Atlanta Athletic Club – Syndication Server

North Carolina men, Wake Forest women claim 2023 East Lake Cup titles

What a fall the defending national champions have had.

In a matchup of the past two NCAA champs, Wake Forest continued its stellar start to the 2023-24 season, capturing the 2023 East Lake Cup title Wednesday at Atlanta Athletic Club in Georgia. The Demon Deacons topped Stanford 3-2 in match play for the crown, with the event coming down to the final hole.

Junior Carolina Lopez-Chacarra made par on the closing hole to top Stanford sophomore Megha Ganne 1 up, clinching the match. Freshman Macy Pate also had a 1-up victory while graduate student Rachel Kuehn, a four-time All-American, had a 5-and-4 win over stroke-play winner Sadie Englemann.

“It’s always wonderful to be victorious,” Wake Forest coach Kim Lewellen said. “You know, we played against just two really tough competitors, USC and then Stanford, and then to compete with them, to make the matches come down to the last holes… you can’t simulate that. So it’s just wonderful, wonderful practice for them. Again, you can’t simulate it for postseason play.”

In five events this fall, Wake Forest has three victories, a third and a T-4.

Meanwhile, in the men’s competition, it was a matchup of two teams who fell in the NCAA semifinals this spring with North Carolina taking on Florida State. Grad student Austin Greaser made birdie on the par-3 17th hole to win his match, 2 and 1, to clinch the 3-1-1 victory for the Tar Heels.

The North Carolina men’s golf team won the 2023 East Lake Cup at Atlanta Athletic Club. (Photo: NBC Universal)

North Carolina junior David Ford and senior Peter Fountain each won their matches 4 and 3. Junior Maxwell Ford had a 5-up lead at one point, but Florida State sophomore Luke Clanton fought back to force a tie.

Similar to Wake Forest, the Tar Heels have three victories this fall in five tournaments. They also have a second at the Ben Hogan Collegiate and fell to Vanderbilt in the match-play final at the St. Andrews Links Collegiate.

Because of ongoing construction at East Lake Golf Club, the tournament was moved to Atlanta Athletic Club for this year’s rendition.

Photos: Tripp Davis completes renovation of Atlanta Athletic Club’s Riverside Course

See photos of the complete rethinking of the Riverside Course at Atlanta Athletic Club.

Architect Tripp Davis has completed a renovation to the Riverside Course at Atlanta Athletic Club that includes entirely new playing surfaces and the rerouting of six holes.

Northeast of Atlanta in John’s Creek along the Chattahoochee River, the private club had three goals in the renovation: update infrastructure from tee to green to allow for heightened playing conditions, accentuate the Riverside terrain in a more natural way and enhance the playing interest and enjoyment.

A major part of the job included rebuilding and repositioning tees, green and bunkers. Davis also reshaped areas to improve drainage that goes along with a new irrigation system. Fairways were sand-capped and replanted with Zorro Zoysia, the primary roughs covered with Tiftuf Bermudagrass and the farther reaches of the rough seeded with a fescue blend. Some trees were also removed.

Holes No. 3, 4, 5, 12, 13 an 14 were rerouted to make better use of the land, Davis said.

“I wanted the visual perspective the golfer has while playing to be more interesting, which on this site meant getting the ground to flow with and embrace the overall landscape,” Davis said in a media release announcing completion of the project. “With the great trees, the rolling land, distinct ridge lines and the river, it is such a majestic site, and we wanted the golf course to look and feel like it is just a part of that. Rerouting the holes was a vital part of this. …

“Riverside can be set up to be a very enjoyable course for the membership on a daily basis, but we instilled design elements that will allow high-level events to test the best players in the game. We can grow the rough a little, speed up the greens and use a variety of tougher hole locations to present a complete test. … Riverside now has a more classic feel and playing quality, like a 1920s-era course that hasn’t been touched, which is exactly what we were trying for. I am incredibly pleased with how the work turned out. In fact, it is better than I thought it could be. While we certainly tweaked small details, we did not change much from the original basic plan we developed. It all just fit.”

The Riverside Course was site of the 1990 U.S. Women’s Open won by Betsy King and the stroke play rounds for the 2014 U.S. Amateur. The club is also home to the Highlands Course, which has hosted numerous national championships. The club was founded in 1898 in Atlanta but moved to its current site in 1967.

