Matt Cooper returns with his first women's major preview of 2025, as he picks out five bets for the Chevron Championship.
Golf betting tips: Chevron Championship
2pts e.w. Lauren Coughlin at 25/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6)
1.5pts e.w. Jin Hee Im at 33/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6)
1pt e.w. Yealimi Noh at 40/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6)
1pt e.w. Esther Henseleit at 80/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6)
0.5pt e.w. Minami Katsu at 150/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6)
This time last year Nelly Korda made it five wins in a row with victory in the Chevron Championship and, as the world number one in the women’s game, it was an easy enough exercise to compare her with Scottie Scheffler who was himself midway through a run of four wins in five starts that also included major success, in his case at the Masters.
In truth, however, Korda has always been a closer match to this year’s winner of a green jacket, Rory McIlroy, because she shares the Northern Irishman’s capacity to make the game look gloriously straightforward one moment and then not so much accidentally slip on a banana skin as give the appearance of having gone actively looking for one the next.
The first win of that sparkling spell 12 months ago saw her lose a four-shot lead before finding redemption in extra holes, the Chevron triumph contained a few final round wobbles, she would begin the second major of 2024 with an 80 (that included a 10 on her third hole of the week), and she missed the cut in the third with a second round 81. Yes, more Rory than Scottie.
The 26-year-old’s 2025 got off to a decent start. She carded a final round 65 when second in her first start, a third round 65 when seventh in her second and a Friday 65 to sit second at halfway in her third. Alas, she went backwards to T22 that week, didn’t escape the groups in the Match Play event, and was T16 last week.
She’s not playing poorly, but is down on this time last year so, in that sense at least, she’s in-tune with Scheffler and we’ll be content to look elsewhere for this week’s picks.
The opening major of the women’s season continues to be hosted by the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at The Club at Carlton Woods in Texas which is an absolute mouthful if nothing else. It’s tougher than its previous base, Mission Hills, was – Lilia Vu won in 2023 with 10-under and Korda was 13-under (five of the last six winners at Missions Hills went lower than both).
Typical of Nicklaus layouts it features wide landing areas from the tee before posing a tougher test into the greens and the greens in regulation stats back this up. Vu ranked third for that category in her win and Korda second. The two winners had excellent strokes-gained tee-to-green stats with off-the-tee especially good which backs up talk of taking good lines, or having length, from the tee being important.
It’s situated within woodland with Bermuda grass on the greens, Stacy Lewis talked of there being “a ton of run-offs where you can get short-sided and have tough up and downs”, and it gets blustery. That description is one that would also fit Pelican GC in Florida which hosts the ANNIKA Invitational and guess what? Results (if not necessarily the scoring – Pelican is easier) between the two layouts really have tallied rather nicely in the past.
Korda is a three-time winner at Pelican while Vu triumphed there in 2023. Last year’s runner-up Maja Stark (one of our selections at 100/1, by the way) carded a 63 there in 2022 to sit one shot off the pre-final round lead, and Brooke Henderson, Allisen Corpuz and Amy Yang all have top five finishes at both courses.
Jeeno Thitikul is favourite this week but like Korda I’m happy to swerve. She’s finished fourth and T12 at the course but has tended to rely on her short game, especially her putting and that might be the difference between contending and winning. Lydia Ko hasn’t yet taken to the course, especially the greens. I was keen on Haeran Ryu but her putting is what keeps her from winning prolifically and she’s not liked these greens either.
First pick is the American LAUREN COUGHLIN who made a fast-finishing top 10 in last year’s Ford Championship that few would have predicted would herald a complete career change.
She grabbed the first round lead in this event and stuck around most of the week before finishing third. She also finished fourth in the Evian Championship when she briefly looked like the winner in the final round – and definitely looked more at home in the heat of major action.
Coughlin further proved she was learning lessons by winning two events in her next three starts and then three and a half points from four matches in the Solheim Cup.
In her last two starts she’s been runner-up in the Match Play and third last week in LA. Her stats from last year show she was good from the tee and into the greens, but also with putter in hand. And although she only has two top 20s at Pelican to her name she hits a lot of greens there which is what golfers who play well at both courses have tended to do.
Four wins on the KLPGA in 2023 encouraged JIN HEE IM to try LPGA Q School and after winning her card she made a solid start to her career in the States.
Her first top 10 actually came in this event (eighth) and she demonstrated her fondness for the majors with T10 in the US Women’s Open and T12 in the AIG Women’s Open. Later on in the year she was second at Pelican, she has twice been fourth this campaign and she was T11 last week.
It's a simple case but hopefully elegantly simple.
Third pick is probably my favourite in terms of price – YEALIMI NOH.
She was solid from the get-go after she turned pro in 2019 and earned selection for the Solheim Cup largely off excellent major form in 2021. She was T15 in the KPMG PGA Championship, third when contending all week in the Evian Championship, and T13 in the AIG Women’s British Open when bang in the hunt after 36 and 54 holes (and won two of three matches in that Solheim Cup).
Form became trickier in the next two years but her ninth place finish in this event last year was a hint that better things were around the corner. No-one hit more greens in regulation than her and she also ranked second for SG approach. Those excellent approach stats maintained through a run of 13 straight top 30 finishes which ended last week (T57), but she closed with a 68 and that one result has seen her price push out from the 20s.
Noh turned to a long-handled putter which has transformed her flat stick numbers and helped her win for the first time on the LPGA in February’s Founders Cup. It was a good win, too, requiring her to go head-to-head with Jin Young Ko in the final round.
“I worked really hard the past few years and went through a lot of struggles,” she said afterwards. “This means so much to me. I told myself 2025 is going to be my year and this is a really big confidence booster.”
The fast finish of ESTHER HENSELEIT last week (71-68-66-64 for third) is a reminder of her quality and she often demonstrated it last year in the majors.
It started with seventh place in this event, she was T14 in the KPMG PGA Championship, seventh at Evian and won the silver medal in the Olympics. I’m loathe to leave her out at 80/1.
We’ll finish off with MINAMI KATSU whose price is big given course form and better form than her results might suggest.
The 26-year-old was prolific on the Japan Tour with eight wins and she was second at halfway in the 2023 Women’s British Open ahead of ending the week T21.
In this tournament last year she stayed in contention all week when ninth. She’s taken a shine to Pelican, too, finishing seventh and T14. The latter result closed her 2024 and she opened 2025 with two more top 15s.
Her last two starts haven’t breached the top 50 but she opened the first with a 65 to sit third after 18 holes and last week was top 15 through 36 holes.
Posted at 1140 BST on 22/04/25
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