Crowded playoff decides Canadian LPGA tourney
On a dry and windy day, Henderson leads the domestic field with an 11th-place tie
Wouldn’t it have been great, with the 150th birthday of our grand ol’ country just around the corner, if a homegrown player could have won the Manulife LPGA Classic for the first time in its six-year history?
It certainly was within the realm of possibility before play began Sunday at Whistle Bear Golf Club in Cambridge with three Canadians in the top 14, but in tough, windy conditions where few players went low, it just didn’t happen.
Fans were instead treated to a three-way playoff between world No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand, world No. 4 Lexi Thompson of the U.S., and world No. 5 In Gee Chun of South Korea — not a bad consolation prize when all is said and done.
Jutanugarn won the playoff on the first extra hole when she dropped a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th green for her first tour victory of the season and sixth of her career. It was her ninth top-10 finish this year.
“I knew it was a good putt. I just didn’t know it was going to go in,” Jutanugarn said. “I just told myself, ‘Don’t leave it short.’ ”
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., had a final round 71 to finish at 11-under 227 and tie for 11th. Hamilton’s Alexa Sharp, who shared the lead at the halfway point, struggled with a 76 on Sunday to finish with a 10-under 278, tied for 15th.
The third Canadian to make the cut, Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., was in contention before falling apart on Sunday with an 81 to finish at 3-under 285 in a tie for 46th.
Jutanugarn likely will take over the world No. 1 ranking from Lydia Ko, who was conspicuously absent from this tournament.
“I don’t pay much attention to the ranking. I’ll still play the same next week,” Jutanugarn said.
The long-hitting Jutanugarn had an unspectacular, but steady, round of four birdies and one bogey for a 3-under 69 and a four-round total of 271. Her best round came on Saturday, when she shot a 7-under 65 to move into contention.
After the birdie putt fell, a happy Jutanugarn hugged her caddy, seemingly as shocked as the gallery was that it had drained, and tears flowed as she hoisted the championship trophy.
She jokingly said she was planning to celebrate the victory by sleeping in the car as her caddy drove her to Grand Rapids, Mich., the site of the next week’s Meijer LPGA Classic.
The playoff came as a bit of a shocker. Thompson, who started the day as the sole leader at 17 under and was looking to become the LPGA Tour’s first multiple winner of the season, seemed to be cruising until holes 17 and 18 when she missed two short putts.
“I just struggled with the putter,” Thompson said. “You know, I seemed to make everything all week, and then just the two last two holes — actually, the last three holes — I had like a five-footer, sixfooter and about a four-footer, and missed them all.” It all added up to an even-par 72. Chun, who started the round in third place at 15 under, shot a 2-under 70 to get into the playoff.
Sharp was three strokes back of Thompson when the day began, but a bogey on the first hole seemed to set the tone. She never recorded a birdie all day and had two bogeys before a double bogey on the final hole.
“I hit it left and it’s not a hazard, so I had to take an unplayable,” Sharp said of No. 18.
Her 15th-place tie was her second-best result of the season, and her best ever at this tournament.
“It’s been an amazing week. I played well today, actually,” said Sharp, who is still looking for her first LPGA Tour victory. “I played better today than yesterday, just hit one bad shot on the last and didn’t make any putts.”
Henderson, a three-time champion on the LPGA Tour, had a wild final round that included an eagle, five birdies and six bogeys.
“Today was a really tough day,” she said. “Conditions were extremely difficult, the wind was blowing, the greens dried out. The fairways dried out as well. You had to pick different lines and land the ball 15 yards short of the pin sometimes, which we’re not necessarily used to … Obviously, I’m a little bit disappointed, but T11, I can’t complain too much.”
After completing three rounds at 12 under, Marchand, who plays on the Symetra Tour, plummeted 37 spots with a 9-over 81.
Conditions were extremely difficult, the wind was blowing, the greens dried out. The fairways dried out as well. You had to pick different lines and land the ball 15 yards short of the pin sometimes.