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Canada’s Brooke Henderson kept out of trouble and kept bogeys off her card Friday on her way to a four-under 67 and a two-shot lead in the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, the winners-only start to the LPGA Tour season.

The 21-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., had the only bogey-free round at Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons and is now 10 under for the tournament.

Ariya Jutanugarn, the No. 1 player in women’s golf who captured every major award last season, made two bogeys, including the par-3 closing hole. The Thai is not sure how she didn’t make more, considering how she hit the ball.

She mixed in six birdies over an 11-hole stretch and it added up to a 67, leaving her two shots back and tied for second along with Lydia Ko (68) and Eun-Hee Ji (67).

“I didn’t expect to finish 4 under today at all because I hit everywhere. I keep missing fairways and greens, and I’m at 4 under,” Jutanugarn said. “I’m going to say my short game helped me a lot today because I keep missing the green – and I’m not missing by two yards, I’m missing by like 10, 15 yards.”

No matter. She was poised going into the weekend to get her encore season off to a big start.

Henderson was at 10-under 132 as the seven-time tour winner tries to match Sandra Post, George Knudson and Mike Weir for the most pro titles by a Canadian. Henderson has had at least a share of the 36-hole lead in five of her seven victories.

“It’s always fun to be in the final group and be in contention,” Henderson said. “It’s what we play for pretty much every single week. It’s nice to be here. It’s only the halfway point, but I still need to make a lot of birdies and keep hitting it to win.”

She didn’t make as many birdies as she wanted in the second round, but it was enough. Henderson began the back nine with two straight birdies, and closed with seven straight pars to stay in the lead.

Another round, another lead for @BrookeHenderson ???#DiamondLPGA pic.twitter.com/M9m7uIbWC8

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 18, 2019

Stacy Lewis, in her first tournament as a mother, followed her opening 66 with a 74. That dropped her to 17th place in the 26-player field limited only to LPGA Tour winners each of the last two seasons.

The field also has a strong celebrity component, with 49 athletes and entertainers competing in a modified Stableford format for a $500,000 purse. Former tennis player Mardy Fish posted 39 points for the second straight day, but with bogeys over his last two holes, his lead was down to one point over former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz.

Jutanugarn played the second round with former NBA star Ray Allen, and even though she was hitting shots all over the course, she found plenty of time to talk.

“I asked him how to manage when you’re like the best player, like how to manage everything,” Jutanugarn said. “We talked all 18 holes, and he helped me a lot with like how to manage, be like a top player. … It means so much to me. Ray is so nice to me. I kept asking him questions.”

Mirim Lee had a 69 and was alone in fifth place, while Lexi Thompson (69) and Marina Alex (67) were another shot behind.

Henderson won two times last year, including the CP Women’s Open in Regina. She won the KPMG Women’s PGA for her first major in 2016. Despite shutting it down for two weeks over the break while in Canada, she likes the mix she had of rest and practice when she got back to the work.

“Overall, I’m really happy to be in double digits after two rounds. That’s pretty cool, minus 10,” she said. “So I feel like there’s not too much wrong, but just maybe a little bit of inconsistency. Some putts, I wasn’t hitting them quite as well as I would have liked.”

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Canada’s Brooke Henderson is tied for the lead after the opening round of the LPGA Tour’s season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.

The 21-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., carded a six-under 65 to put her on top along with Korean Eun-Hee Ji.

Henderson overcame a slow start with a bogey on the second hole and a par save on No. 3 at the Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons. She birdied five of her last eight holes for a 65 to tie Ji, who had a bogey-free round.

The tournament – the first season-opener in Florida for the LPGA since 2015 – is only for LPGA winners each of the last two years.

The event had the feel of a pro-am because of all the celebrities and athletes, although it wasn’t all hits and giggles. Along with the 26-player field from the LPGA Tour competing for a US$1.2 million purse, 49 entertainers are competing for a $500,000 prize fund using the modified Stableford scoring system.

Tennis player Mardy Fish led that field with 39 points for a two-point lead over a group that included retired pitcher Mark Mulder.

But it was a different vibe from most LPGA events.

“I had to remind myself it wasn’t Wednesday afternoon, it was Thursday, and I had to get a good score together,” said Henderson, who was in a group with former NBA star Ray Allen. “I think that’s when things kicked in on the front nine. I started getting a couple of birdies to recover from that bogey, and then from there I was ready to go and made a lot of birdies.”

The leaders are one stroke ahead of Lydia Ko of New Zealand and American Stacy Lewis, who was playing her first tournament since giving birth to her first child last year.

.@BrookeHenderson’s first swing of the 2019 @LPGA season ????‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/3UuBvRB52s

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 17, 2019

Nearly three months after Lewis became a mother, and six months after she last played on tour, she opened with seven birdies on Thursday.