“Tripp has done an excellent job reimagining Riverside by making better use of the land, creating a unique style and making the course both fun and interesting to play,” John Stakel, board member and chairman of the Riverside Renovation Committee at the club, said in the media release. “The infrastructure work will allow our director of agronomy, Lukus Harvey, to dial in playing conditions, notably allowing the course to play firmer and faster most of the year.”

Check out the photos of the renovated course below.

KPMG: Atlanta Athletic Club’s sixth hole, once a beast, now drivable and gettable for final round

The par-4 sixth hole at KPMG Women’s PGA has a bit of a split identity. One day it gives; the next day it takes.

JOHNS CREEK, Georgia – The par-4 sixth hole at Atlanta Athletic Club’s Highlands Course has a bit of a split identity. One day it gives; the next day it takes.

For the second time this week, the tees on No. 6 have been moved up, making it drivable and an intriguing risk/reward option.

The club agreed to add a new tee box for the KPMG Women’s PGA so that the women could be presented with the same option as the men at the 2011 PGA Championship. With a back-right hole location on the 246-yard hole Sunday, many players will be primed to take on the risk with water on the left and bunkers guarding the green.

“When I was here 18 months ago,” said PGA of America Chief Championship Officer Kerry Haigh, “we talked about it and shared with the club, and they were excited because they’ll be able to use it for their membership day in, day out, and it’s certainly – it makes you think. Do you lay up short of the lake, which is really not much club at all? Or do you go for it? There’s plenty of room to the right to bail out but then it’s a really tough chip if you do miss it right, but obviously you’re rewarded with a birdie or eagle if you’re straight.

“It should be fun to watch.”

KPMG Women’s PGA: Leaderboard | Photos

The hole played 376 yards in Round 1 and ranked the most difficult with a 4.583 scoring average. It ranked the second-hardest in Round 3 with a 4.457 average. The field made a combined five birdies over the course of two rounds.

On Friday, however, the tee was moved up to 229 yards and tied with the second hole as the 16^th easiest hole of the day. There were 53 birdies and five eagles in the second round. Seventeen players made bogey and four players made double or worse.

Big-hitting Jessica Korda chose not to go for the green on Friday while Inbee Park hit driver long and then chipped in for eagle.

“I think it was in a pretty smart setup,” said Park. “It was probably maybe not a driver for a lot of the girls, and we definitely had to think about it, laying up, as well, with the water on the left. If you’re on the borderline of the cut line, if you’re ahead of the field a lot, you have to think about yourself.”

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KPMG: Michelle Wie West on the verge of making her first cut in a major since 2018

As she stares down the weekend at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Michelle Wie West acknowledges how far she’s come.

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Michelle Wie West heard a baby babble on the 18th at Atlanta Athletic Club’s Highlands Course and felt herself tear up.

“I was like, get yourself together,” she said with a laugh.

This week marks the first time Wie West has competed outside of the state of California in 2021, much less on the other side of the country. Daughter Makenna is busy getting spoiled by her grandparents while Wie West makes her sixth start of the season at the KPMG Women’s PGA.

“The guilt is real,” she said. “You go out there and like should I be really here so far away from her? You just have to fight through it and know that she’s having fun and all that.”

After Wie West opened with a 5-over 77 at the KPMG, husband Jonnie gave her a short pep talk.

“He told me to get my head out of my ass, so I did,” said Wie, calling him her sports psych. “I played, got my head out of my ass, and I played some golf today.”

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Wie West poured in four birdies in the first seven holes to turn things around. Her 3-under 69 matches her low round for the season, and at 3 over she’s currently inside the cut line in a share of 56th.

“That was the first time in a really long time where I felt like every hole looked like a birdie hole to me,” she said.

Wie West made her first cut of the year two weeks ago at the LPGA Mediheal Championship, held at her new home course of Lake Merced. She said it has taken some time to get used to her ball flying 15 yards farther in warm conditions.

It was two years ago at this event when Wie West didn’t know how much longer she’d be able to play the game. She hobbled around Hazeltine clutching ice packs, opening with an 84 that matched her highest round as a pro. In a rare display of emotion, Wie West broke down in front of a small group of reporters after the round.

Wie West gutted it through the second round to shoot 82 and then announced that she’d be taking the rest of 2019 off to heal her right hand and wrists. She got married, had a baby and came back to the tour in March.

