Tag Archives: Major Championships

KPMG Women’s PGA Championship June 25 to June 28

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The third major for the ladies is this week at Hazeltine in Chaska Minnesota. It feels too soon for another women’s major; but the Solheim Cup is September 7-13 so I think the majors may all be earlier than previous years to accommodate the Solheim Cup.

Contenders: The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship was last held at Hazeltine in 2019 and the winner was Australian, Hannah Green. It was her first major championship win. I like Hannah Green and it would make a great story for her to come back and win at Hazeltine again. Another Australian you can’t rule out is Minjee Lee, defending champion. Lee won her PGA championship at PGA Frisco in 2025. But we all know that the fans will be cheering for Nelly Korda to win her third major of the year. Korda came in third in 2019 so clearly can play well at Hazeltine.

Other than Nelly Korda who might lift the trophy on Sunday? Charley Hull is always on my list of contenders (although she missed the cut in 2019 but Hull’s world ranking in 2019 was 24th and today she is the #4 ranked player in the women’s game). Of course, you can’t rule out world #2, Jenno Thitikul. Lottie Woad is playing well. Woad missed a very short putt and lost in a playoff to Japan’s Miyu Yamashita last week so she may be motivated to redeem herself.

Money: KPMG announced the purse for the championship would be $13 Million which is the highest purse in women’s golf (exceeding the 2026 U.S. Open purse of $12.5 Million). And more interesting is that fact that when the championship was held in 2019 (at Halzeltine) the total purse was only $3.85 Million. It’s nice to see the women’s purses continue to grow.

How to Watch: Check your local listings for Golf Channel times (Thursday, Friday, and weekend) and NBC (weekend). Of note, the final round on Sunday will be on NBC from 1 to 4 pm est.

I’m looking forward to watching the ladies play in Minnesota on a very green, tree-lined traditional golf course.

SIDE NOTE: Hazeltine will host the 2029 Ryder Cup.

U.S Open a Father’s Day Tradition

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It’s the tradition that the leaders at the USGA will always protect – the final round of the U.S. Open falls on father’s day (in the USA). The overall theme is to honor the tradition of golf as a bonding experience between father’s and their children (or back in the old days, particularly their sons). It has created many moving moments on Sunday. For example, Justin Rose famously looking up to the sky as a tribute to his late father.

But really, for me it is all about the golf and who I am cheering for to win. And this year it is Scottie Scheffler. I’m not cheering for him just because I like him as a player, or that he is the #1 golfer in the world. I’m cheering for him because it would give Scottie his grand slam since the U.S. Open is the only major he has yet to win. Plus championship Sunday is Scheffler’s 30th birthday. A grand slam would be a pretty amazing gift.

Other players that I would not mind hoisting the trophy are Cameron Young (New York native grew up playing his golf at Sleep Hollow), Tommy Fleetwood, or Chris Gotterup (Jersey Boy). For those wondering which player might be a great bet and be primed to win look at Tommy Fleetwood. In 2018 Tommy Fleetwood had the lowest score on Sunday with a 7 under 63 and was one shot off the winning overall score. The winner in 2018 was Brooks Koepka with a score of 1 over par. I don’t see Koepka winning because on Sunday he withdrew from the RBC Canadian Open with a hand issue.

The Course and the USGA – Shinnecock has hosted the U.S. Open in 2004 and 2018 and both times the “course got away from” the USGA. Most fans will remember Phil Mickelson famously hitting his ball while it was still moving because he was so frustrated. This week the early coverage on Golf Channel they have shown that the greens are constantly being watered. The USGA clearly does not want to be embarrassed this year.

I hope that the U.S. Open at Shinnecock is more interesting than the PGA Championship was at Aronimink; which just seemed to be a putting contest on difficult greens. I understand the reasons golf courses remove trees including saving the turf from shade and humidity; or the club says they are “restoring the course” to its original design. But I miss the courses that are tree lined and make it much more interesting off the tee. Often times, I think why do the USA courses all want to now have a links look and feel? Now, I understand that Shinnecock (and long island in general) has always been big and open and the greens (with wind) the big defense; but overall I hope the USGA and PGA of America don’t always pick links style courses to present to golf fans in their future championships.

Let’s hope for an exciting week for the U.S. Open.

Chevron Championship – LPGA’s First Major of 2024

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Another week and another major – I love Spring!

It’s a good thing that the LPGA moved the first major of the year so there is no conflict with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur or The Masters. Most people over a certain age will remember the first major as the Dinah Shore or the Colgate Dinah Shore, then it became the ANA Inspiration (which was held in Palm Springs) but with the new sponsor came a new venue in Texas at The Club at Carlton Woods, the Woodlands, Houston.

Last year was the first year at the new location and Lilian Vu won in a playoff against Angel Yin. I don’t think Vu is likely to play well enough to defend her title because she has been dealing with back issues. Perhaps if Angel plays well she may have a chance but my money is on the LPGA’s number one player.

Yes, just as I picked the number one player in the world on the men’s side to win The Masters, I am picking the number one female player in the world, Nelly Korda to win the Chevron Championshiop. Korda, like Scheffler, has won multiple times on tour this season.

In fact, if she wins the Chevron that will be five (5) consecutive wins this season. The last player to win five in a row in the same season was Nancy Lopez back in 1975 in her rookie year. The only other LPGA player to win 5 consecutive tournaments is Annika Sorenstam but she did it in two seasons (end of one season and beginning of another season).

The other players I’ll be watching are:

(1) Lydia Ko – if she wins that will give her the final point she needs to be eligible for the LPGA Hall of Fame. The most difficult Hall of Fame to get eligibility for based on a point system.

(2) Brooke Henderson – I always cheer for the Canadian star to win.

(3) Rose Zhang – came on tour out of Standford with a bang by winning her first professional tournament but hasn’t done much this season so maybe the first major will be the spark to get the 2nd win.

How to Watch the Chevron Championship

The Golf Channel will show the championship early (10 am – 2 pm and late 6 pm to 8 pm) on Thursday and Friday. And the weekend telecast will be on NBC from Noon to 6 pm.

Both Peacock and ESPN+ will offer steaming of the championship so if you have subscriptions there is an opportunity to see more of the event live.

Below are the dates, times, and options:

Thursday, April 18: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; 6-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel/Peacock)
Friday, April 19: 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; 6-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel/Peacock)
Saturday, April 20: 2-3 p.m. ET (Peacock); 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC/Peacock)
Sunday, April 21: 2-3 p.m. ET (Peacock); 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC/Peacock)