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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
How many U.S. Girls' Junior winners have success as a pro? A look back on last 25 years
The 76th U.S. Girls' Junior is underway at Atlanta Athletic Club, where 156 players hoped to join an elite list of past champions that includes Mickey Wright, JoAnne Carner, Nancy Lopez and Lexi Thompson. This year's championship is a global affair, with 16 different countries represented, including six from Thailand and Australia. The average age of the field: 16.42. The adage "anything can happen" is often applied to match play, and success at the Girls' Junior certainly doesn't guarantee future success. And yet, it takes something special to survive and advance over the course of two rounds of stroke play and six matches. Plenty of past champions have gone on to win some of the biggest titles in golf. Over the past 25 years, nine U.S. Girls' Junior champions have won a total of 67 LPGA titles, including 14 majors. The impressive list includes LPGA Hall of Famer Inbee Park, who her first USGA title in 2002 and then finished runner-up to Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff in 2003 and In-Kyung Kim in 2005. Girls' Junior winners who went on to win majors in that timeframe include In-Kyung Kim (1), Lexi Thompson (1), Ariya Jutanugarn (2), Minjee Lee (3) and Park (7). Four of the nine have won more than 10 LPGA titles: Park (21), Jutanugarn (12), Lee (11) and Thompson (11). Yealimi Noh (2018) became the latest Junior champion to break through on the LPGA last February at the LPGA Founders Cup. Rose Zhang, who won in 2021, claimed her first LPGA title two years after she beat Bailey Davis at Columbia Country Club. Julieta Granada won only once on the LPGA, but it was a big one. In her rookie season on tour, Granada won the season-ending ADT Championship and the tour's first $1 million prize. Notable runner-ups who have also won the LPGA include Alexa Pano (2018), Andrea Lee (2016) and Angel Yin (2015). This article originally appeared on Golfweek: How many U.S. Girls' Junior champs win as pros? The list is impressive
Perth Now
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Webb weaves magic to usher in golf golden generation
The great Karrie Webb is being credited with inspiring newly-crowned major champ Grace Kim as Australia's crop of uber-talented women's golfers stand on the brink of global domination. Kim produced a round for the ages to recover from a four-shot deficit and clinch a dramatic playoff victory at the Evian Championship in France. The 24-year-old joined Webb, Minjee Lee, Hannah Green and Jan Stephenson as only Australia's fifth female major winner. Kim's epic victory also secured Australia a second straight major after Lee won the Women's PGA Championship only three weeks ago. Former professional Karen Lunn, the WPGA Tour of Australasia chief executive, is predicting an Australian could also win the Women's British Open that gets underway at Royal Porthcawl on July 31. As well as Kim's remarkable run, world No.6 Lee finished in a tie for third just one shot behind, while Gabi Ruffels was co-leader heading into the final round before finishing joint ninth. Throw in 2024 Evian runner-up Steph Kyriacou, who finished 14th, and 2019 Women's PGA Championship winner Green, and Australia has five genuine contenders to win the fifth major of the year. Only the dominant South Korean contingent have been able to conjure three successive victories in a calender year in the current five-major era; in 2020 and in 2013, when Inbee Park won three in succession. "It can get really, really windy there. But all of our girls, they've grown up in Australia playing in a lot of wind ... so they're more than capable of handling the tough conditions," Lunn said. "And when the conditions are tough, you need a good short game and you know Gracie's got one of the best and obviously Minjee is putting so much better with a long putter this year. "It's not beyond the real possibility that we could get three straight majors." Lunn credits the golden generation coming through with all having ties to seven-time major winner Webb. Kim was a four-time winner of Webb's scholarship, which gave her the chance to learn from Australia's greatest champion, with Green, Lee and Ruffels also spending a week with the Hall of Famer as part of the prize. "She brings two players to a major championship and they all have dinner with the other Australian players who are playing," Lunn said of 50-year-old Webb. "Grace Kim was a part of that and, when Hannah won her major (in 2019), Grace was one of the scholarship holders that week and was one of the first to run on the green and congratulate Hannah. "Karrie is a mentor and they've all got her phone number and she's at the end of the line whenever they needed advice on anything. "Even though she's retired from playing she's still incredibly involved and I know she was glued to the TV and would've just been so thrilled and so proud of Grace's win." Lunn says the Australians on the LPGA Tour are like a family, often sharing lodging and meals together, and are regularly seen on the side of the green ready to celebrate or commiserate with their contending compatriots. "It's a little bit infectious - they're feeding off each other's success," Lunn said. "Hannah missed the cut this week but she was one of the ones there celebrating with Grace. "But even Hannah, she's not playing her best golf, but she'll get a big boost seeing Grace win." And with all but Lee and Green aged under 25 and a number of other young rising stars, the glory days could continue for some time. "This next generation are coming into the prime of their golfing career so those names are going to be there for a long, long time."
