Queen City Championship 2024 Tips: 150/1 shot one of six for Jamie

After the excitement of the Solheim Cup, we’re back to the business end of the LPGA season and with the Asian swing to come in October, the tour takes in two events stateside. First up is the Kroger Queen City Championship at it’s new home of TPC River’s Bend in Ohio.

Our star golf tipster Jamie Worsley is back with his full Queen City Championship preview and tips, which range from 33/1 to a huge 150/1!

For the first time since 2019, the Solheim Cup is back in American hands following Team USA’s exciting win at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. In what was another thrilling renewal of the event last week.

Having not won since 2017, the home team were playing for pride as much as the trophy itself. This was evident from the off as they won each of Friday’s sessions 3 – 1 to lead 6 – 2 at the end of day one.

Though Europe battled well on day two, they were unable to make inroads into the U.S lead, tying both sessions 2 – 2. Entering the Sunday singles 10 – 6 down, it looked to be beyond them, barring a miracle on Lake Manassas.

Charley Hull set the tone for a brilliant effort from Team Europe on Sunday, annihilating world #1, Nelly Korda 6&4 in the first match out. This positivity reverberated back through the following matches and at one point, the away side looked to have a genuine (if small) chance of pulling off an incredible comeback.

It wasn’t to be, with a vital half secured by Lauren Coughlin first and then Lilia Vu produced a sensational approach to win the final hole in her match against Albane Valenzeuala. Securing half a point which took the home side to that all-important 14 ½ points, before eventually winning 15 ½ - 12 ½.

It’s a competition that continues to grow and I can’t wait to see the next chapter of the story at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands in 2026.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The Kroger Queen City Championship debuted on the LPGA in 2022, with each of the first two editions taking place at Kenwood Country Club prior to this year’s switch to TPC River’s Bend.

Ally Ewing won the first edition, beating Xiyu Lin by one stroke and she was succeeded by Minjee Lee in 2023, as she came through a playoff against Charley Hull. Lee will defend at our new host course this week.

THE COURSE

Arnold Palmer teamed with Ed Seay to design the course, which opened in 2001 and has previously held tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour and Champions Tour. Although it is staging its first LPGA event this week, the course will be familiar to many, having also hosted the Prasco Charity Championship on the Epson Tour – the LPGA’s feeder tour – in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

The course is a par 72 and measures 6705 yards, possessing 10x par 4s, 4x par 5s and 4x par 3s. It has traditionally seen low scores, with the first two editions of the Prasco Charity Championship producing winning scores of -15 over 54 holes.

This loosely tree-lined course is reasonably open and hilly, with tall mounds framing several holes and creating great vantage points for fans. Elevation changes are commonplace throughout, which results in blind shots both off the tee and into the greens.

The rolling and largely doglegged fairways are some of the widest the players will have played all year, putting the decision into their hands in terms of where best to attack the greens from. Lengthy native fescue offers protection and while the bunkers aren’t plentiful, they are large.

The subtly contoured bentgrass greens are average-large in size. That being said, many are shaped rather shallow and distance control on approach will be absolutely key in attacking them.

Water is in-play on six holes on a course with plenty of risk/reward opportunities, including the potentially drivable par 4 4^th, whilst each of the par 5s look gettable for most in two. Additionally, players will need to take on water on the two par 3s on the front nine, which protects both of the shallow greens to the front.

The weather will dictate the difficulty of this week’s course. If the wind blows, this open setup could prove a challenge, but in benign conditions I’d expect birdies to flow at TPC River’s Bend.

THE WEATHER

This week’s field is set to be greeted by some fine weather in Ohio. There is forecast to be some rain on Tuesday before the event, though the rest of the week is scheduled to be clear, warm and bright, and with little wind on show, they couldn’t ask for better scoring conditions.

KEY STATS

• SG: Approach
• Greens-in-Regulation
• SG: Off-the-Tee
• Driving Distance
• SG: Putting (bentgrass)
• Par 5 Scoring
• Birdie Average

With ultra-generous fairways and those shallow putting surfaces, powerful ball-striking types look to have the advantage this week.

Meanwhile, proven bentgrass putters should be best equipped to convert the birdie chances that will likely be engineered with great regularity. Which also leads me to the most prolific birdie makers, particularly those who excel on the par 5s.

