The Chevron Championship is in the bag for another year but while Mao Saigo won out in an exciting playoff, the tournament itself is being heavily criticised.
Saigo won after a historic five player playoff resulted in some nervous pars being made while Saigo rolled in for birdie to seal the first ‘major’ of the year on the LPGA Tour.
Big names like Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson fell away and there was an international fight at the top, as players from five different nations battled it out.
In the end, Japan’s Saigo won it but while her victory was a big one, it risks being overshadowed by complaints about the actual event itself.
Brandel Chamblee criticises the Chevron Championship
The Chevron recently moved from Mission Hills to Carlton Woods in Texas and it’s safe to say that so far, the move hasn’t worked out as planned.
Golf fans slammed the event over the weekend as a low turnout in crowds which in turn, made the event feel a bit second rate.
And now, the Chevron has come in for more criticism from golf analyst Brandel Chamblee, who slammed decision to place a grandstand on 18 right over the green.
Indeed, in doing so, it meant that Ariya Jutanugarn duffed a chip from the light rough when leading and ultimately, cost her the win.
What Ariya Jutanugarn said about her performance at the Chevron
While Ariya Jutanugarn can be disappointed with how things finished, she remained more than upbeat with the media afterwards.
Despite her failed chip on 18 and then losing in the playoff, Jutanugarn insisted the tournament had gone better than she expected.
“The front nine was very solid especially with the eagle, but back nine just couple mistakes on par-5 that I made; two bogeys But I did really well for the rest of the tournament or all, and I’m very happy. Just beyond my expectation,” she admitted.
However, in hindsight, she will look back on that mistake and be ruing it and as Chamblee says, it’s probably something that could have been avoided.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
