The third major in women’s golf is taking place this weekend with the Women’s PGA Championship from Fields Ranch East Golf Course in Frisco, Texas. Here are five interesting storylines golf fans should keep in mind.
1) Top three women’s golfers in the world are playing together.
There are 52 groups at the Women’s PGA Championship over the first two days of competition. The most interesting group has an 8:28 AM tee time on Thursday. In this group we have world number one Nelly Korda of the United States, world number two Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand and world number three Lydia Ko of New Zealand. Korda has 390.83 total points (average of 10.56 points in 37 tournaments), Thitikul has 345 points (average of 8.41 points in 41 tournaments), and Ko has 286.73 points (average of 6.67 points).
2) Hosted the 2023 Senior PGA Championship
Fields Ranch East does not have a rich history when hosting major golf tournaments. They did host the 2023 Senior PGA Championship won by Steve Stricker of Edgerton, Wisconsin. Stricker posted a four round score of -18 and beat Padraig Harrington in a playoff.
3) Who is the betting favourite?
It is a toss up between Korda and Thitikul, as they are both at +900. Korda is a two-time major champion as she won the 2021 Women’s PGA Championship in Atlanta and the 2024 Chevron Championship. Despite being ranked second in the world, Jeeno Thitikul, who also goes by Atthaya Thitkul, has not yet won a major championship.
4) Who has won the first two majors this year?
Mao Saigo of Japan won the Chevron Championship, and Maja Stark of Sweden won the Women’s PGA Championship. Saigo is one of 15 Japanese golfers in the field.
5) Television coverage still an issue.
The first two rounds of the Women’s PGA Championship will be on television. You can see the action from 11 am ET to 3 pm ET, and again from 6pm ET to 8pm ET. However, the fact that the Golf Channel is breaking away from a women’s major championship for a regular PGA tournament in the Travelers Championship is contentious for many.
