Brooke Henderson Leads KPMG Women’s PGA Championship By Two Strokes

Brooke Henderson shot a 4-under 67 on Thursday, good for a 2-stroke lead over In-Kyung Kim and Christina Kim after the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington. The No. 4 player in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Henderson used a 7-iron to record her first hole-in-one on the LPGA Tour on the 152-yard 13th hole, her fourth hole of the day, after beginning play on Hole No. 10. With the ace, Henderson won a 2016 Kia K900, which she plans to donate to her older sister, Brittany, who is her caddy. Henderson, 18, is in search of her first career major championship victory this week at Sahalee. Meanwhile, Henderson broke through to win the Cambia Portland Classic with a Ping Craz-E putter. She had the club in her bag for about 18 months before switching to a Ping Vault Oslo mallet putter this week and posting a 4-under-par 67 to take the first-round lead. The Vault series is a new line of putters Ping is debuting this week. And South Korea's favorite daughter Inbee Park  became an active 10-year member of the LPGA, and thus, qualified as the 25th member of the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame, and 24th player to qualify. Share your picks for Sunday afternoon's leaderboard? And just whom will take home the winner's trophy with the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

KPMG Women's PGA Championship: Ladies Prepare for the LPGA's Second Major

Three-time defending Champion Inbee Park is the first player since Annika Sorenstam in 2005 to win a single major championship three consecutive times (Sorenstam won this Championship in 2003, ’04 and ’05). No player, however, has won any LPGA major championship four consecutive times. The only golfer, on any Tour, since 1900 to win a single major championship four straight years, without interruption, was Walter Hagen. He won four consecutive PGA Championships from 1924-27. Note that Tom Morris Jr. won four straight Open Championships from 1868-72, with the exception of 1871, when it was not contested. Lydia Ko has won two straight LPGA major championships. Last September, Ko won the final major on the 2015 LPGA schedule, the Evian Championship, before claiming the ANA Inspiration in April. If Ko can win this week at Sahalee, she’d join Inbee Park (2013), Pat Bradley (1985-86), Mickey Wright (1961-62), and Babe Zaharias (1950) as the only women to win three straight majors.Meanwhile, This week at Sahalee, Ariya (“Air-ee-ah”) Jutanugarn is gunning for her fourth consecutive victory, as in her previous three entries, she won the LPGA Volvik Championship (May 26-29), the Kingsmill Championship Presented by JTBC (May 19-22) and the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic (May 5-8). Jutanugarn did not enter last week’s ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer. To date, only six players in LPGA annals have won as many as four events in a row: Shirley Englehorn, Nancy Lopez, Lorena Ochoa, Annika Sorenstam, Kathy Whitworth, and Mickey Wright. Which player has the advantage heading into the year's 2nd Major? Share your picks with the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

William McGirt Wins the Memorial Tournament After 165 PGA Starts

That was just fine with eventual champion William McGirt, who won for the first time in 165 starts. After handing him the trophy, tournament host Jack Nicklaus told McGirt he won plenty of tournaments with the same formula. “The golf course gave up birdie after birdie after birdie, and then all of a sudden, a little teeth got into it coming down near the end, and you just stayed dead steady right on track and kept on going,” Nicklaus said to McGirt. “That's what it takes to win golf tournaments. I've won - I don't know how many tournaments - I won half of my golf tournaments watching everyone else self-destruct. I didn't win them. They just self-destructed, and that's the way you win.” McGirt made 15 straight pars to close out his first win, none bigger than the 9-footer he made to beat Jon Curran on the second playoff hole. “Luckily, the wind kept it from being a shootout at the end, and pars were good enough coming down the stretch,” McGirt said.This win boosts McGirt's confidence just in time for his first U.S. Open in two weeks. Rory McIlroy finished T4, Jason Day ended up at T27 and Jordan Spieth came home at T57. What do these results foretell about the US Open at Oakmont in two weeks? Send us your comments here at the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

PGA Tour: Matt Kuchar and Brendan Steele Share the Lead in Round 2 at The Memorial

