The LPGA Tour resumes this week with the MacKayson New Zealand Women’s Open, which was played at Clearwater Golf Club and Pegasus Golf and Sports Club. It will be played this year at Windross Farm Golf Club for the first time as the LPGA Tour kicked off their international stretch run of the season at the Evian Championship in France. Anna Nordqvist won the final major of the season for her second major win, and first since 2009.
Details
Event: MacKayson New Zealand Women’s Open
Category: LPGA
Date: September 28th – October 1st
Location: Windross Farm Golf Club, Papakura, New Zealand
Lydia Ko is the defending champion and she has won three of the last four editions of this tournament in her home country (she was born in South Korea, but raised in New Zealand). However, as this is the first year that the tournament will be held at Windross Farm, it’s tough to figure out what the winning score might be.
Past Five Winners
2016: Lydio Ko -10
2015: Lydia Ko -14
2014: Mi Hyang Lee -9
2013: Lydia Ko -10
2012: Lindsey Wright
The Field
With the event taking place in New Zealand, it’s no surprise that the hometown hero, Lydia Ko, is favored. The former World No. 1 has slipped to No. 8 this season as she’s had a tough time sealing the deal recently. She was a weekly favorite last year but hasn’t won in a year. However, she has won three of the last four events here.
Next in line according to the odds is Canadian Brooke M. Henderson. She’s ranked No. 12 in the world and will become the most active player on the Tour this week. She only has one win on the year, though, which came back in June.
Brittany Lincicome will a popular bet. She won the season-opening event but has just one other Top 10 on the LPGA Tour this season. She finished third at the Evian Championship two weeks ago, though.
What To Know About The Course
Windross Farms Golf Club opened in 2011 and it is a par-72 course that will be 6,416 yards long. There will be a pair of par-5s on the back nine where birdies could be huge on Sunday, and the par-3 17th could be tricky as well. This course is also very dependent on the weather as the course has been firm, but if the wind kicks up, it could get tough. However, if isn’t windy, it could turn into a birdie-fest.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Lydia Ko over Brooke Henderson
Henderson is coming off a T-58 at the Evian Championship in tough conditions, although she did have three top-15s going into that tournament and has been pretty consistent all season. Ko hasn’t had the year that you would expect by her standards, but she finished T-3 at the Evian Championship, which followed a solo second at the Indy Women’s in Tech Championship. A trip back to her homeland could be a big spark for Ko coming down the stretch, while Henderson might be tiring a little bit as she has played in 24 tournaments to 20 for Ko. Also, Ko is simply more familiar with the playing conditions in New Zealand.
Top-Five Pick: Brittany Lincicome
Lincicome finished -32 at the Evian Championship and she has finished in the top 40 in each of her last four starts, including a T-8 at the Marathon Classic. While she hasn’t had a great year, Lincicome won back in January 2017 and she is one of the top players in this field, along with Ko, Henderson and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner Danielle Kang. If she plays as well as she can, a top-five should be a lock for Lincicome and if the others struggle, she could wind up with her second win of 2017.
Odds To Win 2017 MacKayson New Zealand Women’s Open
Lydia Ko +250
Brooke M Henderson +505
Brittany Lincicome +1815
Danielle Kang +2050
Jodi Ewart Shadoff +2050
Jane Park +2250
Katherine Kirk +2550
Jennifer Song +2550
Su Oh +3050
Nicole Broch Larsen +3050
Ally McDonald +3050
Angela Stanford +3050
Megan Khang +3550
Madelene Sagstrom +4550
Sarah Jane Smith +4550
Olafia Kristinsdottir +5500
Ayako Uehara +5500
Gaby Lopez +5500
Pauls Creamer +6550
Mel Reid +6550
Eun Jeong Seong +6550
Kris Tamulis +7550
Haeji Kang +7550
Wei Ling Hsu +7550
Yani Tseng +10000
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