Dana Open 2024 Tips: Five each-way shouts for LPGA

Our final major of the year, the Women’s Open at the Old Course – St Andrews, is five weeks away and barring a one-week break before heading to Scotland, it’s golf all the way. Starting with the Dana Open at Highland Meadows Golf Club this week.

Let's get started with star golf tipster Jamie Worsley's Dana Open Betting Tips, which range from 33/1 all the way out to 80/1...

Ayaka Furue has been consistently impressive since stepping up to the LPGA and finally got rewards for that consistency by becoming a major champion on Sunday. It was apt that she gained this biggest victory of her career in the event at which she first announced herself to a wider audience in 2021, the Evian Championship, as she made a fantastic eagle on her final hole to beat Australia’s Stephanie Kyriacou by one stroke.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Having made its debut on tour in 1984, the Dana Open is one of the longest-running events on the LPGA calendar. It has called Highland Meadows Golf Club home since 1989, after the first four editions were held at nearby Glengarry Country Club (now Stone Oak Country Club).

Legendary Korean, Seri Pak is the most successful golfer in the tournament’s history, winning five times (1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2007) between 1998-2007, and setting many records along the way.

Her first win in 1998 saw her set the record for tournament winning score and winning margin that still stands today, as she demolished the field by nine strokes with a score of 23-under-par. She then successfully defended the title the following year to become the first and as yet only player to win back-to-back Dana Open titles.

There are just three additional players to have won this event multiple times, with Penny Hammel (1985, 1989), Kelly Robbins (1994, 1997) and Lydia Ko (2014, 2016) all tied on two wins apiece.

Last five winners:

• 2023 – Winner: Linn Grant (-21); runner-up: Allisen Corpuz (-18)
• 2022 – Winner: Gaby Lopez (-18); runner-up: Megan Khang (-17)
• 2021 – Winner: Nasa Hataoka (-19); runners-up: Elizabeth Szokol, Mina Harigae (-13)
• 2020 – Winner: Danielle Kang (-15); runners-up: Lydia Ko, Jodi Ewart Shadoff (-14)
• 2019 – Winner: Sei Young Kim (-22); runner-up: Lexi Thompson (-20)

Swedish star, Linn Grant ran out a decisive three-shot winner in last year’s renewal to win her first title on the LPGA. She returns to defend this week and will join what would be a very exclusive list alongside Pak if she were to be successful.

THE COURSE

Highland Meadows Golf Club was designed by Sandy Alves in 1925. It has been extensively renovated in recent years by Shawn Smith, with the bunkering at the property going through a complete overhaul in 2019/20.

The two nines are flipped for this event and this par 71 will also play to 24 yards longer this year; now measuring 6666 yards. It contains 11x par 4s (355-423 yards), 4x par 3s (157-198 yards) and 3x par 5s (515-586 yards).

This classic, gently-rolling, tree-lined course is home to a 10-mile creek that meanders through the property. It features on 10 holes but rarely intimidatingly so. This theme of a lack of real punishment runs throughout the course and contributes to some low scoring, with the event possessing an average winning score of -19 across the last five renewals.

The fairways are reasonably narrow and largely doglegged, though not severely. With non-penal, two-inch bluegrass/ryegrass rough and some sparse fairway bunkering, players can get away with missing the short grass providing they’re not too wayward.

The small poa annua/bentgrass mixed greens are subtly contoured and well protected, with strong bunkering and run-offs punishing unprecise iron shots. Approaches into these greens, which are often angled and narrow/shallow in shape, is the most difficult aspect of play at Highland Meadows; however, they usually run quite slow (11-11.5 on the stimp this week) and with little trouble to the front, those out of position off-the-tee will be able to run shots up onto the putting surfaces.

The par 3s are the most worrying holes on the course, with water on three of them and the small greens heavily bunkered. Having said that, the birdie chances on the par 4s -  which includes the 9^th hole, that will play at a drivable 262 yards at some point – and the par 5s - two of which close out the course and are both gettable - far outweighs the demands of those shortest holes, and unless there is some adverse weather in the forecast we should expect decent scoring this week.

