Latest news with #KPMGPerformanceInsights
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Nelly Korda celebrates 27th birthday by preparing to end victory drought at British Open
The final major of the LPGA season began with Nelly Korda's 27th birthday. The World No. 1 celebrated on Monday with her caddie, coach and a good friend who came to Wales from London. She also got her first glimpse of Royal Porthcawl. At this time last year, Korda had won six of her first 12 starts on the LPGA. In 2025, however, Korda has yet to win in her first dozen starts heading into the AIG Women's British Open – yet boasts a lower scoring average and better strokes gained total and strokes gained putting averages to this point last year, according to the tour's KPMG Performance Insights. While Korda dominated last season with seven wins, no player has won twice so far in 2025. This marks the first playing of the AIG at Royal Porthcawl, and Korda comes into the week after trying something new: playing the Scottish Open the week before. 'Typically with my body structure, I don't love to play two weeks in high winds because I start to sway a lot more,' said Korda, who finished fifth at Dundonald Links. 'Just something that I've noticed throughout the past couple years, but it just lined up perfectly with my schedule. For me, everything is about my schedule flowing.' Softer conditions at Dundonald led to more aggressive play, which won't be the case this week in Wales. Korda played the front nine at Royal Porthcawl on her birthday and chipped and putted around the back nine. She called the views on the first four holes breathtaking and said that with some wind, it will be a 'really, really hard test.' The forecast calls for gusts up to 25 mph on Thursday and 30 mph on Friday. 'I feel like it's maybe a little bit more demanding off the tee,' said Korda, 'as in maybe with other links courses, you can hit driver and there are some bunkers in the way, but here you definitely can't hit driver. It sometimes may be an iron off the tee, but then with the wind direction and the wind strength, there's just way too much trouble on the fairway. 'Once you're in one of those bunkers, like in all links golf courses, it's just a pitch-out.' Korda played alongside the hottest player in golf – Lottie Woad – for three rounds at the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open and called her achievements 'absolutely amazing.' In the month of July, Woad won the Irish Open as an amateur, finished tied for third at the Amundi Evian Championship to earn her tour card and then won in her pro debut in Scotland. 'I was very impressed with her composure, her process,' said Korda. 'I think, when it comes to her shot routine, especially under pressure and in the heat of the moment, sometimes people seem to fidget and kind of doubt themselves, but she stuck to it, she stuck to her process every single time, and I think that's one of the main things that I noticed is how mature she is for her age and how comfortable she was in the heat of the moment.' Korda noted earlier in her press conference that golf is a 'game of confidence,' and there's certainly no shortage of that right now with Woad. 'I've really been just enjoying myself,' said the humble Englishwoman who now ranks 24th in the world. 'Enjoyed being in these events and competing and being in contention, just try to have fun with it and not add too much stress really.' This week marks Korda's 10th appearance in the AIG. She has five top-15 finishes in nine starts, including a share of second last year at the Old Course. Her eight top-5 finishes in the majors – including two wins – since 2019 are the most on tour, with Minjee Lee coming in second with seven (and three wins). Korda was asked how important it is to her to be successful in an event like the British Open and establish herself as a global force. 'I feel like I don't really have anything more to prove to people ever,' said Korda. 'For me, it's just, I'm passionate about the game. I love the game. I love playing in these kind of conditions, testing my game, and getting to play against the best players in the world. "Having something to prove to myself, I don't think I really need to do that. For me, it's just enjoying it and being in the heat of the battle.' This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Nelly Korda turns 27, preps to end victory drought at Women's British
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Phenom Lottie Woad wins first LPGA event in her pro debut at Women's Scottish Open
