Latest news with #MaoSaigo


Khaleej Times
9 hours ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
This Week in Golf: Spotlight on Lottie Woad and cash-rich AIG Women's Open in Wales
With the DP World Tour on week number two of its mid-summer break, all eyes will be on the women with their fifth and final Major of their global calendar for both the LPGA and LET, the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club, in South Wales. So far in the 2025 season, the Major winners have been Mao Saigo (Japan) at the Chevron Championship, Maja Stark (Sweden) at the U.S. Women's Open, Minjee Lee (Australia) at the Women's PGA Championship, and Grace Kim (Australia) at The Amundi Evian Championship. It is the first time since 2020, a season shortened by COVID-19, that no American player has won a Major, raising a question for the future: should another Major be staged outside of the United States, alongside The Amundi Evian Championship in France? South Korea's ongoing prominence in women's golf may deserve greater recognition. We'll explore that topic in more depth next week. This week's AIG Women's Open carries a $9.5 million purse, making it the third-highest in women's golf behind the $10.4 million KPMG Women's PGA Championship and the $12 million U.S. Women's Open presented by Ally. Major Status Since 2001 The tournament was first played in 1976 and was designated a Major in 2001. Since the 2017 merger between the Ladies Golf Union and The R&A, both the Men's and Women's Open Championships have been operated by The R&A. Lydia Ko of New Zealand returns as the defending champion, having claimed the title at St Andrews last year over the Old Course. Hopes are high for favourable weather, which has thus far been relatively kind to golf across Europe this summer. This week, much of the attention will be on 21-year-old English sensation Lottie Woad. Playing in her first professional event last week, the ISPS Handa Scottish Open at Dundonald Links, Woad claimed a three-shot victory. Her previous three starts have yielded a win, a third-place tie, and another win. She began the year ranked 337th in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings. At the start of last week, she had moved to 62nd, and following her victory, she now sits 24th. Her rapid ascent is further reflected in her statistics: 16th in the LET Order of Merit, fourth in the 2025 Rookie of the Year standings, and 14th in the 2026 Solheim Cup Rankings for Team Europe. Her earnings now total over $255,000, placing her sixth on the LET Money List—a remarkable return from just one week as a professional. Meanwhile, on the PGA Tour, this week marks the final opportunity for players to qualify for the FedEx Cup Series. Following this week's Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in North Carolina, the top 70 players will advance to the FedEx St. Jude Classic, then the top 50 to the BMW Championship, and finally the top 30 to the season-ending Tour Championship. Season Ends Too Soon The PGA Tour season officially concludes on August 24. For many golf fans, this feels prematurely early for a sport with global reach. With the Ryder Cup still to come, some are calling for a rethink—perhaps even a return of the PGA Championship to its traditional August slot. Elsewhere in the game, the HotelPlanner Tour—formerly the Challenge Tour—heads to Scotland for the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A, held at SCHLOSS Roxburghe. The Legends Tour also returns to action with the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen. As the summer of golf rolls on, all eyes this week are on South Wales—and on Lottie Woad—as the game's biggest names compete for Major glory. This week's golf schedule

NBC Sports
a day ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
AIG Women's Open 2025: How to watch, TV times, streams and field
The AIG Women's Open is the LPGA's fifth and final major of the season. Here's some need-to-know information: When and where is the AIG Women's Open? July 31 through Aug. 3 at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Porthcawl, Wales. How to watch the AIG Women's Open Thursday, July 31 7AM-2PM: Round 1, full coverage (USA Network) Friday, Aug. 1 7AM-2PM: Round 2, full coverage (USA Network) Saturday, Aug. 2 7AM-Noon: Round 3, full coverage (USA Network) Noon-2PM: Round 3, full coverage (NBC/Peacock) Sunday, Aug. 3 7AM-Noon: Final round, full coverage (USA Network) Noon-2PM: Final round, full coverage (NBC/Peacock) This week's TV times: PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship and more Who is in the field at the AIG Women's Open? There are 144 players in the field, including the first four major champions of the season: Mao Saigo (Chevron), Maja Stark (U.S. Women's Open), Minjee Lee (KPMG Women's PGA) and Grace Kim (Amundi Evian Championship). Click here for the full field. What is the AIG Women's Open purse and prize money? The purse is $9.5 million — a $500,000 increase from last year — with $1,425,000 going to the winner. What is the cut at the AIG Women's Open? There is a cut to the low 70 players and ties following 36 holes. Who won the 2024 AIG Women's Open? Lydia Ko captured her first major title in eight years when she finished two shots clear of Nelly Korda, Ruoning Yin, Lilia Vu and Jiyai Shin on the Old Course at St. Andrews. The victory was Ko's third career major and her 21st tour victory (she's since added two more). It also came on the heels of her completing the Olympic medal slam by capturing gold in Paris.


