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USA Today
8 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Yealimi Noh, Lexi Thompson finish strong despite six-hour round at toasty KPMG Womens PGA
Yealimi Noh, Lexi Thompson finish strong despite six-hour round at toasty KPMG Womens PGA FRISCO, Texas – Yealimi Noh and Lexi Thompson birdied two of the last three holes coming down the stretch at the KPMG Women's PGA despite a grueling wait in the heat. There were four groups on the eighth tee at the Field Ranch East course when the marquee group came through Thursday evening. 'It was pretty brutal,' said Thompson of their six-hour round. 'I just drank a lot of water and tried to stay loose when we were in those waits on those holes and stay mentally in it.' The short par-4 seventh at 317 yards lured players into getting as close as possible, with a tricky green, and the par-3 eighth featured an unfriendly hole location. Add in a reachable par 5 to finish, and it all added up to a big backup. 'It was just like wait, wait, wait,' said Thompson. Noh, one of 15 different winners on tour this season, shot 2-under 70 to finish two back of leader Jeeno Thitikul, who made miles of putts in her morning 68. 'My umbrella was the only shade out there,' said Noh of a toasty Texas day. After a sluggish start, Thompson shot even-par 72 to sit in a share of 16th along with world No. 1 Nelly Korda and Rose Zhang. The KPMG marks Thompson's seventh start of the season. She tied for fourth at last week's Meijer LPGA Classic. A total of 15 players broke par in the opening round.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Jeeno Thitikul edges clear as heat takes toll at Women's PGA
Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand shot a four-under-par 68 to take an early one-shot lead at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in Frisco, Texas (Stacy Revere) Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul fired a four-under-par 68 to edge into a slender lead as searing heat and humidity tested players in the opening round of the KPMG US Women's PGA Championship in Texas on Thursday. The 22-year-old, who is chasing her first major victory after seven top-10 finishes, reeled off six birdies to move into a one-shot lead. Advertisement Jeeno's only blemish on an otherwise flawless opening round was a double-bogey six at the par-four fourth hole of PGA Frisco's 6,404-yard Fields Ranch East layout. The rising Thai star, who has already amassed 18 wins as a professional including five on the LPGA Tour, said she had taken a patient approach after shrugging off her early double-bogey disappointment. "I think like all the majors, I have told myself just to be really patient," Jeeno said after her round. "I definitely know that I'm going to miss a shot or make a bogey during the day. "Don't be like, moody ... I told myself be patient and focused on the next shot." Advertisement Jeeno was one shot clear of Australia's Minjee Lee, who had a roller coaster round that included seven birdies and four bogeys en route to a three-under-par 69. Lee was satisfied with her round but admitted the searing temperatures in the high 90s (Fahrenheit) were challenging. "I just kept telling my caddie, can you give me another water, can you give me another water," Lee said. "I don't think we could have enough (water) out there. It's really hot." Japan's Rio Takeda, South Korea's Lee So-mi and American Yealimi Noh were a further shot back after carding two-under-par 70s. Advertisement World number one Nelly Korda, meanwhile, is four off the pace after an opening level-par 72. Korda also admitted she had found the heat a struggle. "It's hot; I'm still cooling down right now," Korda said. "I'm pretty happy with my first round in the conditions. "It definitely takes a toll on you, the Texas heat." Auston Kim, who posted a one-under-par 71, said the heat had been more of a challenge than anything the twists and turns of the PGA Frisco layout had offered. "I think the most difficult thing is dealing with the heat," Kim said. "There were times I had to lock in really hard just because the heat is taking a toll on you. You kind of want to just get into a daze and it's hard to focus. Advertisement "The heat was probably the hardest part, and then hitting the fairways. I had to chop it out of the rough twice today, including on the last hole. "I thought I was going to make double for sure, but I managed to make a really good bogey." rcw/bb
Associated Press
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Jenno Thitikul stays patient and goes on a birdie streak to take first-round lead at Women's PGA