Majestic. Sublime. Extraordinary. Flawless. The television announcers were running out of adjectives for the phenom Lottie Woad. KPMG Performance Insights gave Woad a 40 percent chance of winning heading into the final round of the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open. Heady stuff for a 21-year-old making her professional debut. Woad's magical July run continued at Dundonald Links, where the newly-minted pro became only the fourth player in LPGA history to win in her first start as an LPGA member, joining former world No. 1 Jin Young Ko (2018) and Beverly Hanson (1951). "I don't really know how to describe it," said the humble Woad of her recent stretch of brilliance. "Just been shooting low scores, which is always nice." A Sunday 4-under 68 put Woad at 21 under for the tournament, capping off a maiden LPGA victory in her native U.K., with a three-stroke win over Hyo Joo Kim. Woad becomes the 20th different LPGA winner in a season in which no player has won twice. She heads next to the AIG Women's British Open in Wales, where she finished tied for 10th last year at St. Andrews. "It might have looked less stressful than maybe it was at times," said Woad, "but I think I only had like three bogeys, which, I mean, the wind wasn't too bad the first due days. But on links golf, it's definitely about bogey avoidance. That was probably the key to winning." Woad began the final round of the Scottish with a two-shot lead in Ayrshire and, midway through, found herself knotted with major champion Hyo Joo Kim at 19 under. World No. 1 Nelly Korda, still looking for her first win of the season, made an early run with four birdies in the first six holes. A string of short misses, however, stalled the American and dropped her out of the mix. Known for her elite wedge play, Woad knocked one close on the 13th to make birdie and regain the solo lead. Another birdie on the 14th as Kim dropped a shot on the 15th stretched the steady Englishwoman's lead back to two with four to play. Woad becomes the first player since Rose Zhang to win on the LPGA in her first start as a pro. Zhang held a two-shot lead going into the final round of the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open and won in a playoff against Jennifer Kupcho to earn her LPGA card. Woad, of course, recently became the first player to graduate from the tour's new LEAP program, earning her card for the rest of 2025 and 2026. Immediately after winning the Irish Open on the LET, she missed out on a playoff at the Amundi Evian Championship by one shot. Woad turned pro last week, forgoing her final season at Florida State. She also accepted membership on the LET, which makes her eligible for the 2026 Solheim Cup. In her last three professional starts, Woad is 55 under par with a 67.4 scoring average. She notched only three bogeys for the week in Scotland. Woad earns 500 CME points for her victory and is projected to move into the top 50 on the Race to CME. The top 60 at the end of the year get into the CME Group Tour Championship. She came into the week No. 62 in the Rolex Rankings and will move into the top 50 there as well. She also earns a two-year exemption on the LPGA, moving up to the winner's category on the LPGA's priority list (up from the LEAP Category 13 to Category 4), which she'll have through 2027. After forgoing several big paychecks in recent weeks, Woad takes earned $300,000 for her first pro win. She told Golfweek last week that she needed to buy a car in the U.S. Turns out she also needs to get a driver's license, too. Woad, known for her tireless work ethic at FSU, would often take an Uber to the school's practice facility at 7:30 a.m. on Saturdays. Former teammate Charlotte Heath once said that Woad outworked all the pros at the club. Woad broke through on a major stage for the first time at the 2024 Augusta National Women's Amateur, where she birdied three of the last four holes to overtake Bailey Shoemaker. When asked if she felt more nerves there or down the stretch at the Scottish, Woad said she felt more nervous at the ANWA. "I think Augusta, that was the biggest tournament I played in at the time and was kind of my big win," said Woad, who has since played in seven major championships. "So definitely felt the pressure of it more there, and I felt like all those experiences helped me with this." This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Women's Scottish Open 2025: Lottie Woad wins in pro debut on LPGA
USA Today
29-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Nelly Korda celebrates 27th birthday by preparing to end victory drought at British Open
The final major of the LPGA season began with Nelly Korda's 27th birthday. The World No. 1 celebrated on Monday with her caddie, coach and a good friend who came to Wales from London. She also got her first glimpse of Royal Porthcawl. At this time last year, Korda had won six of her first 12 starts on the LPGA. In 2025, however, Korda has yet to win in her first dozen starts heading into the AIG Women's British Open – yet boasts a lower scoring average and better strokes gained total and strokes gained putting averages to this point last year, according to the tour's KPMG Performance Insights. While Korda dominated last season with seven wins, no player has won twice so far in 2025. This marks the first playing of the AIG at Royal Porthcawl, and Korda comes into the week after trying something new: playing the Scottish Open the week before. 'Typically with my body structure, I don't love to play two weeks in high winds because I start to sway a lot more,' said Korda, who finished fifth at Dundonald Links. 'Just something that I've noticed throughout the past couple years, but it just lined up perfectly with my schedule. For me, everything is about my schedule flowing.' Softer conditions at Dundonald led to more aggressive play, which won't be the case this week in Wales. Korda played the front nine at Royal Porthcawl on her birthday and chipped and putted around the back nine. She called the views on the first four holes breathtaking and said that with some wind, it will be a 'really, really hard test.' The forecast calls for gusts up to 25 mph on Thursday and 30 mph on Friday. 