Kroger Queen City: Looking forward to best bets and more

A week after we watched rookie power flip the LPGA’s script in Portland, the theme kept rolling: new faces, fresh winners, and a points race that refuses to settle. We said back in July that 2025 felt like a season where anyone can win on any given Sunday, and with no repeat winners in sight, that prophecy aged well.

Brooke Henderson’s Sunday at the CPKC Women’s Open was pure pressure management. In front of a river of red and white at Mississauga, the Canadian closed with 67 to edge Minjee Lee by one and snap a two-year drought. It was her 14th LPGA title and her second national championship for Canada. The win vaulted her back toward the CME bubble and, more importantly, looked like Henderson again: patient off the tee, tidy from scoring range, and willing to absorb the cheers of the hometown crowd. Tied with Lee to start the day, Henderson separated late and made it stick when it counted.

Fast forward to Boston and the FM Championship and a full field back on the course. It was Miranda Wang, another rookie and world No. 187 coming into the weekend, who outlasted world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul by one shot at 20 under. Wang actually lost the lead on the back nine, then took it back with a six-footer for birdie on 17 and a composed two-putt on 18 for 70. Thitikul’s bogey from the rough on 17 opened the door, and Wang was there waiting for the invitation to walk through it and back into the lead. She is the seventh rookie winner of 2025 and the LPGA’s 23rd event with 24 different winners (one was a team event). That is rare parity for 23 tournaments so far on the LPGA Tour, and it is why Sundays keep feeling like coin flips with consequences, making it tough to consider anyone a sure bet.

If you watched this week build, you might have predicted Wang’s win coming and cashed in. On Saturday she posted a bogey-free 65 with just 24 putts, holing a 40-footer on 14 and stretching a bogey-free run to 27 straight holes. The confidence started on Thursday with eight birdies on her opening nine and never really left. The final board: Wang −20, Thitikul −19, Sei Young Kim solo third at −17, Andrea Lee fourth at −16, with Rose Zhang and Jin Hee Im sharing T5 at −14. Im’s 62 came without a bogey.

As a result, the season picture tightened again. The CME framing remains familiar: Thitikul is still the standard. Heading into Boston she held a narrow edge on Minjee Lee, and a runner-up finish lengthened that lead with Lee T20 at −10, taking 42 CME points to Thitikul’s 320. The broader order remains Thitikul over Lee, with rookies Rio Takeda and Miyu Yamashita crowding the front. The common thread is pressure tolerance, who is able to convert wedges to 15-foot putts and survive the two bad swings a round without a double.

Betting window: Kroger Queen City (Sept. 11–14, TPC River’s Bend)

The full field is once again entered at TPC River’s Bend, competing for a $2M purse and 500 CME points. As of Sunday night (Aug. 31), Kroger Queen City outright markets were not yet posted on the major books I monitor. Do not force it; shop once they go live. I am thinking we are due for a repeat winner, but who will it be? 

Best odds in my book are Lydia Ko, who won here last year and also won back in February at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. She is due, but is she steady enough to close another win? Veteran Minjee Lee took the Kroger Queen City in 2023 and has had a hot hand most of this summer. Her 2025 win came in June at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, and she has had six top-10 finishes while taking home $3.6M so far this year. My money is on Lee or Thitikul.

When numbers do appear, here is the shape of value at TPC River’s Bend: a par 72 that plays 6,876 yards with Bent/Poa greens that can reach 12 on the Stimp and get firm. Translation: favor confident drivers and iron players who can stick it and convert inside 15 feet.

Placement bets (Top-5/10/20) to watch for playable numbers: Andrea Lee’s ball-striking held up under Boston’s stop-start weather, and River’s Bend rewards her tidy gapping. Rose Zhang is trending again (T5 at FM) and comfortable on bent/poa surfaces, so treat any generous Top-10 as a buy.

Longshot who fits the card: Jin Hee Im. Her bogey-free 62 on Sunday was not smoke and mirrors. Keep an eye on Lottie Woad, who finished T15 at −11 and is always a threat.

Overall: Consider the strong field; eight of the world’s top 10 are entered, so watch how books shade the top. Consider waiting until Friday to place a bet. See how the field is striking the ball, and where the boards are landing. If one shop floats Ko longer than another, pounce. Compare at least DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars before you click.

Why it matters

Parity is the story. Twenty-four different winners in 23 starts, rookies punching above their weight, and a CME race that refuses to be solved. Henderson’s win re-introduces a proven closer into the playoff conversation. Wang’s win does two things at once: strengthens a rookie-win trend we have been tracking for a month and keeps the no-repeat-winner quirk alive heading into Cincinnati.

What’s Next?

As mentioned, the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G will be held Sept. 11–14 at TPC River’s Bend, just outside of Cincinnati. River’s Bend is a Palmer design with corridors, elevation change, and water in play on six holes. It played firm and fast last year around 6,705 yards and looks slightly longer this year. Defending champ Lydia Ko owns the aggregate record here (265). If conditions mirror 2024, expect separation from the tee and with mid-irons, not with scramble fests. Early watch-fors: Thitikul’s driver-plus-wedge machine, Ko’s comfort on these greens, Lee’s towering approach windows, and whether Zhang rides Boston momentum.

Want more Sandman? Come connect with us here at sandmansports.com/onestopshop