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Jenno Thitikul walked off the fifth green after a double bogey in the first round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship reminding herself to stay patient and that some missed shots are going to happen. 'Majors, you're going to miss anyway,' said Thitikul, who's No. 2 in the women's world ranking. 'A way to bounce back, it's more important.' Thitikul certainly found a way to do that on a hot and windy Thursday, finishing with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke lead over Minjee Lee (69). Haeran Ryu, Rio Takeda and Somi Lee all shot 70. That only hole over par for Thitikul was followed by a par before she made five birdies in a six-hole stretch, with a 60-footer on the par-3 eighth hole in the middle of three in a row. 'My putter went really well,' said the 22-year-old from Thailand, who is seeking her first major title. 'In the front nine we had a lot of breeze going, and more than the back nine, but like (made) putts 7, 8, 9, which boosts the confidence up making the turn to the back nine.' Thitikul, who lives in the Dallas area, needed only 25 putts on the Fields Ranch East course at PGA Frisco. Her makes measured 199 1/2 feet. Thitikul played with top-ranked Nelly Korda (72) and No. 3 Lydia Ko (75). Korda, who reaggravated a neck injury with a shot out of the rough during a practice round Monday, opened with seven consecutive pars in a round that had two birdies and two bogeys. Ko was the only in the group to make a birdie at the 513-yard, par-5 first hole, but didn't make another the rest of the day. While Korda said she doesn't feel pain hitting shots, the two-time major champion said she has pain 'just with rotation' of her neck and that it is hard to get comfortable to sleep at night. 'It's better, yeah. Getting better every day, which is nice,' she said. 'Just because I injured it last year, whenever I do injure my neck it takes a little bit longer than normal. ... Just takes me like a week to kind of recover when I tweak my neck now.' Korda opened with seven pars, including at the 317-yard, par-4 seventh hole, where she hit a 294-yard drive into a valley just short of the green. Her initial pitch from there ricocheted off the edge of the green and rolled back down the slope to where she was. Korda hit her next shot to 2 feet. That fifth hole for Thitkul started with a drive out of bounds and a penalty. Her birdie streak began with a nearly 18-footer at No. 7 before the long one at the eighth. She rolled in a 35-foot birdie at No. 17, and just missed making another one more than twice that long on the 434-yard, par-4 18th. Two-time major winner Lee, a 29-year-old Australian, hasn't won since 2023. She opened Thursday with a bogey and finished with two bogeys over the last three holes. In between, she made seven birdies. 'I feel like they were pretty soft bogeys. ... Well, on 16, that was a bit soft and obviously the first hole is a par 5. I should be making birdie or par at the least,' Lee said. 'Obviously there will be bogeys, but I think for me, I just try to stay patient. If I make a bogey I just try it back it up with something better than that. Can't get ahead of yourself, especially in this kind of weather. I think it's more just the heat that's draining your focus.' Lee bogeyed the 425-yard 12th hole, where she drove into thick rough to the right and from there went into the left rough. She saved par at the par-3 13th by blasting from a bunker to 5 1/2 feet and had consecutive birdies to get to 5 under — the lowest by anyone in the first round. Then came her late bogeys, missing a 7-foot par on the 16th and hitting her approach on the 18th into a bunker. ___ AP golf:
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sinking nearly 200 feet in putts, Jeeno Thitikul leads a 'home' major at PGA Frisco
FRISCO, Texas – It's not often that a player gets to sleep in her own bed at a major. For Jeeno Thitikul, that's especially important given that she has her blackout shades. 'Every time I got to Evian, it's so bright like early morning,' said Thitikul. 'Like in ShopRite, in U.S. Open, like 5 a.m. in the morning, it's so bright.' Advertisement But with her extra shades, Thitikul can sleep in til at least 7 a.m., which will come in handy as the week goes along, as she's likely going to have nothing but late tee times going forward after an opening 4-under 68 at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East. After a shaky start that found her 2-over par through five holes, Thitikul, 22, birdied five of the next six holes. She needed just 25 putts in her opening round to take a one-stroke lead over Minjee Lee. The top three players in the world were paired together in the opening round. No. 1 Nelly Korda opened with an even-par 72 while No. 3 Lydia Ko finished at 3 over. 