“There’s a lot of factors to consider before we do business with LIV Golf.”
Greg Norman has left little doubt that LIV Golf wants to be involved in the women’s game. Just last week he told the Palm Beach Post, “One hundred percent. Drop the mic on that,” regarding a women’s league.
At this week’s Amundi Evian Championship, LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan told Cathy Harris of the London Times that she would take Norman’s call.
“It’s my responsibility to evaluate every opportunity,” Marcoux Samaan told Harris. “I would engage in a conversation if it would achieve our aim of promoting women’s golf, but there needs to be input from players and sponsors. There’s a lot of factors to consider before we do business with LIV Golf.”
Already entrenched in the Ladies European Tour, Golf Saudi currently backs six events – including the Aramco Team Series – which feature prize money that’s three to four times a typical event on that tour, totaling $6 million.
At the Evian this week, fans will notice a number of LPGA players with Aramco series and Saudi logos on their hats and shirts, including three-time major champion Anna Nordqvist, Carlota Ciganda, Bronte Law and Alison Lee.
Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. And members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.
The LPGA’s ability to withstand the departure of a wave of marquee players stands in stark contrast to the PGA Tour. Marcoux Samaan told Harris that “working together is always better than a fractured organization.”
At last month’s KPMG Women’s PGA, Maria Fassi told Golfweek that LIV Golf is “truly all we talk about on the course and in dining.” On the range at Congressional, Cristie Kerr said “the entire tour” might leave if faced with the opportunity to earn life-changing money.
“Everybody has different opinions in terms of what the guys are doing,” said Fassi, “but then when it’s switched to us, it would be very hard to say no to that.”
Fassi went on to say that, if possible, she’d like to see the tour work with the Saudi-backed league rather than against it to ensure the long-term health of the LPGA. And not just events with several dozen players like the current LIV format, but full-field events.
“I think all of us care about this tour a lot,” said Fassi. “I don’t think any of us truly want to leave.”
Korda had just one thing on her mind after her second-round 67, a nap.
Historically speaking, Nelly Korda hasn’t done much of note at the Amundi Evian. She and her caddie high-fived last year after a career-best share of 19th.
How is she feeling midway through this year’s Evian?
“Honestly, super good,” said the top-ranked American. “A little pat on my back after two days, hopefully it keeps going that way.”
After starting her second round with 10 consecutive pars, Korda broke through with a 32 on the back nine to climb into the top spot at 11-under 131. Korda shot 64-67 in the first two rounds and holds the clubhouse lead over former Evian champion Hyo Joo Kim, who shot 66.
After having to play out of the water on the 18th on Thursday, Korda hit a gorgeous approach from 192 yards on the closing par 5 to within a couple feet on Friday, wrapping up Day 2 with a birdie-eagle flourish.
“I tried to kind of control a hybrid in because it wasn’t really sitting that great in the first cut. It was kind of sitting a little down,” said Korda, “and I didn’t really want to crush a 5-iron because I did not want to repeat what I did yesterday. Rather go long.”
Korda said she has struggled more than usual with jet lag this week and planned to take a nap after the round. She didn’t even see the back nine prior to Thursday’s round after the Wednesday pro-am was shortened to nine holes.
Linn Grant, the talented Swede who made history by becoming the first woman to win on the DP World Tour at the Scandinavian Mixed last month, sits at 4 under for the tournament. A double-bogey on the par-3 14th derailed her efforts a bit. She’s currently in a share of 15th.
The former Arizona State standout has won three times on the Ladies European Tour this season and is No. 102 in the Rolex Rankings.
“I think playing on the LET is really, like you’re saying, boosts my confidence a little bit,” said Grant. “I mean, I knew my own game before turning pro, but turning pro you never know what’s going to happen, right? So just playing there and get some wins, kind of know how to win, kind of get even better at that sort of. I think that’s preparing me for weeks like this, just to grind it out.”
Brooke Henderson opened with a 64 and is in the afternoon wave. Overnight leader Ayaka Furue followed her opening 63 with a 72 and trails Korda by four.
Four of the world’s top 10 players sit inside the top 10 through round one.
The best players in the women’s game are in France for the Amundi Evian Championship, their fourth of five majors this season and several of the biggest names in the field have already risen to the top.
