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USA Today
25-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
LPGA rookie Chisato Iwai laps the field at 2025 Mexico Riviera Maya Open for first win
LPGA rookie Chisato Iwai laps the field at 2025 Mexico Riviera Maya Open for first win The final round tee times were scheduled early at the 2025 Mexico Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba, and LPGA rookie Chisato Iwai hit the ground running at El Camaleon Golf Course in Playa del Carmen on Sunday. The 22-year-old LPGA rookie, playing in her eighth event of 2025, birdied the five of the first six holes and made the turn in 31. She birdied the par-3 10th to get to 12 under, ballooning her lead to six shots more than halfway through the last round. She later stretched it to seven shots and that made Sunday a stroll to the finish line. Iwai, one of the 21 rookies on tour in 2025, shot a final-round 6-under 66, the low round of the week by two shots, to earn her first LPGA victory. A month ago, Iwai, 22, was hit with a two-shot, slow-play penalty in Utah and would go on to miss the Black Desert Championship cut by two shots. She rebounded the next week to contend at the Mizuho Americas. This week, Iwai, who opened with a 68, bounced back again, this time from a second-round 74 to post 68-66 on the weekend and dominate down the stretch. Iwai, from Japan, won by six shots over second- and third-round leader Jenny Bae of the U.S., who shot a final-round 73. Haeji Kang of Korea was solo third at 5 under. There were five golfers who tied for fourth at 4 under. Twenty-five of the 65 golfers who made the cut finished in red numbers. Iwai's victory is the largest margin of victory on the LPGA in 2025. Iwai is the third rookie to win in 2025. The week was extra special as Iwai's twin sister, Akie, older by one minute, finished at 2 under and tied for 16th. Chisao Iwai tied for 19th at the 2024 U.S. Women's Open and she's among the 35 golfers in Mexico also playing next week at Erin Hills in Wisconsin for this year's Open. How did Charley Hull, Maria Fassi do in 2025 Mexico Riviera Maya Open? Other notables: Carlota Ciganda, who won the last LPGA event in Mexico in 2017, tied for ninth at 3 under; Charley Hull finished 1 over to tie for 32nd; Maria Fassi (the lone Mexican golfer of the eight who started the week to make the cut) shot a final-round 77 to finished 7 over, tied for 56th. The early Sunday start allowed for final-round coverage to be live on CBS. It also helped all those golfers heading to the U.S. Women's Open to jump on the LPGA-arranged charter flight from Cancun to Milwaukee, especially beneficial as there are no direct flights on any commercial airlines between those two cities.
USA Today
25-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
LPGA charter a big deal, especially without any direct flights Cancun to U.S. Women's Open
LPGA charter a big deal, especially without any direct flights Cancun to U.S. Women's Open The 2025 Mexico Riviera Maya Open Mayakoba is the LPGA's first tournament in Mexico in eight years. It's also the last event before the second women's major of the season, the U.S. Women's Open. There are 35 golfers in the field at Mayakoba who need to travel 1,642 miles due north to get to Erin Hills. And that's where an LPGA charter plane comes in. The El Camaleon Golf Course in Playa del Carmen is about 45 minute south of the Cancun airport. There will be 32 of those 35 U.S. Open-bound golfers taking the 6 hour, 30 minute flight. There will be about 80 passengers in all on the plane. Golfers can bring up to three guests, family, friends or perhaps their caddies. The plane is set to leave at 5 p.m. local time, which is 6 p.m. ET. That's about three hours after the final round is scheduled to conclude. The plane ride is not free, as each golfer is paying for the transportation but it's a nice perk, arranged by the LPGA, to provide a seamless transition from Mexico to Wisconsin, especially considering there are no direct flights offered by any of the commercial airlines from Cancun to Milwaukee. This is not uncommon. The recent inaugural Black Desert Championship in southern Utah provided a plane for players to get to Houston for the Chevron Championship, the season's first major. Charter flights are also common to the LPGA's tournaments in Asia.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Golf phenom Kihei Akina shares why he chose BYU (and it wasn't just for golf)
Lone Peak's Kihei Akina competes in 6A boys golf state championship at Riverbend Golf Course in Riverton on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. Akina won medalist honors and has signed to play his college golf at BYU. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Standing on the first tee of the Black Desert Championship last October in Ivins, Utah, Kihei Akina caught a glimpse of his future. With a large crowd gathered around him, BYU's prized five-star golf recruit took out his driver and readied himself to make his PGA Tour debut. 'I was fine and felt normal,' Akina told the 'Y's Guys' podcast this week. 'But I put the tee in the ground and as I stood over the ball, my legs went to jelly. I couldn't feel my hands. I couldn't feel anything. I thought, 'Oh crap! Just make contact!' Somehow, I hit it down the fairway.' Advertisement By the third hole, Akina was back to being his confident self and over the course of two days he went toe-to-toe with the professionals and made eight birdies and finished just outside the cut line at 4 under par. 'It was definitely different from junior golf and high school golf,' said the three-time state champion at Lone Peak High. 'I just tried to learn as much as I could from those guys.' Akina hails from an athletic family. His older sister, Kiani, played rugby at Harvard, and older brothers Keanu golfed at BYU and Kawika played basketball at NYU in Manhattan. Now it's his time to shine. When it came time to decide on a college, Akina received offers and NIL pitches from 50 programs, including BYU, which presented a competitive proposal — and an environment that has less to do with golf and more to do with the golfer. Advertisement 'I wanted to surround myself with likeminded people. People in the church who have the same beliefs as me,' Akina said. 