“Pleasantly surprised,” Lewis said. “Had pretty low expectations going into the day. Just really made a lot of putts. I had some weird shots, which I knew was going to happen having not played in a while. I don’t know where it came from, but I’m going to take it.”

Ariya Jutanugarn, the world’s No. 1 player who captured every major award last year, opened with a 67. Shooting the same score were Lexi Thompson and Mirim Lee.

Jutanugarn started the year with a new caddie, who previously worked for his fiancee, ANA Inspiration winner Pernilla Lindeberg. She opened with a 77, the highest score among LPGA players.

The Thai said she had some nerves from not having played in two months. And not being used to celebrities in her group also required an adjustment.

“Because I didn’t play for so long – especially playing with them – I feel upset. He hit like 60 yards past me,” said Jutanugarn, who played in the same group with retired baseball players Josh Beckett and Kevin Millar. “Every hole he has a chance to make eagle, so I thought, ‘Maybe I’m not that good.”’

She was referring to Beckett on the long tee shots. She didn’t know much about either, though she figured one thing one quickly.

“I know they are baseball players. I know both of them are really famous,” she said. “And nobody asked me for an autograph. They all asked them.”

Lewis had not played on the LPGA Tour since a 66 to tie for 39th on July 12 at the Marathon Classic in Ohio. She gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Chesnee, on Oct. 25.

The biggest difference was her routine.

She now has to remember where to find daycare, to get out the door a little earlier and making sure she has all the bags for her game and her daughter.

“You’ve got to take three trips to the care to get out the door every morning,” she said. “So it’s a new normal.”

Her game looked like the old Stacy Lewis, at least for the opening round. She was 1 under at the turn until rolling in five birdies to offset one bogey on the back nine.

Twenty of the 26 players were at par or better.

Henderson finished fourth on the LPGA money list last year after winning two events.

On the airplane from Ottawa after her Christmas holidays, everyone recognized Brooke Henderson.

“That was just kind of different, but kind of cool,” said Henderson with a laugh from Naples, Fla., as she prepared for the LPGA season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions this week in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

While the 21-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., insists life hasn’t changed much as she’s rocketed up the golf rankings the past few years, the airplane scene shows just how far Henderson has come in the general Canadian sport landscape.

With seven LPGA victories, Henderson enters 2019 one back of the all-time win record by Canadian professionals held by Mike Weir, George Knudson and Sandra Post.

To match or eclipse that mark, the reigning Canadian Press female athlete of the year (an award she has won three times in the past four years) said she’s focused on keeping her scoring average below 70. Her 2018 average of 69.99 was good enough for fourth on tour and if she meets that goal again, she said everything else would fall in line.

The key to her success will be her putting, as it’s the one area of her game that has held her back in the past. She said she’s been working hard with her father Dave (who is also her coach) on speed.

Having good pace on the greens, she said, would be a difference-maker this year.

“I’ve been working on consistency and make sure I’m ready for 2019,” she said. “And I feel like I am.”

Henderson earned a legion of new fans at least year’s CP Women’s Open in Regina, when she won by four shots and became the first Canadian woman to win on home soil in 45 years. She also won the Lotte Championship in Hawaii in April.

“I feel like I’ll be in contention a lot of the time and hopefully that leads to getting at least one win this year,” said Henderson. “But I’d love to keep that streak going of having at least two (she’s won two tournaments each of the past three years).”

Adam Hadwin, Canada’s top-ranked male golfer, certainly wouldn’t doubt that possibility. He calls Henderson “a force.”

“With someone like her, with her being so young, the world is her oyster,” said Hadwin. “My hope is that she continues to enjoy the game and she stays the young, happy kid that she is and she continues doing what she’s doing. If she can do that, she’ll have an extremely long, successful career.”

Despite the money (she’s earned more than US$1.4 million the last three years in a row and counts Rolex as one of her sponsors), and the fame (a bobblehead doll made in her likeness has become a collector’s item), Henderson doesn’t feel like her life is that much different.

It’s been a big adjustment going from a town of 9,000 to being recognized around the world, she admitted, but Henderson remains close to the people who have been by her side for years.

After dropping the ceremonial puck before an Ottawa Senators game in December and receiving a standing ovation, she watched the game in a box surrounded only by family and some friends she’s known since grade school.

“The people that have always been there for me and always been important to me ? they haven’t changed at all,” she said. “I feel like I’ve just grown friends around the world. I’ve brought things in, in addition to those people from my life in Smiths Falls.”

Henderson, who joked at the 2017 CP Women’s Open about retiring early, said she’s not looking too far ahead these days.

The 2019 season is her main focus.

“I feel like I’ve handled everything pretty well so far,” said Henderson. “I’m just trying to get a little bit better every day, and have a great year.”

