Showing posts with label LPGA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LPGA. Show all posts
Monday, 27 April 2026
Sunday, 26 April 2026
Saturday, 25 April 2026
Monday, 30 June 2025
SOUTH KOREA'S IM AND LEE WIN PGA LPGA PAIRS EVENT IN PLAYOFF
 |
| South Koreans Im Jin-hee and Lee So-mi celebrate on the way to a playoff victory in the LPGA Dow Championship pairs event (David Berding) |
South Koreans Im Jin-hee and Lee So-mi birdied the first playoff hole to beat Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang in the LPGA Dow Championship pairs event in Michigan on Sunday.
Lee rolled in the winning birdie putt, she and Im both able to celebrate a first LPGA title after Khang was unable to get the US duo's birdie putt to drop.
"We made it together," Im said. "If I had to do it alone I couldn't make it.
"I think we're the best team ever," she added. "Hopefully we're coming back next year."
Khang and Thompson -- an 11-time LPGA winner who is playing a limited schedule this year -- climbed to the top of the leaderboard at Midland Golf Club with a 10-under-par 60, combining for 10 birdies in a best-ball format to build a four-round total of 20-under 260.
Thompson's seven-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole gave the Americans a one-shot clubhouse lead.
But Lee drilled a birdie putt at the 17th that pulled the South Koreans level and after a birdie attempt by Im at 18 burned the edge they signed for an eight-under 62 and headed back to 18 for the playoff, which reverted to the alternate-shot format in which the first and third rounds were played.
Thompson's tee shot gave the Americans the best look at birdie, but Im drilled her putt to put the pressure on Khang who missed from short range.
"I think on the first tee we pretty much said as long as we give ourselves two chances each hole we will see where it takes us," Khang said.
"Thankfully made some putts here and there -- bummer to miss the last one in the playoff to force another hole, but very happy how we played."
American Lindy Duncan and China's Miranda Wang combined for 11 birdies in an 11-under 59 to climb 13 places into a tie for third on 18-under 262.
They were joined by Belgium's Manon De Roey and France's Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, who had seven birdies and a bogey in their 64.
Overnight leaders Sarah Schmelzel and Albane Valenzuela endured a frustrating day. They had four birdies in the first 11 holes but couldn't find another, their four-under 66 leaving them alone in fifth on 263.
- AFP
Saturday, 3 May 2025
Monday, 22 July 2024
Friday, 31 May 2024
OH, NELLY! KORDA MAKES A 10 ON ONE HOLE AND POSTS AN 80 IN U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN
 |
| AP Photo |
LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — Nelly Korda was not even three holes into the U.S. Women's Open when she dropped to a crouch and bowed her head in disbelief after her third straight shot — all of them from inside 70 feet away — tumbled into a stream.
She walked off the par-3 12th hole at Lancaster Country Club with a 10.
It didn't get much better from there.
“Making a 10 on a par 3 will definitely not do you any good at a U.S. Open,” Korda said when her nightmare start to the biggest championship in women's golf ended with an 80, leaving her 12 shots out of the lead.
“Just a bad day in the office.”
Korda came into the U.S. Women's Open as an overwhelming favorite, with six victories in her last seven tournaments, including a major that tied an LPGA record for five wins in a row.
That's what made the most imperfect 10 so shocking.
 |
| AP Photo |
It didn't help that two groups were on the tee at the 161-yard 12th hole — Korda had about a 25-minute wait — and she watched trouble unfold before she pulled a club. In the group ahead, Gaby Lopez came up short of the water. Ingrid Lindblad's tee shot rolled into the water.
Korda curiously chose 6-iron — most players not as long as her hit 7-iron — and it took a hard hop into a back bunker. And then the trouble began.
Korda said she had a leaf under her golf ball, and the bunker shot came out a little hot and rolled — and rolled — past the front pin, off the false front and disappeared into the stream.
“Couldn't really do anything about that,” she said. “Yeah, just hit some really bad chips, over and over again.”
