Here’s a list of players and caddies who have found a good rhythm and seem to be in it for the long haul.
There’s turnover every season when it comes to player-caddie partnerships on the LPGA, particularly at the start of the year. World No. 1 Lydia Ko has changed caddies regularly throughout her career, including this season, despite having an enormously strong 2022.
Minjee Lee, who won a couple majors in the past two years, will begin 2023 with a new looper after enjoying much success with veteran Jason Gilroyed.
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Plenty more players have made changes, but there are a number who have stood the test of time. While not by any means exhaustive, here’s a list of players and caddies who have found a good rhythm and seem to be in it for the long haul:
There’s a new name on the leaderboard at the Volunteers of America Classic. LPGA winner Ally McDonald, a newlywed, is now Ally Ewing.
There’s a new name on the leaderboard at the Volunteers of America Classic. Ally Ewing, formerly McDonald, married Charlie Ewing on May 30 in Mississippi and officially changed her name at this week’s event in Dallas.
Ewing said she surprised her in-laws and brother-in-law, who are from Dallas, Thanksgiving week with two of her old staff bags with “Ally Ewing” stitched on the panels.
“Those are going to be featured in their offices, I think,” said Ewing, who opened with a 1-under 70 at Old American Golf Club.
Ewing, who won her first LPGA title last month on her 28th birthday at the LPGA Drive On Championship-Reynolds Lake Oconee, said she was going to wait until the end of the year to change her name, but thought the tour stop in Dallas seemed an appropriate debut.
It’s been a big year for the Ewings.
Earlier this week Charlie was promoted to head coach of the Mississippi State women’s golf team, a program his wife helped put on the map. Charlie played college golf at Vanderbilt and has worked as an assistant coach for the men’s program at Mississippi State since the 2017-18 season.
Charley Hull holds the clubhouse lead at a chilly and windswept VOA after carding a 3-under 68. McDonald has gone 1-2 in her last two starts on the LPGA, finishing runner-up two weeks ago at the Pelican Women’s Championship in Florida.
“I definitely think my putter saved me a lot today,” said Ewing. “With the tougher conditions, it’s really hard to judge the wind. On top of that, these are some really difficult greens to hit and we’re hitting sometimes some longer irons into the green where we might normally hit a mid-iron in. Just kind of staying patient out there and trying to keep my hands warm.”
After earning their first LPGA wins, Ally McDonald and Sophia Popov are playing much more free at the Pelican Women’s Championship.
BELLEAIR, Florida – Over the course of the past 24 hours, Ally McDonald and Sophia Popov have used the same word to describe their current mental states: free.
Winning, it seems will do that. Free up the mind. Free up the swing. Free up the purse strings.
McDonald and Popov, two first-time winners on the LPGA this season, played alongside each other in the first two rounds of the Pelican Women’s Championship and find themselves 1-2 on the board midway through Friday’s action.
McDonald holds the clubhouse lead at 7 under at the newly renovated Pelican Golf Club after a sparkling 4-under 66. Popov, winner of the AIG Women’s British Open, cooled off a bit with her even-par 70, but sits one shot off the lead.
Both credit hot putters for their ascent.
“They’re not on camera,” said Popov, “but I think I made more feet of putts today for par than all of yesterday, and I thought I putted really well yesterday. But today I made a lot of key putts. I think I made about three 10- to 15-footers for par, and those keep the momentum going.”
More solid ball-striking gave McDonald better looks at birdie on another gusty day at Pelican, where firm, undulating greens make approach shots critical. McDonald, winner of the LPGA’s last event in Georgia, hit every fairway and 15 greens.
“I wouldn’t say that I feel carefree or careless,” said McDonald. “I just have a little bit more I guess confidence. I don’t feel as stressed about things since I got that win under my belt.
“I know tomorrow is going to be completely different, but it definitely helps to know that I finished a golf tournament a few weeks ago and still carrying some positive momentum from that.”
While the three-week break in the schedule wasn’t ideal for McDonald’s momentum, she appreciated the time she had to fulfill media obligations.
“I can’t imagine having to tee it up on a Thursday after that dealing with media stuff,” she said.
Ally McDonald during the second round of the 2020 Pelican Women’s Championship at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
McDonald, who got married during the LPGA’s COVID-19 break, said happiness outside the ropes definitely helps translate to better golf. After winning the LPGA Drive On Championship on her 28th birthday at Lake Reynolds Oconee in Georgia, she drove home to Mississippi, following behind in her parents’ car. Her four grandparents were there to greet her.
“It was around midnight,” she said, “so they had paced floors long enough to hang around and sing happy birthday to me and everything when I pulled in.”
McDonald said she never questioned her ability to compete on the LPGA, but she did wonder if she’d ever win.
Good friend Angela Stanford can see the confidence rising in the young American.
