Henderson Makes Big Move, Thitikul Leads Before Play Suspended on Saturday
Before dangerous conditions suspended the third round at The Chevron Championship, Canadian superstar Brooke Henderson was making the most of moving day with an 8-under round heading into her final hole. Starting the day at T21 after two rounds of 71, Henderson made seven birdies and an eagle in a nine-hole stretch, including five straight holes under par from Nos. 7-11. She was -9 on the day and tied for the lead with Atthaya Thitikul and Nelly Korda when she made bogey on 16. After recovering with a par on 17, Henderson headed to the 18th tee when the horn blew to suspend play.
The key to Henderson’s spectacular Saturday round, which will be the lowest round of the week so far if she finishes -8 or better, was her putting, she said.
“You know, I’ve been hitting it really well all week. I just wasn’t really capitalizing on some of the opportunities. I was just playing really steady, really solid. Today I was able to make a few putts,” said Henderson, who had an incredible 12 one-putts on the card through 17 holes, and 10 in a row from holes 6-15. “Made a clutch par save on 6, birdie on 7 and then a long one on 8 for eagle, so I kind of just really felt a lot of great momentum with my putter and was able to keep it pretty hot throughout the back nine. A little disappointed I dropped the one shot on 16, but I have 18 left tomorrow morning early, so hopefully go out and post a good score and then go into tomorrow with a lot of confidence and a lot of momentum.”
Thitikul, who started the day at the top of the leaderboard and remains so, is -3 through 12 holes. The young Thai star opened her round with a birdie and added two more on holes 8 and 11, taking the solo lead with her last. Korda, playing in the same group, is just one stroke behind the leader just as she began the day. Also at -3 on the round, Korda too had a birdie on 1 and made two more on Nos. 5 and 8 but, unlike Thitikul, she has not completed her 12th hole. The American had to mark her putt for par as lightning closed in on The Club at Carlton Woods.
“I had a bogey-free 3-under on the front nine and I have probably a three- or four-footer for par on the hole that I didn’t finish so overall I feel like I played pretty good,” said Korda, who is chasing her fifth victory in as many starts on Tour. “The greens are a little softer than maybe days prior, so I could be a little bit more aggressive, but overall I felt pretty good out there.”
The greens will continue to soften as heavy rainfall is expected overnight. The course took over half-an-inch on Saturday before play was finally called for the day at 5:30 p.m., a delay of 2 hours and 33 minutes. The third round will resume at 7 a.m. CT on Sunday and, once complete, players will be repaired for the fourth round, which will begin at approximately 9:20 a.m. CT.
