BROOKE HENDERSON, INBEE PARK ATOP #DIAMONDLPGA LEADERBOARD
A pair of major winners lead the field at -9 heading into the weekend at the 2020 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions presented by Insurance Office of America. Brooke Henderson, a nine-time LPGA Tour winner with one major title, shot Friday’s round of the day with a 5-under 66 and vaulted up the leaderboard after starting the day in solo 10th. Inbee Park, the 19-time LPGA Tour winner with seven majors to her credit, is bogey-free through 36 holes, following Thursday’s 65 with a 3-under 68 on Friday.
“It's a really nice way to start the year. I haven't made many mistakes on the golf course, and that's what I really look to do all year,” said Park. “Hopefully, I can keep that going for the next two days. Today was definitely a little bit tougher conditions with the wind. I hit a lot longer clubs and missed a few greens, but I was able to make some great up and downs.”
Gaby Lopez sits in solo third at -8 after a second-round 69, with Celine Boutier, Sei Young Kim and Nasa Hataoka tied for fourth at -7. First-round co-leader Danielle Kang was 2-under on her round after nine holes but closed with four bogeys on her back nine to fall to -6 and heads into the weekend in seventh.
After opening with a 3-over 74, defending champion Eun-Hee Ji rebounded with a 4-under 67 on Friday and heads into the weekend tied for 17th.
The celebrity portion of the competition has a three-way tie for the lead with defending champion John Smoltz, Chad Pfeiferand Mardy Fish all at +74. First-round leader Mark Mulder is fourth at +69, with Eric Gagne rounding out the top five at +67.
“I'm very confident. I've just got to see more putts go into the hole,” said Smoltz. “They're touching the hole. Every one of them is close, but if I keep putting like this, it's going to be really good.”
CLOSING EXCITEMENT FOR BROOKE HENDERSON
It was a colorful closing stretch for Brooke Henderson. After making a birdie at No. 16, the Canadian superstar nearly holed out for double eagle at the par-5 17th, hitting her 3-wood from 230 yards out. For a few moments, it looked like her ball would hit the cup at the Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole, but she instead settled for a 4-inch tap-in eagle.
“It was pretty downwind. I was kind of contemplating between 7 wood and 3 wood,” said Henderson, who was third on the LPGA Tour in eagles in 2019 with 16. “At the last second, it sort of switched to maybe a little bit more crosswinds, so we pulled the 3 wood, and I'm really glad I did. I hit it, and I thought I hit it pretty well. (Caddie and sister) Brit (Henderson) was telling it to sit down, so I'm not sure where it hit on the green there, but it was nice to walk up and have that short putt for eagle.”
A bogey at 18 for the second straight day put a slight damper on her round, but Henderson still sits atop the leaderboard heading into the weekend, tied with fellow major champion Inbee Park. Henderson comes into 2020 on a streak of four consecutive years with at last two victories, dating to 2016.
GABY LOPEZ MASTERS WINDS TO JUMP INTO THIRD
When Gaby Lopez started her second round in the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, the winds were just beginning to make their presence known. As the day progressed, sustained winds of 10-20 mph gave way to gusts up to 28 mph.
“Today was really windy at the beginning, so I couldn’t play aggressive,” said Lopez, who carded a 1-over 35 on the front nine that included two bogeys. “I had to pick my target, and if I was in a fairway bunker, I had to just hit to the middle of the green. That’s some of the things I didn’t do. The conditions are going to determine how I play but going to be aggressive when I can.”
Sitting third at the halfway point, Lopez added that she “probably didn’t have the amount of weeks that I wanted to practice” before the season opener. Even so, the 2018 Blue Bay LPGA champion is drawing on positive memories from the 2019 TOTO Japan Classic, where she finished tied for sixth.
“I played very well in Japan last year, the second to last event,” Lopez said. “I’m kind of bringing those memories back to how I mentally play the game. That for sure has been helping me. Also, taking it easy. I know it is a long season and the more patient I stay, the better I play.”
SEI YOUNG KIM CONTINUES IMPRESSIVE STREAK
Today’s round of 2-under 69 marked the 17th consecutive under-par round for 10-time LPGA Tour winner Sei Young Kim. The last time Kim recorded a round over par came on Oct. 17, 2019, when she shot a 1-over 73 in the first round of the Buick LPGA Shanghai.
“I'm very happy with that,” said Kim, who closed the 2019 season with a win at the CME Group Tour Championship. “Normally my play style is not consistent, very aggressive.”
Kim particularly enjoyed today’s walk around the course at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando thanks to a fun grouping with Roger Clemens and Grant Hill. Kim is a third-degree black belt in taekwondo and she chatted with Hill about his daughter’s jiujitsu training. “He said his daughter keep trying like fight somebody,” she said with a laugh.
CELINE BOUTIER RECORDS FIRST ACE OF 2020 LPGA TOUR SEASON
Celine Boutier made the first hole-in-one of the 2020 LPGA Tour season, acing the 178-yard fifth hole with a 4-iron.
“Super happy, excited,” said Boutier, who became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2019 ISPS Handa Vic Open. “It's my second one, but my first one was like eight years ago, so it was definitely time for another one.”