THE WEATHER                

Stormy rains on Tuesday and Wednesday should soften the course up further before play gets under way on Thursday.

The forecast is then predicting pleasantly sunny, dry and warm conditions throughout the four rounds and with little in the way of wind, the weather shouldn’t be a factor in Ohio.

KEY STATS

• SG: Approach
• Greens-in-Regulation

Small greens and receptive conditions should play into the hands of the strongest iron players here and that certainly proved to be the case last year.

Linn Grant was superb tee-to-green in her 2023 victory, which included ranking 5^th in approach and 9^th in greens-in-regulation. Allisen Corpuz in 2^nd ranked 6^th in approach and 1^st in GIR; Lindy Duncan in 3^rd ranked 2^nd in GIR; and 4^th-place finisher, Xiyu Lin ranked 1^st in approach and 4^th in GIR.

Many of the leading players hit their irons well in 2022, with winner, Gaby Lopez ranking 13^th in GIR and 30^th in approach. Megan Khang ranked top-25 in both areas and in 3^rd, Caroline Masson ranked 6^th in approach.

Other previous winners of this event, including Nasa Hataoka, Danielle Kang and Lydia Ko, are all players who have excelled with their approach play during their careers.

• SG: Off-the-Tee
• Driving Distance

Linn Grant also drove the ball excellently last year and with the absence of penalty for missing fairways, longer hitters should feel confident taking the big club out of the bag this week.

Grant ranked 2^nd off-the-tee and also ranked 10^th in driving distance. Allisen Corpuz in 2^nd relied more on accuracy but still ranked 19^th with driver; Lindy Duncan was 28^th OTT and 24^th in driving distance; whilst Stephanie Kyriacou in 4^th ranked 8^th OTT and 27^th in driving distance.

2022 winner, Gaby Lopez is another big hitter and she drove the ball solidly that year; runner-up, Megan Khang ranked 10^th OTT.

• SG: Putting (poa/bent)

The putter has been an important stat in each of the last two renewals and players who have positive experience of putting a poa/bent mix should be respected.

Linn Grant was a solid 35^th with the putter last year and of her closest challengers, Xiyu Lin ranked 2^nd, Lindy Duncan ranked 3^rd and Allisen Corpuz was 10^th on the greens.

Gaby Lopez was 3^rd in putting when taking the 2022 edition, with both 2^nd and 3^rd-place finishers, Megan Khang and Caroline Masson, ranking 7^th and 8^th respectively. Whilst Sarah Schmelzel in 4^th led the field with putter.

• Par 5 Scoring

Finally, whilst there are only three par 5s, where they’re positioned on the course – with those final two coming on holes 17 and 18 - makes them of extra importance in terms of deciding where the trophy ends up this week.

CORRELATING EVENTS (COURSES)

Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship (Palos Verdes Golf Club)

Whilst Palos Verdes is much shorter than this week’s venue, there is an emphasis on strong approach play into slow and small poa/bent mixed greens, which are heavily protected by bunkers.

Notable correlating form:

Lydia Ko:

Dana Open (1^st, 1^st) / Palos Verdes (3^rd)

Jasmine Suwannapura:

Dana Open (1^st) / Palos Verdes (5^th, 9^th)

Nasa Hataoka:

Dana Open (1^st, 7^th) / Palos Verdes (7^th)

Megan Khang:

Dana Open (2^nd) / Palos Verdes (3^rd)

Ruoning Yin:

Dana Open (4^th) / Palos Verdes (1^st)

Hyo Joo Kim:

Dana Open (4^th, 5^th) / Palos Verdes (3^rd)

Marina Alex:

Dana Open (5^th) / Palos Verdes (1^st)

Andrea Lee:

Dana Open (5^th) /  Palos Verdes (5^th, 5^th)

Meijer LPGA Classic (Blythefield Country Club)

Blythefield Country Club is another tree-lined course, with small poa/bent mixed greens and a similar level of bunkering to Highland Meadows.