USA Today
17-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
First 10 winners of the KPMG Women's PGA is a who's who list of LPGA stars
First 10 winners of the KPMG Women's PGA is a who's who list of LPGA stars It's been 10 years since the KPMG Women's PGA overhauled an LPGA major that had lost its way. The LPGA Championship debuted in 1955 and had a number of title sponsors over the years, most notably McDonald's from 1994 to 2009. When the PGA of America and KPMG took over the championship a decade ago, the LPGA's name may have dropped from the title but a stronger chapter emerged. A glance down the list of winners over the past 10 years is as impressive as the storied venues. There are no one-hit wonders. In fact, half of the champions have won multiple majors and all 10 claim at least four LPGA titles. The 11th KPMG Women's PGA kicks off this week in Texas at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco. It's the second LPGA major of the year in the Lone Star State. Inbee Park won the first KPMG Women's PGA in 2015 at Westchester Country Club, giving her three consecutive titles at three different courses. The 2014 Wegmans LPGA Championship was held at Monroe Golf Club and the 2013 event was held at Locust Hill Country Club. "I can't believe that I just did it," said Park after winning at Westchester without a single bogey over the course of 54 holes. Park joined Annika Sorenstam (2003-05) as the only player in the event's history to win three straight. Brooke Henderson won the second KPMG in a playoff over Lydia Ko, who was No. 1 at the time. Henderson became the first Canadian to win an LPGA major in almost 50 years. The KPMG marked her second LPGA title. She's gone on to win 13, including two majors. For 2020 and 2024 champions Sei Young Kim and Amy Yang, their KPMG victories marked the end of a long wait. Kim was the winningest player on tour (11 titles) without a major when she won at Aronimink Golf Club during an October major. Yang won last year's edition at Sahalee in her 75th major championship start. Atlanta Athletic Club is where Nelly Korda broke through with her first major title in 2021. The victory vaulted her to No. 1 in the world for the first time, the first American to do so since Stacy Lewis in 2014. Danielle Kang and Hannah Green, now both six-time winner on the LPGA, are the only players in the last decade to make the KPMG their first LPGA title in 2019. The Aussie Green edged the 2018 KPMG champion, Sung-Hyun Park by a stroke with her idol, Karrie Webb watching outside the ropes. Together, the first 10 champions of the KPMG Women's PGA have averaged 8.7 LPGA titles over the course of their careers. In other words, some of the most decorated players on tour in the last decade have won it. There have been no repeat winners. Here's a complete list of the first 10 KPMG Women's PGA winners:
New York Times
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Nelly Korda and the weight — and wait — of the U.S. Open
ERIN, Wisc. — She was 9, her sister sneaking her into the U.S. Open locker room to show her the world that would soon be hers. She was 14, playing in her first U.S. Open, walking practice rounds with Michelle Wie West and hitting balls on the range next to Lydia Ko and Inbee Park. This was the dream. It was that week Nelly Korda truly decided this was what she wanted to do with her life, to chase major championships. Advertisement She was 25, on top of the world, a two-time major winner, winning her sixth tournament in seven starts, and one of the first things she said was how badly she wanted to win the big one, this one. 'There has definitely been some heartbreaking times where I just haven't competed well in the U.S. Women's Open, where I feel like I put a little bit more pressure on myself, because I do love the event, and I feel like out of all the events that's, like, the event for me.' Three holes in, the air was sucked out of the balloon that day. She shot a 10 — ten — on Lancaster Country Club's 12th hole at the 2024 U.S. Open to eject with an 80. Korda is the No. 1 player in the world, and she really, really wants to win the U.S. Open. Yet in 10 tries, she's missed three of her last five cuts and finished better than 39th just twice. Often, she is out of it within 18 holes. But Thursday at Erin Hills, she is still in this thing. And she's done it with patience. Nelly Korda didn't have a single birdie on her card… until her last hole! She's 4 off the lead.@Ally — U.S. Women's Open (@uswomensopen) May 29, 2025 On a day when nobody came in lower than 68 and where half the field is at least 2-over par, Korda is right where she needs to be. If anything, she should be higher up the leaderboard, struggling to get much out of a strong round from tee to green. Sixteen pars in a round can sting. 'I was striking it pretty well out there,' she said with a sigh Thursday night, 'just under-read some putts and burned a couple edges too. I think I'm happy with it. Obviously, I wish the ball found the bottom of the cup a little bit more. Overall, I can't complain. 'First day of the U.S. Open, it's all about patience.' She found nearly every one of Erin Hills' tricky, slopey fairways, with one of her only misses rolling from the center of the fairway and down a hill just two yards into the first cut. She consistently found greens, but she missed birdie putts of 11, 10, 17, 18, 14, 13, 13 again, 13 again, 19 and six feet. She had one bogey all day, and that came from a three-putt on the green, too. Advertisement 'I was hitting my putts really good,' Korda said. 