Tag: Ayaka Furue

The shortest player on the LPGA is the 54-hole leader at the HSBC Women’s World Championship

Olympics and Taylor Swift on her mind.

Ayaka Furue is the shortest player on the LPGA, standing at 5 foot even. However, don’t let her stature fool you, she’s one of the best golfers in the world.

The 23-year-old from Japan holds a two-shot lead heading into the final round of the 2024 HSBC Women’s World Championship, shooting 4-under 68 on Saturday at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore. The winner of the 2022 Women’s Scottish Open, Furue has proven she can win at this level, but winning one of the biggest events in Asia would be a big feather in her cap early in her career.

“I just feel excited to be part of the top of the leaderboard,” Furue said. “I think winning is the most important thing to play in the Paris Olympics, so yeah.”

Another thing on many player’s minds is said Summer Olympics, which every week creep closer. A win for Furue this week would go a long way in locking up her spot to represent Japan.

Furue started her round with birdies on her first two holes and added two more on the front. She had one circle and one square on the card on the back nine, otherwise, she sits at 10 under with 18 holes to play.

Australia’s Hannah Green shot 5 under on moving day to move into solo second at 8 under. Second-round leader Celine Boutier shot even par on moving day and is T-3 at 7 under.

Being only 5 foot, Furue said she doesn’t think about her size when she’s on the course.

“I don’t really think about other players is when I’m hitting my shot, how far they go or how far they hit,” she said. “Just focusing on my play.”

Another thing on Furue’s mind is Taylor Swift, who’s in Singapore for her Eras Tour.

“I want to go,” she said.

Maybe after a win Sunday, she can celebrate with a concert.

Celine Boutier got her dad a special birthday gift at the HSBC Women’s World Championship

What a birthday gift.

Friday was a special one for Celine Boutier at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore.

The third-ranked golfer in the world fired an 8-under 64 to take the lead following the second round at the 2024 HSBC Women’s World Championship. Following a first round in which scores were higher than usual, plenty of golfers went low on the second day, but none lower than Boutier, who had the round of the day by two shots. She leads at 7 under.

“Definitely, it feels good,” Boutier said. “I feel like I didn’t really get the best of starts last week, so it feels a lot better to finally have one low round.”

Boutier had a clean card with eight birdies in her second round, and she holds a one-shot lead over Japan’s Ayaka Furue, who shot 5-under 67 on Friday and is at 6 under for the tournament.

Even bigger for Boutier, the 2023 Amundi Evian champion — Friday was her father’s birthday.

“Wished him a happy birthday before my round,” Boutier said. “He was like, yeah, so you’ve got to get me a gift, so that would be a nice gift. I hope he enjoys that one.”

Madelene Sagstrom is solo third at 5 under, while Patty Tavatanakit, who has won the last two weeks, is T-9 at 3 under along with fellow star Brooke Henderson, among others.

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Lydia Ko, determined to bounce back from dismal 2023, tied for lead after 36 holes in LPGA opener

A win this week would provide a much-needed bounce-back for the former world No. 1.

A little more than a month ago, Lydia Ko teamed with Jason Day to win the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational, a new mixed team event for LPGA and PGA Tour players.

But a win this week would be a much bigger deal for Ko.

The 2022 champion of the CME Group Tour Championship didn’t qualify in 2023 and therefore couldn’t defend her title in the season-ender, putting a cap on a most disappointing season, her 10th on the LPGA.

But it appears that GTI win sparked something in her game.

Ko has opened 69-67 at her home course at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and will head to the weekend tied for the lead with Ayaka Furue, who shot 65-71.

“I think Grant Thornton helped a lot,” she said Friday afternoon. “We did a lot of good work the week before with my coach flying over and spending some time here at Lake Nona. I think even though you do good work, at the end of the day you got to pull it off and make that work when you’re playing and playing competitive rounds.

“Even though it was a unique format at Grant Thornton, I think it just was really beneficial week for me to kind of be in positions where I was uncomfortable and still be able to commit to my shots.”

So far this week she has eight birdies and eagle and just two bogeys. She had eight straight pars before a closing birdie in Friday’s round even as the weather turned a bit sour.

Ko, who is committed to a more aggressive schedule this season, has the comforts of home right around the corner as she seeks her 20th career victory but admits she has to make sure she’s not too comfortable.

“I have forgotten to set my alarm once and I turned up to the golf course later than I normally do because I was so used to being at home, sleeping in my own bed, so I’m trying to not make that mistake this year.”

The tournament also features a celebrity division, made up of pro golfers, former pro athletes from baseball, basketball and hockey as well as actors and comedians. Tied atop that leaderboard is Annika Sorenstam and former NHL standout Jeremy Roenick. They each have 75 points using the Modified Stableford scoring system.

2023 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions
Annika Sorenstam acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green during the second round of the 2023 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando. (Photo: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

“The weather in the end got a little iffy,” Sorenstam said. “I would say today was a good scramble day. Really scrambled out there. Didn’t hit as many good shots as yesterday. Just didn’t give up. Kept on fighting. Missed few more greens. Had to do some more chipping today. Just hung in there.”

