‘Super hard.’ What LPGA players think of Maketewah at Kroger QCC

BOND HILL − The LPGA’s venue change for the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G has come with a new set of challenges this year. The players noticed it immediately through the opening rounds of the event.

After two years, and warmer weather, at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, the Kroger Queen City Championship moved this season to historic Maketewah Country Club, a classic Donald Ross design that is equal parts challenging and prestigious. By the end of the first round on Thursday, May 14, the numbers alone told the story.

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Last September in Maineville, 92 players finished the first round under par and seven golfers shot 6-under or better (including a 9-under opening round, which tied for the tournament record). On Thursday at Maketewah, just 27 players broke par. Nobody went lower than 4-under with three golfers sharing the clubhouse lead.

“It’s a super hard golf course,” first-round co-leader Chella Choi said after posting a 66.

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That sentiment echoed across the leaderboard during a brisk, windy opening day that featured thick rough, firm fairways and difficult pin locations on Maketewah’s undulated poa annua greens.

“It’s hard to hit the fairway,” said Lilia Vu, who opened with a 67. “Sometimes, you just need a little bit of luck out there.”

The venue and calendar change has, at least early on, transformed the championship from a birdie fest into a survival test. Players repeatedly pointed to the course’s unique topography and tricky sightlines as one of the biggest adjustments. Maketewah can force players to navigate blind angles, sidehill lies and dramatic changes in elevation.

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“The front and back nine feel like two completely different golf courses,” said Lydia Ko, who won this event in Maineville in 2024.

Ko, who fired a 68 in the first round, hit just five of 14 fairways but still felt she hit her driver well.

“It’s one of those golf courses where if you’re marginally off you can end up just in the left or right rough,” she said.

That rough has been described by players as punishing, both before the tournament during practice rounds and the pro-am and after the first round. World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who shot a 69, said missed fairways become increasingly dangerous if the tournament decides to toughen the setup deeper into the week.

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“The rough is really thick in some areas,” Korda said. “so, if you don’t find the rough, it does get a little bit difficult, especially if they start to tuck the pin locations.”

If players navigate the rough and get to the green, it’s still a tough test to get a birdie putt to drop.

Jin-Young Ko called the greens “very bumpy” and difficult to read. Choi described them as “not flat.” Amanda Doherty compared them to a “typical Donald Ross” design full of movement and subtle breaks.

“The greens are very undulated,” Doherty said. “Par is good on any hole out there. At any hole you make a bogey, you’re not losing too much ground because it’s playing really tough.”

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One hole in particular became the symbol of Maketewah’s challenge during Thursday’s overcast, windy opening round. The course is unique with a pair of par-3 finishing holes on Nos. 9 and 18.

The 18th hole has a fantastic stadium view for spectators from just 145 yards out. The ninth hole is a 217-yard, par-3 guarded by bunkers. In the first round, the hole produced just seven birdies against 64 bogeys and six double bogeys. There were 66 pars.

Morning conditions were especially brutal before some sunshine arrived in the afternoon. During the early wave, players combined for just three birdies while recording 34 bogeys and four doubles.

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“It’s super difficult,” Choi said of No. 9.

Defending tournament champion Charley Hull still called Maketewah “a very scorable golf course” after shooting 68. She mishit a 5-iron on No. 9 and ran into trouble in a bunker and settled for bogey.

“I don’t think the greens staff raked the bunker properly,” Hull said. “There were a couple of bunkers like that out there.”

Maketewah can be mentally challenging over 18 holes. Vu said, “It’s so tough to the point that you have to think about the shot in front of you.” The patience required to go low this week was expressed by two-time Kroger Queen City Championship runner-up Jeeno Thitikul, who played in a featured group on Thursday with Korda and Ko.

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“We’re trying to make birdies,” Thitikul said. “Trying to survive this golf course.”

Th second round on Friday, May 15 did bring lower scores as warmer temperatures and calmer conditions slightly softened Maketewah’s defenses in the morning. At the center of the improved scoring was the featured group of Thitikul, Korda and Ko, each carding matching 67s to climb into contention.

“I think it’s the weather,” Ko said. “With how windy it was on Wednesday, I’m assuming it just carried into Thursday morning. It actually was dying down as we were finishing our round, and I think it kind of just stayed that way for us today.”

Lottie Woad, of England, fired a tournament-low 64 by finding 10 of 14 fairways, allowing her to go pin-seeking on approach shots.

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Even with more birdies available Friday, players still largely view Maketewah as a demanding test that can quickly punish mistakes. Last year, seven golfers were at least 10-under par heading into the weekend. This year, the clubhouse leader is Jin Young Ko at 7-under.

“The rough is thick in spots and it’s firmed up a little bit, so you can’t really attack pins if you’re in the rough,” Woad said. “Like yesterday, I was having to play to the middle of the green a lot because I couldn’t go at the pin, but today I could go more at the pin.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: ‘Super hard.’ What LPGA players think of Maketewah at Kroger QCC