Chisato Iwai wins Mexico Riviera Maya Open by 6 shots for first LPGA title
Iwai led from the opening hole at El Camaleon when she made birdie and Jenny Bae made bogey, and the 22-year-old from Japan was on her way.
'My mental is so calm — calm every day, every time,' Iwai said.
She ran off four straight birdies, poured in every putt that mattered and then cruised home to become the third LPGA rookie to win this season.
Iwai, whose twin sister Akie Iwai has been runner-up twice this year, finished at 12-under 276.
Bae had a one-shot lead going into the final round at Mayakoba, and the 10 players behind her also had never experienced winning on the LPGA Tour.
It didn't take long for Iwai, who had eight wins on the Japan LPGA before getting her LPGA card, to turn this into a rout.
She hit wedge to four feet on the third hole for birdie. She rolled in a seven-foot birdie putt on the fourth. Her approach to the par-5 fifth was right of the green, close to the water, and she calmly chipped that to two feet for a third straight birdie. Iwai finished the big birdie run with a 15-foot putt on No. 6.
Bae bogeyed the opening two holes and never caught up. She steadied herself on the back nine to salvage a 73 and a runner-up finish.
'It just tells me that I have a long ways to go but also I'm also getting there, too,' Bae said. 'So I'm happy. I definitely know what I need to work on for the week off for me. Hopefully I'll be able to score better at the next tournament.'
The six-shot victory for Iwai matched the largest margin this year. Rio Takeda of Japan also won by six at the Blue Bay LPGA in China.
Iwai took off early and it seemed as though everyone simply cleared out of her way. Gabriela Ruffels, who birdied five of her final six holes on Saturday to get within two shots of the lead, made only one birdie in her round of 76.
Miranda Wang, who stayed in the game with clutch par putts down the stretch in the third round, closed with a 76 without making a birdie. Yahui Zhang made bogey on six of her final seven holes for a 78.
Winnipeg Jets Game Days
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.
Iwai won $375,000 for her first title. It's the first time in 10 years the LPGA has had three rookies win before the end of May.
Canadian Maddie Szeryk finished in a three-way tie for 60th at 8 over.
The LPGA returned to Mexico for the first time since 2017 and didn't attract a strong field with the U.S. Women's Open next week at Erin Hills is Wisconsin. Charley Hull at No. 15 was the highest-ranked player in the field. She didn't break 70 all week and tied for 32nd.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Athletics hit three home runs in 10-3 win over Angels
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Colby Thomas, Shea Langeliers and Nick Kurtz homered, rookie Jack Perkins had seven strikeouts in five solid innings and the Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angeles 10-3 on Friday night. The Athletics snapped an eight-game losing streak, which included seven this season, against the Angels. Thomas and Kurtz each had three hits and drove in three runs. Thomas, a 24-year-old rookie, hit a three-run homer in the third inning and Kurtz hit a three-run shot that capped the scoring in the eighth. Perkins (2-2) made his third career start and allowed three runs on five hits with three walks. He allowed three runs on three hits in six innings to beat Orioles 11-3 for first win as a starter his last time out. Langeliers hit solo homer off Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi (6-8) and added an RBI single. Kikuchi gave up five hits and four runs in four innings. Travis d'Arnaud doubled to drive in Yoán Moncada in the second for the Angels. Zach Neto homered after Bryce Teodosio walked on four pitches to lead off the fifth to trim their deficit to 4-3. Key moment Brent Rooker doubled to lead off the third and moved to third on a single by Kurtz before Thomas hit a first-pitch curveball over the wall in left center field to make it 4-1. Key stat Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. The Athletics were 6 for 9 with runners in scoring position while the Angels were 1 for 7. Up next Angels LHP Tyler Anderson (2-7, 4.63 ERA) starts Saturday opposite Athletics RHP Luis Morales (0-0, 1.93). ___ AP MLB:
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Titans edge Falcons 23-20
ATLANTA (AP) — Kendell Brooks scored on a 53-yard interception return and rookie quarterback Cameron Ward had mixed results as the Tennessee Titans beat the Atlanta Falcons 23-20 in a preseason game Friday night. Joey Slye's 23-yard field goal with 9:03 remaining gave Tennessee (1-1) the lead. Falcons backup quarterback Emory Jones was stopped on a fourth-down run near the Tennessee 20 with 2:57 remaining. Jones was shaken up on the hit by linebacker Amari Burney and cornerback Jemari Harris. Jones walked off the field with assistance. Ward played three series and completed 2 of 7 passes for 42 yards. Ward's highlight was a 35-yard completion to Elic Ayomanor on the Titans' opening series. Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NFL draft, had another long pass dropped by Van Jefferson. The teams traded third-quarter touchdowns. Jemar Jefferson's 16-yard scoring run, which capped a 13-play drive, gave the Titans a 20-13 lead. Easton Stick, who played the first three quarters for Atlanta, threw a 52-yard scoring pass to Chris Blair to tie the game. Brandon Allen, who played behind Ward, threw a 25-yard scoring pass to tight end Gunnar Helm late in the first half. Nathan Carter produced the Falcons' first touchdown with a 43-yard run in the third quarter. Younghoe Koo kicked field goals of 42 and 36 yards for Atlanta (0-2). SEAHAWKS 33, CHIEFS 16 SEATTLE (AP) — Sam Darnold looked the part of a franchise quarterback in his first appearance at Lumen Field as Seattle beat Kansas City. Darnold, who did not appear in the Seattle Seahawks' preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, completed 4 of 4 passes for 34 yards on the opening drive. Darnold, who signed to a three-year, $100.5 million contract with Seattle in the offseason, made good use of both his legs and his tight ends during his sole series. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. He had no issues rolling out to either his left or right, locating tight ends AJ Barner and Elijah Arroyo for short passes, as well as fullback Robbie Ouzts and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba for deeper completions. Backup quarterback Drew Lock impressed in relief of Darnold, throwing a couple of touchdown passes to wide receiver Jake Bobo, and completing 10 of 12 passes for 129 yards. Running backs Zach Charbonnet and Damien Martinez each added touchdowns on the ground in the first and third quarters, respectively. The Chiefs, meanwhile, did not play quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and other starters from the team that fell to the Philadelphia Eagles in last season's Super Bowl. Backup quarterback Gardner Minshew found tight end Robert Tonyan for a 1-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Electric sellout Vancouver game a milestone for flourishing WNBA
