Latest news with #Mayakoba
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Japan's Iwai wins Mexico crown for first LPGA title
Japan's Chisato Iwai birdied five of the first six holes to seize command on her way to winning the Mexico Riviera Maya Open on Sunday for her first LPGA title. The 22-year-old from Saitama fired a final-round six-under par 66 to finish 72 holes on 12-under 276 at Mayakoba resort. She matched the biggest LPGA victory margin this year in defeating runner-up Jenny Bae by six strokes with South Korea's Kang Hae-ji third on 283. "I'm so happy," Iwai said. "My mentality was so calm every time. It was just calm, good play." Iwai became the third LPGA winner of the season from Japan, after Rio Takeda won the Blue Bell in China in March and Mao Saigo took the Chevron Championship last month, and the 20th Japanese player overall to win an LPGA crown. Iwai, who won her eighth Japan Tour event in March, earned her LPGA Tour spot with a runner-up showing in last December's qualifying tournament and won as a rookie just five months later. Dominant early in the final round, Iwai opened with a birdie and reeled off four more in a row starting at the third hole. "Nervous in the morning, but I played the first hole and I was calmed down," Iwai said. She added birdies at the par-three 10th and par-five 13th to reach 13-under and stretch her lead to eight strokes. Bae, a 23-year-old American rookie who began the day with a one-stroke lead over Iwai, opened with back-to-back bogeys, went bogey-birdie at the par-five fifth and par-four sixth and closed the front nine with another bogey to tumble out of contention. Iwai made her first bogey of the weekend at the 14th hole and Bae made birdies at 13 and the par-three 15th but added a bogey at 17 as Iwai's lead only slid to seven strokes before Bae closed with a birdie. "I'm pretty happy with this week," Bae said. "It just tells me that I have a long ways to go but also I'm also getting there, too. "I definitely realized that I've gotten more patience. I think that's a really key thing out here, just being able to focus within all the stress and pressure. I think that was really good. So I'm happy. I definitely know what I need to work on for the week off for me. Hopefully I'll be able to score better at the next tournament." js/dmc
National Post
24-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Jenny Bae lets scoring chances slips away and settles for 1-shot lead in LPGA event in Mexico
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Jenny Bae started with three straight birdies and had a one-shot lead that could have been larger except for a soft finish Saturday in the Mexico Riviera Maya Open. Article content Article content Bae didn't make another birdies after the third hole. What held her back were having to settle for pars on easy scoring holes, and then closing with a bogey when it took her two shots to get out of the crushed coral left of the green on the par-5 18th. Article content Article content Bae was at 7-under 209, and the LPGA rookie faces a big test Sunday — along with just about everyone else chasing her — in a bid for her first LPGA victory. Article content 'I didn't finish as well as I wanted to, but that's OK,' Bae said. 'Just tells me that I need to fight more the last 18 holes.' Article content The El Camaleon course at Mayakoba was set up for scoring, with the tees moved up on the par-4 17th to make it reachable with a fairway metal, and the par-5 closing hole. Article content Yahui Zhang of China finished birdie-birdie for a 68 and was at 6-under 210, along with Chisato Iwai of Japan, who also birdied the last two holes. Article content Another shot back was Gabriela Ruffels of Australia, who had the strongest closing kick of all. Ruffels was 3 over for her round when she holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole. On the par-4 16th, the toughest on the back nine, she holed a birdie putt from 20 feet. Article content Ruffels left her tee shot just in front of the green on the 17th, pitched to a back pin some 4 feet away for birdie, and then made it three straight at the end with a birdie at the 18th. That allowed her to salvage a 71 and left her very much in the mix. Article content Article content 'I was just proud of the way I kind of stuck in there and felt like I gave myself the chance to kind of come back,' Ruffels said. 'To finish the way I did is really good and some momentum into tomorrow.' Article content Also finishing strong was Miranda Wang of China, even if it was to keep her head above water. She was five shots behind when Wang started missing to the left — a tee shot into the bushes on the 16th that led to a penalty shot, a tee shot on the 17th into the water left of the green. Article content Both times, Wang made 15-foot putts to save par, and then after pulling her approach left of the 18th green, she got that up-and-down for birdie for a 73. She was among seven players at 4-under 212, three shots out of the lead. Article content Bae was pleased to be in front, though she missed an opportunity to have a little more room for error. She missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 13th. She was in good position off the 17th, just short of the green, but her pitch was strong and too far right and rolled through to the collar. She had to settle for par.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jenny Bae lets scoring chances slips away and settles for 1-shot lead in LPGA event in Mexico
