Brooke Henderson wins the 2022 Evian Championship – live reaction! | Golf

Nolynne Lewis, one of many excited Canucks, emails: “As a fellow Canadian, we are so proud of our Brooke Henderson. She and her sister make a great team……Go Canada.”

Brooke Henderson on her victory:

It was definitely an interesting day. I stayed as patient as I could. The saying is that majors are won on the back nine so I reminded myself of that. I just kept saying I was still in it and I made some clutch putts down the stretch.

Runner-up Sophia Schubert on her week and day:

I have a great caddie and she helped me stay calm this week. I was just able to go out and play. I peeked at the leaderboard on 14 and saw I was leading, but I avoided the scores after thats. It was a good stroke on the putt at 18 it just missed. I’m looking forward to taking this momentum forward.

It’s only when Brooke Henderson makes her way to the scorer’s that you realise how small she is. Small in stature, huge of heart today. So many would have wilted after a four-putt on the front nine. It’s her second major championship triumph – after the 2016 KPG PGA Championship – and her 12th LPGA Tour victory.

Brooke Henderson wins the 2022 Evian Championship!

Here’s a weird thing. Last year Jeongeun Lee6 had a big lead, lost it, fought back. Minjee Lee drained four birdies to close her third round and then caught the leader. There was then a play-off. Schubert has already emulated Lee (four birdies from 15 yesterday, caught the leader today). Henderson has birdie to win or a two-putt to complete the sense of deja vu.

Henderson plays her third to the 18th. It’s good. It’s very good. She’ll have about 10 feet to win the Evian Championship.

Here we go … Schubert for birdie on 18. It doesn’t drop. A little tentative. She went for dead weight. It tickled the edge and the back of the hole. But stayed up. Ciganda’s caddie Alvaro pats her on the back. Ciganda joins the pack on 15 under. Schubert waits. Henderson needs birdie to win, par for extra holes.

In contrast, Ciganda is struggling to make birdie. Her third shot only just clambered over the lake in front of the green. It’s a bold birdie putt, but it doesn’t drop. Behind, Henderson lays up further back than Schubert was.

Brooke Henderson’s tee shot at the 18th finds the trees. Up ahead Schubert plays a lovely approach. She has about 15 feet for birdie. Wonderful stuff. Just tremendous.

Helen Miller emails: “In Perth, no telecast – just hanging on your every word. This is crazy close.” It sure is Helen. Schubert has knocked her second shot down the fairway. Ciganda found the trees and her second blow nearly found lush grass but bounced back into the first cut.

We’re sort of in play-off territory. Henderson can only make par at the 17th. So it will be decided by what she and Schubert score down the last. The latter has found the rough down the left, taking eagle out of play.

A wonderfully erudite Andreas Aigner emails: “With Schubert in (or around) first position, shouldn’t we rather be talking about the Liederboard?” I had to google lieder as well – it’s a classical music term. Bravo Andreas, but I suspect you prefer Mozart (Magic Flute is in his email address).

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No birdie for Henderson at the 16th. She also had a long wait (Ryu is ailing alongside her). We’ve sort of got a two-hole shootout for the title.

A nervy wait for Schubert ahead of her approach at the 17th while Kim had her problems up ahead. She found the second cut from the tee and chatters away with her caddie Brittany about her options. Big deep breath and then an anxious look after she forces the ball out. The top spin helps it negotiate the green’s side slope. Not a good look at birdie, but she’ll be putting.

And now Charley Hull joins the log jam in the clubhouse at 15 under. Four of them on that mark. Sei Young Kim now needs an eagle three to join them after she takes six at the par-four 17th.

A third player has signed for 15 under for the week: Hyo Joo Kim’s eagle putt was huge but had perfect pace and was just a couple of inches from the perfect line. It touched the hole, but refused to drop. She joins Lydia Ko and Mao Saigo with the clubhouse lead. A limp farewell from Nelly Korda who leaves a short birdie putt short of the 18th hole. She shared the lead on the 10th tee and didn’t make one birdie from then on in.

Brilliant from Brooke Henderson on the par three 16th tee. The best shot we’ve seen her hit all day. She has about 10 feet for birdie. Another case of jutted jaw, clenched teeth and steely eyes in the stare down.

