Latest news with #HiltonGrandVacationsTournamentofChampions
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Elizabeth Szokol shoots 63, shares ShopRite LPGA Classic lead
Elizabeth Szokol birdied her first five holes and seven of her first nine en route to an 8-under 63 and a share of the first-round lead on Friday at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in Galloway, N.J. Seeking her first solo title on the LPGA Tour, Szokol is joined atop the leaderboard by South Korea's Ilhee Lee, who opened strong with three straight birdies on Nos. 3-5 and finished well with three birdies in a row to close her round at Bay Course at Seaview. Akie Iwai of Japan sits two shots off the lead in third, finishing with a 6-under 65 after sinking six birdies on the front nine. Eight players are three shots off the lead at 5-under 66 Gurleen Kaur, Taiwan's Wei-Ling Hsu, the Netherlands' Dewi Weber, Thailand's Jaravee Boonchant, Germany's Aline Krauter and Polly Mack and Japan's Ayaka Furue and Saki Baba. Szokol, whose lone LPGA Tour win came in 2023 at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational with playing partner Cheyenne Knight, ran into trouble on the par-4 No. 6 hole for her only bogey of the round. She added two birdies on the back nine and said afterward that she was trying not to think of her hot start to the round. "I was trying to keep hitting good golf shots and rolling good putts," said Szokol, whose best finish this season was T14 at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. "I think I did a pretty good job of that, which was fun. I just hit the ball great and gave myself a lot of good looks, so it was a great day." Playing in her 200th LPGA Tour event, Lee also posted nine birdies and one bogey as she attempts to win her second LPGA Tour title and first since the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic in 2013. "I've been there so many times and ended up really bad a few times," Lee said about her solid opening round. "I mean, it doesn't matter. It's just start. Birdie? Oh, that's good. Next hole. Birdie? Oh, that's good. Next hole." Iwai, who has yet to win on the LPGA Tour but has six wins on the LPGA of Japan Tour, also excelled on the front nine with six birdies, including three straight on Nos. 7-9. On the back nine, she landed one birdie and one bogey. "I'm not really feeling like I'm on the verge of winning," said Iwai, who has two second-place finishes this season on the LPGA Tour. "So there is still two more days of golf for this tournament and you never know what happens to golf. Yeah, just got to never really know. That's why you can't say." Sweden's Maja Stark, who won her first major last week at the U.S. Women's Open, shot a 1-under 70 and is tied for 48th. After finishing in a tie for second last week, World No. 1 Nelly Korda is tied for 65th following a first-round 71. Field Level Media
Korea Herald
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Korea Herald
No S. Korean inside top 10 in women's golf rankings for 1st time in 19 yrs
For the first time in nearly two decades, South Korea does not have a player inside the top 10 in the women's world golf rankings. Ryu Hae-ran slipped three spots from No. 9 to No. 12 in the latest rankings released Tuesday, while Ko Jin-young rose two places to No. 11 as the top-ranked South Korean player at the moment. The women's rankings were first released in February 2006. The last time South Korea, a women's golf powerhouse for many years, did not have a top-10 player was the second week of June 2006. Historically, South Korea has produced the most No. 1 players with five, most recently Ko between 2019 and 2023. Ko holds the record for most weeks spent at No. 1 with 163. In the current rankings, South Korea has the most players in the top 100 with 28. South Korean players have not been as dominant on the LPGA Tour as in years past. In 2021, South Korean players were shut out at LPGA major tournaments for the first time since 2010, and came up empty-handed again in 2023. In 2024, Ryu was one of only three South Korean winners on the tour, alongside Amy Yang and Kim A-lim. For this year, Kim won the season opener in February, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, and Kim Hyo-joo earned her seventh career title in March at the Ford Championship. (Yonhap)
USA Today
21-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Rose Zhang will miss LPGA's first major of 2025, the Chevron Championship, due to injury
Rose Zhang will miss LPGA's first major of 2025, the Chevron Championship, due to injury Rose Zhang will miss the LPGA's first major of the year, the 2025 Chevron Championship, due to a neck injury that kept her out of last week's JM Eagle LA Championship. The 21-year-old opened the season at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in January in the midst of Stanford's winter quarter. She skipped the LPGA's spring Asian swing to continue her studies and returned to action in late March at the Ford Championship, where she missed the cut with rounds of 73-70. At the T-Mobile Match Play in early April, Zhang conceded her second-round match against Albane Valenzuela due to injury. "I had a problem last week and then it like just extended to this week," said Zhang after she halved a match against Nataliya Guseva at Shadow Creek, "and my neck problems kind of get pretty bad." Later on Instagram, Zhang kept it light as she said she'd be taking time off to recover, telling fans to remember, "this isn't a sob story." The two-time LPGA winner is currently ranked 20th in the world.
