Ko, Korda favourites at new-look Chevron Championship
The first major championship of the LPGA Tour has arrived, with the 2023 Chevron Championship just days away from teeing off.
Formerly known as the ANA Inspiration, the first major championship of the season will have a much different look this year as it will take place at The Club at Carlton Woods for the first time.
The Jack Nicklaus-designed course in The Woodlands, Texas, is described as such:
“The generous teeing grounds and landing areas wind among lakes and parklands, and the greens feature an intriguing design of undulation and bunkering.”
A glance at the course features those lakes as water comes into play on half of the holes these women will play this week.
Speaking of water.
Beginning in 1988, the winner of this event traditionally celebrates her victory by jumping in the pond surrounding the 18th green at Mission Hills Country Club, so fingers crossed the winner in 2023 has a nice body of water to jump in after 72 holes.
Let’s look at the odds and take a look at where Brooke Henderson’s game is at ahead of the first major of the year.
Lydia Ko +1000
Nelly Korda +1000
Jin Young Ko +1100
Atthaya Thitikul +1800
Georgia Hall +1800
Lilia Vu +1800
Celine Boutier +2200
Danielle Kang +2200
Hyo Joo Kim +2200
Nasa Hataoka +2200
Brooke Henderson +3100
THE FAVOURITES
Lydia Ko +1000
The No.1 player in the world, Ko enters this week looking to add to her already incredible resume.
In 2022 Ko finished inside the Top 10 in three different majors, and she also won her 19th LPGA Tour title at the CME Group Tour Championship in November.
She enters this week with events in her back pocket this LPGA season, making the cut in all three with the New Zealander’s best finish being a tie for sixth at Honda LPGA Thailand.
Nelly Korda +1000
The last two times Nelly Korda has teed it up in the Chevron Championship, she has tied for third and second.
Korda missed the tournament in 2022 due to a blood clot in her arm, but that didn’t derail her season.
The American finished inside the top 10 at two majors last year, and picked up her eighth career win at the Pelican Women's Championship in November.
This season, Korda has played in five events and has finished inside the top 10 four times.
Look for her to give the leaders a scare on Sunday unless she’s the one out front.
Jin Young Ko +1100
It didn’t take long for Jin Young Ko to find the winner’s circle this year. The Korean won just her second start of the year, and has three top-6 finishes in four starts in 2023.
Ko, who dealt with injuries in 2022 after reaching World No. 1 status, called the win earlier this season “the most important win” of her career.
In four starts this year, Ko’s worst finish is a tie for 25th at the DIO Implant LA Open, with every other finish coming inside the top 10.
The two-time major champion had three top-10 finishes at the majors last year and should be in line for another big showing this week.
Brooke Henderson
It’s been an up-and-down season for Brooke Henderson.
The Canadian opened up 2023 with a win at the Tournament of Champions.
However, she wouldn’t finish inside the top 40 in her next three starts, a stretch of golf that included a missed cut.
But after taking a few weeks off, Henderson returned to action at the LOTTE Championship last week, finishing tied for 11th.
One area of Henderson’s game that will need to be better this week to contend is her putting.
Henderson enters this week 67th in Putts per Green in Regulation, a stat she ranked inside the top 20 last season.
Last year she added a second major championship to her list of accolades and TSN’s Adam Scully likes the value on the 25-year-old this week.
“Brooke Henderson opens the week at +3100 on @FanDuelCanada to win the Chevron Championship, the first LPGA major of the year.” He wrote on Twitter Monday afternoon.
“Talk about tons of value!!! She’s coming off a season with a major win and four other finishes of T-16 or better in the majors.”