'I'm pretty happy with my first round in the conditions,' said Korda. 'It was pretty windy. It was hot. It definitely takes a toll on you, the Texas heat.' More: KPMG Women's PGA live updates: Leaderboard, scores from LPGA major at Fields Ranch East What's with Jeeno Thitikul's color-coded grips? Thitikul, who makes her home in the Castle Hills area when she's staying in the U.S., travels the world with her manager. Her parents likely won't come out to watch her play outside of Thailand this year. Advertisement To help her father follow along from home, Thitikul has a color-coded system with her grips. Her dad came up with the idea when she was around 10, and she's used the same bright color codes now for several years. Golf Channel highlighted the setup during the broadcast in Frisco, and Thitikul joked that she might have to change it now. Thitikul's putter was white-hot on Thursday One club that didn't need color coding was Thitikul's putter, and it was hot throughout the balmy day. The star seemed to drop everything she touched, including a 60-foot birdie putt. Incredibly, she lipped out a 76-footer on 18, but she finished making just under 200 feet of putts while playing partners Ko and Korda combined to make just over 108 feet. Advertisement The best player on tour without a major, Thitikul currently ranks first on tour in strokes gained total and first in putts per green in regulation. She ranks behind only Korda in scoring with a 69.09 average. A victory this week would move Thitikul into No. 1 in the world, should Korda finish 11th or worse. When asked how she's dealing with pressure to win her first major, Thitikul laughed as she said in every major, she's just trying to make the cut. 'I'm pretty happy with all I've achieved,' she said. 'If I can get it, it would be great, but if not, I don't have anything to regret about.' "It would be really great to win it, and definitely I can tell that it would be like everyone dreams to win a major." This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Jeeno Thitikul leads a home major at KPMG, explains color-coded grips
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
LPGA announces $12 million Women's PGA Championship purse pay bump
The post LPGA announces $12 million Women's PGA Championship purse pay bump appeared first on ClutchPoints. The KPMG Women's PGA Championship officially raised its purse to $12 million this Tuesday. The move marks a $1.6 million overall increase compared to the $10.4 million purse last year, making the Women's PGA Championship purse the joint-highest among the LPGA's five majors. The U.S. Women's Open, held last month, is the other major with a $12 million purse. Advertisement 'We're incredibly proud to be able to do that,' KPMG CEO Paul Knopp said. 'It's all part of creating a standard of excellence in women's golf. The purse is a hugely important part of that.' Apart from the increase in purse, the KPMG is also the most comprehensively covered tournament on tour this season, with around 100 hours of coverage across NBC, Golf Channel, and Peacock. 'We look at it as the ultimate strategy when we think about the excellence we're trying to bear to bring success. We continue to play this tournament on iconic courses that are recognized by the golf community every year. … We're excited about where we're going,' Knopp said. The announcement means that the winner this year will take home $1.8 million compared to the $1.56 million Amy Yang won at the Sahalee Country Club last year. This year's tournament will take place from June 19-22 at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco in Frisco, Texas, marking the first time a women's major is being played on the course. Advertisement The recent announcements mark KPMG's commitment to take women's golf into the future. For the first time, Featured Groups coverage, powered by KPMG and T-Mobile for Business, will stream on Peacock, with LPGA legend Judy Rankin and Grant Boone in the booth. The coverage will also include the KPMG Champcast, powered by ShotLink Pro and AI, which provides detailed performance insights, including real-time cut projections and scoring targets. The KPMG Women's PGA Championship is the first of three major championships scheduled in the next six weeks. The Amundi Evian Championship will be held July 10-13, while the final major of the year is the AIG Women's Open, set to tee off July 31. Related: Two-time Wimbledon champ announces retirement Related: Jordan Chiles, Nike collab on limited-edition sneakers
