Tag: Aviara Golf Club

Thai rookie sensation Atthaya Thitikul claims first LPGA title in playoff at JTBC Classic

Youth prevailed as 19-year-old Atthaya Thitikul ousted Nanna Koerstaz Madsen in extra holes.

Nanna Koerstz Madsen picked the absolute worst time to record her first three-putt of the week at the JTBC Classic.

Needing to two-putt the 72nd hole to collect her second consecutive title, the Dane pushed her par putt and fell into a tie with 19-year-old rookie Atthaya Thitikul, who had finished play an hour earlier.

As Koerstz Madsen put the finishing touches on a 2-under 70, Thitikul stretched and worked on her short game a bit but never went to the range as she kept tabs on the scoreboard. The Thai phenom closed with an 8-under 64, the round of the week, Sunday at Aviara Golf Club to finish knotted with Koerstz Madsen at 16-under 272 for the tournament.

Only three players have ever won their first two events on the LPGA in consecutive starts. Koerstz Madsen looked to become the fourth, joining Trish Johnson (1993), Emilee Klein (1996) and Ariya Jutanugarn (2016).

Thitikul, No. 14 in the Rolex Rankings, has four wins on the Ladies European Tour, making history when she won the first at age 14. The LPGA rookie looked to win for the first time in just her fifth start in 2022.

Ultimately, youth prevailed, with Thitikul claiming her first LPGA title with bogey on the second playoff hole after Koerstz Madsen’s approach met a watery end.

“It means to the world to me,” said a champagne-soaked Thitikul,

On the first playoff hole, both players had 156 yards left into the difficult 18th. They told each other that it didn’t matter who went first. Koerstz Madsen eventually gave the nod to Thitikul to go ahead, and Thitikul proceeded to nearly dunk her approach for eagle.

Koerstz Madsen couldn’t match the effort, missing the green left. She did, however, nestle her third shot close, and after Thitikul failed to convert for birdie, the pair moved on to a second playoff hole after matching pars.

The second time around, Koerstz Madsen’s tee shot hit the cart path and she hit her hybrid from 216 yards with her right foot still on the concrete. Her approach shot leaked right into the water, opening the door for the rookie to make her mark.

Thitikul needed only to three-putt for bogey to collet her first LPGA victory.

Earlier this month, Koerstz Madsen, whose fiancé Nicki Hansen caddies for her on tour, won the Honda LPGA Thailand in a playoff with an eagle on the final hole.

Nanna Koerstz Madsen tees off the second hole during the final round of the 2022 JTBC Classic presented by Barbasol at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California. (Photo: Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

Last year at the AIG Women’s British Open, Koerstz Madsen came into the 72nd hole tied with Anna Nordqvist but suffered a heart-breaking double-bogey on the taxing 18th that included a shocking shank from a green-side bunker.

That now seems a distant memory.

“I do think before I was chasing a lot the birdies,” said Koerstz Madsen. “I have changed my game plan a little bit the way I hit into the greens. Nicki is in charge of that actually. I just hit the shot. He tells me exactly where I should hit the ball. Just the mentality of not being too aggressive, going after everything, and it’s okay to have a 7-meter putt. Sometimes that’s good enough. And then you go for the pin wherever you can, obviously.

“The British Open was really a good experience for me. I think after the British Open I really wanted to put myself in that position again, so I worked very hard to get there again.”

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Aces wild! Jeongeun Lee6 one of three players to make a hole-in-one at the same hole during third round of JTBC Classic

“It was my third hole-in-one, but first hole-in-one during (a) tournament,” Lee6 said.

If there’s no video evidence, was it really an ace?

Well, we’re just going to have to trust the scorecards this time around. Three players made aces during the third round of the LPGA’s JTBC Classic Saturday, including major champion Jeongeun Lee6.

The par-3 third at Aviara Golf Club was set up for action, measuring in at a mere 97 yards. And boy, oh boy, did the field take advantage.

Lee6 was part of the first group off this morning and, like the other two players to make aces there, used a 50-degree wedge.

“It was my third hole-in-one, but first hole-in-one during (a) tournament,” she said.

Lee6 went on to shoot a 6-under 66.

Lilia Vu made the next one. On top of the ace, Vu made six birdies and signed for a third-round 7-under 65.

Then, last but not least, Kelly Tan cashed in. She had a wild day in Carlsbad, California on Saturday. She made an ace, an eagle, five birdies, five bogeys, and a double. All-in-all, Tan signed for a 2-under 70.

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Nelly Korda not playing this week’s JTBC Classic in California; return remains unknown as year’s first major looms

The World No. 2 last teed it up in early February at the LPGA Drive On Championship.

Nelly Korda is not in the field for this year’s JTBC Classic, the LPGA has confirmed. The World No. 2 announced on social media on March 13 that she’d been diagnosed with a blood clot in her arm and that she was at home resting.

“I am currently at home getting treatment to eliminate further risks,” Korda wrote.

Originally scheduled to compete in the JTBC after taking off the Asian swing, Korda last teed it up on the LPGA in early February at the LPGA Drive On Championship.