Ayaka Furue, world No. 31, didn’t get off to a great start Thursday afternoon. After three straight pars to open her round, Furue’s first shape on the scorecard was a square which came at the par-4 13th, her fourth hole of the day. She’d bounce back nicely with four birdies over the last five holes of her outward nine.
The birdies didn’t stop once she made the turn as she added circles on Nos. 2, 3, 6, 7 and the par-5 9th.
The woman Furue was chasing all afternoon was Brooke Henderson, who teed off in the morning wave and got right to work with birdies on Nos. 10 and 11, her first two holes of the day. The remaining seven holes of her front nine were shapeless as she’d turn with a 2-under 34.
Maybe it was a quick snack at the halfway house, but the Canadian came out guns blazing on the second side. Birdies at Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 5 got her to 6 under for the day before trading a bogey on the par-3 8th with an eagle at the par-5 9th.
Henderson has finished inside the top 20 at all three majors so far this season, with her best performance coming at the Chevron in March (T-13).
World No. 3 Nelly Korda said earlier in the week she’s enjoying the record heat wave Europe is currently experiencing, as temperatures are expected to hover in the 90s all week.
“I enjoy playing in this. I would pick this over playing in cold any day. I do not enjoy playing golf in cold weather,” she said on Wednesday. “I actually make my schedule where I play mostly in warm weather…Growing up in Florida I’m so used to playing and practicing in this, so it doesn’t really bother me.”
Well, the sweat-drenched practice sessions paid off for the 23-year-old as she made it look easy around the Evian Resort Golf Club on Thursday.
Birdies on Nos. 12, 13, 15 and 17 sent her out with a 4-under 32. She’d add three more on her back nine, the course’s front nine, for an opening-round bogey-free 7-under 64.
The scorecard could have looked a lot better, too, if she took care of Nos. 7 and 9, both par 5s where she failed to capitalize on birdie bids.
Korda’s highlight of the day was a near ace at the par-3 5th.
Since returning from surgery on a blood clot in her arm, Korda has three top 10 finishes in four starts including a tie for eighth at the U.S. Women’s Open in June.
Cheyenne Knight sits solo fourth at 6 under, while Jin Young Ko, Lydia Ko, Charley Hull, Yuna Nishimura and Perrine Delacour are T-5 at 5 under.
Friday’s TV and streaming schedule
Golf Channel: 5-7 a.m. ET and 9:30-11:30 a.m. ET NBC Sports: 7-8 a.m. ET and 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET
“I don’t want to get emotional, but it’s just been a magical week.”
The chemistry was so good so quickly between Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas at last year’s Solheim Cup that then-assistant captain Stacy Lewis recalled the pair coming off the golf course and saying “Do not break us up.”
After going 2-0-1 at Inverness, the Kupcho and Salas remain undefeated after a commanding five-stroke victory at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. Their closing 61 put them 26-under 254, within one stroke of the tournament record.
“I think we just have a lot of faith in each other,” said Kupcho. “We make each other comfortable.”
Lizette Salas of the United States (L) and Jennifer Kupcho of the United States drink champagne after winning the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational at Midland Country Club on July 16, 2022, in Midland, Michigan. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Kupcho, now a three-time winner on the LPGA, including a major, is a leading contender for LPGA Player of the Year. She came into this event No. 9 in the world and heads into next week’s Amundi Evian Championship as a player to watch. The 25-year-old tied for second at Evian as a rookie in 2019.
For Salas, the win at Midland Country Club marked her first LPGA victory in eight years. In that span, she has posted six runner-up finishes, including three at major championships. Salas turns 33 on Sunday.
“Man, it’s been a long time,” she said, “but if I were to win again it would be with Jennifer. We got to spend the whole week together and to continue the momentum that we had back in September. I don’t want to get emotional, but it’s just been a magical week.”
Matilda Castren nearly aced the par-3 18th to lock up solo second alongside partner Kelly Tan. This marks the first top-10 finish of Tan’s career. The pair became close friends while competing on the Epson Tour.
Tan asked Castren, who became the first player from Finland to win on the LPGA last year, to be her maid of honor at her wedding in December.
“I feel like if you would wind back the clock and stop us there and literally tell us in a few years you guys are going to be playing this tournament and you’re going to finish second, I think it was going to be really hard for both of us to believe because we both were really just – I just feel like at the lowest point of our career,” said Tan.