CORRELATING EVENTS

We have very little to go off in terms of correlating events but there are a handful of courses that caught my attention as potential comps.

The FM Championship at TPC Boston was played less than a month ago and is another Arnold Palmer design. It has gently undulating and generous fairways, along with similarly sized bentgrass greens.

Further to this, the Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club may also be of use. It’s another course that is tree-lined yet spacious, with frequent elevation changes and bentgrass greens that are very close in size to TPC River’s Bend.

Finally, I wondered if the Portland Classic at Columbia Edgewater Country Club and the Chevron Championship at Carlton Woods may be worth a look. Though played on different grasses, each of these tree-lined courses have generous fairways that have been favoured by bigger hitters down the years.

THE FIELD

After playing a major part in Team USA’s triumph last week, world #1, Nelly Korda will be hoping to carry that positivity over into the Kroger Queen City Championship. She is one of four players from inside the world’s top-10, alongside the in-form Lydia Ko (#3), Amy Yang (#6) and Solheim Cup teammate, Rose Zhang (#9).

There are four winning member from Team USA in total, with Korda and Zhang joined by Andrea Lee and Lexi Thompson. Additionally, we have eight members from Team Europe hoping to bounce back, in the shape of Charley Hull, Esther Henseleit, Linn Grant, Leona Maguire, Madelene Sagstrom, Georgia Hall, Anna Nordqvist and Albane Valenzuela.

Minjee Lee returns to defend her title; Danielle Kang makes her first start in seven weeks; and look out for current #18 amateur, Gianna Clemente. The 16-year-old finished an excellent 5^th in the Augusta Women’s Amateur earlier in the year and comes into this after finishes of 3^rd in the US Girls’ Junior Championship and 17^th in the US Women’s Amateur Championship on her two latest starts.

Queen City Championship Odds

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

SELECTIONS

Market leaders: Nelly Korda 6/1, Jeeno Thitikul 9/1, Haeran Ryu 10/1, Lydia Ko 14/1, Rose Zhang 16/1, Charley Hull 18/1, Linn Grant 18/1

The combination of this being a new course to the event and arriving right off the back of the Solheim Cup means it feels like a good week to be speculative. Though I was tempted by Lydia Ko at 14/1, on a course that should suit her high-class approach play and be less punishing of her sometimes erratic driving.

However, at more than double the price, this is also something that applies to our defending champion, Minjee Lee and I’m taking the two-time major winner to defend her title this week.

1.5 pts Minjee Lee each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 33/1 

There’s no doubt that Minjee’s level has dropped in 2024 compared to the previous two years, but her form has been bubbling over recent months. She enters this week having missed just one of her last six cuts and has hit the top-25 in strong fields in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the Olympics and in the Women’s Scottish Open, where she finished 12^th two starts ago.

Despite her regressive results this year, she remains the best iron player on tour, ranking 1^st in approach – as she has in the previous two years – and 20^th in greens-in-regulation. She hasn’t been quite as strong off-the-tee due to a dip in accuracy, though these fairways are huge and with her length, she should relish this more forgiving driving challenge.

With her excellent record in Arkansas, recording finishes of 2^nd, 3^rd, 6^th, and 8^th, Lee should appreciate many aspects of TPC River’s Bend and on a week where many of the top players in the betting may be feeling a little fatigued, this class act looks a good price to go well.

1 pt Jin Hee Im each way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 55/1

Six-time KLPGA winner, Jin Hee Im has showed a lot of promise in her rookie season and as a high-quality ball-striker, I fancy her to convert her winning habit to the LPGA this week.

Im shone at the start of the year, recording finishes of 8^th in the Chevron Championship and 4^th in the JM Eagle LA Championship. Excluding the odd blip, she’s maintained a strong level of form throughout the season, coming into this having made her last seven cuts in a row, including a 10^th-place finish in the Women’s Open.

She’s a quality all-rounder but her biggest weapon is her iron play, ranking 16^th in GIR and 19^th in approach. In addition, she’s a reasonably lengthy but errant driver, therefore she too should welcome the sizeable fairways.

Im’s 8^th-place finish in the Chevron showed what she can do when the fairways are a little more forgiving, as did her 10^th at St Andrews and I’m expecting her to lean on these experiences to contend in Ohio.

