Tag: Dana Open

2024 Dana Open prize money payouts for every LPGA player

The $1,750,000 purse is one of the smallest on tour.

Chanettee Wannasaen crossed the $1 million mark in career earnings with her gutsy victory at the Dana Open. The Thai player earned $262,500 for her one-stroke victory over South Korea’s Haeran Ryu. The 20-year-old Wannasaen now has $1,068,283 in career earnings.

Last year, Wannasaen became just the third player in tour history to Monday qualify and then win the same week on the LPGA at the Portland Classic, joining Laurel Kean (2000 State Farm LPGA Classic) and Brooke Henderson (2015 Portland Classic).

Xiyu Lin, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 17, took a share of fifth. Lexi Thompson closed with a 67 to vault up the board to T-19.

Take a look at the complete breakdown of the $1,750,000 purse, one of the smallest on tour:

Pos. Player Score Earnings
1 Chanettee Wannasaen -20 $262,500
2 Haeran Ryu -19 $159,008
T3 Ssu-Chia Cheng -14 $102,290
T3 Linn Grant -14 $102,290
T5 Mary Liu -12 $65,292
T5 Xiyu Lin -12 $65,292
T7 Dottie Ardina -10 $38,232
T7 Jasmine Suwannapura -10 $38,232
T7 Celine Borge -10 $38,232
T7 Stacy Lewis -10 $38,232
T7 Sarah Kemp -10 $38,232
T7 Hye-Jin Choi -10 $38,232
T13 Jiwon Jeon -9 $26,871
T13 Pajaree Anannarukarn -9 $26,871
T13 Lucy Li -9 $26,871
T16 Yuri Yoshida -8 $22,692
T16 Mao Saigo -8 $22,692
T16 Hyo Joon Jang -8 $22,692
T19 Jennifer Chang -7 $17,672
T19 Lexi Thompson -7 $17,672
T19 Alena Sharp -7 $17,672
T19 Natthakritta Vongtaveelap -7 $17,672
T19 Laetitia Beck -7 $17,672
T19 Sarah Schmelzel -7 $17,672
T19 Maja Stark -7 $17,672
T19 Marina Alex -7 $17,672
T19 Paula Reto -7 $17,672
T19 Kiira Riihijarvi -7 $17,672
T29 Minji Kang -6 $13,406
T29 Xiaowen Yin -6 $13,406
T29 Arpichaya Yubol -6 $13,406
T29 Emma Talley -6 $13,406
T33 Grace Kim -5 $11,160
T33 Jin Hee Im -5 $11,160
T33 Kristen Gillman -5 $11,160
T33 Kaitlin Milligan -5 $11,160
T33 Aditi Ashok -5 $11,160
T38 Weiwei Zhang -4 $8,894
T38 Wichanee Meechai -4 $8,894
T38 Jeongeun Lee6 -4 $8,894
T38 Brittany Lang -4 $8,894
T38 Annie Park -4 $8,894
T38 Malia Nam -4 $8,894
T44 Daniela Darquea -3 $7,400
T44 Gurleen Kaur -3 $7,400
T44 Lindy Duncan -3 $7,400
T47 Morgane Metraux -2 $6,268
T47 Maude-Aimee Leblanc -2 $6,268
T47 Olivia Cowan -2 $6,268
T47 Haeji Kang -2 $6,268
T47 Jing Yan -2 $6,268
T47 Esther Henseleit -2 $6,268
T53 Stephanie Meadow -1 $4,962
T53 Carlota Ciganda -1 $4,962
T53 Hinako Shibuno -1 $4,962
T53 Alexandra Forsterling -1 $4,962
T53 Soo Bin Joo -1 $4,962
T53 Jaravee Boonchant -1 $4,962
T53 Cheyenne Knight -1 $4,962
T53 Gaby Lopez -1 $4,962
T61 Becca Huffer E $4,179
T61 Gina Kim E $4,179
T61 Kaitlyn Papp Budde E $4,179
T64 Maddie Szeryk 1 $3,743
T64 Gigi Stoll 1 $3,743
T64 Matilda Castren 1 $3,743
T64 Liqi Zeng 1 $3,743
T64 Agathe Laisne 1 $3,743
T64 Lauren Hartlage 1 $3,743
T64 Yu-Sang Hou 1 $3,743
T71 Caroline Masson 2 $3,417
T71 Allie White 2 $3,417
T73 Erica Shepherd 3 $3,309
T73 Auston Kim 3 $3,309
T73 Laura Wearn 3 $3,309
76 Sandra Gal 4 $3,227
T77 Sophia Popov 5 $3,145
T77 Christina Kim 5 $3,145
T77 Ruixin Liu 5 $3,145
80 Rachel Rohanna 9 $3,065

