Szokol, Lee share lead at LPGA Shoprite Classic
The 36-year-old journeywoman fired an eight-under-par 63 to join the United States' Elizabeth Szokol at the top of the leaderboard at the Seaview Hotel & Golf Club course in Galloway.
Lee is playing in only her second tournament of 2025 following a missed cut at last week's US Women's Open.
The Korean veteran has barely played at all in recent years, making just 15 tournament starts since 2020 in a career that has been derailed by a debilitating shoulder injury.
But Lee, whose lone LPGA win came in the Bahamas in 2013, showed no sign of rustiness as she rattled in six birdies over the opening 10 holes to move to six under. A bogey on the 13th checked her progress, before birdies on 16, 17 and 18 put her into the lead.
Lee though is not getting carried away with her impressive start, saying her focus these days is simply enjoyment.
"I don't have expectation. I just play golf," she said. "I just come out, have fun. That's all I do. The results is something that I can't control."
While Lee saved her best for last, Szokol moved into position after a blistering start that included five straight opening birdies on the way to her 68.
"Just kept hitting the ball really good," Szokol said of her start. "Hit the ball great and gave myself a lot of looks, so it was a great day."
Japan's Akie Iwai is two shots off the lead after carding a six-under-par 65, while seven players are lurking on five under, three shots off the lead.
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France 24
21 hours ago
- France 24
Szokol, Lee share lead at LPGA Shoprite Classic
The 36-year-old journeywoman fired an eight-under-par 63 to join the United States' Elizabeth Szokol at the top of the leaderboard at the Seaview Hotel & Golf Club course in Galloway. Lee is playing in only her second tournament of 2025 following a missed cut at last week's US Women's Open. The Korean veteran has barely played at all in recent years, making just 15 tournament starts since 2020 in a career that has been derailed by a debilitating shoulder injury. But Lee, whose lone LPGA win came in the Bahamas in 2013, showed no sign of rustiness as she rattled in six birdies over the opening 10 holes to move to six under. A bogey on the 13th checked her progress, before birdies on 16, 17 and 18 put her into the lead. Lee though is not getting carried away with her impressive start, saying her focus these days is simply enjoyment. "I don't have expectation. I just play golf," she said. "I just come out, have fun. That's all I do. The results is something that I can't control." While Lee saved her best for last, Szokol moved into position after a blistering start that included five straight opening birdies on the way to her 68. "Just kept hitting the ball really good," Szokol said of her start. "Hit the ball great and gave myself a lot of looks, so it was a great day." Japan's Akie Iwai is two shots off the lead after carding a six-under-par 65, while seven players are lurking on five under, three shots off the lead.
France 24
6 days ago
- France 24
Sweden's Maja Stark wins 80th US Women's Open
Sweden's Stark put on a clinical display on the imposing Erin Hills course in Wisconsin, where back-to-back bogeys to finish her round proved inconsequential as her seven-under total of 281 gave her the victory with room to spare. She became the third player from Sweden to lift the trophy and the first since Annika Sorenstam won her third in 2006. "I started shaking a little bit more than I did yesterday, so it was more of a challenge today for sure," Stark said, adding that she was "so tired" after a classic US Open grind. Leading by one to start the day, Stark opened with five straight pars, benefitting from a lucky break at the fifth when her tee shot scooted through the left rough and settled in the fairway. She then pushed her lead to two strokes with her first birdie of the day at the par-three sixth, where she rolled in a 21-foot putt. She gave a stroke back at the seventh, where her tee shot found a fairway bunker, and was clinging to a one-stroke lead when she arrived at the 11th. That changed in moments however, Stark rattling in a 14-foot birdie putt at 11 shortly after Korda's three-putt bogey at the 13th dropped the American star to five-under, the sequence of events leaving Stark with a three-stroke cushion. Korda, who started the day three shots adrift, applied pressure with back to back birdies at the seventh and eighth. After her bogey at 13 she pulled a stroke back at the par-five 14th, where she had a look at eagle but settled for a birdie. Japan's Hinako Shibuno and Takeda also reached six-under with birdies at the 14th. But Stark held her nerve and extended her lead with a birdie of her own at 14, where her second shot from the fairway caught the slope of the green and rolled to a stop 11 feet below the pin. She left her eagle putt short, but tapped in for a birdie that pushed her lead to three strokes. Her rivals had already faltered -- Shibuno with a double-bogey at 15, Takeda with a bogey at 17 and Korda with a bogey at the last. Korda posted a one-under-par 71 and was joined on 283 by Takeda, who had three birdies to balance her bogey and a front-nine double bogey in a 72. 'Very complicated' Stark's nerves were finally showing when she went left off the tee at both the 17th and 18th. But she limited the damage to bogeys at both -- an impressive effort at the treacherous 18th where playing partner Julia Lopez Ramirez took a triple bogey eight that included a shot into the scoring tent. It was a disappointing day for the 22-year-old Spaniard, who trailed by one to start the day and carded a seven-over 79. Korda, owner of two major titles, notched her best finish in the US Open, improving on her tie for eighth in 2022. "Still very complicated," she said of her relationship with the championship. "It's just an absolute heartbreaker. Korda, 26, remains in search of a first victory since November, when she claimed the seventh LPGA title of her record-setting 2024 campaign. "Hopefully (I) can kind of build off of this, puting myself in contention at a major and obviously just slipping just short," Korda said. "Hurts a little, but I'm happy with the progress and hopefully I can continue like this."