Henderson is the lone Canadian in the winners-only event this week. The first full-field event of the LPGA Tour season goes Feb. 7-10 in Australia.

CANADIANS TO WATCH ON THE LPGA TOUR IN 2019

• Brittany Marchand – Marchand, 26, managed to secure LPGA status for 2019 after finishing tied for seventh at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic in July, her best result of the year. The native of Orangeville, Ont., is Canada’s second-ranked female golfer behind Henderson.
• Alena Sharp – Sharp, 37, said in 2018 she battled depression as she struggled on the course. But a run of solid results to end of her year secured LPGA Tour status once again in 2019 for the native of Hamilton. She’s looking for her first win.
• Jaclyn Lee – Calgary’s Lee finished in sixth place at the LPGA Tour’s Q-Series (an eight-round qualifying tournament) to comfortably earn status for 2019. The 21-year-old announced in December she would be leaving Ohio State University to turn professional. While she’s still going to get her degree, she won’t play on the golf team.
• Anne-Catherine Tanguay – The native of Quebec City is back on the LPGA Tour for the second year in a row after finishing eighth in Q-Series. She finished 126th on the money list last year.

Four Canadians join Team RBC as golf brand ambassadors 

Today, RBC welcomed its newest Team RBC golf brand ambassadors: Corey Conners, Brittany Marchand, Ben Silverman and Roger Sloan. These four Canadians join an elite roster of players, including Canadians Adam Hadwin, Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp.

Ahead of a historic golf season marked by the most Canadians ever on the PGA TOUR, RBC continues to grow its commitment to the game on home soil by evolving its brand ambassador program. Now, all Canadian players that have reached the pinnacle of performance and secured status on the LPGA and PGA TOURS are eligible to join the Team RBC Canadian program – currently 10 members strong.

This expansion is also part of RBC’s ongoing support of Canadian golfers and includes funding for Canada’s National Amateur Golf Team and Young Pro Squad, as well as contributing to the national amateur golf championships, in partnership with Golf Canada.

Team RBC was established in 2009 and is comprised of 18 elite male and female golfers who embody the pinnacle of golf performance. Along with RBC branding on their apparel and golf bag, these new ambassadors will support RBC’s client-hosting experiences and marketing initiatives.

As the title sponsor of the RBC Heritage and RBC Canadian Open, RBC is also proud to be the Official Banking and Financial Services partner for all Team RBC ambassadors.

Quick facts:

• Corey Conners: Two top-15 finishes during the 2018 PGA TOUR season
• Brittany Marchand: Made 12 of 16 cuts during her first 2018 LPGA TOUR season
• Ben Silverman: Four top-15 finishes during the 2018 PGA TOUR season
• Roger Sloan: Finished 12^th on Web.com Tour Money List

Quotes:

“I’ve had the opportunity to partner with RBC when I was on Team Canada’s Young Pro program. This feels like a great next chapter in my journey as I compete on the PGA TOUR and I’m thankful RBC is with me again and for all they do for golf in Canada.”  – Corey Conners, Team RBC Ambassador

“I am so proud and so grateful to be a part of the Team RBC family . RBC has given so much to our game and their support enables us to continue to grow and develop on the world stage I look forward to getting to know the team and am excited about the milestones ahead.” – Brittany Marchand, Team RBC Ambassador

“RBC has been a longstanding supporter of golf, helping us build stronger connections with our clients and fans around the world. We’ve been on a journey with many of these athletes as amateur players, like Corey and Brittany. Now we’re continuing that partnership as they strive to reach the highest level of golf on the international stage.” – Mary DePaoli, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, RBC

“Today’s announcement is an important moment for Canadian high-performance golf. To see Canadian athletes recognized for their hard work, efforts and performance is just outstanding. It’s also another demonstration of RBC’s longstanding and continued support of golf both at the amateur and professional level.”  – Derek Ingram, National Men’s Team Coach, Golf Canada

There was a quiet poise to Brooke Henderson on that Sunday morning last summer in Regina ahead of her final round at the CP Women’s Open.

She had experienced big moments before: her first LPGA Tour win as a 17-year-old in 2015, her first major victory a year later, her first appearance at the Olympics.

This tournament was different.

No Canadian had won the national open since Jocelyne Bourassa in 1973. Supporters who crammed the galleries could sense something special was happening.

Henderson would deliver in emphatic fashion, firing a closing-round 65 for a four-shot victory.

“The 18th hole, standing on that green, surrounded by family and friends and hundreds of fans and spectators cheering me on – it was sort of a surreal moment,” Henderson said. “To finally hold that trophy that I’ve dreamed about since I was a little girl, it gives me chills just thinking back on it.”