 

Linn Grant, with her brother on the bag, is in contention to repeat on LPGA at the Dana Open

Grant earned her first LPGA victory at the 2023 Dana Open.

A year ago, Linn Grant earned her first LPGA victory at the Dana Open.

After 36 holes, she’s in position to win the event for a second time in a row at Highland Meadows Golf Club, a golf course that features back-to-back par 5s on Nos. 17 and 18.

Grant followed up her first-round 67 with a Friday 65 to get to 10 under and walk off the course a shot off the lead of Chanettee Wannasaen after the morning wave. Grant so far has carded three bogeys against 13 birdies, with eight of them coming in the second round. She’s birdied the 17th two days in a row.

Grant says having her brother on the bag this week is helping her with the mental side of things.

“It’s nice to have him here,” she said Friday. “It’s nice to kind of show him the place that I’ve been to before. Obviously, like, it’s nice to have someone that you can chat about different things rather than just having yourself to talk to or just your own thoughts about golf.”

Grant has two top-10s this season, including last month’s KPMG Women’s PGA. But the LPGA schedule has several more big events left with the Olympics (where she’ll represent Sweden alongside Maja Stark, Aug. 7-10) the AIG Women’s British Open (Aug. 22-25), and the Solheim Cup (where she’s currently second in the points standings, Aug. 13-15).

“There is a lot of golf left, a lot of important, big events. I mean, looking at that I feel like I’m still very much a rookie on tour. I want to try to play as much as possible to know the schedule for future years.

“So I was going to play next week but I’m taking next week off to just relax and prepare myself for Olympics and the last major coming up.”

Tied with Grant at 10 under is Xiyu “Janet” Lin.

Sophia Popov, the first woman to win a major at Royal Troon, reminisces on a Cinderella run that began in Ohio

With the men’s British Open at Royal Troon this week, Popov DVR’d the action.

Four years ago, Sophia Popov tied for ninth at the Dana Open (then the Marathon LPGA Classic) and kickstarted a chain of events that changed her life. The top-10 finish in Sylvania, Ohio, qualified her for the 2020 AIG Women’s British Open at Royal Troon, where she shocked the world by becoming the first woman to hoist a major championship trophy at the historic club.

Popov, who didn’t even have LPGA status at the time, was ranked 304th in the world when she took the title in the midst of a global pandemic.

At this week’s Dana Open, 31-year-old Popov, now an LPGA mom, opened with a 1-under 70 at Highland Meadows Golf Club to trail co-leaders Paula Reto and Natthakritta Vongtaveelap by four.

With the men’s British Open back at Royal Troon, Popov DVR’d the action and looked forward to watching what she missed Thursday afternoon with her feet up in Ohio.

“When I had my membership induction and they gave me my locker, it was all pretty real at that point,” said Popov of making history at Troon. “Just to see that I’m the only woman in the lockerroom, it’s very, very cool. I think that’s why that place will always have a special place in my heart. No one can ever take that away.”

Sophia Popov
Sophia Popov holds up the trophy after winning the 2020 AIG Women’s Open at Royal Troon. (R&A via Getty Images)

With no grandstands and no fans to wave to as Popov came up the 18th fairway at Royal Troon with a three-shot lead, she turned to her caddie, then boyfriend now husband Maximilian Mehles, and told him that the calming seaside views reminded her of a scene from “Lord of the Rings.”