VANCOUVER – Brittney Griner still remembers attending her first WNBA game. She was still in middle school when she went to see the now-defunct Houston Comets. 'It was dope. It was amazing,' said the six-foot-nine centre. 'I was just like, 'OK, here's a model, here's something that I can do. I can aspire to be one of them.'' Become one of them she did. Griner's now in her 11th WNBA season and has become one of the league's most recognizable names. She blazed another trail with her Atlanta Dream teammates on Friday when they faced the Seattle Storm in Vancouver, marking the first time the league has held a regular-season game outside of the United States. 'Hopefully tonight we got some future WNBA stars coming up,' Griner said of the young fans at Rogers Arena. A sellout crowd of 15,892 people took in the game. Players from both the B.C. Lions and Vancouver Whitecaps sat along the sidelines. Signs in the crowd read 'Canada loves the WNBA,' 'Everyone watches women's sports' and 'We miss the NBA in Vancouver.' Dream guard Rhyne Howard was sure to reward the crowd before the game, taking time to sign autographs and pose for photos. 'A lot of those fans is their first WNBA game,' she explained. 'They took time to come see us, so just make sure we're paying that back.' Seattle jumped out to a 15-point lead midway through the third quarter, but Atlanta refused to relent. The Dream charged back and took a 71-69 lead with less than five minutes to go in the fourth and the two sides traded chances through the final minutes. Big cheers emanated from the crowd when Storm forward Gabby Williams swiped the ball away from Howard and got it to Brittney Sykes, who sunk an uncontested shot to put Seattle up 79-76 with 55.6 seconds left on the clock. Ezi Magbegor then sunk a free throw with 8.7 seconds to go to seal Seattle's 80-78 win. The atmosphere was 'amazing,' said Storm guard Skylar Diggins. 'We talked about it in the locker room, it feeling like a playoff game, almost,' she said. 'But we definitely felt them rally behind us. This was a great opportunity for us to, you know, be here and continue to show the WNBA international reach, and they love it out here. They showed us a lot of love.' The Vancouver game comes during a time of explosive growth for women's sports. Canada's first women's professional soccer league, the Northern Super League, launched in April and this fall will see the Professional Women's Hockey League expand to eight teams with new franchises in Vancouver and Seattle. The WNBA is growing, too, with the addition of the Toronto Tempo next season. Having a Canadian team will help grow Canadian talent, said Storm head coach Noelle Quinn. 'The exposure that a team like Toronto can give to the youth, and what that can do for inspiring that segment of young individuals who want to play, and then keeping them local, and developing the talent there. … I think to me, it's more the exposure than anything that can really, I guess, expedite that process, but also make them a lot better,' she said. Tempo president Teresa Resch and general manager Monica Wright Rogers were at the game in Vancouver on Friday and had a special announcement for the crowd: the new team will play in Vancouver twice during their inaugural season. Quinn hopes kids who come out to WNBA games in Vancouver leave continuing to 'hope and dream big.' 'Obviously, professional basketball is coming to Canada. There are a lot of opportunities, more opportunities, for young girls to be able to not only see but participate, walk away with, a vibe and a good feel that the W is in a good place,' she said. 'And from the talent to sponsorship to the viewership and all those things, it is a good time to be a fan and hopefully continue to inspire the dreams of the youth.' Toronto is one of five cities getting a WNBA team over the next five years. The Portland Fire will also start play in 2026, followed by Cleveland in 2028, Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030. Nine other cities bidded for expansion franchises. It's a big change from the WNBA Nneka Ogwumike entered back in 2012. 'The conversations around the health of the league were not incredibly inspiring when I was drafted. It was kind of impressed upon us that we should make our money elsewhere and just focus on your individual accolades,' said the Storm forward. 'But now we're at a point where we're playing more games, almost twice as many as we did then, several years ago. And we're able to play in different cities, we're able to expand to different cities. I never really imagined being in the league while all this was happening, but I'm very grateful to be a part of it and to continue to be a part of it.' There's still ample work to be done, including on a new collective bargaining agreement. Players expressed their dissatisfaction with the current deal — which expires in October — at last month's all-star game, wearing warmup shirts that said 'Pay us what you owe us.' Overall, though, the league is in a good place right now, Griner said. 'Countless, countless hours of time have been put in by everybody — players from our organizations, the league — on trying to build this up and be sustainable to be here for the younger girls that are coming in,'' she said. 'And I'm just grateful and so happy that I'm here to be a part of this. Because this is something that we always wanted, but we're actually seeing it happen.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2025.
