Many players want to forget what happened when they tried to fly back home.
The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol in Springfield, New Jersey, was a fantastic event. Several stars made Sunday charges, including Rose Zhang and Yuka Saso, but it was 20-year-old Ruoning Yin who held the hardware when it was all said and done.
Although the week was a memorable one, many players want to forget all about what happened to them when they tried to fly back home.
More than 1,600 U.S. flights have been canceled and over 5,400 more have been delayed as of Tuesday evening, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.
United Airlines flights were impacted most heavily, with 471 flights scrapped – 16 percent of its schedule – and more than 1,000 delayed. Newark Liberty International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York saw the most cancellations and delays.
The disruptions came as severe weather rolled through the East Coast and Central Plains. Strong weather that moved through the Northeast, especially around New York, was behind many of the cancellations and delays.
This wreaked havoc, forcing several players to ditch their plane tickets for car keys.
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Here’s what several LPGA players faced this week after competing at the 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship:
The most staggering feat of Ruoning Yin’s historic victory at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship was the 37 consecutive greens she hit to close the championship. It’s the longest streak by any player on the LPGA in 2023. That it came on the weekend of a major championship on a brute of a test like Baltusrol’s Lower Course makes it all the more impressive.
Yin, 20, came into the week leading the LPGA in Strokes Gained: Approach per round in the KPMG Performance Insights, a data platform that is now available to fans and media. At the KPMG, she also led the field in that category, gaining 2.39 strokes per round for the championship. Yin was the only player in the field to gain at least 1.5 strokes gained approach in all four rounds.
“I think, more mature,” said Yin of how she’s grown since joining the tour in 2022. “Like before, I just go straight at the flag every shot, and right now I think I play smart, more smart right now.”
Yin, now the second Chinese player to win a major after Shanshan Feng (2012 Wegmans), closed with a bogey-free 67 on Sunday and notched only six bogeys on the weekend, tied for the fewest of any player in the field along with Stephanie Meadow, who finished third.
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Yin hit 66 of 72 greens for the week, or 92 percent. She hit 44 of 48 greens when hitting her approach from the fairway and ranked fourth off the tee in strokes gained driving for the week.
“For the last couple days, my ball-striking was perfect,” said Yin after clinching the title with a dramatic 12-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole.
Yin won her first LPGA title in March at the DIO Implant LA Open. She practices out of Tranquilo Golf Course in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, former site of the LPGA’s season-opening Tournament of Champions, and works with swing coach Holton Freeman.
“I could tell immediately when I met her a year and a half ago that she had some special intangibles that are difficult to teach if a person/player doesn’t already have them,” Freeman wrote on Instagram after her first victory.
“Trust and self-belief, executing under pressure, refusing to give in when she is faced with chaos and adversity, etc. Those were all on display yesterday when she made three bogeys in a row to lose the lead, followed by four consecutive birdies to reclaim the lead. A great example and lesson for younger players to learn from.”
Yin’s caddie, Jon Lehman, called his new boss wise beyond her years, saying she plays more like a 35-year-old under pressure. Yin called Lehman in to help her on the greens this week, and after losing more than six strokes to the field putting in rounds two and three, she gained 0.41 putting on Sunday. She mostly struggled with speed control.
Yin rose to No. 5 in the world after becoming only the second woman to win on the Lower Course, joining 1961 U.S. Women’s Open winner Mickey Wright. She heads next to Pebble Beach Golf Links, where she’ll make her second USWO appearance.
Following her tie for 20th at the 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Jin Young Ko is ranked No. 1 for a 159th week, breaking the mark held by Lorena Ochoa.
Ko has been No. 1 five different times since April 2019, with her latest stint starting in May. Ochoa reached 158 weeks at No. 1 after she consecutively held the top spot from April 2007 to May 2010.
“It’s an honor people saying with Lorena and me in the same sentence. It makes me happy, but also it makes me humble,” said Ko, who has had Ochoa’s long-time caddie Dave Brooker on her bag for most of her time at world No. 1. “It’s great to honor, to stand with Lorena.”
Time spent at No. 1
Jin Young Ko: 159 weeks
Lydia Ko: 125 weeks
Yani Tseng: 109 weeks
Inbee Park: 106 weeks
Annika Sorenstam: 61 weeks
Jin Young Ko is one of five Korean players to have obtained the top spot. She has two victories so far in 2023 and 15 in her career, including two majors. Ko also leads the Race to the CME Globe, a season-long points race on the LPGA.