France 24
7 days ago
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Sweden's Stark grabs one-shot lead at US Women's Open
Sweden's Stark, a European Solheim Cup stalwart chasing her first major title, kept her focus in a round that stretched nearly six hours as players wrestled with firm, fast greens on a breezy, sunny day in Wisconsin. Her seven-under-par total of 209 put her one stroke clear of Spanish qualifier Lopez Ramirez, whose four-under-par 68 was the best score of a day on which only nine players broke par. Japan's Mai Saigo, who started the day with a three-shot lead, carded a three-over-par 75 to share third alongside compatriots Rio Takeda and Hinako Shibuno on five-under 211. World number one Nelly Korda, who played alongside Saigo in the final group, finished strong in a one-over 73 that left her three adrift on four-under 212. Stark said the very difficulty of the course actually made her less anxious -- a key for her as she tries to kick the habit of "playing scared". "In normal tournaments, I kind of swing scared because I think it's a birdie competition, but here it's really not," Stark said, adding that on Sunday she'll just "try to play freely". Stark opened with a confidence-boosting birdie at the first hole. She bogeyed the third, but stuck her second shot at the 10th two feet from the pin for a birdie. Stark rattled in a 21-foot birdie at the par-three 16th to seize a share of the lead on seven-under, capping her round with a par at the par-five 18th and emerging with the solo lead as Saigo closed with back-to-back bogeys. The tough scoring made Lopez Ramirez's round look all the more impressive. The 22-year-old, who had to pause her LPGA rookie campaign in March after undergoing an appendectomy, eagled the par-five first and bounced back frm a bogey at the third with a birdie at th seventh, where she got up and down from a greenside bunker. She added birdies at 12 and 16 to put herself in contention for a first major title. "It was just mentally a strong day for me, keeping myself present and dealing with what's in front of me," Lopez Ramirez added. Saigo, gunning for a second major title of the season after winning the Chevron Championship in April, was battling even before her bogey-bogey finish. She had two birdies and a bogey in her first three holes then bogeyed the fourth, fifth and sixth -- failing to get up and down after missing the geen at all three. Korda rallies The 23-year-old had regained the solo lead with an eight-foot birdie at the 12th but couldn't hang on. Takeda joined her on five-under with a two-under par 70 highlighted by a six-foot eagle at the first. Former British Open champion Shibuno had two birdies and two bogeys in her even par 72. Korda appeared to be spiraling out of contention with four bogeys on the front nine. That included three-putts at the second and fifth and a five-foot miss at the seventh. But the American star clawed back with birdies at the 14th and 15th -- where she took advantage of the US Golf Association's decision to move up the tee to drive the green and calmly rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt. Her six-foot birdie putt at the 18th circled the cup before falling in, leaving her exactly where she started the day three shots off the lead. "I was happy to kind of rally back on the back nine after having such a poor start," Korda said. "It's all about being patient. There's just so many ups and downs and you just have to kind of stick with it .... it just takes one shot." © 2025 AFP