With second round play in-progress Kuchar and Steele finished theirs rounds at -12 under par while OWGR #1 Jason Day finished at -7 under par five strokes off the lead. Before Jason Day teed off Thursday on his home course, Dustin Johnson had already posted his best score in 31 rounds at the Memorial, an 8-under 64. But Day remembered the advice he received earlier this week from tournament host Jack Nicklaus:  Stay patient and play within yourself. Day went out and posted his best score in 23 rounds at Muirfield Village, a 6-under 66. “I'm pleased because usually I come into this event and start pretty poorly, maybe put a little too much pressure on myself,” he said. “It is my home course, and you want to play well, and you want to win this tournament because of Mr. Nicklaus and what he's done with the golf tournament and the golf course, as well. A lot of history behind this.” Day can join Tiger Woods as the only players to win at Arnold Palmer's  Bay Hill and Nicklaus’s Memorial in the same year. Woods accomplished the feat four times.  Day desperately wanted to win The Players, which he did three weeks ago for his third title of the season, and he’s trying to do the same at the Memorial. The first hurdle is out of the way. He is off to a good start, and with an early tee time on Friday, Day has a chance to give Johnson a number to look at when he tees off in the afternoon. While Muirfield Village is his home course, but Day’s best finish at the Memorial is a T-27 in 2009. “I don't know, I just sucked,” Day said, when asked to explain his poor record. “To be honest, I would love to go, ‘Yeah, this is it.’ I had distractions at home, or the course wasn't that great, or I had a bad draw, or whatever, but it's not. I just played terrible and kept on playing terrible for a good period of time.” Which player has the advantage moving into Round 3 on Saturday? Share our picks with the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

PGA Tour: Jordan Spieth Wins Dean and Deluca Invitational Heading into The Memorial

Beginning the forth round with a one-shot lead at the Dean and Deluca Invitational, Jordan Spieth finished in style to seal a three-shot win over Harris English that marks his first-ever professional win in his home state.  This win not only helps boolster Speith's much needed confidence heading into this coming week's Memorial Tournament but also strengthens his hold on his OWGR #2 position. “It’s really special. Had some close calls, even here in the past,” Spieth said. “Fort Worth was the first one. This is a very special place. This tournament gave me a champions’ exemption back in 2013 when I was searching for exemptions. They gave it to me before I even had status, so I actually owe a lot to this event, and it’s very special to me.” The victory is Spieth’s eighth of his burgeoning pro career, and he now joins Jason Day and Adam Scott as the only players with multiple wins this season on the PGA Tour, having won the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in January. “Actually at this point last year we had two wins, so we’re kind of right on track,” he said. “Obviously we had a major last year and almost one this year, but things seem to be kind of back on track, in contention three of the last four events, and that’s the way we’ve tried to keep on looking at it.”  With all eyes now focused on the "meeting" at Jack's place - The Memorial - just how will this win enhance Speith's competitiveness against Jason Day and Rory McIlroy? Share your thoughts with the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

Byron Nelson Classic: Garcia Wins While Spieth Slips Further into Dismay

Spain's Sergio Garcia is closing in on the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking after his first  PGA Tour win in nearly four years. Garcia outlasted Brooks Koepka in a playoff to win the AT&T Byron Nelson, and jumped three spots in the rankings to No. 12. It equals his best ranking of the year, which came after a runner-up finish at the Honda Classic in March. Koepka also made a jump after his runner-up in Dallas, moving up three spots to No. 16. Matt Kuchar, who finished alone in third, also rose three spots to No. 20.  By contrast Jordan Spieth shot +4 over par in the final round on Sunday to drop from co-leader after three rounds to T18 when the tournament finished. Moreover, Spieth's grip on the OWGR #2 position is at risk to Rory McIlroy (details to follow on Tuesday).  What does this win portend for Garcia's performance for the balance of the 2016 season - PGA, European PGA, Olympic and Ryder Cup)? Share your comments with the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/

PGA Tour: Byron Nelson Classic - Round 2 Co-Leaders Cauley, Koepka and Spieth

With second round place at the Byron Nelson Classic nearing completion, Bud Cauley, Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth are tied for the lead at -11 under par. This is the first time Jordan Spieth has been na leader in several weeks and may bode well as he eyes the Memorial Tournament at Jack's place in two weeks. On Thursday, it was just the opposite. Spieth shot a 6-under 64 on a course that hasn’t always been kind to him. In the process, he took one big first step to fulfilling his dream of winning his hometown event, the AT&T Byron Nelson. Trying to beat the darkness caused by a 2-1/2 rain delay to start the day, Spieth managed his way around the TPC Four Seasons Resort course despite some balky iron play at times. The 64 ties for his lowest round in this event and puts him just one shot off the lead shared by Sergio Garcia, Danny Lee and Johnson Wagner. “I got of the most out of the round -- which is what I was looking for last week that I just couldn't get,” Spieth said. Thursday’s round started when Spieth holed out from the intermediate rough for birdie on the par-4 first, an indication that maybe he was due for some good fortune after failing to take advantage of prime scoring conditions in the first two rounds last week at TPC Sawgrass. Another indication that he had put his troubles of last week behind him came in the form of a couple of mid-range putts – a 13-footer at nine for birdie and another 13-footer at 14 for a bounce-back birdie after his lone bogey of the round at the par-3 13th. Can Spieth hold a share of the lead on Saturday? Let us know your predictions here at the Pro Golf Tour: http://progolftournaments.blogspot.com/