Behind, on the 15th green, Henderson completes her birdie four to join Schubert on 16 under. But up ahead, Sei Young Kim, still losing the club with one, other or both hands, misses the green horribly at the 17th. She’s in trouble.

Schubert’s conundrum was nasty. She chipped the ball and it was difficult to get the ball high enough. It fell short and swung across the green. Ten feet for par … wow! Straight in the middle. Magnificent up-and-down.

First up … The slight figure of Lydia Ko takes aim at her eagle putt – gah, but it was never going in. Birdie for her as she joins Saigo in the clubhouse on 15 under. Not sure she ever believed she was right in this contest. Suspect she thinks 16 under would not have been enough. Behind, Henderson’s eagle putt on 15 doesn’t drop and it’s no gimme.

A big five minutes ahead. Henderson has an eagle putt to come on the 15th, Ko has hers on the 18th, and Schubert has found a funny little spot on the 16th. Her tee shot on the par-three has settled on top of the saddle which sits through the middle of the surface, just off the shortest grass. A little riddle coming up for her.

Superb from Schubert! She adds yet another birdie at the 15th, finding sand with her second and draining from about 12 feet after her escape. The new solo leader on 16 under. Lydia Ko hits a wonderful approach to the 18th. She has about 15 feet for an eagle three and a new clubhouse target (the same mark Schubert is currently on).

14:52pm BST leaderboard

Mao Saigo sets a new clubhouse target of 15 under 269 with a 64 that includes a birdie four at the 18th. Her approach took the wrong side of the slope discussed in the previous post. Her first putt had no hope, she did well to make the birdie.

Three key shots for the leaders coming up. 1. Tee shot on the par-three 16th: find the putting surface. 2. Tee shot on the short par-four 17th: don’t get blocked out by the trees. 3. Second shot to the par-five 18th: distance control is crucial; the ideal shot can use the slope as a baseball mitt, too much power and the birdie/eagle putt is almost impossible

Perfect bounce for Brooke Henderson on the par-three 14th. The ball lands short of the green, but catches the slope. She has around six feet for birdie. She watched that shot with jaw jutting out, teeth clenched and eyes narrowed.

Touch of Hideki Matsuyama about Sei Young Kim this week. Yesterday she finished many shots one-handed despite the result being rather good. On 15, she’s lost the club off the tee, hacked out, and now hits another one-handed approach … and has a putt for birdie from about 25 feet.

Golden chance goes begging for Charley Hull at 15. She had about eight feet for birdie on the par-five and it slipped past. She mutters a little about the greens. Nelly Korda said of them this week: “You see one thing on the greens and it reacts completely different.”

No sooner does Sei Young Kim join Sophia Schubert at the top than she plays a shocker at 15. She completely let go of the club, winced, felt her side and watched as her ball headed left and then took an enormous hop further left. Back on the par-three 14th Schubert finds the heart of the green.

Here’s a look at Sophia Schubert in action. She’s been joined by Sei Young Kim at the top after the Korean made a birdie at the 14th. Saigo missed an opportunity to do the same at the 17th. Time might be running out for her. Meanwhile, Nelly Korda’s travails continue – double bogey six at the 15th. She’s two back now.

So Yeon Ryu admitted after getting into contention at halfway: “I’m not going to lie, I’m really happy to be in contention. Been a long time.” She said yesterday that she was a little nervous. Today, especially and understandably after that four-putt, she looks it.

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Ave Sophia! Yes, I did just google Schubert’s most famous work to celebrate Sophia Schubert hitting top spot on her own. Birdie at the 12th and she is in absurdly uncharted LPGA territory for her.

And then there were six. Henderson misses her par putt at the 11th. Half a dozen players now share top spot and Nelly Korda has thrashed her tee shot at 15 into the trees. We’re getting the drama we hoped for in this morning’s preamble.

Bravo Georgia Hall. The Englishwoman joins Linn Grant on 13 under with her second eagle three of the day at the 18th.

Brooke Henderson must be feeling like she is being ambushed! She has five golfers one behind her on 14-under: Mao Saigo, Nelly Korda, Hyo Koo Kim, Sei Young Kim and Sophia Schubert. And Henderson is in gnarly grass at the back of the 11th green. She’s got 10 feet to stay one clear. A twitchy time for her.