The deadline to sign up for the Chevron Championship, the year’s first major is late Tuesday afternoon. Korda has finished in the top three of the event the past two seasons. This year marks the final time the event will be held at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California.

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Korda won four times on the LPGA in 2021 as well as Olympic gold in Tokyo and was named Female Player of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America.

The JTBC Classic at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California, marks the debut of World No. 1 Jin Young Ko on U.S. soil this year. She competed once, at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore and won, before the taking the next two weeks off.

Last year’s wire-to-wire champion at Aviara, Inbee Park, returns to Carlsbad as does Lydia Ko, Minjee Lee, Danielle Kang, Sei Young Kim, Lexi Thompson and Leona Maguire.

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Inbee Park opens huge lead on a day when LPGA enjoys eagle-fest at Kia Classic

Inbee Park opened a huge lead on a day when there were 11 eagles at the Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California.

Inbee Park shot a second straight 69 and her third round in the 60s this week to race out to a five-shot lead heading into the final round of the Kia Classic.

Park, who has 20 wins in her LPGA career, had four birdies and a bogey on Saturday at the Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California.

Mel Reid, Minjee Lee and Mi Jung Hur are all at 7 under, five back.

Madelene Sagstrom doubled the first hole on Saturday but then ripped off birdies on seven of her next eight holes, made the turn with a 31 and went on to post the best round of the week so far with a 64. She definitely found something after posting scores of 72 and 74 the first two days. Sagstrom is in a three-way tie in 5th with World No. 1 Jin Young Ko and Lexi Thompson.

Kia Classic: Leaderboard

A big story on Saturday was the eagle frenzy.

There were 11 eagles in the round, with Amy Olson having two of them, one on the 8th hole and another on 16 after she drove the green.

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Marina Alex also had two of them.

She, too, eagled the 16th and then two holes later, she one-hopped in another eagle to end her round.

Other eagles on Saturday:

  • Minjee Lee, 9th
  • Cydney Clanton, 8th
  • Nelly Korda, 8th
  • Ssu-Chia Cheng, 16th
  • So Yeon Ru, 9th
  • Aditi Ashok, 8th
  • Hannah Green, 9th

The Aviara course on Saturday was playing 6,125 yards, setting up two drivable par 4s.

Yardage the first two days checked in at 6,408 and 6,437.

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Michelle Wie West improves by 7 shots at Kia Classic; Inbee Park maintains lead

After a struggling to an 81 on Thursday, Michelle Wie West had a better day on Friday in Carlsbad, California.

Michelle Wie West spotted a first aid cart following her around at the Kia Classic these past two days. Needless to say, she was glad that she didn’t have to call them over.

That alone is a victory for Wie West, whose wrist injuries have caused plenty of pain and heartache over the years.

When asked if everything felt good after the round, Wie West said, “Yeah, I mean, knock on wood. I do a lot of PT and stuff afterwards.”

After a struggling to an 81 on Thursday, her first competitive round since June 2019, Wie West posted a 2-over 74 on a much more pleasant Day 2 at Aviara Golf Club. She hit nine fairways, 10 greens and took 30 putts. She’ll now have the weekend off to prepare for next week’s ANA Inspiration, a place that’s always given her good vibes.

The cold, rainy conditions on Thursday in Carlsbad, California, didn’t make it any easier for the new mom to get back into competition mode. Wie West felt her game was much more consistent on Friday.

Kia Classic: Leaderboard

“Obviously still not where I want it to be,” she said, “but a lot of progress, and that’s the best thing. If I can improve by seven strokes every single day, I’ll take it.”

Meanwhile at the top of the board, seven-time major winner Inbee Park maintains her one-shot lead after a carding a second-round 69 to move to 9-under 135 for the tournament. Park, who hadn’t played competitive golf in three months prior to this week, said she still felt awkward at times.

Overall, Park said she’s pleased with her ball-striking and the number of opportunities she has given herself each round.

“You know, I hit good shots,” said Park, “and it’s just weird on these greens, because I hit the shots really close and I don’t make the birdie putt, but I kind of hit it to 15, 20 feet and I make those birdie putts.

“The holes I made today is pretty much I made probably 10- to 20-footers. But coming in last three holes I missed probably inside 5, 6 feet. So it’s just greens that really need patience.”

Kia Classic
Sophia Popov tees off the 10th hole during the first round of the KIA Classic at the Aviara Golf Club on March 25, 2021 in Carlsbad, California. (Photo: Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

Last year’s AIG Women’s British Open champ Sophia Popov considers Park one her golf idols, and after a second consecutive 68, Popov is at 8 under and just might have a tee time with the LPGA Hall of Famer over the weekend.

“I think the nice thing is that I played with her in Portland last year and she’s just a very calm person to be around,” said Popov.

“I really enjoy it because it almost gets me relaxed. Even though she’s out there making a lot birdies and shooting low, I think it’s something that I’m more comfortable or someone I’m more comfortable playing with because she’s very – she goes about her job very quietly and I like that. I enjoy it.”

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