It was one of two tournament titles and 11 top-10 finishes for Henderson last season. On Wednesday, she was rewarded for her stellar campaign by being named a repeat winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as The Canadian Press female athlete of the year.

Henderson, who has won the award in three of the last four years, picked up 30 of 54 votes (55.6 per cent) in a poll of broadcasters and editors from across the country.

“Especially this year being an Olympic year with all the great athletes that competed in the Winter Olympics, it’s a big honour and I’m just really proud to take home this award again,” said Henderson, who was also named Postmedia’s Female Athlete of the Year.

Figure skater Kaetlyn Osmond and short-track speedskater Kim Boutin tied for second place with 10 votes each (18.5 per cent).

The winner of the Lionel Conacher Award as Canada’s male athlete of the year will be named Thursday and the team of the year will be named Friday.

With wet weather in the forecast, Henderson had an early start for her final round at the CP Women’s Open. Showing no sign of nerves or timidity, she lashed her opening drive down the fairway and birdied the hole for a two-stroke lead.

Angel Yin, Sung Hyun Park, Su Oh and others tried to make charges that day but Henderson wouldn’t buckle. In fact, the Canadian found another gear.

Henderson pulled away with four straight birdies on the back nine and tapped in a birdie putt on the 18th hole to send the crowd into a tizzy. Her seventh career LPGA Tour victory moved her one behind Sandra Post’s record for all-time wins by a Canadian.

“The blinders were on,” Post said. “She was looking at the finish line and she just looked like it was hers. She wasn’t nervous. It was hers.”

It was an emotional summer for Henderson and her family. Her maternal grandfather died in early June and her paternal grandfather died in early August.

Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., remained steady and consistent throughout the year. She won the Lotte Championship last April in Hawaii, earned US$1.47 million over the season and finished ninth in the world rankings.

“Big performances on the biggest stage amongst stiff competition in one of the highest-profile sports in the world,” said Edmonton-based Postmedia editor Craig Ellingson.

Henderson was fourth in scoring average (69.99) on the LPGA Tour, eighth in driving distance (268-yard average) and fourth in greens in regulation (74.5 per cent).

Her short game statistics were middle of the pack. Henderson was 72nd in putting average (29.7 putts per round) and 87th in sand saves (43.7 per cent).

“It’s easy to get down on yourself when things aren’t going perfectly,” Henderson said. “I feel like I stayed really patient through the majority of the year. When things were not very good, they always turned around. You just have to wait them out and I did that.

“Even going into the CP Women’s Open, I was in contention a few times and wasn’t able to get the job done. But I feel like I learned from those experiences and then when I put myself in position in Regina, I wasn’t going to let it go that time. I was able to seal the deal.”

Bobbie Rosenfeld, an Olympic medallist in track and field and a multi-sport athlete, was named Canada’s best female athlete of the half-century in 1950.

The first winner of the Rosenfeld award was golfer Ada Mackenzie in 1933. Marlene Stewart Streit leads all golfers by taking the honour on five occasions (1952, ’53, ’56, ’57, ’63).

Jaclyn Lee has turned professional. Lee, 21, has opted to forego her final semester of eligibility at the Ohio State University and begin a professional career in the LPGA, the Canadian golfer announced in an Instagram post Friday night.

View this post on Instagram

 

I’ve got some news for y’all ?? peep it!! • • • I’ve turned professional and made my decision to forego my last semester of eligibility at school in order to start my career on the LPGA. I will still be finishing up school at Ohio State in the spring, but I will not be playing on the team. This is not a decision I made lightly – which is why it took so long for me to come to a conclusion. I’m extremely touched by all the support I have received so far from all the parties involved in my decision. I’m lucky to have each and every one of you in my life. While my time at Ohio State is eventually going to come to an end, it’s bittersweet to be leaving the team a little early. I’m going to miss my Buckeye Family but I’m also really excited to start my new chapter. I feel very blessed for everyone who has been a part of my journey so far. It’s been a great 3.5 years being a part of the Lady Buckeye Golf Team and I wish them nothing but the best in the future. Enjoy some of these low quality photos with some high quality people that I’m going to miss seeing every day #alwaysabuckeye

A post shared by Jaclyn Lee (@jaclyn_lee) on Dec 7, 2018 at 3:17pm PST

The Calgary wrote she will be wrapping up her degree at the American university in the spring, but will not be playing for its golf team.

“This is not a decision I made lightly – which is why it took so long for me to come to a conclusion. I’m extremely touched by all the support I have received so far from all the parties involved in my decision,” said Lee.

“I’m lucky to have each and every one of you in my life. While my time at Ohio State was eventually going to come to an end, it’s bittersweet to be leaving the team a little early. I’m going to miss my Buckeye family, but I’m also really excited to start my new chapter. I feel very blessed for everyone who has been a part of my journey so far.”

