The Power Five: Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions

By: Max Bechtoldt

Every Wednesday leading into a tournament, the power five is your place to see predictions about who will be toward the top of the leaderboard each week. This week’s power five for the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Country Club is:

5. Danielle Kang – Kang’s 2023 was not particularly strong, with only three top 10s and no wins, but her history in this tournament gives reason for optimism. Kang won the event in 2022, the first year it was held at Lake Nona Country Club, finished in second in 2021 in an epic playoff with Jessica Korda and has finished in the top-15 in each of her appearances. There’s an element to being comfortable playing with the celebrities in this event that Kang clearly has. Though she’s coming off one of the weaker years of her career, expect a strong result this week.

4. Charley Hull – Hull was fantastic in 2023, a few shots here and there and she could’ve been in the player of the year race. Despite not having a win, Hull finished in second place four times last year, including in two of the majors and right here at the Tournament of Champions. Coming off her momentum from last year, and considering she is clearly comfortable on the course, don’t be surprised to see Hull at the top of the leaderboard.

3. Gaby Lopez – Lopez always shows up for this event. The 2020 champion has adjusted nicely to the new setting at Lake Nona, finishing T6 last year and in third place in 2022. She’s only finished outside of the top 10 in this event one time. Lopez was a bit inconsistent in 2023, but has a good overall game without a real weakness. I expect better from her than her No. 42 finish in the 2023 Race to CME Globe, and I think a strong start here will boost her.

2. Brooke Henderson – The defending champion is looking to bounce back from one of her worst seasons on the LPGA Tour. Like the others on this list, Henderson has a strong history of performing well in this event, especially since it moved to Lake Nona. Not only did Henderson win in 2023, she finished as the runner-up in 2022. Henderson also finished in the top 20 when Lake Nona played host to the Gainbridge LPGA in the 2021 season. There is no evidence to suggest Henderson won’t be in contention this week.

1. Nelly Korda – Korda checks all the boxes to be the odds-on-favorite heading into this event. She is dominant on Lake Nona, winning in 2021 and finishing in fourth the last two seasons. She also dominates in her home state of Florida, with three of her eight wins coming in The Sunshine State. For the Tournament of Champions, Korda hasn’t finished out of the top 10 once and has four top-five finishes. While the story of Korda’s 2023 season was filled with injuries and lack of wins, she still quietly put up nine top-10 finishes and only two missed cuts. Safe money is on Nelly this week.