For that ace, CME Group will donate $20,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The 2019 LPGA Tour season saw 32 aces from 31 different players, which more than covers the average cost of $425,000 needed to treat a pediatric cancer patient.
PLAYER NOTES
Rolex Rankings No. 8 Brooke Henderson (67-66)
- She hit 11 of 13 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, with 27 putts
- This is Henderson’s sixth season on the LPGA Tour; she has nine wins, with two wins in each of the last four seasons
- With her most-recent win at the 2019 Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, she became the winningest Canadian golfer in PGA and PGA Tour history
- Henderson tied for sixth at the 2019 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions
Rolex Rankings No. 16 Inbee Park (65-68)
- She hit 12 of 13 fairways and 12 of 18 greens, with 27 putts
- This is Park’s 14th season on the LPGA Tour; she has 19 career victories, including seven majors, and won most recently at the 2018 Bank of Hope Founders Cup
- Park won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Park is competing in her first Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions
Rolex Rankings No. 56 Gaby Lopez (65-69)
- She hit 10 of 13 fairways and 12 of 18 greens, with 29 putts
- This is Lopez’s fifth season on the LPGA Tour; she won the 2018 Blue Bay LPGA and has eight other top-10 finishes
- Kang tied for 10th at the 2019 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions
WHO’S IN THE DIAMOND RESORTS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS FIELD
26 LPGA Tour Winners from 2018 and 2019
Marina Alex (2018 Cambia Portland Classic), Celine Boutier (2019 ISPS Handa Vic Open), In Gee Chun (2018 LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship), Cydney Clanton (2019 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational), Georgia Hall (2018 Ricoh Women’s British Open), Nasa Hataoka (2018 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, 2018 TOTO Japan Classic, 2019 Kia Classic), Brooke Henderson (2018 LOTTE Championship, 2018 CP Women’s Open, 2019 LOTTE Championship, 2019 Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give), Mi Jung Hur (2019 Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open, 2019 Indy Women in Tech Championship), Eun Hee Ji (2018 Kia Classic, 2019 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions), Ariya Jutanugarn (2018 Kingsmill Championship, 2018 U.S. Women’s Open, 2018 Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open), Moriya Jutanugarn (2018 HUGEL-JTBC LA Open), Danielle Kang (2018 Buick LPGA Shanghai, 2019 Buick LPGA Shanghai), Sei Young Kim (2018 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic, 2019 LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship, 2019 Marathon Classic, 2019 CME Group Tour Championship), Cheyenne Knight (2019 Volunteers of America Classic), Jessica Korda (2018 Honda LPGA Thailand), Nelly Korda (2018 Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA, 2019 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, 2019 Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA), Bronte Law (2019 Pure Silk Championship), Brittany Lincicome(2018 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic), Pernilla Lindberg (2018 ANA Inspiration), Gaby Lopez (2018 Blue Bay LPGA), Annie Park(2018 ShopRite LPGA Classic), Inbee Park (2018 Bank of Hope Founders Cup), Angela Stanford (2018 Evian Championship), Jasmine Suwannapura (2018 Marathon Classic, 2019 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational), Lexi Thompson (2018 CME Group Tour Championship, 2019 ShopRite LPGA Classic), Amy Yang (2019 Honda LPGA Thailand)
49 Celebrities
Marcus Allen, Maurice Allen, Ray Allen, Josh Beckett, Lee Brice, Joe Carter, Roger Clemens, Richard Dent, Mark DeRosa, Josh Donaldson, Mardy Fish, Larry Fitzgerald, Mike Flaskey, Colt Ford, Terry Francona, Eric Gagne, Tom Glavine, Denny Hamlin, John Hart, Ben Higgins, Grant Hill, Case Keenum, Jon Lester, Derek Lowe, Greg Maddux, Brian McCann, Kevin Millar, Mark Mulder, Phil Nevin, Bud Norris, Blair O’Neal, Michael Peña, Patrick Peterson, Chad Pfeifer, A.J. Pierzynski, Alfonso Ribeiro, Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, Sterling Sharpe, John Smoltz, Cole Swindell, Larry The Cable Guy, Brian Urlacher, Justin Verlander, Frank Viola, Jack Wagner, Tim Wakefield, Michael Waltrip, David Wells, Deron Williams
COMPETITION FORMAT
Professionals: 26 players; 72 holes, stroke play, no cut
Celebrities and amateurs: 49 players; 72 holes, Modified Stableford scoring format, no cut
MODIFIED STABLEFORD SCORING FORMAT
Double bogey – 0
Bogey – 1
Par – 2
Birdie – 3
Eagle – 5
Hole-in-One – 8
Double Eagle – 10
SOCIAL MEDIA
Tournament: @DiamondResorts (Twitter and Instagram), #DiamondLPGA
LPGA: @LPGA, @LPGAMedia (Twitter), @lpga_tour (Instagram)
TV TIMES (all times Eastern)
Saturday, Jan. 18 – 2-3 p.m., Golf Channel; 3-5 p.m., NBC
Sunday, Jan. 19 – 2-3 p.m., Golf Channel; 3-5 p.m., NBC
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