A made cut at Atlanta Athletic Club would mark her first weekend at a major since the 2018 KPMG Women’s PGA, when she tied for 28th.

“It’s pretty crazy when you think about Hazeltine and where I was and where I am now,” she said. “I’m just eternally grateful that I have a chance to come back.”

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Rookie Yealimi Noh, still scarred by a massive slow-play fine, finds herself in contention at KPMG Women’s PGA

Rookie season 2.0 hasn’t been smooth for Yealimi Noh, considering the strong half-season she enjoyed in 2020.

JOHNS CREEK, Georgia – Rookie season 2.0 hasn’t been smooth for Yealimi Noh. Not how she pictured it would be at least, considering the strong half-season she enjoyed in 2020.

Noh, who at 19 is the youngest player in the field, opened with a 3-under 69 at the KPMG Women’s PGA, armed with a new arm-lock putter that helped her birdie six holes en route to a share of second behind leader Lizette Salas.

In March at the Kia Classic, Noh was hit with a $10,000 slow-play fine that rocked her world. The next week at the ANA Inspiration, Noh told Golfweek that she couldn’t appeal because it was obviously her fault. She feels differently about it now.

“I was quite emotional and still thinking I deserved it,” said Noh, “but I don’t think I did.”

After the fine, Noh felt that some people looked at her differently, like, “Oh, she’s a slow player.” She got paranoid about rules officials, constantly feeling the need to look over her shoulder. It’s still that way to an extent.

“It was like 10 seconds and $10,000,” said a frustrated Noh. “Not even a full minute, and I got fined that much.

“If I’m being straight up, there’s a lot of players who are slower when there are no rules officials around, and they just know how to work around it.”

Noh has tried to focus on the positive. She had a long talk with her trainer and mental coach this week about waiting for her time to come. Several of her peers have won majors of late, including fellow rookie Patty Tavatanakit and Yuka Saso. Noh still thinks about the AJGA Thunderbird Invitational when she finished second to Saso. None of that feels too long ago.

“It just drives me to work harder,” said Noh, “but I don’t want to rush myself. I don’t want to be like ‘Oh since they did it, I have to do it, too.’ Everyone has their own timing. Inspired by them, but I don’t want to be rushed.”

Winning isn’t the only thing on her mind. Noh, currently ranked 62^nd, also has a chance at making her first Solheim Cup team in 2021. Her best bet is to qualify off the Rolex Rankings (two spots) or be selected as one of three of U.S. captain Pat Hurst’s picks. The team will be finalized after the AIG Women’s British Open (Aug. 19-22). Noh represented the U.S. on both Junior Ryder Cup and Junior Solheim Cup teams.

“It would be amazing,” said Noh, “and I still believe that I have a good chance at it.”

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Check the yardage book: Atlanta Athletic Club’s Highlands for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

The site of the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship has a long record hosting major championships. Check out hole-by-hole maps of the course.

Atlanta Athletic Club’s Highlands Course in Johns Creek, Georgia, is the host site of this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, a major on the LPGA.

The layout originally was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Joe Finger, who each designed nine of the holes, with Jones’ nine opening in 1967 and Finger’s addition in 1971. Rees Jones, son of the original architect, has worked on the club’s courses since 1994 and renovated the Highlands in 2006 and again in 2016.

The course has been the site of numerous elite championships, including:

1976 U.S. Open (won by Jerry Pate)
1981 PGA Championship (Larry Nelson)
2001 PGA Championship (David Toms)
2002 U.S. Junior Amateur (Charlie Beljan)
2011 PGA Championships (Keegan Bradley)
2014 U.S. Amateur (Gunn Yang)
The club’s other 18-hole course, Riverside, was the site of the 1990 U.S. Women’s Open (Betsy King), as well as many other tournaments.

The Highlands ranks as No. 10 in Georgia on Golfweek’s Best Private Courses list and is tied for No. 130 on Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses list for layouts opened in or after 1960 in the United States.

Thanks to yardage books provided by Puttview – the maker of detailed yardage books for more than 30,000 courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges that players will face this week. Check out each hole below.

Brooke Henderson says there’s a chance sister Brittany will be back on the bag at KPMG

Brooke Henderson says big sister Brittany might be back on the bag this week. “Hopefully things go the right direction soon.”

