Team USA clinched third place with a victory over Sweden in the consolation match.
Team Thailand enjoyed a near-perfect week at the 2023 Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown, dropping only one match over the course of four days.
Former World No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn chipped in to close out the final match against Australia on Sunday, a fitting end for the dominate foursome that went 11-1-0 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.
Ariya Jutanugarn, currently No. 83 in the world, looked more like her old self, a two-time major champion, playing alongside sister Moriya. She oozed with confidence and putted beautifully as the sisters were undefeated in both four-ball and foursomes.
Thailand, seeded No. 6, swept No. 7 Australia in the final match, which consisted of two singles matches and, for the first time in event history, one foursomes match. It marked the first time these two countries had advanced to the finals in the fourth edition of the Crown.
Patty Tavatanakit defeated Aussie Hannah Green, 4 and 3, while Atthaya Thitikul dusted Stephanie Kyriacou, 4 and 2. The Jutanugarn sisters birdied four consecutive holes in alternate shot midway through the round to take control.
“I was one of those kids,” said Patty Tavatanakit. “I looked up to the (Jutanugarn) sisters and to be able to play alongside them this week has been a dream come true and also an honor.
“I’m just so excited to see where Thailand’s golf is heading to in the future.”
Ariya Jutanugarn earned the event’s inaugural MVP award. The last time the Jutanugarns won on the LPGA was two years ago at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.
Only the youngest player on the team, Atthaya Thitikul, 20, came into the event in world-class form. Perhaps this week is the spark needed for the rest to get back in the winner’s circle. To reach the final match, Thailand knocked out Team USA in the semifinals.
“I’m going to say we’ve been waiting for this since 2014,” said Ariya, “and finally we got what we’ve been waiting for.”
Prior to this week, Australia’s best finish in the event was sixth in 2018.
Team USA clinched third place with a 2-1 victory over Sweden in the consolation match. Lexi Thompson defeated Maja Stark 3 and 2 and singles, while the Danielle Kang/Nelly Korda duo knocked out Anna Nordqvist/Carolina Hedwall. Madelene Sagstrom did earn Sweden a point after beating Lilia Vu 5 and 4.
“Having team events like this,” said Thompson, “I think, brings a wider fan base for us. I think fans really enjoy it, and I think there’s a lot more energy out here and people cheering and things like that. We got big crowds today.”
This marked the first playing of the Crown, which is meant to be a biennial event, since 2018. The 2025 venue has yet to be announced.
The U.S. will take on Sweden in the consolation match.
Ariya Jutanugarn buried a 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to give Thailand control of the last match on the course at the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown. It proved a dagger to Team USA.
Sisters Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn took down World No. 1 Nelly Korda and Danielle Kang, 1 up, thanks to birdies over the last two holes. It was the second point Thailand needed to advance to Sunday afternoon’s final match against Australia at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. Neither of the finalists have ever won the Crown, now in its fourth edition.
The U.S. will take on Sweden in the consolation match Sunday.
CLUTCH 💥
Ariya Jutanugarn gives a Thailand a 1UP lead heading to the 18th tee
Former No. 1 Atthaya Thitikul defeated Lexi Thompson, 3 and 2, in singles play. Lilia Vu posted the only point for Team USA, defeating fellow UCLA Bruin and Chevron champion Patty Tavatanakit, 1 up. It marked the only match Thailand has lost the entire week.
The format for the semifinals and finals consists of two singles matches and one foursomes match. With no team captains, the players determine the lineups.
Anna Nordqvist, a three-time major champion and Solheim Cup stalwart, played impeccable golf at the Crown on Saturday but then fell to Stephanie Kyriacou, No. 118 in the world, in semifinal singles, 4 and 3. Match play never fails to deliver a few shockers.
“I think I play my best when I’m aggressive,” said Kyriacou, “and in match play you only need to beat one person so there’s not as much pressure. But yeah, I played pretty aggressive all day. All week actually.”
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Veteran Sarah Kemp wasn’t at all surprised to see her Aussie team sweep Sweden.
“Not in a cocky way,” said Kemp, “just because of the way we are around each other and the team that we’ve built from the beginning. We’ve had lunch together, we’ve had breakfast together every day, we’ve had dinner together, we do everything together, and we’ve just come together really well, and it’s paying off as you can see on the course.”