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — Ruoning Yin used to tell her mom that if she’d been 10 centimeters taller, she would’ve played basketball rather than golf. She has been a Steph Curry fan for nine years, which is a long time for someone who’s only 20 years old. Yin’s stature in the sports world back home in China surely rocketed overnight as she joined Shanshan Feng as the only Chinese players to win a major championship.
Shanghai’s Yin, a chronic leaderboard watcher, knew standing on the 18th tee at the KPMG Women’s PGA that she held a one-shot lead, and after she watched Yuka Saso birdie the final hole in front of her, Yin knew she needed a birdie of her own to win the title.
“I actually kind of felt that I was going to make it,” said Yin, “and I made it. It’s a very weird feeling.”
Yin, who shot 67 in the final round at Baltusrol’s Lower Course and hit a staggering 36 greens over the weekend, wasn’t even playing golf when Feng became the first Chinese player to win a major at the 2012 Wegmans Championship, now known as the KPMG Women’s PGA. The player known on tour as “Ronnie” was 10 ½ when she first picked up a club, the same year her good friend and landlord, Xiyu Lin, joined the LPGA. Lin had a good chance of her own to win this week and finished with a flood of emotion after a closing bogey left her two shots short.
Lin was standing at the mic talking to the media when Yin drained the winning putt.
“It’s amazing,” said Lin. “She’s young, and she’s so talented. She’s definitely really good at dealing with pressure.”
Yin rents Lin’s second home in Orlando, Florida. Lin joked earlier in the week that she thought about raising the rent after Yin won on the LPGA earlier this season. When Yin was asked after her victory if she thought rent might go up after that $1.5 million winner’s paycheck, Yin said: “Actually, I’m thinking about buying her house right now.”
The interview room erupted in laughter.
While Yin was the one lifting the trophy by day’s end, another 20-year-old in the field, Rose Zhang, certainly generated great buzz on Sunday. The former Stanford star, who won in her professional debut on the LPGA earlier this month, trailed by one stroke on the back nine but ultimately finished three shots back in a share of eighth.
“It was definitely very tense,” said Zhang. “I felt a lot of energy from the crowds.”
Yin turned professional in 2020 and set a record when she won her first three consecutive tournaments on the China LPGA Tour. She earned her LPGA card at 2021 Q-Series.
Since coming to the U.S., Yin said her English has improved significantly and her game is more mature. She used to fire at the pin on every hole and now has a more strategic approach.
She also has a new caddie in Jon Lehman, a veteran Korn Ferry Tour looper who recently reached out to some friends who worked on the LPGA to see what jobs might be available. Lehman’s text came through about 20 minutes after Yin let her previous caddie go. They started out together at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, then Lehman came out to Baltusrol the following week for a preview.
“I kind of had a feeling when I was walking it the first time, this is right up her alley,” said Lehman, “a ball-striker’s course.”
This marked Lehman’s first time caddying in a major championship. He tried to keep his player patient when the putts weren’t falling early in the round. Yin had five three-putts on the week but played Sunday bogey-free.
“He knows the course very well,” said Yin. “Like especially on the greens. He just knows every part of the green.
“We start, I think our first tournament at ShopRite, I just read my greens by myself, and this week he just told me he’s really good at reading. I was like, OK, let’s see. Yeah, he’s amazing.”
Yin joins a list of past champions at Baltusrol that includes Hall of Famers Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and Mickey Wright. She got goosebumps just listening to her name being mentioned among those greats.
After one week off, Yin returns to action at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach, where a women’s major will be contested at the iconic track for the first time. Yin played there once at age 12 during a winter camp. All she remembers is that the rough was thick, and she shot 88.
While Yin was too young to play alongside the trailblazing Feng, she said the 10-time LPGA winner and former No. 1 is the person who has inspired her the most.
“I would say,” said Yin, “she’s definitely the goal that I’m chasing.”
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship purse has more than doubled in the past two years, rising from $4.5 million in 2021 to $10 million this week at Baltusrol Golf Club. China’s Ruoning Yin took home $1.5 million, one of the few seven-figure checks in the women’s game, for her dramatic victory.
Ireland’s Stephanie Meadow played in the final group on Sunday and finished tied for third, matching her best finish in a major. The $423,070 check was nearly six times what she’d made all season.
Players who missed the cut this week received $4,000 checks to help cover their expenses.
Here are the official prize money payouts for the 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol.
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — Rose Zhang left Baltusrol content with the result but not content with how she played.
