Brooke Henderson won a vehicle, and she’s barely old enough to drive it.
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Inbee Park is in position to become the first female golfer to win the same major championship four consecutive times this week at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee County Club in Sammamish, Wash.
Henderson, who started on the 10th hole, pulled her 7-iron on No. 13 and watched it get caught up in the left apron and then roll into the hole from 155 yards.
Christina Kim and I.K. Kim followed at 69, with the afternoon wave still on the course.
The last time Park played a competitive round she shot 84 at the Volvik Championship in MI on May 27 and withdrew after the first round, the second consecutive tournament she pulled out of early.
Atwal, the only Indian victor on the PGA Tour, has lost his Tour card and is trying to find that form again to get back into the elite Tour.
The 18-year-old’s round was typical of her year.
Brittany will need to keep providing the right yardages for the rest of the week as the Sahalee course in Seattle is playing hard for the second women’s major of the year. And it ended up being the auto hole.
The last hurdle was to complete the equivalent of 10 seasons, and Park did so by getting the first round under her belt at the KPMGA Women’s PGA Championship. She played alongside Park. The 20-year-old is the first Thai player to win on the LPGA Tour and has recently moved up to the No. 2 spot in earnings and No. 10 in the world rankings. “I’m not going to be able to shape (shots) the way I want to … but I was really happy with my putting”.
“She’s pretty fearless, and what she’s doing today is an example of that”, LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said as he waited for Park to arrive at the 17th hole.
“The first hole, dad told me to think about when you first picked up the club – and take every hole as every year and kind of remember what you have done”, Park said.
Brooke Henderson had a highly productive first day at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
“The score is obviously not the greatest, but I’m satisfied with the score today”, Park said. “Yeah, the hole-in-one was awesome”, she said. Some extra rough requiring tight shots also provided a good test for players preparing for the U.S. Open next week at Oakmont in Pennsylvania. She also chipped in on No. 18 to make the turn in 3-under 32.
Lewis was two under through 10 holes, but she bogeyed three of her final five holes to finish at two over.
And if these young up-and-comers such as Thompson, or Canadian teenager Brooke Henderson, or Thai star Ariya Jutanugarn, who has won her past three LPGA Tour starts, can hit it long and straight, it would be a huge advantage.
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Henderson won in Portland a year ago and has nine top-10 finishes this season.