Hannah Green, who won on the LPGA exactly one week ago, defeated Caroline Hedwall, 3 and 2, in singles play. Kemp and Minjee Lee took down Madelene Sagstrom and Maja Stark in foursomes play.
“I think we should be proud of ourselves,” said Nordqvist. “We still have a match for third. Obviously, it was a little bit of a rougher morning than we hoped for, but Australia played great, and there’s not much you can do then.”
Sagstrom, looking ahead to this year’s Solheim Cup in Spain, felt it was a meaningful week for young Stark.
“We all knew her game was good,” said Sagstrom. “This is kind of her first entree to professional team events, so it was nice to have her under my wing and try to help out with whatever experience that I have. She played awesome.”
Former World No. 1s Yani Tseng, Jiyai Shin and Ariya Jutanugarn were among those who attended the wedding.
Lydia Ko capped off a dreamy 2022 by marrying her sweetheart on Dec. 30 at the Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul, South Korea. The current World No. 1 shared several images from the ceremony on Instagram, as did a number of top players who attended the wedding.
Ko confirmed her engagement to Jun Chung, son of Ted Chung, vice chairman and CEO, Hyundai Card, Hyundai Commercial, over the summer. Jun Chung works in finance for Hyundai and has a home in San Francisco.
He watched Ko win in person for the first time at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, where the Kiwi clinched the Rolex LPGA Player of the Year Award, Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average, the money title and her third LPGA victory of the season. She’s now only two points shy of the 27 needed to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame.
“I think he motivates and inspires me to become a better person and a better player.” said Ko after the CME win.
Former No. 1s Yani Tseng, Inbee Park, Jiyai Shin and Ariya Jutanugarn were among those who attended the wedding in South Korea.
The LPGA season kicks off Jan. 19 with the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, where Ko has a home.
Here are a few Instagram social snaps from Ko’s special day:
A record-setting six players crossed the $2 million mark this season on the LPGA and 27 players won seven figures.
Almost any other season, Minjee Lee’s $3,809,960 earnings would’ve topped the LPGA money list. But with the CME Group Tour Championship offering a record-setting $2 million first-place prize, Lydia Ko’s season-ending victory pushed her to the top of the list for 2022 at $4,364,403. Lee finished second.
Ko moved up to fifth on the LPGA career money list with $16,695,357, ahead of Lorena Ochoa. Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb, Cristie Kerr and Inbee Park are the four players ahead of Ko.
A record-setting six players crossed the $2 million mark this season on the LPGA and 27 players won seven figures.
Where do Ko’s season earnings rank in history? Read on:
The Rolex Rankings debuted in 2006 with Annika Sorenstam on top. Here’s a closer look at the youngest players to reach the game’s pinnacle.
Atthaya Thitikul had a chance to rise to No. 1 in the world last week at the BMW Ladies Championship with a fourth-place finish. The 19-year-old Thai teen held the lead heading into the final round in South Korea but struggled to a 74 in the final round, dropping her to solo sixth.
Thitikul, who will compete next week in Japan, remains No. 2 in the world and still has a chance to become only the second teenager to rise to No. 1.
Jin Young Ko, the current top-ranked player, withdrew from the BMW with a wrist injury and plans to return for the last two events of the year in Florida.
The Rolex Rankings debuted in February 2006 with Annika Sorenstam on top. Here’s a closer look at the youngest players to reach the game’s pinnacle:
With eight events left in the 2023 LPGA season, it’s crunch time for players needing to make a move.
With eight events left in the 2023 LPGA season, it’s crunch time for players needing to make a move. The top 60 players on the Race to CME Globe points list gain entry into the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, where anyone in the field can win the top prize in women’s golf of $2 million. The last player in this year’s field is guaranteed to make at least $40,000.
Last week’s winner, Ally Ewing, jumped from 71st to 30th with her victory in Cincinnati. Maria Fassi, who finished a career-best solo third, jumped from 96th to 67th, just outside the mark. The story around Fassi suddenly shifted from possible Q-Series to possible Tour Championship.
The top 100 on the CME points list keep their LPGA cards for 2023.
Here are 10 teams to watch this week at the LPGA’s 2022 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.