It’s a simple statement but one that reveals so much about the maturity of a 20-year-old who contended in her first major championship as a professional. Zhang pulled within one shot on the back nine Sunday at the KPMG Women’s PGA, but ultimately came up three shots short of another 20-year-old, China’s Ruoning Yin, who drained a 12-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole to become the second player from China to win a major, joining Shanshan Feng.
Zhang, who won her first LPGA event as a professional earlier this month in New Jersey, closed with a 67 and tied for eighth. She earned $214,811, bringing her total earnings in two weeks as a pro to $627,311.
“It’s definitely a different dynamic when you’re a professional versus an amateur,” said Zhang, “and when you’re playing your game, you really have to be precise with your numbers, really understand what your swing is doing, and there is no room for error. Therefore, I’m excited to keep working on my game and make sure that it’s pristine when I go to the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble.”
Zhang’s veteran caddie, Jason Gilroyed, said his boss played to her B+ game this week: “And still had a chance to win, which is amazing.”
Gilroyed looked back at a sloppy bogey she made on the seventh hole Friday and a sloppy double on the eighth as a stretch that could’ve been a real difference-maker. Sloppy isn’t usually Zhang’s style.
“You have to be on your toes at all times,” said Zhang of this week’s test. “Losing a little bit of focus causes you to have errors, and that’s just something you can’t afford at a major championship.
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — Allyson Felix, the most decorated U.S. track and field athlete in history with 11 Olympic medals, went to a dark place after losing to Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell by 0.08 seconds in the 200 meters sprint at the 2008 Summer Games.
“I think it was hard for other people to understand,” said Felix, “because they look at a silver medal and it’s like, that’s amazing, and it is, and I was really grateful, but I think when you’ve dedicated yourself for so long … it was really devastating for me.”
Felix didn’t have the tools then she does now to pull herself out quickly from what she calls an embarrassing time. She’d waited four years to finish second … again.
“To be the favorite, and to want to make your country proud,” said Felix, “and you feel like you just want to disappear when you miss the mark.”
Remarkably, mountaintops can lead players to a similar place. 2022 KPMG Women’s PGA champion In Gee Chun sought help for depression after winning two majors early in her career. The pressure to be perfect took its toll. Chun has talked publicly about her battle for several years now, hoping she can help others.
“It’s not just me,” said Chun. “Everyone has their own hard time.”
Felix came to Baltusrol Golf Club on Wednesday to accept the KPMG Inspire Greatness Award and serve as the closing keynote speaker at the event’s Leadership Summit. The subject of mental health transcends from the boardroom to the locker room as female CEOs and athletes alike have experienced increased anxiety and stress in this post-pandemic era.
KPMG began regularly surveying its 40,000 U.S. employees in the wake of COVID-19 and heard back from roughly 25,000 on a variety of “How are you feeling?” questions. Laura Newinski, KPMG U.S. Deputy Chair and COO, said employees were coming to their managers for help on issues that weren’t related to work: stress about children and spouses or aging parents.
“We think that during the pandemic,” said Newinski, “people really turned to their employer as a trusted source of information … what’s the new rule set? They’re turning to employers now around a whole range of mental health challenges, not just work.”
KPMG conducted a survey of 1,500 executive women (SVP level and above) from Fortune 1,000 companies across the country on the rise on the rise in post-pandemic stress.
Ninety-one percent of women surveyed perceived an exponential surge of stress in the workplace compared with three years ago. Seventy percent of women attributed higher stress in the workplace to increased workloads and expectations, and 58 percent of executive women report added responsibilities stemming from the need to help manage their teams’ mental health on top of their own.
It’s no surprise then that 71 percent of executive women say organizations need to do more for leaders who are supporting their employees’ mental health and well-being.
Newinski said KPMG has worked to provide quicker access to pre-diagnosis counseling sessions as well as an increase in the number of counselors provided through their health coverage. There’s new training for managers on leading employees who are experiencing a mental health crisis and making sure that everyone understands the help that’s available.
“Our vendor tells us that our people’s uptake is double what the average uptake is for help for counseling,” said Newinski.
“We think it’s because we’re advocating for it. We’re talking out loud about it.”
KPMG U.S. Deputy Chair and COO Laura Newinski speaks at the Leadership Summit at Baltusrol. (KPMG photo)
Stacy Lewis, a two-time major champion, joined the LPGA in 2009 and has pushed for the LPGA to provide a sports psychologist for years. Things were more fun in her early days on tour, she said, more laid back and relaxed. Maybe it’s because they were playing for less money, she wonders. Whatever the case, it felt like there was more support among peers.