Roenick sounded more than pleased with his round.

“I played well today. I think I shot 69 or 70 today, which was amazing. Didn’t make any mistakes. Just kept it on board,” he said.

Back on the main leaderboard, Gemma Dryburgh and Gaby Lopez are tied for third after 36 holes. Tied for fifth is defending tournament champ Brooke Henderson and Alexa Pano, in her second year on the LPGA.

“I was kind of a mess when I first started as a rookie last year, and I feel a lot more comfortable and got a good hang on things,” she said. “I worked really hard this off-season to be ready for this. I think this is the fun part. This is getting to see it all come to fruition.”

Other notables in the field of 35 include: Nelly Korda (4 under, T-7), Rose Zhang (4 under, T-7), world No. 1 Lilia Vu (2 under, T-16) and Danielle Kang (T-31, 3 over).

Pajaree Anannarukarn claims second career LPGA title at Bank of Hope Match Play after 116 holes

With the victory, Anannarukarn earned a spot in the field at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach.

Pajaree Anannarukarn outlasted Ayaka Furue to claim her second LPGA title at the Bank of Hope Match Play. The Thai player thrived in a marathon week of golf at picturesque Shadow Creek, pouring in eight birdies in a semifinal match against Linn Grant and then hanging tough to defeat Furue, 3 and  1, on a hot and windy day in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Anannarukarn, 23, claimed her first LPGA title two years ago at the ISPS Handa World Invitational in a playoff against Emma Talley in Northern Ireland. When it was over in Vegas, Anannarukarn talked about the grind it took to get back to the winner’s circle.

“Golf is just, sometimes it’s hard to come back up,” she told Golf Channel after the round. “I tried in every possible way to improve on my game and keep believing.”

With the victory, Anannarukarn earned $225,000 and a spot in the field at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links. She notched 12 birdies in 34 holes on Sunday.

Anannarukarn has worked with Claude Harmon III since November 2019. Because Harmon is on a different travel schedule, mostly working on the men’s tours, the pair only see each other a couple times a year. She noted that she’s mostly focused now on her swing rotation.

It was an early birthday present for Anannarukarn, who played a total of 116 holes over the course of the week, beating the likes of Carlota Ciganda, Cheyenne Knight and Karis Davidson in a playoff just to advance out of the round-robin portion of the event. She turns 24 in two days.

Now in her fifth season on tour, Anannarukarn joins Atthaya Thitikul (2), Moriya Jutanugarn (2), Jasmine Suwannapura (2) and Ariya Jutanugarn (12) as Thai players with at least two LPGA titles in their career.

Japan’s Furue played her way into the championship match for a second consecutive year and nearly pulled off some late-round heroics when her final shot from the bunker flirted with the hole.

Because there was no consolation match this year, Leona Maguire and Grant split third-place points and prize money. This was Grant’s first start in the U.S. as an LPGA member.

The former Arizona State player has competed around the world – quite successfully – since turning professional nearly two years ago, but could not compete in the U.S. due to COVID-19 restrictions that require international visitors to be fully vaccinated against the virus

Meet the LPGA’s seven first-time winners in 2022, who hail from seven different countries

There’s some star power on this list.

Maja Stark became the seventh first-time winner on the LPGA this season with her commanding five-stroke triumph at the ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland. The victory qualified Stark, a former standout at Oklahoma State, for immediate LPGA membership.

Stark has now won seven times worldwide since turning professional last summer.

Two of the seven first-time winners – Jennifer Kupcho and Ashleigh Buhai – won majors. Last week, Buhai became the 44th player to become a Rolex first-time winner at a major.

The record for most first-time winners in a season is 11, set in 1995. In 2018, there were 10: Jin Young Ko, Pernilla Lindberg, Moriya Jutanugarn, Annie Park, Nasa Hataoka, Thidapa Suwannapura, Georgia Hall, Marina Alex, Nelly Korda and Gaby Lopez.

Here’s a closer look at the seven first timers in 2022:

Ayaka Furue fires course-record 62, captures first LPGA victory at Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open

Furue fires a 10-under 62 to set a new course record at Dundonald Links.

Sunday’s final round at the 2022 Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open is one LPGA rookie Ayaka Furue won’t soon forget.

Furue torched Dundonald Links on Sunday in Ayrshire, Scotland, firing a course record and tournament record of 10-under 62 to overcome a four-stroke deficit and capture her first LPGA victory. Japan’s newest LPGA winner finished at 21 under, three shots better than Celine Boutier, who was tied for the 54-hole lead with Lydia Ko.

“My all-around game was really good,” Furue said. “The putts I needed to make, I made. My putting was really good.”

The stats back that up. She hit 17 of 18 greens and 13 of 14 fairways. She putted 26 times, recording 10 birdies and no bogeys en route to her course record. Furue made six straight birdies from Nos. 6-11. She shot 5-under 31 on each side. And she did it without lighting up the par 5s, as she birdied only one of the four three-shotters, the finishing hole.