The 2022 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational will feature a wonderful blend of past and present. While sisters Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson are two the biggest names on the current tour, Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb are two of the biggest names of all time. They’ll all be in action in the same field this Wednesday-Saturday at the LPGA’s only team event.
This year, 72 two-person teams will vie for a purse of $2.5 million at Midland Country Club in Michigan. The victory will be considered an official LPGA title.
Here are 10 teams to keep an eye on this week, with Rolex Ranking in parenthesis:
Thompson is hardly alone among big names on the LPGA who haven’t won a major in quite some time.
Lexi Thompson’s 57th major start will long be remembered as one of her most painful losses. Certainly not on the level of the 2017 ANA Inspiration (now Chevron Championship), where a four-stroke fiasco rocked the golf world and led to a change in the Rules of Golf.
And not as stunning as the five-stroke collapse on the back nine at The Olympic Club at last year’s U.S. Women’s Open.
But the KPMG Women’s PGA loss at Congressional certainly ranks a solid third on Thompson’s list of major heartbreaks. An 11-time winner on the LPGA, Thompson still only has one major on her resume and it came at the 2014 Chevron Championship.
Thompson is hardly alone, however, in big names on the LPGA who haven’t won a major in quite some time. Here’s a list of notables:
A total of 10 players from Thailand are in the field this week. Here’s a closer look at some of the host nation’s best.
As the Honda LPGA Thailand celebrates its 15th year, golf in Thailand has never been so robust. Last year Ariya Jutanugarn became the first Thai player to win the event, fitting given that she was the first Thai to win on the LPGA and rise to No. 1.
Incredibly, Thai players finished 1-2-3 last year with LPGA rookie Atthaya Thitikul placing second and last year’s Chevron winner, Patty Tavatanakit coming in third.
This marks the 10th time the Honda Thailand will be contested on the Pattaya Old Course at Siam Country Club.
A total of 10 players from Thailand are in the field: Jaravee Boonchant (Bangkok), Ariya Jutanugarn (Bangkok), Moriya Jutanugarn (Bangkok), Wichanee Meechai (Bangkok), Jasmine Suwannapura (Bangkok), Rina Tatematsu (Bangkok), Patty Tavatanakit (Bangkok), Prima Thammaraks (Bangkok), Atthaya Thitikul (Ratchaburi) and Chanettee Wannasaen (Chiang Mai).
Here’s a closer look at some of the host nation’s best:
“I don’t think that you can play with joy or freedom if you don’t have a why.”
It was the spring of 1989, and Sally Quinlan headed to Sedona, Arizona, after a missed cut at the Nabisco Dinah Shore to spend time with her coach and friend, Lynn Marriott.
“I thought she was coming out to practice,” recalled Marriott. “I couldn’t get her out of the hammock.”
After three days of lounging, Marriott dumped two buckets of balls on the range, turned the baskets upside down and said to Quinlan, let’s talk.
“If you win the U.S. Women’s Open, are you happy?” asked Marriott. “What about two majors?”
Quinlan, a winner on tour who was inside the top 15 on the money list and miserable, said no. No matter what accolade Marriott threw out, Quinlan knew it wasn’t going to be enough. Her dream at the time was to own a home with someone she loved and to know where was going to be every Sunday. Maybe join a club.
“I’m going to cry just thinking about it,” said Quinlan more than 30 years later. “Just because you can juggle, doesn’t mean you have to join the circus.”
Quinlan had been afraid to say any of that out loud for fear of letting down her family, her team, and all of New England. Marriott was the first person she told who understood the tour, understood the grind and, in a way, made Quinlan feel like she had permission to leave.
The next year, at age 29, a fully exempt Quinlan walked away.
“She would later tell the story that it was the best thing that ever happened to her,” said Marriott, who along with Pia Nilsson co-founded Vision 54.
Marriott and Nilsson are, of course, in the business of helping players reach their potential, having worked with numerous World No. 1s. But first and foremost, they’re interested in what’s best for players as human beings.
Many professional golfers aren’t taught how to grapple with the big questions. This game of inches can be fine-tuned to death, and there’s no shortage of areas to improve.
But why do you play? What’s the intrinsic motivation for choosing this life?