“It just feels really good that we got out of the hole, and being able to compete at such (a) high level and finish second this week proving to us that we could do it.”
Stacy Lewis and Maria Fassi closed with a 59 to jump up to third. Last year, this event served as a springboard for Fassi, who learned a lot playing alongside the fellow Razorback star.
“I mean, I think it’s confidence for both of us,” said Lewis. “I felt like I played some better golf this year and maybe the results haven’t showed, and talking to her, I think she could probably say the same thing.
“Just for both of us to see some putts go in and see some shots go in and doing what you are trying to do, it doesn’t matter what format it is.”
Fassi credited the time spent with Lewis last year for improving her course management. This year, Fassi focused more on the mental side.
“I think the last two days were very good on that regard,” she said. “We’ve been talking a lot and it’s just been cool to see why she’s the player she is. A lot of it comes from her head.”
Sisters Nelly Korda and Jessica Korda closed with a 10-under 60 to move into a share of eighth.
“I was kind of just making pars and coming in for reads,” said Jessica with a laugh.
Former No. 1 Nelly made eight birdies and an eagle on her own ball.
“It’s nice to know that I can still shoot that low and to make some clutch putts, which was really nice,” said Nelly. “It was a lot of fun. We had fun this week, and hopefully, I can carry it into the next couple of weeks as well.”
Today wasn’t great, but we’re thankful we even went. @ANNIKA59 strained her neck stretching an hour before the round. Could hardly warm up but decided to try. Played great considering. Thx to @lpga Dr. Thomas & @msagstrom’s physio for the anti inflammatory shot meds & patchwork pic.twitter.com/YDQqLTtIem
After co-leading the tournament on Wednesday, Annika Sorenstam and Madelene Sagstrom finished in a share of 28th. A third-round 72 derailed their efforts.
Turns out Sorenstam strained her neck prior to Friday’s round while stretching about an hour before their tee time. She felt better on Saturday, which bodes well for the 10-major winner as she heads to the Senior LPGA next week in Kansas.
“I feel it’s been a great week in a lot of ways,” said Sorenstam. “Haven’t really thought about next week yet. I mean, I’m just one day at a time. As a matter of fact, I’m heading to Minnesota in between, so I’m sure my mind will be a little bit there first.”
Karrie Webb and Marina Alex took a share of 15th. This marked the first time Sorenstam and Webb were in the same field at an LPGA event since 2008. Webb heads next to Kansas, too, for her debut in a senior major.
It’s a little bit of a different week for the LPGA, which is holding a team event featuring a Saturday finish.
It’s a little bit of a different week for the LPGA, where the tour is holding its only team event on the schedule, the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.
There’s also a Saturday finish at Midland Country Club in Midland, Michigan, this week, which gives those heading to France to the next major, the Amundi Evian Championship, an extra day for travel and preparation.
What was not different Friday was another low round for the team of Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas, who had the best round of the day with a 6-under 64, which vaulted them into the outright lead by four shots after 54 holes at 17 under.
In Kupcho’s other win this season, at the Chevon Championship, she led by six heading into the final round.
In solo second at 13 under, four shots back, is the team of Matilda Castren and Kelly Tan, who also shot a 61 on Thursday but settled for a 67 on Friday.
In third are the teams of Paulin Roussin and Dewi Weber, who led by three shots after two rounds but posted a 73 in the third round, as well as Tiffany Chan and Haeji Kang.
Karrie Webb and teammate Marina Alex are tied for fifth at 10 under along with A Lim Kim and Yealimi Noh and the team of Cheyenne Knight and Elizabeth Szokol, who shot a 4 under 66, the second-best Friday score.
Annika Sorenstam and Madelene Sagstrom, who co-led after 18 holes after a 65, stumbled to a 2-over 72 on Friday and sit in a tie for 18th.
Low scores were scattered all over the leaderboard at the Midland Country Club on Thursday.
Sarah Jane Smith and Mariajo Uribe shot a 74 in the LPGA’s lone team event in Wednesday’s opening round but produced a score 15 shots better Thursday at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.
That’s right, the dynamic duo teamed up for a 59 on the par-70 course in the second round. But, that was only good enough to get into a tie for 16th after 36 holes.
