Michelle Wie has her best finish since 2014
Although it wasn’t the finish Michelle Wie wanted, the result speaks volumes for how far she’s come over the last few seasons.
Wie finished T4 at the HSBC Women’s Champions, marking the first time since 2014 that she’s finished in the top five of an LPGA Tour event (she notched one top-10 finish in 2016).
“I can't complain, but right now it stings a little bit. I played hard. Just a couple of putts didn't drop in and I just missed a couple. Just that one hole I missed two short ones. But I played well today,” said Wie.
Wie began her day with two-straight birdies early on, but was derailed due do a double bogey on the par-5 5th. She couldn’t recover from that, and finished at even par for the day, and -14 for the week – the first time, again, since 2014, that she finished at double-digits under par for a week.
“I mean, stuff happens. Stuff happens sometimes. Sometimes you just 4-putt and you've just got to carry on with your life,” she said of her double bogey. “After that, the next hole, the sixth hole, that putt looked like it was going to go in. And every putt after that, I just felt like it was going to go in. It just didn't drop after that.”
Wie burned the edge on a couple of putts on the back nine, but finished with just one birdie – offset by one bogey – on her inward nine.
“I think I was just a little amped up today and my irons were going a little bit further, so I just wasn't hitting them as close as I was all week,” she explained. “I played solidly today. Just a couple putts didn't go in, and Inbee played really well. Obviously I wanted to walk away with the trophy, but there are so many leaps and strides forward that I made this week. I'm really proud of myself.”
Taking to Instagram after her round, Wie, who was actually a sponsor invite by HSBC this week, said she “played her heart out” this week.
“I’m truly proud of myself,” she wrote. “It was so much fun being in contention all week and I learned so much from this experience.”
Brooke Henderson locks up first top-10 finish of 2017
A year ago, Brooke Henderson started her LPGA season with top 10s in eight of her first nine starts.
Things haven’t been that easy for the young Canadian this year, but, after starting out the final round at the HSBC Women’s Champions 6-under through 10 holes, she made a move up the leaderboard early.
“It was really cool coming around the turn, and even before that, I saw my name starting to climb. At one point I was tied for the lead I think,” she said. “It would have been nice to finish off with a few more birdies, but I'm happy to finish inside the Top-10 and see more of my name on the leaderboard in future weeks.”
Although she finished her final round with eight-straight pars, her tie for fourth was her best finish of the young season, and her first top five of the year.
“I think this was a real turning point hopefully and I feel like my game has really improved since the start of the season,” explained Henderson of her experience this week. “I'm really looking forward to Phoenix in two weeks and hopefully with the first major of the year coming up, hopefully my game will be right there.”
The Canadian said she will go to Phoenix next week to test some new equipment from Ping before playing the Bank of Hope Founders Cup the following week.
Lydia Ko finishes tied for ninth
Even with Ariya Jutanugarn’s runner-up finish, Lydia Ko remains at the top of the Rolex Rankings again this week, after her T9 in Singapore.
Ko, who was in the final group of the day, just couldn’t get anything going. She finished at even par, and -12 for the week.
“Just a lot wasn't clicking, so that's why I was struggling to make a lot of birdies,” stated Ko. “I think with some of the pin positions today, it was gettable, and my ball-striking want able to match that.”
In the end, though, it was Inbee Park’s week.
“I think if you choose a player that might do that, it's going to be Inbee. She's one of the most consistent players out here,” said Ko of Park, herself a former World No.1 “It's a very impressive round, no matter how the course is set up. To shoot 8-under on the final day, it's not easy. I think she should be very proud of herself for that and it was super impressive to see.”
Ko’s T9 marked her second top 10 of the year.
Defending champion Ha Na Jang hurts ankle, still notches top five
Defending champion Ha Na Jang battled a rolled ankle for most of the back nine, but her 3-under-par 69 moved her to -14, and a tie for fourth with Michelle Wie and Brooke Henderson.
“On the par 3, the 15th, I was hitting 7-iron and just had a little slide on my foot. It’s so bad right now, so I don't want to talk about it right now,” she said, but clarified her statement, calling her ankle ‘fine’ when asked again about it.
Jang said she was happy with her finish and is already looking forward to improving next year and hopefully getting back to the winner’s circle.
Meanwhile, she had nothing but praise for the HSBC Women’s Champions winner, Inbee Park.
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