JOHNS CREEK, Georgia – Brooke Henderson still has veteran caddie Everette Nini with her at the KPMG Women’s PGA, but there’s a chance big sister Brittany will be back on the bag this week at Atlanta Athletic Club.

“Maybe,” said Brooke. “It’s just kind of at the point where we’re just waiting, and hopefully things go the right direction soon.”

Canada’s Henderson played for the first time since February 2016 without Brittany on the bag at last week’s Meijer LPGA Classic and missed the cut with rounds of 75-67. Brittany’s work visa expired on June 15.

Last September, the former Symetra Tour player married Zach Sepanik, who hails from Grand Rapids and works for the LPGA’s communications team, and applied for new immigration status. The couple bought a house in Naples, Florida, after they wed and have been working with Senator Marco Rubio’s office to expedite the paperwork.

KPMG: Odds, predictions and picks

Brooke, a two-time winner of the Meijer (2017 and 2019), said the biggest change with having someone else on the bag was a dip in her confidence.

“We’ve worked together for five years, and she just knows me so well, so things are very easy,” said Brooke. “Everett was great. He did a great job. I didn’t play that well, but he was right there for me and helped me out a lot.

“I think just explaining what I wanted to happen and speaking my mind, where normally Brit kind of knows what I’m thinking already, so that was probably the biggest challenge. Somewhere down the road when I do have another caddie, I just have to remember to speak clearly and really explain what I’m trying to do.”

Brooke Henderson hits her tee shot on the 11th hole during round two of the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give at Blythefield Country Club on June 18, 2021 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Henderson, 23, ended a victory drought that dated back to June 2019 in dramatic fashion at the Hugel-Air Premia LA Open. She raved about the condition of Atlanta Athletic Club and said the two nines on the Highlands Course play quite differently. She hopes it continues to play long as the week goes on.

“Just on the front nine, lots of times the bunkers are up the right-hand side,” said Henderson, “and as long as you’re left of them, you’re good, and then on the back nine, there’s bunkers on both sides, and you kind of have to hit a little bit straighter in between them.”

A 10-time winner on the LPGA, Henderson’s lone major victory came at the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA at Sahalee.

After falling ill with a cold at the Mediheal and then competing without her sister by her side in Michigan, Brooke flew home to Florida for the weekend for a couple days on her own to rest, regroup and practice.

“I feel like I’m in a much better place,” she said.

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Maria Fassi, Gabi Ruffels receive sponsor invites into upcoming KPMG Women’s PGA

Maria Fassi and Gabi Ruffels, two young LPGA stars, are into the LPGA’s next major, next week’s KPMG Women’s PGA.

Maria Fassi and Gabi Ruffels have received sponsor invitations into next week’s KPMG Women’s PGA.

Fassi missed several weeks of competition after undergoing surgery last April to repair a tear in her left knee. She returned to action last week at the LPGA Mediheal, where she missed the cut.

“I actually wrote an email and like a letter to Shawn Quill requesting an invite,” said Fassi. “I mean, I talked with Suzy Whaley like if she could do something. I talked to Stacy (Lewis) as her being sponsored by KPMG, if like she could put in a word.

“So I talked to everybody to see if they could help in any way to get a good word for me and I could get the exemption. Stacy actually texted me and she was like, ‘Hey, you should be expecting a good call sometime soon.’ And within an hour or so I got an email, and, I mean, I couldn’t stop beaming for the rest of afternoon.”

Fassi said she played Atlanta Athletic Club back in April with a friend and loved the course. The former Arkansas star had extra time to work on her short game as she recovered from surgery and expects that extra focus to pay off soon.

Gabriela Ruffels holds the Robert Cox Trophy after winning the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss. on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019. Photo: USGA/Steven Gibbons

Ruffels, the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, made her professional debut at the Gainbridge LPGA in February and is competing in this week’s Meijer LPGA Classic in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The former USC standout has three top-20 finishes in major championships in the past two years: 2020 ANA, T-15; 2020 U.S. Women’s Open, T-13; 2021 ANA, T-19.

“I’m excited,” said Ruffels. “I’ve never played in KPMG. I’m pretty sure as an amateur in 2020 I played in all the other majors, so I’ve never played in that one. Really looking forward to it.”

Ruffels left college without any tour status of any kind. She could earn her LPGA card and avoid Q-School by either winning an LPGA event or earning the equivalent of the top 40 on the points list by season’s end.

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