“A lot of these girls, golf is their life,” she said. “It’s OK for a little bit, but it eventually becomes a problem.
“Just to help these girls have some balance out here and have a support system outside of mom and dad, somebody they don’t have to go through mom and dad to even get to.”
That person is Dr. Julie Amato, a sports psychologist who works with the WNBA’s New York Liberty as well as the athletic department for Lafayette College and Princeton University, where LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux-Samaan is former athletic director.
Amato, who began working for the tour last year, meets with eight to 10 players per week and hopes to get out to as many as 10 events this year. She was onsite earlier in the week at Baltusrol talking to players and planned to come back on Sunday as a spectator.
“It’s different than being a salaried athlete,” said Amato of the unique challenges to golf. “These athletes, their well-being is tied to their performance. That’s a whole different thing to have to deal with.”
Two players in contention this week – first-round leader Lee-Anne Pace and Mel Reid – stepped away from the game in recent years due, at least in part, to mental fatigue.
Pace said she didn’t like the game for the better part of six years, and that a break around the pandemic helped changed that.
“I was really tough on myself,” she said. “I just couldn’t make a mistake. Couldn’t accept a mistake. Every day on the golf course just drained me, and I didn’t like that. So I stopped.”
Players talk often about how the push for perfection can lead to an imbalanced life. Those who reach top often look around and say: This is it?
The purse this week is $10 million, a record for the KPMG Women’s PGA. Players who missed the cut will make $4,000 to help cover expenses for the week.
“I think it’s one of the side effects of playing for more money,” said Lewis. “More loneliness, more teams around girls and less time of hanging out with people your own age.
I look at the amount of people that are practicing on Mondays, it’s astronomical.”
At 38, Lewis is one of the oldest players on tour these days. She worries that LPGA careers are trending shorter and shorter.
There’s no robust pension plan in the women’s game. Many feel the pressure to peak early enough to be able to afford taking a break to start a family. Few will have the luxury of walking away without the need for a second career.
Those at the bottom of the money list feel pressure for different reasons than those at the top, but the heaviness can feel the same.
Newinski said she believes that many of the same attributes that have carried a lot of women into their leadership positions are being tapped now that there is a crisis in emotional health, which puts more pressure on women than men.
“Unless we teach men how to share in that responsibility – how to listen; how to be more empathetic; how to have vulnerable conversations,” she said. “When you’re vulnerable, it allows your people to be more vulnerable, and that allows them to get through their challenge by engaging the help around them as opposed to isolation.”
Similarly, the attributes that have helped LPGA players reach the pinnacle of their sport might be the same mindset that keeps them from seeking help. They’re conditioned to be tough, to push through and not complain.
“Any time there’s an individual sport,” said Amato, “it’s just you. There’s no one else to blame when it’s goes wrong, but no one else to celebrate when it goes right.
“I think it creates more of a sense of loneliness, at times, for players.”
For those who need a major break, the LPGA has a way to for players to apply for a mental health medical leave.
Under the LPGA Extension Policy, players must complete a similar process as if they experience a physical injury, including clinical documentation. This type of leave was around prior to the pandemic.
Felix, 37, appreciates the openness that now surrounds the subject of mental health. Early on in her career, Felix felt like she had to be there at all costs. There was no time to take a break.
“It definitely took a toll,” she said.
Melissa Reid tees off on the 4th hole during the third round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
Player after player that stepped to the mic during this week’s KPMG touched on the unseen battle that wages on. Early contender Mel Reid wrestled with a right wrist injury last season that nearly ended her career.
“I legit quit,” said Reid. “When I got my injury, I tried to play through it, which I kind of felt I had to because I was losing my card, and then yeah, we don’t get money being on a medical.
“I feel like the girls do (quit) a lot more than the guys. I feel like the guys can just take time off, whereas the girls, we feel like we have to play because that’s our income, right.
“So yeah, in September I literally told (my wife) Carly, ‘I’m going into media, like I’m going to be one of you guys, I’m not playing golf anymore.'”
Daily work with her mental coach, Duncan McCarthy, during that time helped to heal what wasn’t working beyond the wrist. The injury stemmed from a full-throttle approach to fixing her golf swing. Reid hit up to 500 golf balls a day. She couldn’t find the off switch.
