Latest news with #LydiaKo
Arab News
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Arab News
Jenno Thitikul stays patient and goes on a birdie streak to take first-round lead at Women's PGA
FRISCO, Texas: 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. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport '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 Thitikul 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.
Associated Press
a day 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
a day 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
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Tough start for Ko at US PGA
Lydia Ko of New Zealand hits a tee shot on the sixth hole during the first round of the PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East at Frisco, Texas. It has been a tough start for Dame Lydia Ko at the third golf major of the year. She opened with a three-over 75 at the Women's PGA Championship, being played at Fields Ranch East in Texas. Ko started in fine style, sinking a long putt for birdie at the par-five first hole. But that was as good as it got, Ko not finding another birdie in her remaining 17 holes. Bogeys at the third, sixth and seventh saw her fall back, and while pars at her next nine holes saw her steady things somewhat, another bogey at the par-three 17th had her falling away again. Ko's round had her seven shots behind the clubhouse leader, Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul, who opened with a four-under 68, including six birdies and one double-bogey. Thitikul, currently at number two in the world rankings just ahead of Ko, led by one shot ahead of Australian Minjee Lee. World number one American Nelly Korda was also in touch after shooting an even-par 72.
RNZ News
a day ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Golf: Challenging opening round for Lydia Ko at US PGA
Lydia Ko of New Zealand hits a tee shot on the sixth hole during the first round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship 2025 at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco on June 19, 2025 in Frisco, Texas. Photo: SAM HODDE It has been a tough start for Dame Lydia Ko at the third golf major of the year. She opened with a three-over 75 at the Women's PGA Championship, being played at Fields Ranch East in Texas. Ko started in fine style, sinking a long putt for birdie at the par-five first hole. But that was as good as it got, Ko not finding another birdie in her remaining 17 holes. Bogeys at the third, sixth and seventh saw her fall back, and while pars at her next nine holes saw her steady things somewhat, another bogey at the par-three 17th had her falling away again. Ko's round had her seven shots behind the clubhouse leader, Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul, who opened with a four-under 68, including six birdies and one double-bogey. Thitikul, currently at number two in the world rankings just ahead of Ko, led by one shot ahead of Australian Minjee Lee. World number one American Nelly Korda was also in touch after shooting an even-par 72.