Warning for the leaders. Earlier Cheyenne Knight was six under through 15 and also made an eagle three at the 18th. But she made a triple bogey six at the par-three 16th. Don’t find the sand at the back of the green there as she did! Saigo is on the tee – and Sophia Schubert has made birdie at 11 to join those one behind the leader.

Saigo makes yet another birdie at the 15th. It’s her eighth of the day. She’s also made two bogeys. Just the five pars and not one yet on the back nine. She has the potential to set a really tough target for the leaders. She’s 14 under with three to play and just one back of Henderson.

“I’m just very, very happy with today.” So says Linn Grant after her 64. She adds a shrewd thought about the course, one which explains a lot of today’s rather volatile scoring: “I like that you can score really well, but it’s also difficult if you’re having a bad day.”

Another element of Schubert’s tale. When she turned pro it took her seven months to post a sub-70 score on the second tier and two and a half years to land a top 10. She promptly made seven of them in eight starts, ending the run with a win. She has no top 10 on the LPGA yet. What a week for her. She’s got eight holes to hang around and hopefully move in the right direction.

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Don Harris emails: “How do you fancy to win, Matt?” I’m a romantic golf watcher, Don. I like the giantkillers rather than the giants. I’d love Sophia Schubert to find something special.

The tricky nature of the course is revealed in microcosm by Nelly Korda’s second shot at the 12th. The ball is well above her feet, a tree is somewhat impeding her options, the green is an awkward shape, and her ball kicks off it. A tricky up-and-down to come to save par. There will be more of the same throughout the back nine for everyone.

The sensational Swede Linn Grant adds another birdie at the 18th hole to complete a 7 under 64. She’s set a clubhouse target of 13 under 271 (tied fourth on the live leaderboard).

Saigo has won five times this year on the Japan Tour. She has also twice finished second. Playing her first year of major golf, she finished T44th in the US Women’s Open and T30th in the KPMG PGA Championship.

Japan’s Mao Saigo is on fire. She played the front nine in four under, dropped a shot on the 10th, but has bounced back with back-to-back birdies. She 13 under for the week through 12, tied third and two back. Sei Young Kim joins Nelly Korda on 14 under, tucked in behind the leader.

Remember the earlier entry about Linn Grant? How this is her 11th start as a pro and she is yet to finish below T13th?! She’s six under for the day and up to tied seventh. Such an exciting prospect.

Here’s how Nelly Korda got herself back in-contention. TV is playing classical music montages but not Schubert which seems to be missing a trick. Or they’re just less predictable than me.

Superb from Brooke Henderson. She follows her four-putt at the 6th with a one-putt birdie at the 7th. The Canuck reclaims the lead, one clear of Korda on 15 under.

Nelly Korda is putting her game where her mouth is. On Wednesday she said: “Honestly what I love about sports is the roller coaster. I love the downs where you have to improve, push, and where you have to dig deep to get back to where you want to be.” She was referring to bouncing back from a blood clot earlier this year, but the same thing applies to her response to that double bogey on the 6th.

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It’s a big week for women’s football, of course, with the European Championships in their final stages. There was a time when this event was famous for a Caddies vs. Players football match which frequently involved an eclectic range of ringers from tennis players Guy Forget and Fabrice Santoro to Spiral actor Samir Boitard via Robert Pires, Laurent Blanc and Zinedine Zidane. Mel Reid, Anne Van Dam and Carlota Ciganda were among the keenest participants and Reid’s attempted clattering of Bixente Lizarazu remains one of the match’s historical highlights. Ciganda has her eyes firmly on the golf today and has just set up a short birdie opportunity at the 7th.

Henderson’s approach to the 6th found the green but that was the only good news! Her birdie putt was from miles away and came up 18 feet short. The par putt was three feet short. The bogey putt got her attention – she remembered what playing partner So Yeon Ryu did on the previous green – and oh yikes – another four-putt double bogey for the final group.

Swapping places in second. Hyo Joo Kim has dropped out of that four-way share, three back of the lead, but Sophia Schubert steps up with a 12-foot birdie at the 6th. And incredibly Jin Young Ko lips out yet another birdie putt. She’s level par for the day and getting left behind.