Arab News
19-06-2025
- Sport
- Arab News
Amy Yang looks to repeat at Women's PGA in wide-open field
FRISCO, Texas: The LPGA has a new commissioner on the way, a new course to play and no shortage of parity as it marks the halfway point of the season at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, which begins Thursday in Frisco, Texas. It's an important time on the women's golf calendar for more reasons than one. Three of the next five events are major championships, and no one is running away with the season-long points competition, the Race to the CME Globe. Through 15 tournaments in 2025, 15 different players have claimed a title, none of them named Nelly Korda. The first two majors were won by first-timers with scant previous experience in the United States — Japan's Mao Saigo at the Chevron Championship, followed by Sweden's Maja Stark at the US Women's Open. Korda is World No. 1 and entered the week as the slight betting favorite to win what would be her third major. However, she revealed that she suffered a neck spasm on Monday from hitting a practice shot out of the rough. It was concerning, given she missed time last fall with a neck injury. 'But I have a great physio who takes care of me,' Korda went on to say. 'Trying to work through it, but I'll be ready by Thursday.' For Korda, it was far from a friendly welcome to PGA Frisco, the new resort that also serves as the PGA of America's headquarters. The Fields Ranch East course will host the Women's PGA again in 2031 as well as the men's PGA Championship in 2027 and 2034. This week, the course will be a par-72, 6,604-yard setup and serve as a test run for holding major championship golf in the Texas summer heat. 'To my knowledge, I think Gil Hanse and the team, they designed this course to host championships,' Lydia Ko of New Zealand said. 'It's designed with a purpose, and obviously the more frequently you go to these kind of sites, you kind of get more familiar with it.' Ko played a practice round alongside Craig Kessler, who will take over as commissioner of the LPGA next month. Kessler was previously COO of the PGA of America and will be tasked with increasing the LPGA's visibility and financial solvency. 'I'm sure he's busy with still wrapping things up with the PGA of America and transitioning into our role as well, but it's exciting,' Ko said. 'I think it's a great time for golf. It's great to have somebody like him that's enthusiastic and really wants to see where — like how far we can go.' Korean veteran Amy Yang is the defending champion following a three-stroke victory in 2024. 'I came very close to many major championships and never won before, so on Saturday night I was very nervous and I was questioning myself, 'Can I do it this time?'' Yang recalled. 'But I distracted myself calling my friends and family and just told myself, 'You know, go out tomorrow and just every hole, every shot, just embrace everything and see what's going to happen.' 'That experience taught me that I can do it. I can still do it.' The entire top 25 in the Rolex Rankings are in the field. World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand has one victory this season, but the promising 22-year-old has yet to win a major. 'Every major I just want to make the cut, to be honest,' Thitikul said. 'It would be really great to win it, and definitely I can tell that it would be like, everyone dreams to win a major. To me, what I have now under my belt, I'm pretty happy with all I've achieved.'

NBC Sports
16-06-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
KPMG Women's PGA Championship 2025: How to watch, streams, field and prize money
The KPMG Women's PGA Championship is the LPGA's third major of the season. Here's some need-to-know information: When and where is the KPMG Women's PGA Championship? June 19-22 at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco (6,604 yards, par 72) in Frisco, Texas. How to watch the KPMG Women's PGA Championship (All times EDT; stream links added when available) Thursday, June 19 11AM-3PM: Golf Channel/NBC Sports App 6-8PM: Golf Channel/NBC Sports App Friday, June 20 Saturday, June 21 11AM-1:30PM: Peacock 1:30-6PM: NBC/Peacock Sunday, June 22 11AM-3PM: Peacock This week's TV times: PGA Tour's Travelers Championship and more Who is in the field at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship? There are 156 players in the field, including 12 past champions and the year's first two major winners: Mao Saigo (Chevron) and Maja Stark (U.S. Women's Open). There are also eight club professionals who qualified to compete. Click here for the updated field, per the LPGA Tour. What is the KPMG Women's PGA Championship purse and prize money? The purse is $10.4 million with $1.56 million going to the winner. Golf Channel Staff, What is the cut at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship? There is a cut to the low 70 players and ties following 36 holes. Who won the 2024 KPMG Women's PGA Championship? Amy Yang captured her long-awaited first major title in dominant fashion at Sahalee, finishing at 7 under, three clear of the field. It was the then 34-year-old's 75th major start and her sixth career LPGA Tour victory.