Lee picked up her LPGA Tour card for 2019 in November after finishing sixth in the Q-Series LPGA tournament

She is a 6-year veteran of the Team Canada program (Amateur Squad in 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 | Development Squad in 2015, 2014).

She also earned second-team All-American honours from the Women’s Golf Coaches Association in July.

In a year that saw 10 Rolex First-Time Winners added to the roster of LPGA victors, the 2018 LPGA Tour season produced 26 winners from 10 countries across 32 official tournaments. Powered by determination, athleticism and a drive for greatness, the 2019 season promises to continue the upward growth of the world’s best female golfers.

The 2019 LPGA Tour schedule will include 33 official events, plus the biennial Solheim Cup, which pits the 12 best players from the United States against their European counterparts. The Tour will visit 15 states and 12 countries (including the United States), with a record $70.55 million in official prize money.

“We are in one of the most exciting periods of time in LPGA history,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. “One look at our 2018 season shows the breadth of global talent on our Tour, and I have no doubt that 2019 will continue this upward trend. We are not only proud of our Tour growth, but also the growth of our LPGA Teachers, LPGA Amateurs and LPGA-USGA Girls-Golf efforts.”

CONTINUED GROWTH IN PRIZE MONEY

In a sign of the continued strength of the women’s game, the 2019 season will see $70.55 million in prize money, up from $65.35 million in 2018. The season’s largest purses come at the U.S. Women’s Open Championship, conducted by the USGA, and the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, both with $5 million at stake. While the USGA will not confirm their 2019 purse until April 2019, they have confirmed the purse will be $5 million at a minimum. The CME purse will double from $2.5 million to $5 million, with the winner earning $1.5 million, the largest single prize in the history of women’s golf.

“LPGA purses have steadily increased over the last decade, a sign of the growing support from our corporate partners and sponsors for the game of women’s golf,” said Whan. “Across the board, our title sponsors understand the value that working with LPGA players brings to their businesses and we look forward to continuing to develop larger purses for the generations of players to come.”

Other purses to increase include three of the Tour’s five majors in the ANA Inspiration ($3 million, up $200,000 from 2018), the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship ($3.85 million, up $200,000 from 2018) and The Evian Championship ($4.1 million, up $250,000 from 2018). The AIG Women’s British Open purse is still being finalized but will be at least $3.25 million. The purse at the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship will increase to $1.8 million, up $300,000 from its inaugural year in 2018, while the purse at the Marathon Classic presented by Dana will increase to $1,750,000, up $150,000 from 2018.

NEW TOURNAMENTS KICK OFF LPGA SEASON

The 2019 season features four new tournaments, including consecutive inaugural stops to begin the year’s travel around the world. The Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions presented by Insurance Office of America, to be held Jan. 17-20 at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., promises to be a week of world-class competition and entertainment. LPGA Tour winners from the last two seasons will play alongside celebrities from the sports and entertainment worlds.

From there, the Tour heads Down Under, joining the European Tour at the Vic Open on Feb. 7-10 at 13th Beach Golf Links in Barwon Heads, Australia. The event marks the only professional golf tournament where men and women compete concurrently on the same course and for the same prize money. The Vic Open makes the ideal partner to the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, which the following week returns to the Grange Golf Club in a three-year rotation of Adelaide’s golf courses.

As announced earlier in 2018, the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational and the BMW Ladies Championship are also new to the 2019 LPGA schedule. The Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, which will be held at Michigan’s Midland Country Club in July, marks the first official team competition in Tour history. The LPGA’s newest stop in the Republic of Korea, the BMW Ladies Championship, takes the Tour to Busan and LPGA International Busan, the LPGA’s first golf facility outside the United States. It is the second stop on the LPGA’s annual Fall Asian Swing, which also takes the Tour through the People’s Republic of China, Chinese Taipei and Japan.

“I’m truly excited that three of our new tournaments for 2019 will feature formats that are new to the LPGA,” said Whan. “We’ve long wanted to get a Tournament of Champions back on the LPGA schedule, and this partnership with Diamond Resorts will definitely make the Four Seasons Orlando the place to be in January. Plus, our friends at Dow, long known for their scientific innovation, have brought that trait to the LPGA by bringing together this great team event. I can’t wait to see how the players will partner up over the coming months. Additionally, the Vic Open will showcase a joint men’s and women’s event that is interesting to players and fans, not to mention timely in the world of equal opportunity and pay.”

Three season-long races will also build anticipation and excitement for players and fans alike. The Aon Risk Reward Challenge, a new competition on both the PGA and LPGA Tours, will feature the world’s best golfers as they navigate risk across the season’s most strategically challenging holes. The player from each Tour on top of the Aon leaderboard at the end of the regular season will each receive $1 million.