The fact that Popov got into the event at all was the longest of long shots. In July 2020, the former USC player traveled to Toledo to caddie for good friend Anne van Dam at the Inverness Club in the tour’s first event back after the pandemic started.

Popov got into the next week’s field, the Marathon, because the tour filled out the field with Symetra Tour players after COVID-19 kept many international players from coming over. She and van Dam shared a pull cart that week because caddies weren’t mandatory.

“I kind of felt like back in the junior days or a college event,” she recalled. “I enjoyed it so much. I honestly didn’t even know it was a qualifier at the time.”

The winner of this week’s Dana Open will qualify for the AIG Women’s British Open at St. Andrews, Aug. 22-25. In addition, the top 25 players not already exempt from the 2024 LPGA Race to CME Globe Points List as of Monday will get into the field.

As a past champion, Popov will be able to compete in the British Open until the age of 60.

LPGA’s 2024 Dana Open set to celebrate ‘Lexi Thompson Day’ with F-16 flyovers

Friday is going to be fun.

When Lexi Thompson tees off on Friday at 1:02 p.m. local time in Sylvania, Ohio, a pair of F-16s from the Ohio Air National Guard will fly over Highland Meadows Golf Club to celebrate the 29-year-old’s LPGA career. Friday has been designated Lexi Thompson Day at the Dana Open, in honor of her last full-time season on the LPGA.

While Thompson has never won the event, she finished runner-up to Sei Young Kim in 2018.

In addition to the flyovers, the tournament will be handing out a limited number of pink “Lexi” hats as well as “Thank you, Lexi” buttons.

The popular American, an 11-time winner on the LPGA, heads into the event more fresh than most given that she skipped last week’s major in France. She’s also on a run of three top-10 finishes that includes a playoff loss at the Meijer LPGA Classic. She’s put herself in prime position for a place on Stacy Lewis’ Solheim Cup team in September.

Lexi Thompson of the United States looks on while playing the 14th hole during the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club on June 21, 2024 in Sammamish, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

The 40th anniversary of the Dana Open kicks off Thursday with a purse of $1,750,000. While Amundi Evian winner Ayaka Furue is not in the field this week, runner-up Stephanie Kyriacou is after a career-best finish on the shores of Lake Geneva.

There are are number of notable names playing out of the tournament winners category, which includes members who won an official tournament while a member within the previous 21 seasons. Those players include LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member Karrie Webb, who is gearing up for the AIG Women’s British Open at St. Andrews next month, Natalie Gulbis, Meaghan Francella and Heather Bowie Young, a former Dana Open winner who now serves as head coach of the women’s team at Florida Atlantic University.

Young is one of four past champions in the field, including 2023 winner Linn Grant, Gaby Lopez (2022) and Jasmine Suwannapura (2018).

Linn Grant wins 2023 Dana Open for first LPGA victory

Grant started the final round with a six-shot lead.

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Linn Grant was on 59 Watch during Saturday’s third round of the LPGA’a Dana Open. While she fell short on becoming the second-ever LPGA golfer to do that, she did post an impressive 9-under 62, hitting 17 of 18 greens and needing just 27 putts to take a six-shot lead after 54 holes at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio.

That 62 matches the low score on the LPGA in 2023 but five-time winner on the Ladies European Tour was aiming higher, trying to become the sixth Rolex First-Time Winner on the LPGA.

Missy Farr-Kaye, Grant’s college coach at Arizona State, was certainly enjoying what she was watching and even texted the CBS broadcast booth to say that Linn “loves to win”.

Consider Grant now a winner on the LPGA.

The last two U.S. Women’s Open champs – Allisen Corpuz and Minjee Lee – tried to give chase during the final round but they were too far back to make a serious dent in Grant’s lead.

Corpuz birdied Nos. 14, 15, 17 and 18 to get to 18 under and cut the lead to two just as Grant was teeing off on the 17th hole.

