The September swing into the Solheim Cup is heating up as eight players from the United States team and another four from the European side are all in the 144-player field for the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G. Kenwood Country Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio is once again the host venue for the second year for this premiere event.
Kenwood Country Club is a magnificent 36-hole facility. The Kendale and Kenview Courses were recently renovated during the pandemic, and all Barbie jokes aside, these two layouts are both championship caliber. The Kendale Course boasts a par-72 scorecard measuring 6,548 yards. A traditional allotment, there are four par 3s, four par 5s and 10 par 4s. Ally Ewing won the inaugural edition last year at 22-under, just one shot better than Xiyu Lin.
Both are entered against four of the top 10 and 15 of the top 30 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. The top 65 and ties will play the weekend for a $2 million purse and while a $300,000 winner’s check will get your attention, a win means more than anything with less than 10 events left this season.
With limited history, how can you possibly pick a winner? Thanks to the partnership between KPMG and the LPGA Tour, there are more than enough statistics to analyze. Eight players have odds lower than +2500 (25-1) and those “favorites” are the first to attract attention. To help decide who of them will capture the Kroger crown come Sunday, let’s look back to 2022. The Kendale Course features 68 bunkers, four holes where water comes into play, and an average green size of 6,000 sq/ft.
The top 10 finishers in the 2022 edition of the event included 13 players whose performances portray some significant trends. Scoring was the priority as the top five averaged 21 birdies or better throughout the week and the top 10 just a few less at 19. The race to 20-under is real and aggressive play will be rewarded. Nine of the top 10 last year averaged over 260 yards off the tee and hit 84% of their fairways.
From there, the same group gained nearly five strokes on the field with their iron play. Their average proximity to the hole was 22 feet and 4 inches and their putts per GIR average was 1.69. We start to see some serious trends in play by the contenders when you consider the top 10 also gained an average of approximately five strokes with the putter. Attack with your irons and convert with the flat stick. A recipe for success is coming into focus.
Minjee Lee, Ruoning Yin and Andrea Lee are all ranked inside the top 11 in strokes gained approach and average 25 feet or less in proximity to the hole. That scoring combination is potent, and Yin (+1400 (14-1)) has finished third in her last two starts, largely thanks to her putter. She averages 1.79 putts per green in regulation which leads to 40% of her rounds ending up in the 60s. Lin and Charley Hull also match that complement of flatstick skill and scoring ability. Lin (+1100 (11-1)) is the tournament favorite as she finished runner-up to Ewing in 2022 at 21-under.
Ewing, Lin and the rest of the top 10 averaged 4.7 strokes on the 5s. Capitalizing on those and creating as many sub-par scoring opportunities as possible is another angle to consider. Two-time United States Solheim Cup team member Jennifer Kupcho (+3300 (33-1)) averages four birdies per round fueled by a 4.54 scoring average on the par 5s. Three others with scoring averages below 4.6 on the par 5s and a birdie rate over four are Hull, Lin and Olivia Cowan.
If you love longshots, Cowan’s last three starts include a T9 at the AIG Women’s Open, a solo fifth showing in Ireland at the ISPS, and a T12 last week in Portland. At +10000 (100-1), she has the skill set to fit Kenwood. A week ago, we leaned heavily on Linn Grant and Yin and both ultimately finished in the top seven at the Portland Classic showing just how this research can be valuable.
The LPGA takes a week off before the Solheim Cup. This is the last time we will see a full-field event until the end of September. Keep track of these players and feel free to back a couple. Heighten the viewing experience by committing to a weekend wager. It can only be a couple of dollars, but the memories that come with winning will be priceless.
Keith Stewart is an award-winning PGA Professional. He covers the LPGA and PGA Tour for Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, LPGA, and PGA TOUR. If you are looking to raise your golf acumen and love inside information about the game, check out his weekly newsletter called Read The Line.
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