View the complete pairings for the Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America >>
With the strongest field in its ten-year history, there’s more than enough talent to entertain fans at The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America. The grouping that may have the most at stake as the season comes to an end is the threesome of Nelly Korda, Brooke Henderson and Sei Young Kim.
NELLY KORDA
To start this year, Korda’s 12-week reign as No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings came to an end as she was unseated by Jin Young Ko. But while Ko has a win under her belt this year – the HSBC Women’s World Championship – the No. 1 spot is still up for grabs with just five events left on the calendar after the Tour’s stop in Texas. Ko has not competed since August due to injury, leaving the door open for Korda to return to the top of the Rolex Rankings.
But Korda is not alone in her battle for the top spot. With her victory at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G last week, Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul jumped up two spots to No. 3 and became the first rookie with multiple wins on the LPGA Tour since former world No. 1 Sung Hyun Park won twice in 2017.
There’s one edge that both Ko and Thitikul have over Korda: wins in 2022. In 12 starts this year, Korda has six top-10 finishes but that first win of the 2022 season has remained elusive. If she were to take home the title this week at Old American Golf Club, Korda has the chance to unseat Ko and hold off Thitikul’s advance.
BROOKE HENDERSON
With nine top-10 finishes in 2022 and wins at the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer and The Amundi Evian Championship, Henderson finds herself in a tight race with Minjee Lee for Rolex Player of the Year. Lee, who has also won twice this season at the Cognizant Founders Cup and the U.S. Women’s Open presented by ProMedica, has a 19-point lead over Henderson.
Should Henderson capture her third win in a single season for the first time in her career, she would have more than a fighting chance at overtaking Lee.
And another victory by the Canadian would come as no surprise. Henderson leads the tour in rounds in the 60s with 37 and is third in rounds under par at 49. She also ranks second in strokes gained off the tee (0.900).
However, this event hasn’t been kind to the Canadian. In five previous appearances, she has yet to put herself in contention with her best result coming in 2015 when she finished in a tie for 13th.
SEI YOUNG KIM
From the start of her LPGA career in 2015 to 2020, Kim won at least once each season on Tour, with 2018 being her only single-win season. But Kim now finds herself in a slump after her winning streak ended in 2021, and she has yet to find victory lane in 2022. The 29-year-old Korean is hoping to return to the winner’s circle soon and end this long winless streak.
Kim put herself in contention early last week after shooting -7 in the first round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. However, she couldn’t keep that momentum going and finished the tournament tied for 16th at 11 under.
She’s had a respectable season thus far but has only brought herself within the top-10 four times. With just six events left to play, the pressure is on Kim to at least be in contention and have a chance at her first win in nearly two years.
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