'I feel like it's maybe a little bit more demanding off the tee,' said Korda, 'as in maybe with other links courses, you can hit driver and there are some bunkers in the way, but here you definitely can't hit driver. It sometimes may be an iron off the tee, but then with the wind direction and the wind strength, there's just way too much trouble on the fairway. 'Once you're in one of those bunkers, like in all links golf courses, it's just a pitch-out.' Korda played alongside the hottest player in golf – Lottie Woad – for three rounds at the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open and called her achievements 'absolutely amazing.' In the month of July, Woad won the Irish Open as an amateur, finished tied for third at the Amundi Evian Championship to earn her tour card and then won in her pro debut in Scotland. 'I was very impressed with her composure, her process,' said Korda. 'I think, when it comes to her shot routine, especially under pressure and in the heat of the moment, sometimes people seem to fidget and kind of doubt themselves, but she stuck to it, she stuck to her process every single time, and I think that's one of the main things that I noticed is how mature she is for her age and how comfortable she was in the heat of the moment.' Korda noted earlier in her press conference that golf is a 'game of confidence,' and there's certainly no shortage of that right now with Woad. 'I've really been just enjoying myself,' said the humble Englishwoman who now ranks 24th in the world. 'Enjoyed being in these events and competing and being in contention, just try to have fun with it and not add too much stress really.' This week marks Korda's 10th appearance in the AIG. She has five top-15 finishes in nine starts, including a share of second last year at the Old Course. Her eight top-5 finishes in the majors – including two wins – since 2019 are the most on tour, with Minjee Lee coming in second with seven (and three wins). Korda was asked how important it is to her to be successful in an event like the British Open and establish herself as a global force. 'I feel like I don't really have anything more to prove to people ever,' said Korda. 'For me, it's just, I'm passionate about the game. I love the game. I love playing in these kind of conditions, testing my game, and getting to play against the best players in the world. "Having something to prove to myself, I don't think I really need to do that. For me, it's just enjoying it and being in the heat of the battle.'
USA Today
27-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Phenom Lottie Woad wins on the LPGA in pro debut at Scottish Open
Majestic. Sublime. Extraordinary. Flawless. The television announcers were running out of adjectives for the phenom Lottie Woad. KPMG Performance Insights gave Woad a 40 percent chance of winning heading into the final round of the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open. Heady stuff for a 21-year-old making her professional debut. Woad's magical July run continued at Dundonald Links, where the newly-minted pro became only the fourth player in LPGA history to win in her first start as an LPGA member, joining former world No. 1 Jin Young Ko (2018) and Beverly Hanson (1951). A Sunday 4-under 68 put Woad at 21 under for the tournament, capping off a maiden LPGA victory in her native U.K., with a three-stroke win over Hyo Joo Kim. Woad becomes the 20th different LPGA winner in a season in which no player has won twice. She heads next to the AIG Women's British Open in Wales, where she finished tied for 10th last year at St. Andrews. Woad began the final round of the Scottish with a two-shot lead in Ayrshire and, midway through, found herself knotted with major champion Hyo Joo Kim at 19 under. World No. 1 Nelly Korda, still looking for her first win of the season, made an early run with four birdies in the first six holes. A string of short misses, however, stalled the American and dropped her out of the mix. Known for her elite wedge play, Woad knocked one close on the 13th to make birdie and regain the solo lead. Another birdie on the 14th as Kim dropped a shot on the 15th stretched the steady Englishwoman's lead back to two with four to play. Woad becomes the first player since Rose Zhang to win on the LPGA in her first start as a pro. Zhang held a two-shot lead going into the final round of the 2023 Mizuho Americas Open and won in a playoff against Jennifer Kupcho to earn her LPGA card. Woad, of course, recently became the first player to graduate from the tour's new LEAP program, earning her card for the rest of 2025 and 2026. Immediately after winning the Irish Open on the LET, she missed out on a playoff at the Amundi Evian Championship by one shot. Woad turned pro last week, forgoing her final season at Florida State. She also accepted membership on the LET, which makes her eligible for the 2026 Solheim Cup. In her last three professional starts, Woad is 55 under par with a 67.4 scoring average. She notched only three bogeys for the week in Scotland.