“The thing I do is I kind of mix the golfer and the human together and that’s when I get unhappy,” said Reid. “I don’t switch off. I don’t switch off at home. I’m thinking about golf. Then, I’m on the golf course and I’m not quite fully in it because I’m kind of drained from constantly thinking about it, like looking at golf swings, analyzing stuff all the time, and it just drains me. It’s almost like an obsession.
“So we’ve done a really good job, not perfect, but kind of when I’m at the golf course, I’m ‘Mel the Golfer,’ very professional, get my work done, very present. When I’m at home, I’m present with my friends, with Carly, whatever it is I’m doing, and we’re just trying to separate that.”
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — Stephanie Meadow can only imagine the number of drinks that will be flowing at Royal Portrush should an Irishwoman triumph at Baltusrol on Sunday. Meadow trails her childhood friend Leona Maguire by two strokes heading into the final round at the KPMG Women’s PGA.
With the PGA of America moving up tee times due to weather and going off split tees in threesomes, Maguire and Meadow will play together in the final group alongside Jenny Shin, who sits alone in third.
“I’ll put it this way,” said Meadow. “I knew her when she was reading Harry Potter books.”
Maguire, winner of last week’s LPGA Meijer Classic, became the first woman from Ireland to win on the LPGA in 2022. A birdie on the 18th put her at 7 under for the championship. She’s the only player in the field with three consecutive rounds in the 60s at Baltusrol’s Lower Course.
Maguire reckons she has known Meadow for about 18 years.
“We played on Ulster county teams together and played on Irish teams together,” said Maguire. “We played Curtis Cup together. We played foursomes together. We roomed together.
“I’ve known Steph a long time. We’ve been good friend a long time. We’ve done battle many times before. It’s great to see her playing so well.”
Northern Ireland’s Meadow, a newlywed, ranks 151st in the world and got a boost last week with her season-best T-13 in Michigan. She was there waiting on the 18th green at the Meijer with celebratory champagne for her longtime friend.
Maguire’s Irish caddie, Dermot Byrne, caddied for Shane Lowry at the 2016 PGA at Baltusrol and has been key to her success the past two years.
“I think the biggest thing is he has given me the confidence,” said Maguire. “I think he has believed in me in times where I haven’t believed in myself. He is just a really steady presence out there.
“I think he doesn’t get too excited when things are going well, and he doesn’t get too down when things aren’t. I think we’re quite similar in that regard.”
Stephanie Meadow chips a shot onto the 3rd green during the third round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship golf tournament. (Photo: John Jones/USA TODAY Sports)
Shin’s 66 matched the low round of the day and put her in contention for her first LPGA title in eight years. The 30 year old said there was a period of time when she was content with not winning. She was happy enough simply playing decent golf. But after a self-evaluation a few years back, she decided that she wanted more.
“You know, this is my 13th year out here,” said Shin. “I’m sure if you ask any player that’s been out here this long, there’s ups and downs and phases in life, and I think I went through that phase.
“So now, you know, I want to win more than anything.”
World No. 1 Jin Young Ko lurks four shots back and is the only player in the top six who has won a major, two in fact.
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She began the day with three bogeys in the first four holes and then poured in four consecutive birdies on the back nine in what proved to be an unusually up-and-down round.
“Still, I don’t know this golf course,” Ko said with a laugh.
Lee-Anne Pace, a South African who made her first LPGA start to the season at the ShopRite LPGA Classic and played her way into the KPMG with a T-30 finish, sits tied at 4 under with China’s Ruoning Yin, who won her first LPGA title earlier this season at the DIO Implant L.A. Open. Yin hit 17 greens in the first round and 18 on Saturday.
“If my putting can just get online,” said Yin, “I think I have a big chance to win.”
Lauren Coughlin began the week with a 75 but pulled herself into a share of sixth with Ko after rounds of 67-68. She’s made only one bogey in the last 36 holes.
“I just kept telling myself, like, you’re really good at golf,” said Coughlin, who at 30 is still looking for her first LPGA win. “I think I forget that sometimes, and that was something I just kept telling myself all day yesterday and again today if any nerves or anything came up.”
Rookie sensation Rose Zhang eagled the last hole, nestling it up to 5 feet with a 5-wood from 219 yards. Zhang, who made her professional debut in a major this week, sits in a share of 12th, six shots back.
“I felt like my swing was really solid,” said Zhang. “It was way better than the first couple days. Finally getting in the groove.”
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — Mel Reid came into the third round of the KPMG Women’s PGA one shot behind her Solheim Cup partner Leona Maguire. The momentum of the week, however, quickly unraveled for the Englishwoman after an unusual mistake.
