Latest news with #USGirls'Junior
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Akie Iwai wins Portland Classic to join twin sister Chisato as rookie LPGA Tour champion
She had second-place finishes in Thailand in February and Los Angeles in April, then watched her sister win at Mayakoba in May in Mexico. On Sunday, Chisato Iwai shot a 64 to tie for third, five strokes back. The winner finished at 24-under 264 on the tree-lined course. She opened with consecutive 67s, then shot a 64 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead into the final round. American Gurleen Kaur was a career-best second, closing with a 65. Linn Grant of Sweden had a 67 to join Chisato Iwai at 19 under. Grace Kim of Australia was 18 under after a 70. Advertisement Amateur Kiara Romero shot a 64 to tie for seventh at 16 under in her first tour start. The University of Oregon player won the 2023 US Girls' Junior and 2025 Big Ten title and made the quarterfinals of the US Women's Amateur earlier this month. 'It feels great to just play really well my first LPGA event,' Romero said." Kind of gives me a lot of confidence going into the school year. . . . All the Ducks fans are out here. So, we had a big crowd and a lot of people cheering me on, so it meant a lot to put a good week." Advertisement The tournament is the longest continuous event on the LPGA Tour except for the majors, dating to 1972.
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Akie Iwai of Japan shoots 64 in Portland to take lead in bid for first LPGA Tour title
'My style, my golf style, is aggressive,' she said. 'That's why no change this week. Also, aim to the pin — boom! boom! Every shot, every hole. That's it.' Advertisement When it's your day, it's your day 😮💨 Akie Iwai finishes with a birdie, despite hitting her drive into the trees, and takes the clubhouse lead at 18-under 💪 — LPGA (@LPGA) Grace Kim of Australia was second after a 67. She holed a 156-yard, 7-iron shot for eagle from the left rough on the par-4 17th. 'I was trying to see if I could get a drop,' Kim said. 'I wasn't entirely over the sprinkler-head boxes so you knew I just had to hit it. Leaked right again. I was like, `Oh, please get through the rough.' Somehow went in the hole.' GRACE KIM DOES IT AGAIN 🤯 A HOLE OUT FROM THE ROUGH FOR EAGLE 🦅 — LPGA (@LPGA) Linn Grant was 14 under after a 65. The Swede won the 2023 Dana Open for her lone LPGA Tour title. 'Tried to go out and just be, I wouldn't say happy, but just accepting of whatever today would bring,' Grant said. 'I think I played very mature and just had a lot of fun.' Advertisement Gurleen Kaur had a 70 to get to 13 under, and Aditi Ashok (65) was another stroke back with Gina Kim (67). Chisato Iwai — the winner in Mexico at Mayakoba in May — was in the group at 11 under after a 66. She also eagled the fifth hole. Haeran Ryu, at No. 9 in the world one of only two top-10 players in the field, also was 11 under. She had a hole-in-one on the 177-yard 16th in a 67. Akie Iwai dropped a stroke on the par-3 second, then played a five-hole stretch in 5 under. She hit her second shot to 3 feet to set up the eagle, then hit to a foot on the par-4 sixth. On the back nine, she birdied three of the first four holes, two of them par 5s, then hit a 152-yard shot to a foot on 18. She's sticking with the aggressive approach Sunday. 'No change. No change. Same as usual,' she said. Driver off the deck ➡️ into the trees ➡️ birdie 🐣 Unreal sequence from Akie Iwai to extend her lead 🤯 — LPGA (@LPGA) Two-time champion Brooke Henderson, a stroke back after an opening 65, followed a second-round 73 with a 68 to get to 10 under. The Canadian star is winless since January 2023. Second-round leader Jeongeun Lee5 also was 10 under after shooting 74. Amateur Kiara Romero was 8 under after a 72. The University of Oregon player won the 2023 US Girls' Junior and 2025 Big Ten title. The tournament is the longest continuous event on the LPGA Tour except for the majors, dating to 1972.
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Jeongeun Lee5 takes Portland Classic lead, while Juli Inkster falls shot short of making historic cut
'When we are playing well, we expect it to continue,' Lee5 said. 'So, I want to really concentrate and focus going into the weekend. The past two rounds I had great energy, good shots, and good putts.' Inkster, the Hall of Famer who won the 1999 event, followed her opening 69 with a 74 to miss the cut by a stroke. JoAnne Carner was 64 when she made the cut in the 2004 Chick Fil-A Charity Championship. 'Wasn't very inspiring,' Inkster said. 'I didn't drive the ball as well as I did yesterday. Kind of a grind out there today.' Advertisement She played to prepare for the US Senior Women's Open next week. Juli Inkster with a textbook birdie to get back to 3-under 🔥 — LPGA (@LPGA) Grace Kim (65) of Australia and Gurleen Kaur (68) of the United States were a stroke back of the leader on the tree-lined course. Akie Iwai had her second straight 67 to join Pajaree Anannarukarn (67) and Ashleigh Buhai (68) at 10 under. Amateur Kiara Romero had a 69 to get to 8 under. The University of Oregon star won the 2023 US Girls' Junior and 2025 Big Ten title. 'It feels really good just to see my game match up against some of these pros, just getting more comfortable playing in front of crowds and stuff,' Romero said. 'My first time playing in front of a big crowd I kind of got a little bit shaken up and was nervous out there.' Advertisement And she's 8-under heading into the weekend at the — LPGA (@LPGA) Two-time champion Brooke Henderson, a stroke back after an opening 65, had a 73 to fall to 6 under. The Canadian star is winless since January 2023 and has dropped to 52nd in the world. First-round leader Adela Cernousek followed her opening 64 with a 75 to drop to 5 under. Angel Yin, the top-ranked player in the field at No. 7, was 2 under after a 70. No. 9 Haeran Ryu also was 6 under, shooting 72. Defending champion Moriya Jutanugarn missed the cut with rounds of 73 and 74. The tournament is the longest continuous event on the LPGA Tour except for the majors, dating to 1972.