The Race to the CME Globe is evolving in 2019, with the top 60 players following the Blue Bay LPGA heading to the CME Group Tour Championship with the opportunity to win the $1.5 million winner’s check. In its second year, the LEADERS Top-10s competition will award $100,000 to the player with the most top-10 finishes, with Ariya Jutanugarn taking the inaugural title in 2018.

The LPGA Tour will see 450 hours of domestic broadcast coverage on Golf Channel and network TV in 2019, with more than 475 hours available in 175 countries around the world.

One stop on the 2019 schedule is still to be announced, as the contractual agreement for that event is not yet completed. That is expected to be finalized early in 2019, so players and fans should reserve one more week for an additional exciting Tour stop.

MAJOR GLORY ON THE LINE

Five players from five countries took home major championships in 2018, and 2019 will surely add even more history to the LPGA record books.

In its traditional spot on the calendar, the ANA Inspiration kicks off the major season for professional golf. From April 4-7, the Dinah Shore Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., will play host to major drama for the 37th consecutive year. The Country Club of Charleston, where World Golf Hall of Fame member and LPGA legend Beth Daniel learned the game of golf, will host the 74th U.S. Women’s Open Championship, conducted by the USGA, from May 30 to June 2.

The fifth year of partnership between the LPGA and the PGA of America takes the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship to Hazeltine National Golf Club, to be held June 20-23. Hazeltine National has hosted some of the game’s most major moments, including U.S. Women’s Open wins for Sandra Spuzich (1966) and Hollis Stacy (1977), and in 2016, the USA’s largest come-from-behind victory in Ryder Cup history.

The season’s final two majors take the LPGA Tour to Europe for consecutive weeks. The Evian Championship will move to July 25-28, reclaiming its place in the beautiful French summer. Along the shores of Lake Geneva and at the base of the Alps, the week in Evian-les-Bains, France, promises to be one of world-class glamour and competition.

The LPGA’s major season will culminate Aug. 1-4 at the newly named AIG Women’s British Open, held at Woburn Golf Club, 50 miles northwest of London. AIG recently signed a long-term deal to be the title sponsor of the Women’s British Open, which has been a major on the LPGA Tour schedule since 2001.

With major drama comes major competition. The season’s five majors build to the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award, which will be awarded at the Rolex LPGA Awards during the week of the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. Named for 10-time major champion Annika Sorenstam, the honor is bestowed on the player who, during the current LPGA season, has the most outstanding major championship record. Ariya Jutanugarn captured the 2018 award, joining Michelle Wie (2014), Inbee Park (2015), Lydia Ko (2016) and So Yeon Ryu (2017) as award recipients.

SOLHEIM CUP RETURNS TO SCOTLAND

The PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles will host the 16th Solheim Cup, marking the Cup’s return to Scotland for the first time since 2000. Gleneagles was the site of the 2014 Ryder Cup, which saw the European Team earn a 16½-11½ victory over the United States. The European Solheim Cup Team, captained by Scotland’s own Catriona Matthew, hopes to take inspiration from that victory as they face off against the Americans, with three-time Captain Juli Inkster at the helm, who took their own 16½-11½ victory at the 2017 Solheim Cup. The Americans will head to Gleneagles as the two-time defending champions, having mounted a furious Singles comeback in Germany in 2015 to take a one-point win.

FROM TOMORROW’S STARS TO FAN-FAVORITE PIONEERS

While the 2019 Symetra Tour schedule is still being finalized, the LPGA Tour’s official qualifying tour will have at least 20 events for the next generation of LPGA talent. The season will kick off in North Port, Fla., with the inaugural SKYiGOLF Championship hosted by Charlotte Harbor National Golf Club at Bobcat Trail from March 7-10. Since Symetra’s inaugural sponsorship year in 2012, the Symetra Tour has grown from 16 tournaments and $1.7 million in prize money to $3 million awarded over the course of 21 tournaments in 2018.

2019 will see the North Carolina return of LPGA Q-Series presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, the two-week qualifying tournament that debuted in 2018 as a replacement for Stage 3 of Q School. Forty-eight players earned their 2019 LPGA Tour cards, led by KLPGA star Jeongeun Lee6, who claimed medalist honors and earned $15,000.

North Carolina will also again host the LPGA T&CP National Championship, with the nation’s top teaching and club professionals returning to Pinehurst No. 8 on Aug. 26-28. Stephanie Eiswerth, University of North Florida women’s golf assistant coach and a Class A LPGA teaching professional, captured the 2017 title in her championship debut.

In October, the third Senior LPGA Championship presented by Old National Bank will return to the Pete Dye Course at scenic French Lick (Ind.) Resort. Some of the greatest names in the history of the game hope to join Trish Johnson (2017) and Dame Laura Davies (2018) as Senior LPGA winners.

