Click here for the complete field at the 2017 Cambia Portland Classic.
World's Best Arrive in Portland
This week, So Yeon Ryu makes just her third start in Portland where she looks to join In-Kyung Kim as the only two players this season to win three-times in 2017. One of the most consistent players on Tour, it should come as no surprise that Ryu finished tied for third in her first appearance in Portland in 2014 followed by a tie for 13th in 2015. She arrives in Portland off a tie for 12th in Canada. Top-ranked American Lexi Thompson also returns to action in Portland where she makes her first start since the Solheim Cup, where she helped lift Team USA to victory with her incredible comeback in the Sunday singles matches. Fresh off her sixth top-10 of the year, In Gee Chun is also making her first start in Portland. Amy Yang, who has five top-10s this season in addition to her victory in Thailand, is making her first appearance this week in Portland.
Busy Stretch Continues for Brooke
For the second consecutive week, all eyes will be on Brooke Henderson. The two-time defending champion of the Cambia Portland Classic arrives in Oregon after a week home in Canada where she played in front of a hometown crowd rivaling that of a major championship. She rallied from a 74 Thursday to make the cut on the number Friday and launched into contention with a 63 on Saturday. But an Even par, 71 on Sunday left her outside the top-10 at Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club. Henderson is eager to get to Portland where she’s hoping to become the first to win in Portland three-consecutive years.
Welcome Back
Henderson is one of four former champions in the field this week in Portland. Ai Miyazato, who won this event in 2010, will be teeing it up for the last time as she plans to retire following the Evian Championship in mid-September. Also in the field is 2012 champion Mika Miyazato and 2014 winner Austin Ernst, who captured her first and only victory on Tour at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. Impressed with Ernst’s three top-10s to start 2017, Juli Inkster selected her as a captain’s pick for the Solheim Cup and she proved to be a great choice. Ernst earned two points to help lift Team USA to victory.
A Second Chance
A look back at Portland’s leaderboard from 2016 shows Henderson winning by four-strokes, but that doesn’t tell the full story. Nine of the players who finished in the top-10 last season return to the field in hopes of eclipsing Henderson this time around. Mariajo Uribe nearly got it done last year, tying Henderson on Sunday with four holes to play, but back-to-back double bogeys on final two holes dropped her into a tie for fourth. She returns to the field this week along with Stacy Lewis, who finished runner-up to Henderson in 2016 and arrives in Portland still in search of her first win since 2014. She has six top-10s this season.