LPGA players and sisters Moriya Jutanugarn and Ariya Jutanugarn pose on the red carpet with Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott of Vison54 at the LPGA Rolex Players Awards at the Ritz-Carlton, Naples on November 17, 2016 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Nilsson and Marriott ask participants of their golf schools to fill out a sheet of paper titled “Spirt of Your Game.” They believe the spiritual component wraps around the physical, technical and emotional parts of the game. It’s the glue that holds everything together.
The Vision54 coaches want players to ask themselves “Why do I play?” And after each answer, ask “why?” again.
“There’s no bad answers to any of the questions,” said Nilsson. “But if you stop asking the question, things get hidden.”
And, as life changes, the answer to those fundamental questions change, too. Players will ultimately find, said Marriott, that it’s only the intrinsic motivation that’s sustainable.
For Stacy Lewis, the foundational love of the game and curiosity of how good she can be has never changed. But now, there are so many more answers to her why.
The ability to answer that question with something beyond trophies and paychecks, Lewis said, “determines how you play and how long you play.”
“You have to have a reason for why you’re doing what you’re doing,” Lewis said, “because it’s going to make you get out of bed each day and practice and take care of yourself and watch what you eat, stay in shape. Especially in women’s professional golf. There’s not a whole lot of people around to pull you out of the gutter.”
Brittany Altomare, the soft-spoken newlywed who acquired the nickname “Jesus” in her Solheim Cup debut because her putting was so divine, is an adrenaline junkie. While she may look meek, the rush of competition is what put her on track to the LPGA.
When Altomare first started dating her now husband Steven Stanislawzyk, she apologetically told him: “Golf comes first.”
As her destination wedding in Italy last fall drew near, however, 31-year-old Altomare could feel the priorities in her life begin to shift. She’d never felt more stressed as a result and started going to therapy with Stanislawzyk because she had trouble expressing it all.
“I don’t think I’ve ever actually shared that with anybody,” said a teary-eyed Altomare on the eve of the Pelican Women’s Championship last November.
With the desire to start a family looming, Altomare suddenly felt like her career was being rushed to the finish line. She wanted to be a wife and a mom, but she also wanted to win, something she has yet to do on the LPGA.
“You don’t know if you’ll ever get to come back,” she said of having kids, “or if you’ll ever be the same player.”
Altomare’s therapist helped her to slow down her racing mind. At last summer’s AIG Women’s British Open, Altomare had an epiphany, telling herself that she’d go back to making golf No. 1 for two years, give it her all and then reassess.
“I feel like I had my first experience of not being totally healthy in my mind this year,” said Altomare, who now, admittedly, looks at the phrase “mental health” differently these days.
Sandra Gal visits the Children’s Center that bears her name in Miami. (Courtesy: Sandra Gal)
When Sandra Gal turned pro, she said there was no “why” that she could articulate. She had the talent, and the tour seemed like the next logical step.
It wasn’t until Gal experienced her first tough season in 2010, three years in, that she first began asking herself the big questions.
It was then Gal realized that she’d been 100 percent focused on results. She called it a spiritual awakening.
“I realized if I myself moved around with a certain energy,” said Gal, “it would influence everyone around me. If I could play with more joy, and if I could make that the most important thing, then I knew I could actually inspire other people, or in some way lift up other people.”
Over the years, she’d fall back into chasing results. Gal realized that she needed to take it a step further and really let go of what happens inside the ropes.
“I love the game,” said Gal, “but I also think that it doesn’t really matter what you do – it’s how you do what you do, with what energy you do what you do.”
As Gal began to dive deeper into the discussion of mental health, she came across this definition of “spiritual health” from the Australian National University: “Not referring to any particular religious or spiritual practice or ideology but to the human need for meaning, purpose and connection to something greater than ourselves. It is a very diverse and often individualized aspect to health, giving context and meaning to all other parts of ourselves and our life experiences.”
The term mental health, Gal said, only skims the surface.
Golf Fore Africa was founded by LPGA Hall of Fame golfer Betsy King who witnessed first hand the terrible plight of AIDS orphans in Africa in 2006. She has enlisted the help of golfers worldwide to raise funds and awareness.