Grant, who opened with seven consecutive pars, made several par-saving putts on the back nine and closed with a statement birdie on the par-5 18th to seal the win in her 15th LPGA start. A final-round 68 got her to 21 under, three clear of the field.

“I feel like I was so blank today. I just really tried to kind of be in the moment without losing — I was playing well, but I was also scrambling a bit at the end there. So my plan was just try to keep it together without thinking too much about what could happen.”

2023 Dana Open
Linn Grant imitates a selfie as she poses with the trophy after winning the 2023 Dana Open at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio. (Photo: Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Corpuz was second at 18 under. Lindy Duncan was solo third at 15 under. Xiyu Lin and Stephanie Kyriacou tied for fourth at 14 under. Maria Fassi was sixth, her best finish since a tie for 15th back in February. Defending Dana Open champion Gaby Lopez finished 12 under, tied for sixth alongside Jaravee Boonchat, Aditi Ashok and Minjee Lee.

Mia Hammond, a 15-year-old amateur who made the cut after opening 68-68, shot 70-72 over the weekend and tied for 21st.

Grant earned $262,500 for the win, which now elevates her into a different conversation: making the European Solheim Cup team.

“It was a big goal coming into this year. Obviously, since I played well on the LET last year, I knew if I just continued to play my game I would be there in September. And I guess it’s even more clear now.”

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Annie Park leads, Rose Zhang misses first cut as pro at LPGA’s Dana Open

Zhang’s first three starts as a pro: Win, T-8 and T-9.

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Rose Zhang’s professional career got off to a fast start, winning the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National in her first event. Three weeks later, the former Stanford star tied for eighth at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. And last week at Pebble Beach, Zhang finished T-9 at the U.S. Women’s Open.

However, Zhang has now missed her first cut as a professional after rounds of 66-77 at the Dana Open at Highlands Meadow Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio.

“I will say that I’m a little more fatigued than I would like to be. I caught a cold, so my voice is not exactly the most normal right now. I will say that I had a nine-hour delay going from Phoenix, connecting flight to here. To Detroit actually. So it was a bit of a travel mess. I came in Tuesday morning at 3 a.m., so the practice rounds and the pro-am was a little bit shaky for me. I’m glad that I played a solid round, and hopefully, I can rest a little bit more,” Zhang said after her 5-under opening round.

Her tiredness caught up with her Friday, as she totaled six bogeys and no birdies for a Day 2 6-over 77.

Atop the leaderboard is Annie Park, who’s opened the tournament with rounds of 68-63 and leads at 11 under. U.S. Women’s Open champ Allisen Corpuz is tied for second at 9 under with 18-hole leader Linn Grant, who shot a second-round 69, and Jaravee Boonchant, who also shot a Friday 69.

This 15-year-old Monday qualifier made the cut in her first LPGA start

“I mean, it’s my first tournament, it’s the best experience, I’m just excited to be here.”

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On Monday, Mia Hammond was playing in a Monday qualifier, trying to get into her first LPGA event. By day’s end, she won that Monday qualifier and has plans for Thursday and Friday.

Come Friday afternoon, her weekend was booked: playing in the 2023 Dana Open.

Hammond shot consecutive rounds of 68 at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio, to make the cut in her first LPGA start. The 15-year-old, who is not in the field at next week’s U.S. Girls’ Junior in Colorado Springs, Colorado, will play the weekend in a professional event instead.

“It’s so amazing, it’s honestly a dream come true,” Hammond said. “I’ve put in a lot of work over the winter and beginning of the season this year, and it’s so great to see it finally pay off. I had a few rough tournaments here and there so just so relieving.”

Not only will she make the cut, she walked off the course inside the top 20 on the leaderboard.

A reminder: Hammond is 15, Monday qualified and is making her first professional start. Not bad.

“I would say for now I’m going to set a goal as top 20,” she said of her goals this weekend. “If it happens to be better than that, then that’s great. I’m just here for the experience more than anything else. Playing on the LPGA Tour is a dream of mine in the future. So just getting a feel for what it’s actually like to be out here is more important to me.”

