logo
Sophia Popov had emotional Mother's Day win on Epson Tour

Sophia Popov had emotional Mother's Day win on Epson Tour

Yahoo12-05-2025

Sunday marked Mother's Day in the United States, a day that is often accompanied by a lot of emotion.
While it was a special day there were still lots of things happening in the golf world and one of htem was the Carlisle Arizona Women's Classic on the Epson Tour. It was Sophia Popov who came out on top, her fifth professional win, and she did so with four overall generations of her family in attendance (her grandmother, mother and daughter were all there).
Advertisement
Popov, the 2020 AIg Women's Open Champion, is an Arizona resident so her family was on hand to see her victory in person. In her comments afterward she got quite emotional, especially as it all related to her 2-year old daughter Maya what with it being Mother's Day.
'You only get this chance once a year, so I think that was also a driving force behind me playing this week. It's a home game, finishing on Mother's Day, and I wanted it so bad... I don't know if she'll ever get to see me win on Mother's Day again, and I think starting out the round, I thought about that a lot, and I was trying to calm my brain a lot because I was like, there are many things going on, a lot of thoughts and what ifs, but you've got to play 18 holes.'
Popov's dad was on her bag so the whole day and event was a family affair for her. It is easy to see how it was all incredibly emotional for her, especially as she has fought so hard to find proper form as of late. Thanks to this win and her T30 at the first LPGA major of the year in the Chevron, she'll get into a few more fields and have more opportunities to shine.
Congratulations to her and to her family.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

First-time Epson Tour winner crowned at 2025 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship
First-time Epson Tour winner crowned at 2025 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship

Yahoo

time12 hours ago

  • Yahoo

First-time Epson Tour winner crowned at 2025 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship

BATTLE CREEK — Battle Creek is the place where champions are born. For the fifth straight year, a first-time winner was crowned at the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship. Samantha Wagner rallied in the final round to win the 2025 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship at Battle Creek Country Club on Sunday, June 8. Advertisement When the final round of the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship began, Wagner was two shots back of the 36-hole leaders, Yana Wilson and Samantha Vodry. By the end of the day, she was two shots clear of Sophia Schubert and hoisting her first Epson Tour trophy on the 18th green with a final round of 65 and a three-day total of 13-under par 203. Wagner played at the University of Florida and has been on the Epson Tour since 2018. MORE: Battle Creek's Gibson will golf against pros at a course her grandpa wasn't allowed to play Samantha Wagner won the 2025 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship at the Battle Creek Country Club on Sunday, June 8. For the majority of the day, it was anyone's tournament to win, but Wagner was the one who took it and ran. Advertisement At the turn, Wagner was in the hunt, but not in control of the lead. A disappointing par on the par-5 10th was followed by another par on the 11th. The 12th hole was when everything started to click for the 28-year-old, making her first birdie of the back nine. She followed it up with three more birdies, making it four in a row before a par on the difficult par-3 16th broke the streak. At this point, Wagner held the solo lead, chasing down the clubhouse lead at 11-under set by Sophia Schubert. One more birdie came on 17, extending her lead to two coming down 18. It was business as usual for Wagner, hitting the fairway and then a green in regulation. A two- the two-shot victory for her first win on the Epson Tour. 'It's finally sinking in; this is awesome,' said Wagner after her win. 'I think for me, a lot of it was taking a step back and really trying not to think about winning and just really focusing on my process. I've been told by many people that if I keep doing that, eventually it'll pay off, so I really just had to lean in and trust that. It's been a long time, so it's nice to see that finally come through. It just feels great moving forward.' The Epson Tour heads to Harbor Springs, Michigan, next week for the inaugural playing of the Great Lakes Championship. Tournament play will begin June 13. Advertisement Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@ Follow him on X/Twitter @billbroderick. This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Samantha Wagner wins 2025 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championships

KPMG Women's PGA: Ten years later, a look back on the rebirth of an LPGA major
KPMG Women's PGA: Ten years later, a look back on the rebirth of an LPGA major