0.75 pts Yealimi Noh each way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 90/1 

Four players at or close to three figures now, starting with Yealimi Noh. The former junior star has been on my radar for much of the year due to her improved form and notably high level of ball-striking. With length in abundance and a strong par 5 scorer, she can finally make her LPGA breakthrough at TPC River’s Bend.

When we last saw her, Noh finished 15^th at the Palmer-designed TPC Boston in the FM Championship. That was her fifth top-25 of 2024, a year in which she’s missed just four cuts in 17 starts – five less than across the same amount of starts last year – and she recorded her best finish of the year in the Chevron Championship, finishing 9^th.

The driver has been her biggest weapon, ranking 27^th OTT and she’s a lengthy 18^th in driving distance. The iron play has been rock solid throughout the year too and it has been especially strong over recent weeks, with her recording three of her four best approach displays of the year in her last five starts. Sitting 9^th in par 5 scoring, she has the firepower to take advantage of the scoring chances on those important holes this week.

Noh has recorded finishes of 2^nd and 3^rd in Portland, along with top-10s in Arkansas and in the Chevron Championship. Added to that 15^th-place finish at another comp event last time out, she ticks many of the boxes.

0.75 pts Ruixin Liu each way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 100/1

Ruixin Liu is one of the most prolific winners on the Epson Tour, recording her seventh win on the tour earlier this year in Arizona. She’s yet to transfer this winning habit to the LPGA but coming here after finishing 3^rd in Boston on her latest start, she looks ready to take that next step in Ohio.

Liu initially struggled for form following that win on the second-tier, but she has started to look more comfortable in recent LPGA starts, recording finishes of 77^th, 33^rd and 14^th prior to finishing 3^rd in the FM Championship three weeks ago.

The big-hitting Chinese player excels with the driver, ranking 32^nd for the year, however it’s her recent approach performances that really caught the eye. She’s produced her three best displays of the season in this area over her last three starts, ranking 18^th in the CPKC Women’s Open, 22^nd in the Portland Classic and 26^th in the FM Championship.

This level of ball-striking makes her a danger just about anywhere and producing that encouraging piece of form at another Arnold Palmer design when we last saw her, there are many reasons to be optimistic about her chances this week.

0.75 pts Leona Maguire each way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 100/1

Leona Maguire has been struggling for form for much of this year. That being said, I was still surprised that she only teed it up twice in last week’s Solheim Cup. She looked good when taking her singles match against Ally Ewing 4&3 and whilst I still have some small reservations due to her subpar ball-striking this year, this looks too huge a price to turn down.

I say Maguire has struggled for form this year but by many player’s standards, she’s performed perfectly well. She’s only missed four cuts in 21 starts and did take down the Aramco Series – London event back in July. There had been some green shoots in recent starts prior to the Solheim Cup too, finishing 37^th in the Women’s Open and 15^th in the Irish Women’s Open on her two latest starts.

I’m not surprised she was able to go well at St Andrews, as her driving has been an issue this year. It’s never been a major weapon but she’s usually relatively straight, however, her lack of distance has also been joined by issues with accuracy this year, which means she’d have appreciated the wide fairways at the Old Course.

Maguire was an encouraging 11^th in approach there too – her joint-third best performance in this area of the season – and if in that same kind of form, she should enjoy some of those similar aspects of play at this week’s course.

0.5 pts Alexa Pano each way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 150/1

Alex Pano is one of the best drivers on tour and with some promising recent performances, the youngster appeals at a big price to go well in Ohio.

Pano made her tour breakthrough in the co-sanctioned ISPS Handa World Invitational last year. She looked set to build on that in 2024, finishing 2^nd in the Tournament of Champions on her first start of the year, but her form has been a little in and out since. Although, she does arrive here with some handy results over the last two months, finishing 14^th in the Portland Classic and 10^th in the Women’s Open.

She was the second-best driver in the field at St Andrews. Which came as no surprise as she ranks 3^rd on the LPGA this year OTT. She also ranked inside the top-25 in approach in those two recent top-15 finishes – representing two of her three best iron displays of the year – and I’m hoping she can carry that same ball-striking prowess to TPC River’s Bend.

Pano has performed well on each of her two visits to Portland and with that top-10 at the Old Course showing further what she can do when faced with generous fairways, she can put herself among the main challengers in this third edition of the Kroger Queen City Championship.

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