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) — Jenny Bae started with three straight birdies and had a one-shot lead that could have been larger except for a soft finish Saturday in the Mexico Riviera Maya Open. Bae didn't make another birdies after the third hole. What held her back were having to settle for pars on easy scoring holes, and then closing with a bogey when it took her two shots to get out of the crushed coral left of the green on the par-5 18th. Advertisement Bae was at 7-under 209, and the LPGA rookie faces a big test Sunday — along with just about everyone else chasing her — in a bid for her first LPGA victory. 'I didn't finish as well as I wanted to, but that's OK,' Bae said. 'Just tells me that I need to fight more the last 18 holes.' The El Camaleon course at Mayakoba was set up for scoring, with the tees moved up on the par-4 17th to make it reachable with a fairway metal, and the par-5 closing hole. Yahui Zhang of China finished birdie-birdie for a 68 and was at 6-under 210, along with Chisato Iwai of Japan, who also birdied the last two holes. Advertisement Another shot back was Gabriela Ruffels of Australia, who had the strongest closing kick of all. Ruffels was 3 over for her round when she holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole. On the par-4 16th, the toughest on the back nine, she holed a birdie putt from 20 feet. Ruffels left her tee shot just in front of the green on the 17th, pitched to a back pin some 4 feet away for birdie, and then made it three straight at the end with a birdie at the 18th. That allowed her to salvage a 71 and left her very much in the mix. 'I was just proud of the way I kind of stuck in there and felt like I gave myself the chance to kind of come back,' Ruffels said. 'To finish the way I did is really good and some momentum into tomorrow.' Also finishing strong was Miranda Wang of China, even if it was to keep her head above water. She was five shots behind when Wang started missing to the left — a tee shot into the bushes on the 16th that led to a penalty shot, a tee shot on the 17th into the water left of the green. Advertisement Both times, Wang made 15-foot putts to save par, and then after pulling her approach left of the 18th green, she got that up-and-down for birdie for a 73. She was among seven players at 4-under 212, three shots out of the lead. Bae was pleased to be in front, though she missed an opportunity to have a little more room for error. She missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 13th. She was in good position off the 17th, just short of the green, but her pitch was strong and too far right and rolled through to the collar. She had to settle for par. On the 18th, she pulled her approach into a patch of crushed coral to a short-sided pin. She didn't catch enough of the golf ball and left it in the sandy area, then caught all ball and sent it 25 feet past the pin on the collar. Two putts from there led to bogey. 'I feel like I definitely left a few birdies out there, but it's OK because I know those chances that I missed today could also be the birdies that I get tomorrow,' Bae said. Advertisement This is the final week before the U.S. Women's Open, and the LPGA's return to Mexico for the first time since 2017 did not attract a strong field with Charley Hull at No. 15 the highest-ranked player. But it's a great opportunity for everyone else. The top 11 players on the leaderboard — everyone at 4 under and better — are going for their first LPGA win. ___ AP golf:
Associated Press
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Jenny Bae lets scoring chances slips away and settles for 1-shot lead in LPGA event in Mexico