USA Today

time17 hours ago

  • USA Today

KPMG Women's PGA: Ten years later, a look back on the rebirth of an LPGA major

KPMG Women's PGA: Ten years later, a look back on the rebirth of an LPGA major Somehow, there was room for only one more name on the LPGA Championship trophy when Inbee Park won in 2014. Former LPGA commissioner Mike Whan joked that they could just start adding check marks beside Park's name as she won three in a row, but it was only fitting that the trophy receive a new base, as everything about the LPGA's flagship major was about to get an overhaul, including the name. The 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship in Frisco, Texas, marks 10 years since the championship's rebirth. Not everyone was happy to see the LPGA's name drop from the championship's title in 2015, but no one can say that it wasn't the right move. 'It's gotta feel like a major,' said Stacy Lewis of what she hoped for the first KPMG Women's PGA in 2015. 'It's just got a certain feel about it ... we can feel it; fans can feel it.' Venues helped remake the KPMG Women's PGA From the start, the KPMG Women's PGA nailed the major championship aura. From historic courses, to the buildout, to the courtesy cars and network TV, what was once a floundering major suddenly compelled the rest to get better, too. The venues – Westchester Country Club, Hazeltine National, Atlanta Athletic Club and Baltusrol Golf Club, to name a few – brought the name recognition and gravitas that were missing from so many of the LPGA's big events. The KPMG Women's PGA purse has increased nearly 400 percent in the last decade to $10.8 million. Last year, 99 of the top 100 players in the current Race to CME Globe Rankings competed at Sahalee Country Club, where Amy Yang finally broke through in her 75th major championship start. Yang will be one of 14 past champions in the field next week at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco June 19-22, joined by the likes of Nelly Korda, Ruoning Yin, Hannah Green and In Gee Chun. This marks the first women's major ever held at Fields Ranch, a 660-acre campus that includes two 18-hole courses. The event is already slated to return to Frisco in 2031. 'The course is playing tough but still fair,' Yang told the media during a recent visit. 'I think it's going to test all aspects of your game.' KPMG Women's PGA brings commitment to LPGA For a tour that has been around since 1950, there's precious little history on the LPGA, which is why the PGA of America's commitment to host a women's major meant so much to a league that, at times, has held as few as two majors per season. When former PGA of America CEO Pete Bevacqua talked about the organization's commitment to the LPGA, he went far beyond the typical three- to five-year window, calling it a 50-year or 100-year decision. 'This is something that is going to change the tour,' Lewis predicted. 'It's going to change women's golf.' KPMG's initial involvement with the LPGA traces back to Lewis, who wore the logo and impressed John Veihmeyer, the auditing firm's then-global chair, in how she interacted with female leaders at sponsorship outings. Analytics helped to improve KPMG Women's PGA As the tournament took off, KPMG looked for other ways to improve the tour, thrusting its analytics expertise behind the creation of the KPMG Performance Insights technology platform. Last year, KPMG CHAMPCAST was added, giving fans the same ShotLink Pro technology used by the PGA Tour. (The U.S. Women's Open also uses a version of ShotLink.) The Performance Insights also utilize AI-powered predictive analytics for use in the broadcast and across digital channels. KPMG's success, however, hasn't been limited to what's happening inside the ropes. Tournaments up and down the LPGA schedule rushed to form their own version of the inspiring Women's Leadership Summit. A decade ago, KPMG first called on the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies to send women they believed would be next-generation C-suite leaders. Hundreds of women gathered on the eve of the inaugural KPMG Women's PGA in Rye, New York, to listen to some of the most successful and influential leaders in business, politics, sports and media, including former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the event's keynote speaker. At one point during the inaugural summit, Donna Orender, former president of the WNBA and a member of the Summit's advisory council, stood up and asked a panel of athletes how the women in the room could support them. Lewis didn't hesitate. 'Go out and tell the world how good we are,' she said. Ten years later, it's a message and mission that hasn't changed.

Jason Day's Tuesday fit at 2025 U.S. Open has him ready for a Fourth of July cookout
Jason Day's Tuesday fit at 2025 U.S. Open has him ready for a Fourth of July cookout

Yahoo

time20 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Jason Day's Tuesday fit at 2025 U.S. Open has him ready for a Fourth of July cookout

Jason Day, you've done it again. The Australian has made headlines in the past year with his clothing choices at major championships, especially the 2024 Masters, and he's at it again at the 2025 U.S. Open. Advertisement Day, the 2015 PGA champion, showed up to Tuesday's practice round at Oakmont Country Club wearing shorts that look like he's about to crack open a cold one and shoot off fireworks to celebrate America's birthday. Jason Day's outfit at 2025 U.S. Open See for yourself in all its glory, Day's fit is big on the red, white and blue. What did Jason Day wear at 2024 Masters? Day's flashy Malbon Golf Championship sweater was a talking point among patrons (and everyone at the course). The Masters and Augusta National asked him to remove the sweater and wear a more traditional outfit. Here's a look at what he wore. Jason Day (wearing a Malbon sweater) and his caddie, Luke Reardon, wait on the 15th hole during the continuation of the first round of the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. What did Jason Day say about that sweater vest? What is Malbon Golf? Malbon was founded in 2017 by Stephen and Erica Malbon, who created stylish golf gear worn by Day and LPGA golfer Minjee Lee. Advertisement The company's mission says it "sought to honor the heritage of golf while opening it up to a broader community, blending time-honored values with a fresh, creative spirit." This article originally appeared on Golfweek: U.S. Open 2025: Jason Day rocks American flag shorts at Oakmont

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store