The third major of the LPGA season is here. The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will take place this week at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash. Defending champion Ruoning Yin will look to repeat as she tries to best a field featuring Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu and other major stars of the women’s game.
Three Canadians will tee it up in the tournament, playing for more than major championship glory. This is the last week to earn points for Olympic qualification. At the end of the week, the top two ranking Canadian players will be named to Team Canada for the Paris Olympics.
Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp occupy the top two spots. The two players presented Canada at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games. Brooke Henderson Last five LPGA finishes: T34, T27, CUT, T56, T35 The 26-year-old returns to the friendly confines of Sahalee Country Club, the site of her first major victory.
Henderson took home the title at this event in 2016 at the age of 18, becoming the youngest champion in the tournament’s history. She did so in thrilling fashion, taking down then World No. 1 Lydia Ko in a playoff thanks to a pair of brilliant and aggressive shots on the narrow 18th hole.
Since her win eight years ago, Henderson has historically played well at this event, finishing in the top 10 in three of the past seven years. It has been a good, not great, campaign thus far for the two-time major champion. She has recorded five top 10s, which includes a hat-trick of third-place finishes, but she does.