Low scores were scattered all over the leaderboard at the Midland Country Club in Midland, Michigan, on Thursday, with six teams posting a 61 in the second round.
The 61 carded by the team of Pauline Roussin and Dewi Weber was highlighted by an ace on the par-3 7th hole by Roussin. They lead the tournament by three shots at 14 under.
Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas, who combined for 10 birdies and a bogey, also shot 61 on Thursday. They are in solo second at 11 under, three shots back.
There are five teams tied for third at 10 under, and that group includes two more teams who shot 61: Matilda Castren and Kelly Tan as well as Sarah Kemp and Elena Sharp.
Sophia Popov and Anne van Dam are tied for eighth after they carded a 61. Amanda Doherty and Sophia Schubert also shot a 61.
There were 11 62s posted, including Tiffany Chan and Haeji Kang, who are among those teams tied for third.
Marina Alex, playing alongside LPGA legend Karrie Webb, shot a 62. They are tied for sixth. A Lim Kim and Yealimi Noh also posted a 62.
Annika Sorenstam and Madelene Sagstrom shot a 66, one day after a 65 put them atop the leaderboard. They are now tied for eighth with two days to go.
Sorenstam, a 51-year-old mother of two, retired from the LPGA in 2008 but began competing in several events last year in the run-up to her debut in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, which she won. The 72-time winner last won on the LPGA on May 11, 2008, at the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. Should Sorenstam win on Saturday, it would be 5,179 days since her last LPGA title.
While it may look like a bit of a flashback, this is real time: Annika Sorenstam leads the LPGA.
While it may look like a bit of a flashback, this is real time: Annika Sorenstam leads the LPGA.
Of course, the LPGA and World Golf Hall of Famer is partnered this week with Madelene Sagstrom, a talented young Swede who was one of Sorenstam’s captain’s picks in the 2017 Solheim Cup.
Together, they co-lead the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational after an opening 5-under 65 in the alternate-shot format that included only one late bogey. Pauline Roussin and Dewi Weber share the lead with the Swedes at Midland Country Club, where morning rain delayed tee times by 2 hours and 40 minutes.
It was after 4 p.m. local time by the time Sorenstam and Sagstrom teed off.
“I was excited to be here,” said Sorenstam, “and I told that to Madelene on the range. I was really kind of pumped and looking forward to playing.”
Annika Sorenstam and teammate Madelene Sagstrom on the eighth hole during the first round of the 2022 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational at Midland Country Club in Midland, Michigan. (Photo: Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Sagstrom, who is currently No. 31 in the world, is a beautiful driver of the golf ball, and the pair knew they could use her length to an advantage, given Sorenstam’s wedge game.
“I think, like we mentioned yesterday, giving Annika as many wedges as possible,” Sagstrom, “and my strategy is always to get on the green as fast as possible. If I get it going, I can make a lot of putts, which I did today. It worked out really well.”
Sorenstam, a 51-year-old mother of two, retired from the LPGA in 2008 but began competing in several events last year in the run-up to her debut in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open, which she won. The 72-time winner last won on the LPGA on May 11, 2008, at the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. Should Sorenstam win on Saturday, it would be 5,179 days since her last LPGA title.
She’s currently in the midst of a three-week stretch, having played in the American Century Championship last week in Lake Tahoe. Next week she’ll make her debut in the Senior LPGA Championship in Kansas.
This marked Sorenstam’s first time playing a competitive foursomes format since the 2007 Solheim Cup. Sorenstam compiled a career 22-11-4 record at the Solheim Cup, including 11-3-1 in foursomes.
Sorenstam and Sagstrom both live in the Orlando area and spent time practicing together ahead of this week.
“It’s a tough format,” said Sorenstam. “I think the key here today is we have spent a little time together, so it wasn’t just, okay, let’s hook up and play.
“I’m comfortable with her game. I know what she’s capable of doing, and I think she’s also gotten to know me a little bit. It’s not a surprise what comes out of my game, and I’m not super surprised, even though I’m super glad what you did.”
This week also marks the first time that Sorenstam and Karrie Webb have been in the same field since 2008. Webb and partner Marina Alex shot 1-under 69 in their opening round and are tied with a host of players, including sisters Nelly Korda and Jessica Korda.
“It was the first day, but alternate shot is tough, and you forget how out of rhythm you get in alternate shot.”