Hammond has hit 28-of-36 greens and also missed only six of the 28 fairways. She’s averaging 265 yards off the tee.

Now, it’s time to prepare for the weekend.

“I’m just going to take it all in,” Hammond said. “Spend time with the people that are here, make the best of it. I mean, it’s my first tournament, it’s the best experience, I’m just excited to be here.”

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Linn Grant tied for lead, Rose Zhang only two shots back at LPGA’s Dana Open

Rose Zhang is lurking … again.

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Seeing Linn Grant at the top of a leaderboard should come as no surprise.

The 24-year-old from Sweden has hardly competed in the United States since earning her LPGA card in 2021 because of COVID-19 vaccination travel restrictions. She managed to keep her card by competing in events only held outside the U.S., recording four top-eight finishes in the span of six events.

In her latest starts this year, both at majors, she placed T-20 at the KPMG Women’s PGA at Baltusrol and T-53 at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach. Now, she’s leading the way at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio, for the 2023 Dana Open.

Grant opened with a 7-under 64 Thursday morning and is tied with Jaravee Boonchant for the lead after the opening round.

“I think coming off last week, playing at Pebble, it was a challenge,” Grant said. “I felt last week that I really hit the ball well and I was putting well. Obviously coming here, you know, easier conditions. That kind of just suited my mindset for the day. I just got on a roll.”

Ariya Jutanugarn and Emily Kristine Peterson each sit at 6 under, but guess who’s at 5 under?

That’s right, it’s Rose Zhang. The 20-year-old star is making her fourth professional start and coming off a T-9 finish at the U.S. Women’s Open, her worst finish thus far. A reminder, Zhang won the Mizuho Americas Open in her debut and placed T-8 at the KPMG Women’s PGA.

This despite an arduous trek from the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach.

“I will say that I’m a little more fatigued than I would like to be. I caught a cold, so my voice is not exactly the most normal right now,” she said. “I will say that I had a nine-hour delay going from Phoenix, connecting flight to here. To Detroit actually. So it was a bit of a travel mess. I came in Tuesday morning at 3 a.m., so the practice rounds and the pro-am was a little bit shaky for me. I’m glad that I played a solid round, and hopefully I can rest a little bit more.”

Zhang is T-4, along with Bailey Tardy, Aditi Ashok and Linnea Johansson.

Late birdie tear lifts Mexico’s Gaby Lopez to third LPGA title at Dana Open

Gaby Lopez rehearsed hoisting a trophy the night before while emptying the dishwasher.

Gaby Lopez birdied the last three holes to finish the Dana Open in a fiery flourish. The 28-year-old Mexican got up and down from a greenside bunker with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to close with a 63 and earn her third career LPGA title.

Actually, she had rehearsed for this very moment the night before while emptying the dishwasher at the home of her host family. There was a vase on the rack that looked similar to this week’s trophy, and after someone suggested that she practice, Lopez hoisted it high.

“That’s when the mind gets really, really interesting,” said Lopez. “When you see yourself a little bit where you want to be and you see yourself ahead, it doesn’t come as a surprise as much probably.

“So, yeah, the power of mind is pretty much everything in this game.”

2022 Dana Open
Gaby Lopez kisses the trophy after winning the 2022 Dana Open at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio. (Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Lopez, who last won on the LPGA in 2020, was bogey-free on a damp Sunday at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio, to finish at 18 under for the tournament and hold off a host of hungry players including 19-year-old Lucy Li, Megan Khang and defending champion Nasa Hataoka. Lopez birdied the last three holes on Saturday, too, to shoot 66 and head into the final round four strokes back.

Lopez has battled two injuries this season and hadn’t cracked the top 10 since the first tournament of the year when she finished solo third at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

“Honestly, I was very surprised how the year has been,” she said, “because I have hit it the best I’ve ever hit it in my life through this year, but I just couldn’t connect it.