2019 LPGA Schedule (bold = majors; italics = new event)

NAPLES, Fla. – Lexi Thompson was the best this week, and Ariya Jutanugarn was the best all season.

Neither left any doubt about that Sunday.

Thompson shot a final-round 70 to finish at 18-under 270 and win the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship by four strokes over Nelly Korda. The win makes this the sixth consecutive year that Thompson has won at least once, extending the longest such active streak on the LPGA Tour.

“It’s very gratifying,” Thompson said. “This is such a special event for me in general, growing up in Florida. … It was just very gratifying.”

Lexi Thompson poses for a photo with the CME Group Tour Championship trophy at Tiburon Golf Club on November 18, 2018 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Jutanugarn took the other two big prizes that were up for grabs this week, clinching the yearlong Race to the CME Globe prize – and the $1 million bonus that comes with that – as well as the Vare Trophy for winning the season’s scoring title. The world No. 1 already had wrapped up player of the year honours, and finished 2018 with a 69.415 scoring average to edge Minjee Lee (69.747) for the top spot there.

Jutanugarn shot a 6-under 66 on Sunday, finishing the week tied for fifth at 12-under 276.

“It felt great today,” Jutanugarn said. “I’m very proud of myself.”

Jutanugarn briefly lost the lead in the projected Globe standings on Sunday after Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., made three birdies on her first seven holes to grab the top spot. Jutanugarn reclaimed the advantage with four birdies in a six-hole stretch midway through her round, and the trophy was just about locked up when she birdied the par-5 14th almost simultaneously to Henderson making bogey on the par-3 16th.

The 13th hole on Sunday provided the shift that Thompson used to hold off Korda. They went to the tee of that par-4 with Thompson up by two; she made birdie, Korda made bogey, and Thompson was suddenly up four with five holes to play.

“It was just very special to win in front of all my family and friends,” Thompson said.

Jutanugarn finished in style, rolling in a 15-footer for birdie on the final hole to cap the year where she swept the LPGA’s biggest prizes.

“It means so much to me because like to be honest, after 2016 I never expected anything,” Jutanugarn said. “I feel like I achieve like too much already in my life, so I never think I can do anything more than that. So this year … just like unbelievable.”

It was the 10th career win for Thompson, who grabbed the lead on Friday and kept it the rest of the way. She hadn’t finished better than a tie for ninth in any of her last eight starts – but Tiburon Golf Club has been a haven for the native South Floridian, who is 31-under in her last seven rounds at the tour championship there.

The win also helped ease the pain of last year’s tour championship for Thompson. She had a 2-foot par putt on the 72nd hole – one that could have meant a tournament win, the world No. 1 ranking and player of the year honours – but pushed it right and wound up losing to Jutanugarn by a shot.

There was no final-hole angst this time, and the role reversal was complete. Like Thompson in 2017, Jutanugarn departed with the Globe and the Vare Trophy; like Jutanugarn in 2017, Thompson got the win in the season finale.

Among other notables, Brittany Lincicome (67) to finish tied for third at 13-under with So Yeon Ryu (68), Lydia Ko went 68-68 on the weekend to finish 12-under alongside Jutanugarn, Marina Alex (69) and Carlota Ciganda (70). Nasa Hataoka finished alone in ninth at 10-under, and first-round leader Amy Olson shot a 4-under 68 to finish at 9-under and in a group with Henderson and Sei Young Kim.

“For me, I think just consistency. My driver and long game has been really good,” said Henderson. “That’s kind of my strengths for sure. But around the greens I want to improve a little bit, so I’ll work with my dad and my sister to try to get that a little bit better.”

“To finish top 10, top five, whatever it’s going to be, going into the off-season, obviously I made a few extra dollars because I’m not playing until January,” Lincicome said. “I feel pretty good about it.”

The 2019 LPGA schedule is expected to be released in full later this month. The year begins with the inaugural Tournament of Champions in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, from Jan. 17-20. Winners from the last two LPGA seasons are eligible for that field, which means there should be about 36 pros playing along with some celebrity participants and amateurs.

NAPLES, Fla. – Lexi Thompson has control of the CME Group Tour Championship, and Ariya Jutanugarn is in control of just about everything else.

Thompson’s 4-under 68 on Saturday pushed her to 16 under after three rounds of the LPGA’s season-ending event. She moved three shots clear of Nelly Korda and six ahead of Carlota Ciganda at Tiburon Golf Club. Korda shot her second consecutive 67 to get to 13 under, and Ciganda grinded out a 69 to get to 10 under for the week.

Thompson has been nearly flawless this week. Her only dropped shot of the tournament came Saturday when she made bogey at the par-4 fourth hole, then put together five birdies over the rest of her round.

“Golf is all about momentum,” Thompson said.