Sisters Nelly Korda and Jessica Korda were amazed by the number of fans waiting in line to scan their tickets early Wednesday morning in the pouring rain at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.
“That’s dedication right there,” said Jessica of the Midland Michigan, community.
The Korda sisters – “Team Jelly” – opened up play with a 1-under 69 in the alternate-shot format, one stroke behind early clubhouse leaders Amy Olson/Katherine Kirk and Frida Kinhult/Linnea Johansson. Play was halted mid-morning due to heavy rain and delayed for 2 hours and 40 minutes, resuming at 12:30 p.m. ET.
The Kordas, who also team up at the Solheim Cup, bogeyed the first hole but played the next 17 in 2 under. The pair tied for 12th in 2019 and tied for 17th last year at the Dow.
“We’re kind of ham-and -egging it pretty well,” said Jessica. “It was the first day, but alternate shot is tough, and you forget how out of rhythm you get in alternate shot.
“I think the first day is always kind of the toughest because you are trying to find your footing in it. But yeah, take under par. Anything under par is always good.”
Close friends Olson and Kirk also bogeyed the first hole, and Olson had an unusual response: She smiled.
“That’s not your typical response when it’s just you, right?” said Olson. “There is just something about having a partner, someone who has your back, and you’re, like, it’s going to be fine, we got this that kind of helps you almost boost yourself up while you’re trying to lift your teammate up.”
Kinhult and Johansson – “Team Swedish Fish” – are playing together for the first time in this event. Kinhult, who likes to analyze, figured out who should tee off where.
“Don’t get me started,” said Kinhult, laughing. “I’m crazy with numbers and stats and stuff like that. I do it for fun, and it seems like it worked out good today. Just happy.”
While some partnerships this week first developed at Solheim Cups, Kristy McPherson and Maddie Szeryk played alongside each other at Q-Series. This is McPherson’s second LPGA event of the season, having played only the ShopRite ahead of this week.
“I mean, I just rode her today,” said the 41-year-old McPherson, “just let her do all the heavy lifting, and it’s nice. She’s so consistent, and like I said, I played with her at Q-Series and she birdied the last two to get her card, and that’s means a lot, and it’s hard to do when you know you have to do it, and she asked me to play.”
LPGA Hall of Famers Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb are competing in the same tour event for the first time since 2008. While Sorenstam is with fellow Swede Madelene Sagstrom, Webb is partnered with good friend Marina Alex. Both teams went off late in the afternoon due to the morning weather delay.
Should LPGA titles be stripped away decades later? Jane Blalock and Sandra Palmer would like their records restored.
Jane Blalock either won 29, 26 or 27 times on the LPGA, depending on which media guide you pick up from the late 90s. How can a player who last won in 1985 have such a discrepancy in her record?
Well, like many things about this game, it’s complicated. But the bottom line is this: After being credited for having 29 wins for more than a decade, the phone rang in the late 90s and Blalock, 76, was told that her two victories in the Lady Angelo’s 4-Ball in 1972 and 1973 were being taken away. She’d now have 27 titles. Blalock’s partner for both events, Sandra Palmer, 79, received the same call. Her victory total dropped from 21 to 19.
They were told that a committee had met and decided that team events should not count as official victories, and that was that.
It seems exceedingly harsh to take titles away from players decades down the road. Add them, sure, but strip them away?
Jane Blalock in action during tournament play circa 1982. Blalock was on the LPGA Tour from 1969-87. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
When the LPGA introduced a two-person team event in 2019, the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, Blalock took note of the fact that it was considered an official win. While the results don’t count toward the Rolex Rankings, Solheim Cup points, or Player of the Year, the winners do receive the standard two-year winner’s exemption on the priority list, CME points, official money and a point toward the LPGA Hall of Fame.
“If Cydney Clanton is going to get her tournament win,” said Blalock of one of the inaugural winners, “then why not for me and Sandra?”
While there was some initial back and forth with the LPGA in 2019, Blalock said she hasn’t heard anything about it since.
(Her victory total dipped down to 26 when it looks like her 1974 Southgate Ladies Open victory was erroneously left off the list and then added back, giving her 27 titles.)