Notable correlating form:

Sei Young Kim:

Dana Open (1^st) / Meijer Classic (1^st)

So Yeon Ryu:

Dana Open (1^st) / Meijer Classic (1^st)

Nasa Hataoka:

Dana Open (1^st) / Meijer Classic (2^nd)

Jasmine Suwannapura:

Dana Open (1^st) / Meijer Classic (6^th)

Lexi Thompson:

Dana Open (2^nd, 2^nd) / Meijer Classic (1^st)

Mirim Lee:

Dana Open (2^nd) / Meijer Classic (1^st)

Allisen Corpuz:

Dana Open (2^nd) / Meijer Classic (5^th)

Caroline Masson:

Dana Open (3^rd, 5^th, 5^th) / Meijer Classic (2^nd)

Gerina Mendoza:

Dana Open (3^rd) / Meijer Classic (2^nd)

Xiyu Lin:

Dana Open (4^th, 7^th) / Meijer Classic (3^rd)

Jennifer Kupcho:

Dana Open (5^th, 9^th) / Meijer Classic (1^st)

Amy Yang:

Dana Open (5^th) / Meijer Classic (3^rd, 5^th)

Jacqui Concolino:

Dana Open (5^th, 5^th) / Meijer Classic (4^th)

Azahara Munoz:

Dana Open (8^th, 9^th) / Meijer Classic (4^th)

Founders Cup (Upper Montclair Country Club)

Upper Montclair Country Club is a similar distance to this week’s venue and has poa/bent mixed greens, narrow, tree-lined fairways and some strong bunkering around the greens.

Notable correlating form:

Nasa Hataoka:

Dana Open (1^st) / Founders (6^th, 8^th)

Linn Grant:

Dana Open (1^st) / Founders (7^th)

Lexi Thompson:

Dana Open (2^nd, 2^nd) / Founders (2^nd)

Megan Khang:

Dana Open (2^nd) / Founders (6^th)

Peiyun Chien:

Dana Open (3^rd) / Founders (4^th)

Minjee Lee:

Dana Open (4^th) / Founders (1^st, 2^nd)

Xiyu Lin:

Dana Open (4^th) / Founders (4^th)

Ruoning Yin:

Dana Open (4^th) / Founders (4^th)

Portland Classic (Columbia Edgewater Country Club)

Columbia Edgewater is a tree-lined course with small poa annua greens, many of which are similarly open-fronted to those at Highland Meadows.

Notable correlating form:

I.K Kim:

Dana Open (1^st) / Portland (2^nd)

Chella Choi:

Dana Open (1^st) / Portland (3^rd, 5^th)

Nasa Hataoka:

Dana Open (1^st) / Portland (4^th)

Jasmine Suwannapura:

Dana Open (1^st) / Portland (5^th)

Linn Grant:

Dana Open (1^st) / Portland (7^th)

Xiyu Lin:

Dana Open (4^th) / Portland (2^nd)

Esther Henseleit:

Dana Open (4^th) / Portland (3^rd)

Ruoning Yin:

Dana Open (4^th) / Portland (3^rd)

Sarah Schmelzel:

Dana Open (4^th) / Portland (6^th)

Austin Ernst:

Dana Open (4^th, 5^th) / Portland (1^st)

Marina Alex:

Dana Open (5^th) / Portland (1^st)

Andrea Lee:

Dana Open (5^th) / Portland (1^st)

JM Eagle LA Championship (Wilshire Country Club)

Wilshire Country Club is a gently-rolling tree-lined course with small poa annua greens, which are protected by abundant bunkering.