She played a low pitch up the slope, but it banged into the hill and rolled back down into the water. She took another penalty drop, played another low pitch that was only slightly better, still not nearly enough to avoid rolling back into the water.
She got it right the third time, only to miss an 8-foot putt and take septuple-bogey 10. Korda walked off the green, removed her visor and placed her hand over her forehead for a few seconds, then headed to the 13th tee.
A video crew kept the camera fixed on the walking scorer as “+1” was changed to a “+8” next to her name.
She still had 15 holes ahead of her on a course that didn't present a lot of scoring chances. Only three players from the morning wave broke par at 1-under 69. Her objective?
“I just didn't really want to shoot 80,” Korda said. “And I just kept making bogeys.”
It was her second straight round of 80 in the U.S. Women's Open, separated by 11 months and some 3,000 miles — Korda shot 80 in the final round at Pebble Beach last summer.
The only higher rounds in her career were 81 — one at the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship when she was 15, the other at the 2013 U.S. Women's Open at age 14.
The 12th hole was playing the toughest for the opening round. The tee was moved forward and the pin was in the front of a green that slopes from back to front, with a slightly more severe pitch that sends balls into the creek.
It was playing nearly a full stroke over par as the afternoon groups began play. There also was some suspect execution on Korda's part, starting with the club selection.
Sei Young Kim also watched the group ahead hit into the water, though that helped her realize the wind was stronger than it might have felt. She had 8-iron in her hand and then switched to a 7-iron, which she hit to 18 feet behind the flag.
Korda was between 7-iron and 6-iron, and took the stronger club, then moved back one length of the club.
“I just didn't really know what to hit,” she said. “Sometimes it's not really good seeing the girls play in front of you because of them — Gaby up short of the water, and I think Ingrid went into the water. It was just a tough day.”
She also flirted with trouble by playing the low pitch instead of a safer shot behind the hole.
Turns out that was only the start of her problems. She laid up in the rough on the par-5 13th and had to two-putt from 55 feet for par. She missed a 3-foot par putt on the 15th and a 5-foot par putt on the 17th.
 |
| AP Photo |
Korda didn't make her first birdie until her 12th hole, No. 3, when she holed a 12-foot putt and smiled with a mock celebration. Two holes later, however, she missed a 4-foot par putt and then nearly found the water on the par-3 sixth, leading to bogey.
She finished with an approach up the hill to the ninth that left her 55 feet away with a fast putt to a front pin. She ran that 12 feet by and missed for her sixth bogey, to go along with one septuple bogey on a hole where she left her mark for all the wrong reasons.
“I'm human,” Korda said. “I'm going to have bad days. I played some really solid golf up to this point. Today was just a bad day. That's all I can say.”
- DOUG FERGUSON
Sunday, 12 May 2024
SAGSTROM, ZHANG BREAK AWAY IN FOUNDERS CUP, DASHING KORDA'S BID FOR RECORD 6TH STRAIGHT LPGA VICTORY
 |
| AP Photo |
Trying to win a record sixth straight LPGA Tour event, Korda was 11 shots behind Sagstrom and 10 back of two-time NCAA champion Zhang with a round left at Upper Montclair Country Club.
After months of near-perfect play, Korda inexplicably hit bad drives, found bunkers from the fairway and missed short putts. She shot a 1-over 73.
“I think I’ve played really good golf the past couple months,” Korda said. “I’m human, so I’m going to have bad days. I’m not going to feel 100% out here mentally, physically, or whatever, but I’m going to give it my all. It was just one of those days where it felt like a constant battle and didn’t really play too well.”
Sagstrom, who has played well on this course the last three years, had a 66 to get to 19-under 197. Zhang, who won in her professional debut in New Jersey state a year ago, had a 67 after lipping out on a short birdie putt at No. 18.
Unless something unexpected happens, one of them will win their second LPGA Tour title. The 31-year-old Sagstrom has not won since 2020. The Swede who starred at LSU had a bogey-free round of six birdies, highlighted by three in row on the last three holes on the front nine.“
"I felt like this laser focus all week,” Sagstrom said. "I felt super, not super committed to everything, but I felt really in the moment. And that’s kind of the game I think I need to play tomorrow.”