Women's Scottish Open
Ayaka Furue of Japan plays her tee shot at the 18th hole in the final round of the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links  on July 31, 2022 in Troon, Scotland. (Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Furue, 22, began the final round four shots behind the leaders but quickly made up that ground. She birdied the par-4 first before recording four straight pars. Then the birdie streak started, and more followed on Nos. 15, 17 and 18 to finish at 21 under.

By the time the final group came to the 18th tee, Furue had locked up the victory.

Boutier shot 3-under 69 in the final round, which included seven birdies. Ko, who led after 36 holes, shot her second straight 1-under 71 after back-to-back rounds of 65 to open the tournament. Ko finished five shots behind Furue in a tie for fifth place.

Hyo-Joo Kim and Cheyenne Knight finished tied for third at 17 under, four shots behind Furue.

The win could be pivotal for Furue heading into the final women’s major championship of the season next week, the AIG Women’s British Open at Muirfield.

“It builds up a lot of confidence,” Furue said. “I look forward to more tournaments and next week.”

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Ayaka Furue leads Evian Championship, but world No. 3 Nelly Korda and No. 10 Brooke Henderson are on her heels

Four of the world’s top 10 players sit inside the top 10 through round one.

The best players in the women’s game are in France for the Amundi Evian Championship, their fourth of five majors this season and several of the biggest names in the field have already risen to the top.

Ayaka Furue, world No. 31, didn’t get off to a great start Thursday afternoon. After three straight pars to open her round, Furue’s first shape on the scorecard was a square which came at the par-4 13th, her fourth hole of the day. She’d bounce back nicely with four birdies over the last five holes of her outward nine.

The birdies didn’t stop once she made the turn as she added circles on Nos. 2, 3, 6, 7 and the par-5 9th.

The woman Furue was chasing all afternoon was Brooke Henderson, who teed off in the morning wave and got right to work with birdies on Nos. 10 and 11, her first two holes of the day. The remaining seven holes of her front nine were shapeless as she’d turn with a 2-under 34.

Maybe it was a quick snack at the halfway house, but the Canadian came out guns blazing on the second side. Birdies at Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 5 got her to 6 under for the day before trading a bogey on the par-3 8th with an eagle at the par-5 9th.

Henderson has finished inside the top 20 at all three majors so far this season, with her best performance coming at the Chevron in March (T-13).

World No. 3 Nelly Korda said earlier in the week she’s enjoying the record heat wave Europe is currently experiencing, as temperatures are expected to hover in the 90s all week.

“I enjoy playing in this. I would pick this over playing in cold any day. I do not enjoy playing golf in cold weather,” she said on Wednesday. “I actually make my schedule where I play mostly in warm weather…Growing up in Florida I’m so used to playing and practicing in this, so it doesn’t really bother me.”

Well, the sweat-drenched practice sessions paid off for the 23-year-old as she made it look easy around the Evian Resort Golf Club on Thursday.

Birdies on Nos. 12, 13, 15 and 17 sent her out with a 4-under 32. She’d add three more on her back nine, the course’s front nine, for an opening-round bogey-free 7-under 64.

The scorecard could have looked a lot better, too, if she took care of Nos. 7 and 9, both par 5s where she failed to capitalize on birdie bids.

Korda’s highlight of the day was a near ace at the par-3 5th.

The major champion was awarded Best Athlete, Women’s Golf at the ESPYs Wednesday night (Justin Thomas won in the men’s category).

Since returning from surgery on a blood clot in her arm, Korda has three top 10 finishes in four starts including a tie for eighth at the U.S. Women’s Open in June.

Cheyenne Knight sits solo fourth at 6 under, while Jin Young Ko, Lydia Ko, Charley Hull, Yuna Nishimura and Perrine Delacour are T-5 at 5 under.

Friday’s TV and streaming schedule

Golf Channel: 5-7 a.m. ET and 9:30-11:30 a.m. ET
NBC Sports: 7-8 a.m. ET and 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET

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Eun-Hee Ji wins LPGA Match Play in Las Vegas, clinches final spot in 2022 U.S. Women’s Open field

Eun-Hee Ji now has a shot at the $1.8 million first-place prize at Pine Needles.

Eun-Hee Ji won on the LPGA for the first time in three years.

Her timing couldn’t have been better.

Ji outlasted the 64-player field at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play at Shadow Creek in Vegas and by winning, she clinched the final spot in this week’s U.S. Women’s Open.

Ji was one of 19 hopefuls in Vegas who were not yet in the field at Pine Needles. She becomes the first player since Katherine Kirk in 2017 to win the LPGA tournament prior to the U.S. Women’s Open and thereby clinch the final spot. Ji, 36, is the oldest Korean winner on the LPGA.

The win was the sixth of her career and first since claiming the 2019 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. Ji defeated Andrea Lee 4 and 3 in the semifinals before claiming a 3-and-2 win Ayaka Furue in the final at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas.

Now, Ji will be playing for big bucks in North Carolina. The 77th U.S. Women’s Open has a $10 million purse, with $1.8 million going to the winner.

Benefits of a purse that size extend throughout the whole field, however, even to those who don’t play the weekend. This year, professionals who miss the cut will receive $8,000, double what was given last year at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. The men who missed the U.S. Open cut at Torrey Pines last year received $10,000.

Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols contributed to this article.

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