'I think it will help build me and help build my testimony of the Savior and help me be a better person and get to where I want to be in life.' Akina also wants to win. Bruce Brockbank's current Cougars are competing this weekend at the NCAA championships in Carlsbad, California, where BYU is chasing its first national title since 1981. 'I also wanted to come in and build the program up and I want to compete for a national championship,' Akina said. 'At BYU you represent so much. You represent the church and this great state of Utah. It's really cool to be able to do that. Hopefully we can make a run next year.' Akina is a big piece of an unprecedented wave of prized prep recruits bringing their talents to Provo, including No. 1 recruit AJ Dybantsa (basketball), No. 1-ranked Jane Hedengren (women's cross-country), No. 1-ranked Daniel Simmons (men's cross-country) and the No. 5-ranked tight end Brock Harris (football). Advertisement 'BYU is on the rise for sure. It's really cool to see. Everything is building up with every sport,' Akina said. 'I'm excited to be a part of it. I've been itching to get to campus for the last year and a half.' Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts 'Y's Guys' at and is the author of the children's book 'C is for Cougar,' available at
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Korea Herald
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Korea Herald
[Graphic News] S. Korean golfers regain momentum on LPGA Tour
Ryu Hae-ran recently captured a wire-to-wire victory at the inaugural Black Desert Championship, finishing with a bogey-free final round of 8-under 64 that included six birdies and an eagle. She posted a total score of 26-under 262 to secure the title. This marks the third LPGA Tour win of the year by a South Korean golfer. While Korean players have faced challenges on the LPGA Tour in recent years, standout performers such as Ryu Hae-ran, Amy Yang, Kim Hyo-joo and Kim A-lim continue to deliver impressive results. Earlier this season, Kim Hyo-joo claimed the Ford Championship title in March, while Kim A-lim secured a win at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament.
The Star
13-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
South Korea Ryu rules with five-shot victory at Black Desert Championship for third career LPGA Tour title
Haeran Ryu of South Korea poses with the trophy after the final round of the Black Desert Championship 2025 at Black Desert Resort on May 04, 2025 in St George, Utah. -- Photo: Sean M. Haffey-Getty Images/LPGA IVINS, Utah: South Korean Haeran Ryu reinforced her status as one of golf's brightest young stars with an emphatic victory at the inaugural Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion, carding a flawless eight-under-par 64 on Sunday to claim her third LPGA Tour title by five shots overGermany's Esther Henseleit and China's Ruoning Yin. Heading into the final round at Black Desert Resort with a two-shot advantage over 2024 Maybank Championship winner Yin, with Henseleit a shot further adrift, Ryu carded the low round of the day for a winning total of 26-under-par 262 (63-67-68-64). Although Henseleit narrowed the gap to one shot at the turn, Ryu pulled away on the back nine with three birdies and an eagle at the par-five 13th for the first wire-to-wire victory of her career. Henseleit's closing 66 was good enough to tie Yin, who shot 67, for runner-up honours on 21-under-par 267. 'Just an amazing week for me, so I feel really excited now. I just wanted to keep playing my golf and just keep focusing on my swing and my putting,' said Ryu, who broke her 72-hole scoring record by three strokes. Ryu had switched putters during The Chevron Championship last week, where she held the 54-hole joint lead with eventual winner Mao Saigo of Japan, but fell back with a closing 76. 'I think I'm a little crazy because I switched putter on a Major week, but my feel was so good. I can just put more trust in my putts,' said Ryu. This is Ryu's third consecutive season with a win on the LPGA Tour. She captured the inaugural FM Championship title last August, defeating compatriot and former Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings number one Jin Young Ko in a playoff. In 2023, Ryu became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, en route to securing the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award. Henseleit was upbeat despite missing out on her maiden LPGA Tour victory. 'I played great on the front nine, probably holed all the good chances and then just couldn't really keep it up. In the end, it was a pretty solid day and I gave it everything, so I'm proud of my performance,' said the two-time Ladies European Tour winner. Yin was also pleased with her overall performance, highlighted by a tournament low 10-under-par 62 in the third round. She was also grouped with Ryu in the final round of the 2024 Maybank Championship at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, where the Chinese player triumphed by one shot over Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul, with the Korean a stroke further back in third place. 'I think my game is pretty solid. Even this week I played 70 good holes. I made a triple on the first day and then a double on 16 today. Overall, my game is really solid,' said Yin, who was chasing her sixth LPGA Tour title and first since her Maybank Championship victory. Another Chinese player, Yan Liu, shot a final round 65 to take fourth place on 19-under-par 269, one shot ahead of two-time LPGA winner Rio Takeda of Japan. The LPGA Tour's next stop is the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, where Rolex Rankings number one Nelly Korda is the defending champion. - LPGA TOUR