Meg Mallon served on the committee that made that decision back in the late 90s, when changes were being considered for the tour’s Hall of Fame criteria. Some of the greatest to ever play the game weren’t going to get in under the current system, that required 30 LPGA victories with two major championships, or 35 with one major, or 40 with no majors.
That’s when it was changed to the current 27-point system, in which one point is given for each regular LPGA victory, two for a major win and one point each for the LPGA Rolex Player of the Year and Vare Trophy awards. In addition to having 27 points, players must also either win an LPGA major or Player of the Year honors.
During the course of this years-long process, there was an effort made to clean up records. Through that process, Mallon said, it was discovered that credit was given to team events that many felt shouldn’t go into an individual system like the Hall of Fame.
“It took us a long time,” said Mallon. “This committee was (together) seven years. We knew we were going to be criticized.”
There were other team events in the 1970s that were never counted as official events, but Blalock maintains that she was always under the impression that Angelo’s was official. After all, her record immediately changed to reflect those victories and stayed that way for 25 years.
Judy Dickinson, who headed the committee ahead of the LPGA’s 50th anniversary, said they surveyed players from that era to see if they felt the events were official and found that many felt they’d been erroneously marked as official. The events were changed to unofficial, she said, in an effort to be consistent.
Palmer and Blalock disagree.
“I’d like to have credit for that,” said Palmer, who noted that the stars of the time teed it up those weeks on the Cape. Kathy Whitworth, JoAnne Carner, Betsy Rawls, Marlene Hagge and Judy Rankin were among those in the field in 1972.
Sandra Palmer plays a tee shot on the 10th hole during the second round of the U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Chicago Golf Club on July 13, 2018 in Wheaton, Illinois. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Neither Palmer nor Blalock are in the LPGA Hall of Fame and awarding them each two more points for their 4-Ball wins won’t change that. Palmer would still be three points short, and while Blalock has the points, she’s missing the POY or major title.
Both, however, can still be considered for the World Golf Hall of Fame. Blalock said that’s one big reason why she reached out to the LPGA in 2019, not for herself as much as for Palmer, whose 19 LPGA victories (possibly 21), including two majors and a POY award, make a strong case. There are men in the WGHOF with similar records.
Should this week’s Dow event count as an official victory? It’s Clanton’s only LPGA title. For some, it could be a life-changing week. For others, like last year’s winner Ariya Jutanugarn, another step toward the Hall.
Count former No. 1 Stacy Lewis among those who believes this week should be official.
“Yeah, it’s a team format, but you’re still playing against the best players in the world,” said Lewis. “For Dow, I think for our sponsors, it should be an official format. I don’t think you get world rankings points. There is no way to count stats or anything like that with the format.
“But I think you can still call it an official win. I have no problem with that. I think the tournament deserves that. I think Dow’s investment into this tournament and women’s golf deserves it. And players do, too. You’re playing four rounds. You still got to hit the putts, the shots. You just got a little bit of help.”
In the midst of a stressful summer, Lewis continued, events like this are needed.
Teammates Cydney Clanton of the United States (R) and Jasmine Suwannapura of Thailand pose for a simulated selfie with the championship necklace’s after winning the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational at Midland Country Club on July 19, 2019 in Midland, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
This week’s field is missing several big names, like World No. 1 Jin Young Ko and No. 2 Minjee Lee. But the Korda sisters are in Midland, Michigan, along with Lexi Thompson, Jennifer Kupcho and Leona Maguire. Giving this event official status matters when it comes to strength of field. The same reason it matters for the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic, which also counts as an official victory.
When Elaine Scott, former LPGA communications director, worked on Louise Sugg’s biography, “And That’s That!”, it was discovered the LPGA founder’s victory total was a bit off.
Six weeks shy of Suggs’ 90th birthday, the tour added three more wins to her name. Two of those titles came in 1961 during Suggs’ last full year on tour – Sea Island Open and the Naples Pro-Am – plus the Pro-Lady Victory National Championship, which she won as an amateur with Ben Hogan in 1946.
The additions moved Suggs ahead of Berg (60) to rank fourth all-time on the LPGA list, behind Kathy Whitworth (88), Mickey Wright (82) and Annika Sorenstam (72).
(The old JCPenney Classic, a mixed event between the LPGA and PGA Tours, was not considered official.)
Scott said players kept records in their car trunks in those early years and drove down the highway with scoreboards attached to their roofs.