Betsy King dedicated her life to Christ on a retreat in January 1980. In a sense, she said, it felt like starting over. She had her worst year on tour that year, and an aunt said King had lost her edge because of her newfound faith.
When in fact, King had simply found her self-worth in something other than golf. At the start of the 1989 season in Jamaica, King asked God if she should go to Africa rather than play the tour. There wasn’t really a specific reason that Africa popped into her mind, but after 14 wins on tour, King was willing to walk away if she felt led to.
King began to realize that the more money she made and the bigger platform she built, the more she could do for the causes that mattered most to her. King shot 64 to win that first tournament in Jamaica and went on to win six times that season, including a U.S. Women’s Open.
The LPGA Hall of Famer ultimately won 34 titles on the LPGA and has now been to Africa more than two dozen times. Her Golf Fore Africa foundation, raises money to provide clean water to remote African villages. To date, King’s charity has raised close to $14 million.
Several players have traveled to Africa with King, including Lewis in 2010.
“Betsy kind of came along at a good time in my career,” said Lewis, “and helped me realize that with good golf, you can help a lot of people.”
Amy Olson, who has the Golf Fore Africa logo on her hat and bag, quotes runner Eric Liddell from the movie “Chariots of Fire” when talking about her why.
“I believe God made me for a purpose,” Liddell’s character says, “but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”
That’s how Olson feels about golf. Pursuing a career on the LPGA, she said, is about being a good steward of the gift she’s been given.
At some point, Olson said, she’ll move to on to something else, but her why will never change. Everything she does points back to God.
“I think it’s fundamental,” said Olson. “I don’t think that you can play with joy or freedom if you don’t have a why. I would even say if you have the wrong why, you’ll play out of fear or the desire to make other people happy.”
Eventually, in the valley, most players will face a time of critical self-evaluation and ask themselves, “Why am I doing this?”
Amy Olson tees off the 14th hole during the Final Round of the KIA Classic at the Aviara Golf Club on March 28, 2021 in Carlsbad, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
For Sophia Popov, there came a point when she lost a lot of the love of the game and found herself competing because she had to make money.
“I think I lost some of that connection to the game,” said Popov.
Players of all ages struggle with tying their worth as an individual to golf scores. King did in the 70s and Cheyenne Woods only recently broke herself out of that mindset – and the putting yips – after seeking personal therapy for the first time. She’d been to sports psychologists in the past, but this time knew that she needed something more.
“It busted open the bubble I was living in,” she said.
Players don’t often speak about the loneliness that accompanies tour life, but it can impact even extroverted players like Maria Fassi, who had plenty of experience on a big stage prior to turning professional.
It took time for Fassi to find a group of friends on tour. Expectations, both internal and external began to mount for the powerful and engaging NCAA champ.
There were times early on that she asked herself: Is this really what I want to do?
“I didn’t have anybody on tour I trusted to go and talk to or go and cry with,” she said.
In time, a handful of players reached out to help, including veterans Angela Stanford and Lewis, a fellow Razorback, and the questions they asked Fassi and the time spent helped turn things around.
Last September, the 23-year-old Mexican launched the Maria Fassi Foundation and Fassi’s Friends, a series of inclusive and adaptable clinics that bring disabled and full-bodied kids together to learn the game of golf.
Fassi, inspired by a disabled cousin who took up golf around six years ago, knew that she needed a deeper “why” than the quest to win titles.
“I know personally,” said Fassi, “I needed just something bigger than myself to play for.”
Maria Fassi hits a tee shot on the first hole during the first round of the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship at Lake Merced Golf Club. (Photo: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
Ariya Jutanugarn had that same conversation with herself after rising to No. 1 in the world. Did she want to stay there? She knew it would take more than the lure of trophies to make it worthwhile.
It was on a Monday at the 2017 CME Group Tour Championship that Jutanugarn told Nilsson and Marriott that it cost $350 to educate a child for an entire year at the schools she helps to fund. They gave her $350 on the spot.
Jutanugarn went on to win the CME and the U.S. Women’s Open the following year.
Nilsson and Marriott like to do an exercise with college golfers in which they ask, after you win, and you buy a house and a watch and a car and another watch, do you still want to play golf?
“We’re not wanting to burst a bubble,” said Marriott.
