Latest news with #Women'sPGA
10 hours ago
- Sport
Jeeno Thitikul stays patient and goes on a birdie streak to take first-round lead at Women's PGA
FRISCO, Texas -- Jeeno 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. Only 15 of 156 players broke par, with no bogey-free rounds on a day when temperatures reached the mid-90s Fahrenheit and it felt even hotter. There were also the ever-present Texas winds on a more open layout after last year's Women's PGA at tree-lined Sahalee outside Seattle. Maja Stark, who three weeks ago won the U.S. Women's Open, shot a 3-over 75. Defending champion Amy Yang finished with a 76, and was one of the last players off the course on a day with six-hour rounds. 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 who also lives in North Texas, 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.
Fox Sports
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Jeeno Thitikul stays patient and goes on a birdie streak to take first-round lead at Women's PGA
Associated Press FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Jeeno 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. Only 15 of 156 players broke par, with no bogey-free rounds on a day when temperatures reached the mid-90s Fahrenheit and it felt even hotter. There were also the ever-present Texas winds on a more open layout after last year's Women's PGA at tree-lined Sahalee outside Seattle. Maja Stark, who three weeks ago won the U.S. Women's Open, shot a 3-over 75. Defending champion Amy Yang finished with a 76, and was one of the last players off the course on a day with six-hour rounds. 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 who also lives in North Texas, 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:
USA Today
16 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Nelly Korda sits four back of Jeeno Thitikul at Women's PGA, says neck is on the mend
Nelly Korda sits four back of Jeeno Thitikul at Women's PGA, says neck is on the mend FRISCO, Texas – Nelly Korda finds herself in solid position after Round 1 of the KPMG Women's PGA and, most importantly, her neck is on the mend. The world No. 1 said it's still hard to get comfortable when she sleeps, and she feels pain when she moves her neck side to side, but when she hits a golf ball, she's OK as long as it's taped up. Korda originally injured her neck last fall, and said when she tweaks it now, it usually takes a week to recover. Earlier this year at the LPGA match-play event in Las Vegas, Korda suffered a spasm while sleeping and couldn't move before her match against Ariya Jutanugarn. This time around, Korda suffered a spasm after hitting a ball out of the rough on Monday at the Fields Ranch Each course in Frisco. The rough isn't high, but it sinks down in the Northbridge Bermuda, often forcing players to wedge out. Korda opened with an even-par 72 on a steamy day in Texas to trail world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul by four strokes. "Probably going to play a little firmer tomorrow,' said Korda. 'The golf course is just kind of played firmer and faster every single day.' After winning seven times in 2024, Korda remains winless this season, though she leads the tour in scoring with a 69.07 average. When it comes to scoring at the majors, Korda leads that, too, by a mile since the beginning of last year. Korda's cumulative score in relation to par over the last seven majors is 14 under, with Ruoning Yin coming in second at 9 under. Korda's play off the tee has been so strong, she has gained a full stroke on the field with her driver over the past two major championship seasons, according to the KPMG Performance Insights. 'I was hitting it well off the tee into the greens, and just didn't really give myself too many great looks,' said Korda. 'But I played pretty solid, I think, for the first day of a major. I mean, the pins were tough out there today.' Thitikul could overtake Korda as the No. 1 player with a victory this week, should Korda finish 11th or worse. Korda has been atop the Rolex Rankings for the past 65 weeks, dating back to March 2024. Thitikul spent two weeks in the No. 1 spot in the fall of 2022.
Fox Sports
2 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Another quick major chance for top-ranked Nelly Korda when Women's PGA tees off in Texas
Associated Press FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Nelly Korda was still in contention on the closing holes and feeling the adrenaline rush of trying to win another major championship before coming up short less than a month ago. The world's top-ranked player, still without a win this season, doesn't have to wait long before another major opportunity. The KPMG Women's PGA Championship tees off Thursday on the 6,604-yard Fields Ranch East course at PGA Frisco, three weeks after Korda was a runner-up to Maja Stark in the U.S. Women's Open at Erin Hills. 'There's nothing like it, being in contention, so I think that's kind of what makes me hungrier to come back and to work harder and put myself into that position," Korda said. 'You can look at it in a positive way, you can look at it in a negative way, but at the end of the day, three weeks after, I can spin it in a positive way." While that much-desired U.S. Women's Open title has so far eluded the 26-year-old Korda, who first played that event at age 14, she has two majors among her 15 career wins: the 2021 Women's PGA at Atlanta Athletic Club and the Chevron Championship last year. Korda, Jeeno Thitikul and Lydia Ko — the top three players in the world — will play together in the first two rounds on one of the two courses at the PGA headquarters that opened just two years ago in North Texas. 'Every major, I just want to make the cut, to be honest,' said Thitikul, the 22-year-old from Thailand already with five career wins. 'What I have now under my belt, I'm pretty happy with all I've achieved. If I can get it, it would be great.' After missing two tournaments late last year during the LPGA's Asia swing because of a minor neck injury, Korda said her neck 'went into a full spasm' after she hit a shot out of the rough during a practice round Monday. She skipped the champions dinner that night, and had therapeutic tape on her neck after playing Tuesday, but said she would be ready Thursday. This will be the 10th start for Korda in a season when there have been 15 winners in 15 tournaments, including first-time major champions Stark and Mao Saigo at the Chevron Championship in April. Korda missed the cut at the Women's PGA last year at Sahalee after a second-round 81, only weeks after her opening 80 that led to a missed cut at the U.S. Women's Open. That was after the Chevron Championship had capped an incredible stretch of winning five consecutive tournaments. 'I know that this golf course is a little newer, so I'm guessing the greens ... they're going to be pretty firm. If it does get windy out here, you'll see a lot of girls have trouble holding the greens,' she said. 'But at the end of the day, this is what I love about playing in majors, this is what I love about the game, is that it tests you in every single way.' Defending champion Since her first major win at the Women's PGA last year, Amy Yang has only one top-10 finish in 20 tournaments. She has missed the cut in two of her last three starts, with her best finish since February a tie for 36th at the U.S. Women's Open. The 35-year-old Yang won by three strokes last year and her peers doused her in Champagne during the celebration on the 18th green. Last major winner Stark said she hasn't really had time to digest her U.S. Women's Open victory before getting ready for another major. 'Just really hasn't landed yet,' the 25-year-old Swede said. '(Life) hasn't changed that much. I feel like maybe a bit less stress about keeping the tour card and that stuff.' After winning at Erin Hills, Stark missed the cut the following week at the ShopRite LPGA Classic before taking off last week. 'I don't really feel that much pressure going into majors in normal cases, but I think my perspective is kind of changed in that (the) U.S. Open was something that I always wanted to win,' she said. 'I am feeling it more and more coming into this week that I'm getting more and more excited about this major.' Major stretch and a new course The Women's PGA is the second of four majors in a span of eight events over two months. There will be only one other tournament before the Evian Championship in France, then one more before the Women's British Open. The par-72 Fields Ranch East also hosted the Senior PGA Championship two years ago. The PGA Championship is set to be played there in 2027 and 2034, with the Senior PGA returning in 2029 and the Women's PGA in 2031. 'I think (architect) Gil Hanse and the team, they designed this course to host championships,' Ko said. 'It's designed with a purpose.' ___ AP golf:
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Amy Yang looks to repeat at Women's PGA in wide-open field
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 U.S. 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." Field Level Media