“I was struggling sometimes on my driver and sometimes on my putting and sometimes on my iron shots, but I felt that I was hitting it really, really close the last couple months, and I was very, very frustrated that I couldn’t connect it.”

Lopez has worked with Steven Yellin and the Fluid Motion Factor for eight years, and said Yellin came to Sylvania for three days this week. Together they worked to reset the mind. The goal, she said, was to create more quiet space during the round and “get rid of all the drama.”

Yellin often talks to Lopez about “staying on the couch,” and she explained the meaning of the mantra after the win.

“Well, he has to tell you better than I can tell you,” she said, “but basically if you stay on the couch and you don’t get ahead of yourself, then everything comes to you and you don’t have to chase anything.

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“So it’s pretty much letting everything come, staying comfortable, sitting instead of going and rushing everything.”

Lopez and World Golf Hall of Famer Lorena Ochoa are the only Mexicans to win on the LPGA. The former Arkansas standout has now crossed the $3 million mark in career earnings. She earned $262,500 for her Dana Open victory.

Li found herself leading an LPGA event for the first time this week and closed with a 70 while playing in the final group. The former prodigy had already shored up LPGA status for the 2023 season thanks to two victories on the Epson Tour and played her way into the Dana by finishing in the top 10 at last week’s CP Women’s Open in Canada. The LPGA recently changed the rules to allow non-members to earn a spot in the next week’s event.

Li’s T-4 finish in Sylvania also earned her a spot in next week’s field at the new Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati.

2022 Dana Open
Gaby Lopez and Megan Khang embrace on the 18th green after their final round at the 2022 Dana Open at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio. (Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Khang, who has yet to win on the LPGA in seven seasons, posted her best finish of the season, a solo second, thanks to a final-round 64 that included a 29 on the front nine.

“A lot of mixed feelings,” said Khang, “but I gave myself chances, and just going to take what I learned from this week and carry on for my career.”

Sarah Schmelzel finished in the top 10 for a second straight week, shooting 65-66 over the weekend to finish at 15 under alongside rookie Ruoning Yin and Li.

Lexi Thompson entered the final round one stroke back but closed with a 2-over 73 in which she made bogeys on Nos. 15-17 before closing with her first birdie of the day on the par-5 18th. The American star has yet to win on the LPGA since 2019. No other player in the top 40 shot over par on Sunday.

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Lucy Li takes share of fourth at LPGA’s Dana Open, plays her way into next event in Cincinnati thanks to rule change

Lucy Li didn’t win this week in Ohio, but she did play her way into another event LPGA event.

Lucy Li didn’t win in Ohio, but she did play her way into another LPGA event three and a half hours south in Cincinnati.

Li, 19, held the lead at an LPGA event for the first time over the weekend at the Dana Open in Sylvania, Ohio, and played in the last group at Highland Meadows Golf Club. A closing 70 dropped her into a share of fourth, three strokes back of winner Gaby Lopez.

“It was exciting,” said Li. “I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be, which was good.”

The former prodigy made headlines in 2014 at Pinehurst No. 2 when she became the youngest to ever qualify for a U.S. Women’s Open at age 11. A two-time winner on the Epson Tour this season, Li leads the developmental circuit in scoring, money and is second in greens in regulation. She has already shored up LPGA status for the 2023 season.

The LPGA recently changed a rule to now allow non-members who finish in the top 10 in designated events to tee it up the next week. The PGA Tour has a similar rule.

Previously, the LPGA only held two spots for top-10 finishers who were members.

Li competed in last week’s CP Women’s Open in Canada on a sponsor exemption, and her top-10 performance there got her into the field at the Dana Open. She played only one practice round at Highland Meadows before getting right into the mix.

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She’ll next head to Cincy for the inaugural Kroger Queen City Championship. After that, she’s in the field in Portland on a sponsor exemption.

“There is lots of lessons to be learned,” said Li, “but today I hit it good and I just couldn’t get a lot of the putts to fall honestly.

“Like, I mean, I hit it close, but my putts, they were breaking a lot. So that’s just how it goes sometimes.”

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