Right now, she has an abundance of that going for her. For the week, she has 14 birdies, one eagle and the one bogey. She’s been calm and collected with her newly purchased Havanese Poodle around this week, finding a rhythm with an old putter and having her brother Curtis as her caddie.

“I just tried to keep the same attitude as I did the last two days,” Thompson said. “Curtis kept me nice and relaxed. He’s always cracking jokes out there. It’s been a nice relaxing week just having him on the bag and having all my family and friends out here supporting me.”

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., fired a 69 to finish the day tied for 16th at 5 under.

If Thompson hangs on Sunday, she’ll have her first win of the season.

If Jutanugarn keeps things together, she’ll leave with plenty of prizes as well.

Jutanugarn will start her final round 10 shots back but leading the projected Race to the CME Globe standings and in position to claim the $1 million bonus for winning the LPGA’s season-long points race – which would be her second in three years. Jutanugarn already has clinched player of the year and is nearly mathematically assured of winning the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average on tour.

“I did a pretty good job. I didn’t think about that at all,” Jutanugarn said of the Globe race and what’s at stake this weekend. “Yesterday I (thought) about that too much, worrying about that.”

The Vare Trophy isn’t hers yet, but it would take the most improbable of outcomes for that to slip away from Jutanugarn in the final round of the season. The two closest players to Jutanugarn in the season scoring standings are Minjee Lee and Jin Young Ko; either of them would have to beat the world’s No. 1 player by about 30 strokes on Sunday to pass her in the Vare race.

Korda had an eventful day with more birdies than pars – 8-7 – but with three bogeys as well. So Yeon Ru (69 for the third straight day) and Marina Alex (71) are tied for fourth at 9 under, and Lydia Ko shot a bogey-free 68 on Saturday to move into a tie for sixth at 8 under with Brittany Lincicome (73).

First-round leader Amy Olson made three double-bogeys on her way to a 76, leaving her in a tie for 16th and 11 shots off Thompson’s lead.

INDEX: SPORTS

NAPLES, Fla. – Amy Olson had a simple explanation for her brilliant start at the CME Group Tour Championship.

“I don’t have any bad memories,” she said.

Playing the LPGA’s season-ending event for the first time, Olson was flawless with nine birdies and no dropped shots on her way to a 9-under 63 and a one-shot lead over Brittany Lincicome and Nasa Hataoka after Thursday’s opening round.

Olson had two separate streaks of four consecutive birdies on what became an ideal day for scoring at Tiburon Golf Club. Of the 72 players in the field, 45 were under par following the opening round – and the top four women on the leaderboard combined for only one bogey. Lincicome was short with her approach on the par-4 18th, and dropped a shot to end her day.

“It’s just fun to be playing well,” Olson said. “It’s always a good feeling. I had a lot of like perfect numbers in today. Rolled the ball really well. Always fun to play well.”

Lincicome started with five straight birdies to get her day rolling, and Hataoka enhanced her chances of winning the Race to the CME Globe and $1 million bonus with an eight-birdie outing. Lexi Thompson had five birdies and an eagle to card a 7-under 65, enhancing her bid for what would be her first and only win of 2018.

Lincicome said she played earlier this week with two young girls, and they reminded her how simple the game can be sometimes.

“There’s no thinking,” Lincicome said. “It’s just, ‘hit it, find it, hit it again.”’

This event will decide the year’s LPGA scoring champion, as well as the winner of the Race to the CME Globe and the bonus that brings.

There are five women with the simplest path to that trophy – world No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn, Minjee Lee, Sung Hyun Park, Brooke Henderson of Smith Falls, Ont., and Hataoka would all win the Globe by winning the tournament. But on a day where many went low, four of those five players didn’t really get into the birdie barrage.

Jutanugarn was 1 over after four holes, then rallied a bit to shoot a 2-under 70. Lee also finished at 2 under, Park was at 1 under, while Henderson was tied for last in the 72-player field at one point and wound up carding a 73 – aided by three birdies in her final five holes of the day.

Jutanugarn knew what she needed to do after finishing the opening round.

“Work on my tee shot,” she said, “and hope tomorrow is going to get better.”

The mover in that group of five was Hataoka. If the order of finish Sunday were the same as it was when Thursday’s play ended, Hataoka would walk off with the Globe.

She already has an idea how she wound spend the bonus.

“Seeing all the houses on the golf course really inspires me to want one of those,” Hataoka said.

Thompson won the Globe last season – she’s not in the group of 12 women with a mathematical chance of doing so this year – but has a pair of top-four finishes at the season finale in the last three years. She hasn’t won yet in 2018, but felt a decent round was coming.

“It’s only the first day,” Thompson said. “I’m just trying to take it one shot at a time, but it was nice to have a day like this. I knew my game was there.”