“I don’t really catch her looking around a whole lot,” said Stanford. “I think she’s just concerned with what she’s doing, because she believes in what she’s doing.”
Ally McDonald had a 28th birthday to remember at the LPGA Drive On Championship.
Ally McDonald never questioned her ability. But there were times, she said, that she questioned whether or not she could win on the LPGA. Feelings of relief poured out when it was over as she hugged her parents, enjoyed a champagne celebration and told Golf Channel viewers how she had to settle down her heart rate after Danielle Kang charged late at the LPGA Drive On Championship.
McDonald made it a 28th birthday she’ll never forget.
“It just feels like a long time coming,” she said with the glass trophy by her side.
Kang, down by two heading into the reachable par-5 18th, found the rough off the tee, just above a bunker. She debated going for the green in two, twice taking her fairway metal out of the bag. Kang told her caddie that she’d need to hit the perfect shot to avoid the water and ultimately decided to lay up.
Kang then came within a whisker of holing her third.
“My wedges are really good,” said Kang, “so I said I can’t guarantee on-the-green shot, even if I’m long enough to try and chip in. Let’s just lay it up to a number I like. Laid up to a number I like, and I tried to hole-out.”
McDonald’s closing par was enough to edge Kang by one shot. McDonald posted a second consecutive 69 to finish at 16 under over the Great Waters Course.
After 16 straight pars, rookie Bianca Pagdanganan birdied the last two holes to finish a career-best third.
Ally McDonald after winning the 2020 LPGA Drive On Championship – Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Georgia. (Mike Comer/Getty Images)
Many fans first got to know McDonald when she subbed in for an injured Stacy Lewis at last year’s Solheim Cup. But Mississippi State fans know her well. McDonald’s impact on the program has been so great she has a tournament named after her – the Ally – which was held earlier this week at Old Waverly.
McDonald is now the first MSU player to win on the LPGA, and her heart hasn’t moved far from the program either. On May 30 she married Charlie Ewing, the men’s assistant coach at Mississippi State, in West Point, Mississippi, in a pared down gathering of 50 people. Her former coach, Ginger Brown-Lemm, introduced the couple.
McDonald said Ewing once joked that he would never date a golfer, and here he is now married to an LPGA winner. Since their relationship started, McDonald said, he has poured positivity into her life and boosted her self-belief even higher.
“This week just reinforcing that, telling me that what I have is good enough,” said McDonald, “that I don’t have to be more.”
She also credited the advice of Angela Stanford for helping her to keep the day in perspective.
“She told me that God already knows the outcome,” said McDonald, “so just go play.”
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McDonald led by one stroke over Pagdanganan and two over Kang going into the final round. McDonald built up her lead to four with six to play and looked like she might cruise to the finish as fans lined the shores of Lake Oconee in a parade of boats.
But Kang cut that margin in half with a birdie on the 13th while McDonald made bogey.
“I’m not gonna lie,” said McDonald, “it shook me up pretty bad. I really had to gather myself and get my heart rate under control.”
After another birdie by Kang on the 14th, McDonald’s lead had dwindled to one.
“She’s got the Dottie Pepper stare going right now,” said Golf Channel reporter Jim Gallagher of Kang’s quick walk to the 15th tee.
But McDonald, a woman who once wanted to quarterback the middle-school football team, didn’t buckle. She nearly flew her approach into the 16th in the hole – setting off a burst of boat horns – and led by three with two to play.
It proved enough.
Where will the trophy go in their new home?
“We’ll have to make a really good spot for it near the deer,” said McDonald of her husband’s prized trophy.
“It’s not going all the way back in the man cave, that’s for sure.”
Ally McDonald won’t let go of her lead at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Reynolds Lake Oconee. McDonald, who also held the second-round lead at 10 under, shot a third-round 69 Saturday to sit at 13 under through 54 holes in Greensboro, Georgia. …
Ally McDonald won’t let go of her lead at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Reynolds Lake Oconee.
McDonald, who also held the second-round lead at 10 under, shot a third-round 69 Saturday to sit at 13 under through 54 holes in Greensboro, Georgia.
Bianca Pagdanganan trails McDonald by one shot after also carding a 69 Saturday, ending her round with back-to-back birdies. The rookie shot rounds of 68 and 67 during the event’s first two rounds.
Danielle Kang, who was T-2 with Pagdanganan after 36 holes, is in third at 11 under after carding a 70. Kang bogeyed Nos. 2 and 10, but carded a double-bogey on the par-4 16th. She ended her round with a birdie, her sixth of the day, on 18.
Austin Ernst carded the lowest round of the day with a 67 and could have gone even lower if not for a double-bogey on the par-4 ninth. Ernst finished the day with another bogey, six birdies and an ace on No. 4. Through the third round, Ernst is T-36 at 2 under.