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) — Jenny Bae started with three straight birdies and had a one-shot lead that could have been larger except for a soft finish Saturday in the Mexico Riviera Maya Open. Bae didn't make another birdies after the third hole. What held her back were having to settle for pars on easy scoring holes, and then closing with a bogey when it took her two shots to get out of the crushed coral left of the green on the par-5 18th. Bae was at 7-under 209, and the LPGA rookie faces a big test Sunday — along with just about everyone else chasing her — in a bid for her first LPGA victory. 'I didn't finish as well as I wanted to, but that's OK,' Bae said. 'Just tells me that I need to fight more the last 18 holes.' The El Camaleon course at Mayakoba was set up for scoring, with the tees moved up on the par-4 17th to make it reachable with a fairway metal, and the par-5 closing hole. Yahui Zhang of China finished birdie-birdie for a 68 and was at 6-under 210, along with Chisato Iwai of Japan, who also birdied the last two holes. Another shot back was Gabriela Ruffels of Australia, who had the strongest closing kick of all. Ruffels was 3 over for her round when she holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole. On the par-4 16th, the toughest on the back nine, she holed a birdie putt from 20 feet. Ruffels left her tee shot just in front of the green on the 17th, pitched to a back pin some 4 feet away for birdie, and then made it three straight at the end with a birdie at the 18th. That allowed her to salvage a 71 and left her very much in the mix. 'I was just proud of the way I kind of stuck in there and felt like I gave myself the chance to kind of come back,' Ruffels said. 'To finish the way I did is really good and some momentum into tomorrow.' Also finishing strong was Miranda Wang of China, even if it was to keep her head above water. She was five shots behind when Wang started missing to the left — a tee shot into the bushes on the 16th that led to a penalty shot, a tee shot on the 17th into the water left of the green. Both times, Wang made 15-foot putts to save par, and then after pulling her approach left of the 18th green, she got that up-and-down for birdie for a 73. She was among seven players at 4-under 212, three shots out of the lead. Bae was pleased to be in front, though she missed an opportunity to have a little more room for error. She missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 13th. She was in good position off the 17th, just short of the green, but her pitch was strong and too far right and rolled through to the collar. She had to settle for par. On the 18th, she pulled her approach into a patch of crushed coral to a short-sided pin. She didn't catch enough of the golf ball and left it in the sandy area, then caught all ball and sent it 25 feet past the pin on the collar. Two putts from there led to bogey. 'I feel like I definitely left a few birdies out there, but it's OK because I know those chances that I missed today could also be the birdies that I get tomorrow,' Bae said. This is the final week before the U.S. Women's Open, and the LPGA's return to Mexico for the first time since 2017 did not attract a strong field with Charley Hull at No. 15 the highest-ranked player. But it's a great opportunity for everyone else. The top 11 players on the leaderboard — everyone at 4 under and better — are going for their first LPGA win. ___ AP golf:
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bae grabs lead but Wang makes charge in Mexican heat
Jenny Bae grabbed a one-stroke lead at the Mexico Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba, carding a second consecutive 69 to sit at six-under-par (138) after 36 holes at El Camaleon. The American's unflappable demeanor and sharp course management left her a stroke ahead of her compatriot Brianna Do and China's Miranda Wang, whose scintillating second-round 65 shook up the leaderboard at the $2.5 million LPGA event. The 23-year-old Bae, in her rookie season, leaned on a steely mindset to navigate the breezy, jungle-lined layout. "Today I had the same mindset as yesterday. Just keep calm and stay focused and try to stay in the present," she said. "It tells me I can still score despite what conditions I'm faced with. I feel pretty good heading into the weekend," she said after ending her round with a birdie on the 18th. The chasing pack includes China's Yan Jing, South Korea's Lee Jeong-eun, Jenny Shin, Choi Hye-jin, and Australia's Gabriela Ruffels, all at four-under (140). Mexico's Maria Fassi, at three-over (147), led the home contingent, cheered by a lively local crowd. Bae said she had been able to cope with the windy conditions that troubled some of her rivals. "I've gotten a good grasp of the wind. That's a really big advantage out here," she said. The stunning Riviera Maya backdrop also helped keep her spirit high. "I've never played on a golf course with such beautiful scenery. Even if I make a mistake, I look around and feel refreshed," she added. Wang was in sensational form delivering a bogey-free 7-under-par round of 65 but said it had been tough in the intense heat. "I was really drinking a lot of water, and my caddie did a good job just feeding me water all the time. I think that's the most important. "It's windy out there so there is some good breeze. Just enjoy the breeze and drink enough water," she said. sev/jgc