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
KPMG Women's PGA Championship showcases cutting-edge platform KPMG Performance Insights
Over the past quarter century, advanced analytics have transformed much of the sports world. Thanks to technology platforms such as the PGA Tour's ShotLink, Tour players, coaches, media and fans now have more performance data at their fingertips than they could ever possibly consume. Relative to other sports leagues, the LPGA was late to the analytics party, but has made up for lost time, thanks to the 2021 introduction of KPMG Performance Insights, which generates the sort of advanced analytics and performance data that had been missing from the women's game for years. LPGA athletes suddenly had a wealth of information to help them make small adjustments in their practice routines or tournament play that would translate into significant performance gains. Hole 17at Sahalee CC - KPMG Performance Insights Branding – 2024 KPMG Women's PGA Championship. Since its inception, KPMG has been relentless in scaling up the platform. In 2022, for example, KPMG Performance Insights added a player dashboard (an example can be found here) with personalized portals that provide access to data and insights. In 2023, in support of KPMG ambassador and U.S. Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis, the company provided KPMG Performance Insights tools, such as analyzing 20,000 simulations to identify the optimal pairings for the matches. Those simulations went so far as to identify how players perform under pressure or on certain types of grass. Example of Player Dashboard. Last year KPMG Performance Insights went next level through the incorporation of AI-empowered predictive analytics that provided leading-edge insights for LPGA tournaments. Additionally, to enhance the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, KPMG partnered with T-Mobile to introduce KPMG CHAMPCAST presented by T-Mobile, which leverages ShotLink Pro 2.0 cutting-edge technology to create an immersive experience for fans watching at home or onsite. (An example of KPMG CHAMPCAST can be found here.) Advertisement 'The KPMG Women's PGA Championship is the most tech-forward event on the LPGA,' said Shawn Quill, National Sports Industry Leader at KPMG. 'Through KPMG Performance Insights and KPMG CHAMPCAST presented by T-Mobile, we're providing the players with real-time, shot-level data and analytics. With features like win probabilities, winning score projections, a dedicated player portal, 3D imagery, shot trails and individual shot highlights, players, fans and the media are able to get closer to the action than ever before.' KPMG CHAMPCAST presented by T-Mobile. As has been the case from the outset, KPMG continues to ramp up its platform by adding more features and benefits for players and fans. For the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, KPMG is providing new, enhanced features through an AI-generated daily recap. Hole-by-hole AI course analytics that will help players decide how best to attack the difficult Fields Ranch East layout at PGA Frisco. This feature will provide players with information on the best way to play each hole and the trouble spots to avoid on the course. Advertisement Based on the KPMG Performance Insights Daily Recap (an example can be found here) from Thursday's first round, there is a 92% chance the cutline falls between +2 and +4. Players will be able to use this data to help them decide how aggressively they will need to play in the second round. As an example, KPMG ambassador Leona Maguire currently sits at even par through 18 holes. Based on insights from the report, a round of 75 Friday gives her a 95% chance to make the weekend. Additional insights from the recap show the relative difficulty of each hole from the first round. For example, hole 6 (a 446-yard par 4 with bunkers protecting the green) currently has a birdie or better percentage of 2% and a bogey or worse percentage of nearly 50%. As players head into their second round, they will know that a score of par on the sixth hole is actually helping them gain strokes on the field. Daily recap graphic. These are all great tools for LPGA fans and media, but they're invaluable to the LPGA players. Advertisement 'As part of our strategy, we are focused on setting the standard for excellence in women's golf,' Quill said. 'We are excited about our new KPMG Performance Insights Daily Recaps that include AI-powered course analysis, which provides players data on how each hole is playing, and AI-generated scoring targets, so the players can see the predicted cut line and winning scores. These powerful insights will equip the players so they can adjust their approach as they prepare for the next round.' This article originally appeared on Golfweek: KPMG Women's PGA Championship showcase advanced analytics platform