The final round of the LPGA Drive On begins Sunday at 8:38 a.m. ET with players playing off the first and 10th tees.
McDonald, a newlywed who turns 28 on Sunday, looks to join the likes of Mel Reid and Sophia Popov as first-time winners this year.
At the LPGA Drive On Championship, where the tour’s grow-the-game initiatives are at the forefront, junior reporter Ophelia Bunuel of Miami stepped up to the mic and asked rookie Bianca Pagdanganan if she’d ever competed on a course she liked so much that went she back for vacation.
A solid question, especially given all the enviable lake views that the Great Waters Course has to offer. Lake Oconee comes into play on nine of the last 10 holes, and Pagdanganan said she was so enamored by the setting during a practice round that she stopped on every green and took a picture as the sun dipped down toward the water.
Pagdanganan has plenty of reasons to soak things in these days. After playing her way into her first major – the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship – and then posting back-to-back 65s to tie for ninth, the recent Arizona grad finds herself once again in contention in Greensboro, Georgia.
A second-round 67 puts Pagdanganan in a share of second with Danielle Kang at 9 under, one shot behind leader Ally McDonald.
“I feel really relaxed out there,” said Pagdanganan.
McDonald, a newlywed who turns 28 on Sunday, looks to join the likes of Mel Reid and Sophia Popov as first-time winners this year. Her parents drove in from Mississippi to watch her play and brought a cake with them. They’re prepared to celebrate regardless of what unfolds in the coming days.
“I have a sweet tooth, which is not good since I’m a Type I diabetic,” said McDonald. “I’ll probably only have a small piece and share with a lot of people.”
Reid continued her great momentum with a second-round 68 and sits three shots back in a share of fifth with Pernilla Lindberg. The Englishwoman wasn’t asked about coming back for vacation but instead brought it up on her own.
“It’s honestly a pleasant surprise,” said Reid of the sprawling property that includes six courses. “I haven’t been in this area ever. It’s somewhere I would come back … even for like a couple-day vacation. It’s just cool to see the bay with all the boats. Obviously, we don’t have spectators, but we feel like we do.”
LPGA commissioner Mike Whan worked as an on-course commentator in Reid’s group on Thursday, and she took the opportunity to give him a hard time about the fine she received for celebrating her ShopRite victory in an empty restaurant – apart from her caddie and partner.
“I was quite pleased with myself with that one,” she said of the friendly jabs.
Overall though, she gave him top marks on the day.
Former No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn started off bogey/double-bogey on Friday but managed to turn it around for a 69. The two-time major winner hasn’t won since 2018.
“To be honest, after first two holes I feel like (making) cut going to be good enough for me this week,” she said.
Ally McDonald enjoyed a more eventful pandemic break than most of her LPGA peers.
SYLVANIA, Ohio – Ally McDonald enjoyed a more eventful pandemic break than most of her LPGA peers. The 27-year-old married Charlie Ewing on May 30 at a small wedding in West Point, Mississippi.
What was supposed to be a celebration with 250 people in a big church was pared down to 50 in a small chapel.
“We really wanted to abide by everything and get as many people as we possibly could,” said McDonald. “So we waited for the numbers to get from 20 to 50 for an outside gathering and we kind of went for it.”
McDonald, who opened with a 5-under 66 at the Marathon LPGA Classic, trails co-leaders Lydia Ko and Danielle Kang by two strokes. The 2019 Solheim Cup rookie missed the cut at last week’s LPGA Drive On Championship at Inverness.
McDonald originally planned to marry Ewing on July 31 during the Olympics. With LPGA events being pushed back, the couple decided to move their wedding forward.
“We seated immediate family inside,” said McDonald, “and a few friends were able to stand outside and see.”
The smaller gathering made it easier to spend quality time with loved ones, which McDonald called an added blessing. The original honeymoon that was planned for Vermont moved instead to Tennessee.
Ewing, a Dallas native, works as an assistant coach for the men’s golf program at Mississippi State, McDonald’s alma mater. McDonald’s former coach, Ginger Brown-Lemm, introduced the couple.
While McDonald tied the knot in 2020, several other LPGA players were forced to postpone their weddings to 2021. Anna Nordqvist was scheduled to marry tour caddie Kevin McAlpine in a castle in Scotland on July 11. They have since rescheduled for 2021. Nordqvist joked on Instagram that the 10 dozen personalized golf balls they ordered with their original wedding date will be “lost in the bushes shortly on golf courses.”
Germany’s Caroline Masson postponed her wedding to Jason McDede, who caddies for Nelly Korda, to 2021. Hometown sweethearts Brittany Altomare and Steven Stanislawzyk had a destination wedding planned this fall in Italy. The Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, natives will celebrate next year.