The 20-year-old Zhang, who won the Mizuho Americas Open in Jersey City last year, had seven birdies and two bogeys.
Zhang and Sagstrom had a good time on the course, congratulating each other on good shots while sharing a couple of laughs.
“I think the most important thing for me is just to really try to relax, enjoy the moment, enjoy the shots that I’m hitting,” said Zhang, whose best finish was a tie for seventh in six events this year. “Even if I’m not hitting it great, just learning how to commit to everything is the most important.”
Korda, the world's No. 1 ranked player, was tied for third at 8 under with Sei Young Kim of South Korea and Gabriela Ruffels of Australia, who each shot 67.
The 25-year-old Korda had three birdies and four bogeys, the first coming on the opening hole after finding a bunker from the fairway. She missed her drive right on No. 5 and needed to more shots to get on the green at No. 5 for her second bogey. A three-putt from 25 feet on No. 7 was her third, and the worst was hitting a 70-or-so yard chip from the fairway right into a bunker at No. 9 for the fourth bogey.
“Yesterday was good in everything and today was poor in everything, so that’s just pretty much golf for you,” said Korda, who shot a bogey-free 66 Friday. “Just made too many kind of stupid, silly mistakes, which was unfortunate because they were playing so well. So now there is just a massive gap.”
The LPGA Tour record for largest deficit overcome in winning a tournament is 10 shots. It has been done three times with Mickey Wright (1964). Annika Sorenstam (2001) and Louise Friberg (2008 ).
Korda came into the tournament having taken two weeks off after winning the Chevron Championship. It was her fifth straight title and tied her with Hall of Famers Sorenstam (2004-05) and Nancy Lopez (1978) for the tour's longest winning streak.
Sagstrom called Korda's streak incredible and it's something every player on tour strives to do.
“I think, she’s really stepped up the attention on women’s golf lately and it’s really cool to watch,” Sagstrom said. "I think it’s really good for the game.”
It had to end sometime, and it's not surprising it will probably happen this week the way Sagstrom and Zhang are playing. They've have done a Korda on Nelly.
- TOM CANAVAN
Tuesday, 5 December 2023
PGA TOUR AND LPGA COME TOGETHER FOR MIXED-TEAM TOURNAMENT IN FLORIDA
PGA TOUR AND LPGA TOUR
GRANT THORNTON INVITATIONAL
Site: Naples, Florida.
Course: Tiburon GC. PGA Tour yardage: 7,382. LPGA Tour yardage: 6,595. Par: 72.
Prize money: $4 million. Winners' share: $720,000.
Television: Friday, 1-4 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 2-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-5 p.m. (NBC); Sunday, 1-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2-4 p.m. (NBC).
Previous winners: John Daly and Laura Davies (1999).
Last week: Scottie Scheffler won the Hero World Challenge.
Notes: This takes over for what formerly was known as the Shark Shootout, making it the first mixed team event with the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour since the 1999 JC Penney Classic. ... The event is unofficial and will not count toward either tour. ... Lexi Thompson previously played the event with a PGA Tour partner. She is playing this year with Rickie Fowler. Her previous partner, Tony Finau, is playing with Nelly Korda. ... Ludvig Aberg is playing with fellow Swede Madelene Sagstrom. The 16 teams include 11 PGA Tour players who are among the top 50 in the world. Jason Day is the highest-ranked at No. 19. He will be playing with Lydia Ko. The LPGA has five of the top 10 from the women's world ranking, and 10 of the top 20. ... The LPGA had its season-ending Tour Championship at Tiburon two weeks ago. ... Canadian Open champion Nick Taylor is playing with Women's PGA champion Ruoning Yin, while Justin Rose and Georgia Hall make up an all-England team.
Next tournament: The Sentry (PGA Tour) on Jan. 4-7 and Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions (LPGA Tour) on Jan. 18-21.
- AP
Saturday, 28 October 2023
Saturday, 22 July 2023
Monday, 26 June 2023
Monday, 22 November 2021
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)