Left to right; Patty Berg, Betty Jameson, Jean Hopkins, and Louise Suggs, before the start of the Western Women’s Golf tournament, June 1946. (Copyright Unknown/USGA Museum)
The LPGA’s record keeping is notoriously poor. Wikipedia is used far more often than resources offered by the tour.
During a time when the core of this game is being scrutinized like never before, the finer points about what should count toward the Hall of Fame serves as a reminder of why the roots of the game are so important.
Should event titles be stripped from a player decades later? Should team events be given the same weight as individual ones? These are worthy debates.
Just as it’s important for records to be as fair and complete as possible, so that decorated LPGA players can rightly take their place among all golfers.
“For Sandra, it could make a very big difference to the Hall of Fame,” said Blalock. “It’s just a number, but to me, it’s more meaningful to Sandra. I also like the sound of 29 much better than 27.
“The opportunity is there,” Greg Norman said about starting a women’s LIV Golf league. But how many on the LPGA would jump to a potential new league?
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — Greg Norman already is looking toward his next LIV Golf venture.
The CEO of the Saudi-backed golf series is confident a women’s LIV Golf league is in the future.
“One hundred percent. Drop the mic on that,” Norman said when asked if he envisioned a women’s LIV league. He was speaking at LIV’s West Palm Beach offices this week.
“We have discussed it internally, the opportunity is there,” Norman continued. “We’ve actually had one of the most iconic female golfers sitting in this room having a conversation with her. She absolutely loves the whole concept and is behind the whole concept.”
The reason? “Aramco is already the largest sponsor of women’s golf in the world. Aramco, a Saudi company.”
Aramco, the Saudi Arabian integrated energy and chemicals company is in partnership with the Ladies European Tour. The Saudi-backed Aramco Team Series takes place across three continents. A team series aligns with LIV Golf’s team concept that has become the most popular feature of its men’s series.
Aramco is not a corporate partner of the LPGA, but Greg Norman Collection is listed as a licensee partner since 2017.
The Aramco Team Series attracted many of sport’s biggest stars last year, including world No. 7 Lexi Thompson, Jessica Korda and her sister, No. 3 ranked Nelly Korda. The Centurion Club outside of London hosts an Aramco series event and was the site of LIV Golf’s inaugural event.
Greg Norman: ‘Why is it OK for’ women’s golf to be backed by Saudi finance?
“Why is it OK for them and nobody barks at them?” Norman said. “But the boys, they’re barking at you.
“It’s simple, because it all starts out of the headquarters in Jacksonville.”
Norman was referring to the PGA Tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, who called LIV Golf an “irrational threat” and said it is not concerned with a true growth of the game.
LIV has poached about 20 percent of the top 100 players in the World Golf Rankings with its huge signing bonuses and $25 million purses. Among those are two of the top 20, Jupiter’s Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka.
Monahan has suspended anyone who plays a LIV event from the PGA Tour. Some of those, including Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Charl Schwartzel and Branden Grace, have resigned from the PGA Tour. Schwartzel and Grace won the first two LIV events.
Norman called a women’s LIV league “a logical step” as LIV develops and grows its business model.
“Put it this way, I think you would see almost the entire tour do it here,” Kerr told Golfweek at last month’s Women’s PGA Championship. “What we play for here compared to the men’s Tour, the scale is different.
“But at the same time, KPMG just upped the purse to $9 million. We’re starting to see a rising tide lifting all the ships. … It’ll be interesting to see how it affects this tour.”
Karrie Webb, a seven time major winner, said she is concerned that Norman might threaten the LPGA Tour.
“I know that he’s had this vendetta against the PGA Tour as long as I’ve known him,” Webb, like Norman a native of Australia, told Golfweek. “So I don’t think there would be any changing him. I would just ask him that in his ambition to succeed, that he doesn’t ruin women’s golf in the process.”
A women’s LIV Golf League would heighten the cries of Saudi Arabia using “sportswashing” to cover up its record of human rights atrocities. Although women’s rights are growing in the Saudi Arabia, women who join would be aligning themselves with a country that has suppressed women.
Women in Saudi Arabia experience discrimination in relation to marriage, family and divorce, according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. The government continues to target and repress women’s rights activists.
Tom D’Angelo is a journalist at the Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