Notable correlating form:

Nasa Hataoka:

Dana Open (1^st) / Wilshire (1^st)

Sei Young Kim:

Dana Open (1^st) / Wilshire 2^nd)

Gaby Lopez:

Dana Open (1^st) / Wilshire (5^th, 8^th)

Megan Khang:

Dana Open (2^nd) / Wilshire (5^th)

Xiyu Lin:

Dana Open (4^th) / Wilshire (2^nd)

Ruoning Yin:

Dana Open (4^th) / Wilshire (4^th)

Jeongeun Lee6:

Dana Open (4^th) / Wilshire (7^th)

Esther Henseleit:

Dana Open (4^th) / Wilshire (8^th)

Aditi Ashok:

Dana Open (7^th, 8^th) / Wilshire (2^nd)

THE FIELD

World #17, Xiyu Lin is the top-ranked player in the field in what is one of our weaker fields of the year. Althouh, that does provide a great opportunity for players to earn an important victory without the pressure of beating the very best players on tour.

Lin is one of just four players from inside the top-30, joined by #22 Haeran Ryu, #23 Maja Stark and our defending championship, #26 Linn Grant.

The Swede is accompanied by just two more former winners, in the shape of Gaby Lopez (2022) and Jasmine Suwannapura (2018).

There’s a lot of major quality on show, with seven-time major winner, Karrie Webb and five-time winner, Yani Tseng both teeing it up. At the opposite end of the experience scale, former top-25 amateur, Jensen Castle came through qualifying to earn her first LPGA start since turning pro a few weeks ago; current #10 amateur and recent NCAA D1 champion, Adela Cernousek of France is in the field; and 16-year-old amateur, Mia Hammond returns, 12 months after finishing 26^th here as a 15-year-old.

The Dana Open Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Dana Open market on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this tournament.

SELECTIONS

Market leaders: Haeran Ryu 9/1, Linn Grant 10/1, Xiyu Lin 12/1, Mao Saigo 16/1, Hye-jin Choi 18/1, Lexi Thompson 18/1, Gaby Lopez 18/1

There’s a very open look to this week’s event and I’m not interested in taking anybody near the top of the betting.

It looks a great opportunity for someone to break through and whilst Maja Stark already has an LPGA win under her belt thanks to the co-sanctioned ISPS Handa World Invitational, I’m taking her to record her first U.S-based LPGA win this week in Ohio.

1.5 pts Maja Stark each-way (1/4 - 5 places) - 33/1 

This year has already been somewhat of a breakthrough for the likeable Swede. She recorded the best major finish of her career with a 2^nd-place finish in the Chevron Championship and followed up with another runner-up finish in the LA Championship on her next start.

She suffered a couple of missed cuts following that but has looked better on her last two starts and comes into this week after finishing 39^th in the Evian Championship.

The driver is her biggest weapon, combining power with accuracy to rank 23^rd off-the-tee this season. The irons have been a little underwhelming in recent starts and she’ll need to find improvement there, though she did putt well last week, producing her fourth-best putting display of the season on a bent/poa mix.

Stark is making her debut here this week but that 2^nd-place finish at Wilshire bodes well, as does an 8^th-place finish in the Portland Classic. Able to let rip with driver throughout much of Highland Meadows, she should enjoy her first spin around the course.

1.25 pts Marina Alex each way (1/4 - 5 places) - 40/1

Marina Alex has some solid past results here and some really attractive comp form. Possessing two top-10s across her last five starts, current form is also strong and she looks to have a big chance of claiming a third LPGA win this week.

Alex has looked good for most of this season, missing just four cuts in 14 starts and recording six top-25s. Her two best performances came four and five starts ago, finishing 7^th in the Mizuho Americas Open and 6^th in the Shoprite Classic, and though missing her last two cuts prior to this week, they were in major championships and she should appreciate the calmer waters in Ohio.

Her strengths come from accurate ball-striking and a solid putter. She is particularly strong with her irons, ranking 24^th in greens-in-regulation and 44^th in approach this season, and is 40^th on the greens. She lacks the power to truly excel off-the-tee, but is an ultra-straight 3^rd in driving accuracy and as a top-30 par 5 scorer, she should be comfortable on those important closing holes.

