ORLANDO, Fla. — Brooke Henderson has had two days of completely losing control of the game and has to get a good score on Saturday. As a result, Hilton Grande finished in the Vacations Tournament of Champions with a 3-under 69 and a 3-shot lead.
Henderson is gearing up for a fight and moved to a 14-under 202 in the LPGA Tour season opener at Lake Nona. Take the lead and advance to the final round.
Sweden’s Maja Stark (68) and England’s Charlie Hull (69) are five behind.
After playing pedestrian golf early on the second nine, including a bogey at the par-4 12th, Henderson hit a bogey at the par-4 12th before hitting a 30-foot curler for birdie from the left side of the ball. I managed to slip. 16th green.
After 2.5 rounds of blistering play, it was a huge bonus that her game regained a bit of momentum after a startling stall.
Henderson missed a short birdie putt on the 14th hole (a par 4 with the tee pushed up to just 229 yards), and on the reachable par 5 15th, her approach shot pulled and went for a birdie. Couldn’t go up or down. It was on the left side of a water guarded green, but at least we were lucky to be awake. She didn’t make the most of her break and settled for par. Then an unexpected slider at 16 gave us the lift we needed.
Henderson, who is aiming for her 13th LPGA victory, said, “Putting on the 16 helped a lot. Last season she won two, including her second major, the Evian Championship in France. He did, but suffered back pain that year: “It wasn’t quite as smooth today, but it definitely helps to do such big putts in the big moments.”
Henderson started the day with a four-shot advantage and extended his lead to five by the time he made the turn. Then, he hit a bogey on the 12th hole, and on the final hole, Hataoka and Korda approached at breakneck speed, and the tournament restarted.
In fact, Henderson accepted the challenge and accepted it. With 2022 slowed by an injury that required rest and rehab, and 14 new clubs in her bag for 2023, she’s where she wants to be on the first Sunday of the season.
Henderson said, “It’s been a lot of fun competing over the weekend, being in the final group and being in the mix. ‘That’s the best feeling.'”
Hataoka, a six-time Tour winner, was the hottest player on the course, birdieing seven of the final 10 holes and 30 on the back nine, putting her in position to hunt down Henderson. Signed 66 left. on sunday.
“Yes, I dialed in,” said Hataoka. She made a birdie on the par-5 9th hole, and when she returned to par level for the day, she said everything about her game changed.”I’m so happy to change that.” “
Similarly, Korda, who was sidelined for four months in early 2022 after a blood clot was removed from his left arm, took a while to get back on track. Her putter wasn’t very supportive on her nine opening and this she hasn’t been all week. Suddenly, she took four birdies on her stretch of five holes starting on her 11th hole, ensuring Henderson’s final round had to be solid to win.
The key to Corda on Sunday? For one thing, she needs to get off to a better start. In all three rounds she struggled to make birdies on the front nine.
“I think we’ll have to find the bottom of the hole,” Korda said. Just hit consistent shots and put the ball in the cup.”
Retired tennis player Mardy Fish continues to dominate the 56-player celebrity division, extending his lead in the Modified Stableford Points format to 14 points.
The most interesting race on Sunday in that division should be 2nd. 2021 champion Fish (117 points) is joined by military veteran Chad Pfeiffer (103 points), former NHL standout Jeremy Roenick (103 points) and Lake Nona resident and LPGA great Annika Sorenstam (102 points). point).
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