Kyodo News
08-06-2025
- Business
- Kyodo News
Kyodo News Digest: June 8, 2025
KYODO NEWS - 4 hours ago - 15:00 | All, Japan, World The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Japan aims to enlist 10 mil. in rural support registry TOKYO - The government plans to launch a new registration system to encourage people to keep strong connections with rural areas hit by depopulation, aiming to sign up more than 10 million users over the next decade. The initiative is a hallmark of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's efforts to revitalize regional areas, as Japan has been unsuccessful in reversing a long-term trend of overconcentration of people in Tokyo and other major cities. ---------- Japan telecom giant NTT Docomo to end own emoji after 26 yrs TOKYO - Japanese telecom giant NTT Docomo Inc. will retire its set of original emoji whose release 26 years ago helped shape the visual language of today's digital communications. The carrier's Android smartphones and feature phones marketed from June will not come with the Docomo emoji set. Announcing the decision in late May, the firm said they had "fulfilled their role" while noting that Google's emoji had become more common globally. ---------- Baseball: Yamamoto throws 6 shutout frames, but Dodgers fall to Cards ST. LOUIS, Missouri - Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw six scoreless innings, but the Los Angeles Dodgers offense was kept quiet in a 2-1 walk-off loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. Pursuing his seventh win of the season, the Japanese right-hander left the mound with the game still scoreless after fanning nine while scattering four hits and two walks. ---------- Golf: Mao Saigo sinks rare albatross, moves up to 2nd at LPGA Classic GALLOWAY, New Jersey - Japanese golfer Mao Saigo scored a rare albatross Saturday on her way to a 6-under-par 65 that will see her tee off the final round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic trailing leader Lee Il Hee of South Korea by one stroke. The 23-year-old Saigo, a major winner at April's Chevron Championship, added to her highlight reel when she holed out with her second shot from 214 yards on the par-5 3rd hole at Seaview's Bay Course. ---------- Japan, EU eye launch of "competitive alliance" scheme to boost trade BRUSSELS - Japan and the European Union are preparing to launch an "alliance" framework to beef up their companies' competitiveness by promoting trade and economic security cooperation, diplomatic sources said Saturday, facing concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and Chinese trade practices. The creation of the "Japan-EU Competitiveness Alliance" is expected to be announced at a regular summit meeting being arranged for July, when Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is likely to host European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, they said. ---------- Japan opposition lawmaker says rice reserves mostly go to chickens SAGA, Japan - A lawmaker of Japan's main opposition party said Saturday that government rice reserves recently put on sale are mostly consumed by chickens, doubling down on remarks that could be perceived as insensitive to people who have snapped up the old rice due to cheaper prices. Kazuhiro Haraguchi of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan made the remarks at a gathering in southwestern Japan to shore up support ahead of the upper house election, even after Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of another opposition party, apologized a week ago for likening the stockpiles to "animal feed." ---------- Japan, U.S. yet to find common ground on tariffs but want quick deal WASHINGTON - Japan and the United States have "yet to find common ground" on tariff issues, Tokyo's top negotiator said Friday, indicating that there remain many differences between the sides, but they still aim to clinch a win-win deal in mid-June. After holding talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington, Ryosei Akazawa told reporters that he believes "further progress" was made. ---------- Over half of rice producing firms feel store rice prices "too high" TOKYO - Over half of large-scale rice producers feel that store prices for rice are "too high," a recent survey conducted by an association of agricultural corporations showed, indicating that many of them share concerns with consumers about the elevated cost of the staple food in Japan. As households increasingly complain about rice prices that have doubled over the past year, more than 40 percent of respondents worried that consumers may start shunning the product. Video: Parade at Hyakumangoku Festival in Ishikawa Prefecture