After a pair of bogeys on the first four holes, Reid had an unfortunate mental error on the par-4 fifth at Baltusrol’s Lower Course. The veteran player marked her ball and picked it up on the fringe of the green, resulting in a one-stroke penalty under Rule 9.4b.
The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Rules Committee stated Reid’s ball came to rest 4 inches from the putting surface on the collar. Reid didn’t realize the ball was not on the putting green until after she had marked, lifted, cleaned and replaced her ball. She then called for a rules official to confirm that her ball was not on the green.
Reid made bogey on the hole and turned in 4 over. Her 4-under 67 on Friday was the best of the day.
Reid, 35, came into the 2023 season off a medical exemption for a sore wrist and a mental fatigue that had her seriously considering quitting the game to pursue a career in media. Time with her mental coach, Duncan McCarthy, however, helped her hit the restart button, and she came into Baltusrol fresh off four straight top-30 finishes.
Reid posted her best finish in a major, a T-3, at the 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA at Hazeltine National.
Leona Maguire’s Irish village threw a parade when she helped win a Solheim Cup. Imagine what they’d do if she won a major.
SPRINGFIELD, New Jersey — Leona Maguire’s Irish village threw a parade in her honor when she led Europe to a Solheim Cup victory two years ago. The highlight, she said, was that her 96-year-old grandmother, Kathleen, got to ride in the passenger seat beside her, soaking in the scene of well-wishers cheering them on after a prolonged period of strict lockdown.
Imagine what they’d do if she became the first Irish woman to win a major.
Maguire, hot off her second career victory at last week’s Meijer LPGA Classic, leads a major championship for the first time in her career at the KPMG Women’s PGA. The former Duke star shot 3-under 68 on another rainy day in Jersey to pace the field at 5-under 137. Her 2021 Solheim Cup partner at Inverness, Mel Reid, shot 67 to pull into a share of second with rookie Celine Borge of Norway and China’s Xiyu Lin.
Two-time major winner Minjee Lee sits two back at 3 under with Lee-Anne Pace, a 42-year-old who got into the ShopRite LPGA Classic two weeks ago and played her way into this event with a T-30 finish there.
Maguire, who last Sunday credited Padraig Harrington’s help with her short game last summer in helping her win the Meijer, became the first Irishwoman to win on the LPGA last season.
“I think Ireland as a country punches well above our weight when it comes to golf,” said Maguire, “and it’s nice to have the guys looking out for me, Padraig, Paul (McGinley), Shane (Lowry). All of the guys have been very good to me, and very appreciative of all of that.”
She celebrated that victory with her team on Monday at Ruth’s Chris, where she had steak and her favorite side dish, sweet potato casserole. Maguire and her caddie reminisced about that dinner during the worse-than-usual wait times between shots.
“I think the big thing today was staying really patient,” said Maguire, “given that we were in a two, jam-packed in a field that wasn’t really moving. Did a good job at sort of staying — concentrating and sort of warm when I needed to. It kind of kept the momentum going.”
Maguire played in a twosome with Hinako Shibuno on Friday after their third, Austin Ernst, withdrew after the first round. Ernst recently announced her retirement from the LPGA due to a lingering neck injury.
Leona Maguire putts on the 18th green during the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
A total of 79 players made the cut. Nelly Korda, No. 2, was the biggest name to miss the weekend after rounds of 76-77. Atthaya Thitikul, Jennifer Kupcho and Lilia Vu also went home early. Lexi Thompson birdied four of the last five holes to avoid a similar fate.
Reid told her wife Carly last September that she was going to take a job in the media and quit golf. She’d been dealing with an overuse injury to her right wrist and thought it might be time to walk away. Time with her mental coach Duncan McCarthy, however, helped her hit the restart button after taking a medical leave from the tour.
“I think I had six events to play well to get reshuffled after Founders,” said Reid. “I think I birdied the last at Founders to make the cut on the number, and it’s funny, that was huge for me. Then I finished 27th or 25th or something, which kind of reshuffled me back into stuff, which kind of took a little bit of pressure off.”
Reid and her wife are expecting their first child later this year. That has also increased her hunger to succeed.
The game can, at times, feel like an obsession to the fiery English player. Being constantly switched on, in analyzing mode, left her feeling drained.
“So we’ve done a really good job, not perfect, but kind of when I’m at the golf course, I’m Mel the golfer, very professional, get my work done, very present,” she said. “When I’m at home, I’m present with my friends, with Carly, whatever it is I’m doing, and we’re just trying to separate that.”