'Wherever I was kind of looking, rolling it over my intermediate target, that's where I was hitting it. I have no complaints.' At U.S. Opens, golfers accept those missed opportunities. When you have Korda's track record, you go home thrilled with playing so well off the tee and in approach. U.S. Opens cannot be won on Thursdays, but, my goodness, can they be lost. And Korda still has the fifth-best odds at sportsbooks. You cannot treat these as normal tournaments, neither the golfers nor the audience. These are tricky mental tests where each par is a little victory. They're about course management and discipline, and fairly or not, some critics have questioned whether Korda can win the grind-it-out type tournaments that separate the greats. But more than the test itself, Korda would be the first to admit it's about the pedestal stars put this tournament on. Three-time major winner Lydia Ko, who hasn't won the U.S. Open and admits her next goal is the career grand slam, said on Tuesday: 'I think this would be the one that I'd say, 'Oh, I wish I was a U.S. Women's Open champion.'' And Korda shot that Thursday 80 last year at the absolute apex of her hype and belief. The entire sport rallied around her as its biggest star in a decade. Six wins in seven starts. Two major championships at 25. That was going to be the one, and seemingly every women's golf fan tuned in for her featured group to see if she could maintain history. In minutes, it was over. But it's more than that. Korda shot an 80 on Sunday the year before at Pebble Beach to finish 64th. She had an impressive T8 in 2022, but even that was 11 shots off the lead. Two missed cuts the years before that. The unfortunate reality was Korda might have played herself out of U.S. Opens before they started. Advertisement 'Oh, yeah, lots of ups and downs,' she said earlier this week with a laugh. 'I mean, it's the biggest test in the game of golf — definitely has tested me a lot. I love it. At the end of the day, this is why we do what we do, is to play these golf courses in these conditions, to test our games in every aspect. Not even just our games, our mental, as well.' No, it's not Rory McIlroy at the Masters. Not even close. It would take many more years of torment and attention to reach that sort of level, the kind nobody wishes on a golfer. But it's a cousin of it. Because the thing Korda's 80s and missed cuts do is add a little more tension each year. A little more scar tissue. A little more time in press conferences dedicated to the hurdle. But this is not about whether Korda will win the U.S. Open. It's Thursday. It's early. Golf probabilities say she won't. It's a story about the fact that Korda entered this week carrying all those hopes and dreams, and she kept herself in it. Sure, she says, she started to get frustrated toward the end with all the missed putts, the missed opportunities to get off to a fast start. But before Korda could get too angry, her caddie, Jason McDede, reminded her of something. 'It's all about patience.'
Japan Times
28-05-2025
- General
- Japan Times
Yuka Saso chasing third U.S. Women's Open title at Erin Hills
Yuka Saso was only 19 years old when she won her first U.S. Women's Open back in 2021, a moment that changed her life. Saso was asked Tuesday what winning the major for the second time did for her. "It was also life-changing," Saso said with a laugh. The Philippines-born Japanese golfer is gearing up for the U.S. Women's Open this week at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, and she'll do so as the defending champion after pulling out a three-stroke victory last year at Pennsylvania's Lancaster Country Club. "I could call myself a two-time major champion, and better than that, two-time U.S. Women's Open champion," Saso said of her 2024 victory. "I think it's a great tournament to have beside my name, and — I don't know, maybe because I dreamed of winning this, and winning it twice is much better." Both of Saso's major victories made history. In 2021, she was the first Filipino (man or woman) to win a golf major, and she matched Korean legend Inbee Park as the youngest winner in U.S. Women's Open history. Three years later, this time playing under the Japanese flag, she became the first representative of Japan to win the U.S. Women's Open and, at just 22, the youngest two-time champion in its history. She joined a list with names like Park, Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb and JoAnne Carner; a third win would put her on par with Annika Sorenstam and Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Saso reflected on the challenges she faced after winning the 2021 major. "I mean, everything was great. Everybody was calling me 'champ.' I'm a winner of the U.S. Women's Open," Saso said. "But also the challenges after that. I moved here to America where I'm far away from home. I needed to get used to life here in America. That was one of the challenging parts of the first one." The curious thing about Saso's resume is that her U.S. Women's Opens are her only two career victories stateside, major or otherwise. She's won twice on the LPGA of Japan Tour, but she has yet to build upon her major success. This season alone, Saso has missed four cuts — including each of her last three starts — and has finished no better than T17. "Well, there was for sure frustration, but I think I understand well that golf is not a perfect game. I can't be perfect with it," Saso said. "I think the grinding part is what I enjoy the most. Everything was not going well, but I think I know where I want my game to be or I know what I needed to do. So I was not happy but also having fun at the same time, which is kind of weird." Saso feels she has become a better putter after putting in extra work with her coach and caddie. Now it's all about remaining confident that she has the tools to beat the best in the world once again. "Yeah, the results were not where I wanted to be, but I think not playing well makes me grow a bit more to be more patient and just to trust myself and try to build that momentum," Saso said. "But that doesn't — how do you call it? That doesn't make me feel like, 'Oh, I can't play golf anymore.' I don't feel that way."