Alex has several top-25s here, with a best of 5^th in 2020. In addition, her two LPGA wins have both come on comp courses, when taking the 2018 Portland Classic and the 2022 Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. Which suggests she’s more than capable of adding a third at Highland Meadows this week.

1 pt Chanettee Wannasaen each way (1/4 - 5 places) - 55/1 

Chanettee Wannasaen was a surprise winner of the Portland Classic last year, when she dominated the field with a score of 26-under-par. She’s continued to perform well in 2024 and with that win in Portland a potentially helpful piece of comp form, she looks a lively contender this week.

Wannasaen began this year without missing a cut across her first 10 starts and though lacking a little consistency over her last seven, she has produced two of her best performances of the season. The best of these came when she finished 3^rd in the Mizuho Americas Open and she was an impressive 17^th on her Evian Championship debut last week.

That finish was the result of the Thai youngster’s best ball-striking performance of the season, as she ranked 7^th in GIR, 12^th off-the-tee and 24^th in approach. The iron play was a particular plus as it’s an area in which she’d struggled this season, and if able to replicate that whilst retaining the typical strength with the driver and putter, she would look a big danger.

Wannasaen did miss the cut her last year but that was her seventh in a row. She comes into this in much better form and with that win in Portland a good indicator of her suitability to Highland Meadows, I expect her to take advantage of this weak field and be much improved this week.

1 pt Arpichaya Yubol each way (1/4 - 5 places) - 80/1

On the theme of Thai youngsters, Arpichaya Yubol has been playing well on the LPGA of late and having finished 16^th on debut here last year, I expect this prolific international winner to transfer that ability to the U.S.

Yubol missed six of her first seven LPGA cuts this season but has found form over the last couple of months, making her last five. She sprung a huge surprise in the US Women’s Open, finishing 5^th at Lancaster Country Club and maintained a good level of form in the Shoprite Classic on her next start, finishing 21^st. She hasn’t finished inside the top-40 in her last three starts, though two of them did come in majors, in the Women’s PGA and Evian Championship; events in which merely making the cut would’ve looked a major achievement just a couple of months ago.

She’s at her best in approach, ranking 24^th and is inside the top-20 in par 5 scoring. Having said that, that recently improved form has been the result of her finally finding something on the greens, whilst she’s also been driving it better than earlier in the season.

Yubol was an encouraging 16^th on debut last year, where she fired three rounds in the 60s and ranked 17^th in the field tee-to-green. Having won 12 times at home in Thailand and bossing the field in the Trust Golf Links Series – Musselburgh event on the LET Access Tour in 2022, she is no stranger to the winner’s circle and she can lean on those experiences to achieve the biggest win of her career this week.

1 pt Maria Fassi each way (1/4 - 5 places) - 80/1

Mexico’s Maria Fassi has been in improved form on the LPGA of late and possessing a good record at Highland Meadows, I’m taking this one-time #2-ranked amateur to make her professional breakthrough in the Dana Open.

Barring a 3rd-place finish in the Lalla Meryem Cup on the LET, Fassi’s early-season form in 2024 left a lot to be desired. She made just one of her first seven LPGA cuts and failed to crack the top-50 on the one occasion she did make the weekend. However, she has found some consistency over recent starts.

She’s made four of her last five cuts, recording top-30s when 12^th in the Shoprite Classic and 30^th in the Meijer Classic. Though only finishing down the field in 60^th on her last start, that did come against an elite field in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and she should benefit from this kinder examination.

All of her game was off the boil in the early part of the season but it’s been a positive to see this long and typically strong driver rediscover form with that club in recent starts, ranking top-5 OTT in each of those recent top-30 finishes. Whilst she also produced her best putting and second-best approach display of the season in the Shoprite Classic.

If Fassi can carry on improving in these areas, she looks sure to be among the contenders this week in an event at which she’s recorded finishes of 6^th and 9^th in her five starts so far. With that, she can claim what would be a long overdue first pro victory for a player of whom big things were expected when she turned pro five years ago.

You can find all Jamie's latest Golf Betting Tips over on our dedicated golf Insights hub.