USA Today
18-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
With a total makeover, LPGA star Minjee Lee is making it big in Los Angeles
With a total makeover, LPGA star Minjee Lee is making it big in Los Angeles Los Angeles is a town that's seen its share of total makeovers through the years. LPGA star Minjee Lee is just taking L.A. to an extreme. Over the course of the last few months, Lee has now changed her: Putter Caddie Wedges Driver Results Lee put a new long putter in the bag for her debut at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and rolled to a career-best 10-under 62 in the closing round. And the Odyssey Square 2 Square No. 7 has shown no signs of slowing up, as is evidenced by Lee's 65 on Friday during the second round of the 2025 JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro at El Caballero Country Club. The 28-year-old Australian holed a number of lengthy putts, looking mighty comfortable with a piece of equipment that's still new to her arsenal. With the performance, Lee jumped to the top of the leaderboard when she finished with a two-day score of 12 under. When asked what she's been working on most, Lee, who already has a second-place finish this season at the Blue Bay LPGA, said it's been a little bit of everything. "Obviously, my putting because I've changed to the long putter since the beginning of the year. But a bit more on like my long game, my driver, and just the accuracy, I guess," she said. "I'm always constantly working on my same patterns to get a little bit better every day. I might not be at 100 percent, but if I can get it to 85 to 90, I'm pretty much good on the course. Just really working on a few of my patterns and just trying to get that little bit better every day." The 10-time LPGA winner noted after her round that she's also switched to the Opus wedges, meaning she has all Callaway clubs in her bag. Lee is also seeing solid results with the new Elite driver. Even with all the changes, she's felt right at home with her gear, as much as she has with the Southern California mood. "I think at Wilshire it really reminded me of the Melbourne Sand Belt kind of vibe, but out here it's different. I'm not really sure," she said. "I like L.A. and I like the West Coast, so it just reminds me a little bit more of home for some reason. Maybe that's why. A little bit of home." Minjee could surpass 2024 earnings with a win Although there's plenty of work still to be done, Lee could surpass her entire 2024 earnings with a victory this week. Through her first five events, Lee has already netted $414,700 and the winner this week takes home $562,500. Lee earned $881,900 in 21 starts in 2024. "I feel like I've been improving week in, week out. I think I've been getting better every time I've been playing. I think having a little bit longer stretch of events I can get some momentum," she said. "I'm really looking forward to obviously the end of this week and then the three that I'm playing coming up. "Hopefully, I can play well and get some momentum leading up to the U.S. Open and all the other majors."
USA Today
07-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
LPGA star Rose Zhang pulls out of JM Eagle Championship with nagging neck injury
LPGA star Rose Zhang pulls out of JM Eagle Championship with nagging neck injury Rose Zhang has pulled out of this week's JM Eagle LA Championship with a nagging neck injury. The LPGA star announced the news on Instagram but, in typical Rose fashion, kept it in perspective. "Safe to say things haven't been too hot for me in the golf realm and I found myself struggling to compete in high spirits due to an injury," Zhang wrote. "Just remember, this isn't a sob story. While this period is unique and frustrating, I find great optimism in getting better and working hard to compete at the highest level. Thank you so much to my team, sponsors, family and friends for supporting me in this process. It's going to be a long and patient ride, but it's always a blessing to do what I do and have what I have." Zhang opened the season at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in January in the midst of Stanford's winter quarter. She skipped the LPGA's spring Asian swing to continue her studies and returned to action in late March at the Ford Championship, where she missed the cut with rounds of 73-70. At last week's T-Mobile Match Play, Zhang conceded her second-round match against Albane Valenzuela due to injury. "I had a problem last week and then it like just extended to this week," said Zhang after she halved a match against Nataliya Guseva at Shadow Creek, "and my neck problems kind of get pretty bad." The LPGA's first major of the season, the Chevron Championship, is in two weeks.
