Tag: Danielle Kang

Danielle Kang wins again in Toledo as good friend Lydia Ko suffers 18th-hole collapse

Kang’s closing par for a 68 clinched the $255,000 prize. She’s the first player to win back-to-back events since Shanshan Feng in 2017.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Danielle Kang won for a second time in as many weeks, but the lingering talk about the Marathon LPGA Classic centered around the stunning way a once-dominant Lydia Ko managed to lose the tournament.

A woman with one of the most enviable short games in golf misjudged one shot after another on the par-5 18thafter her second shot settled on a cart path behind the green. After Ko took what felt like an eternity to play her third shot, the rest of the collapse happened in short order. A failed bump into the bank for her fourth rolled back into a greenside bunker. Her fifth from a good lie settled 10 feet from the hole. She two-putted for double-bogey, a gut punch felt all the way down in New Zealand.

Ko was commenting on the weather when she arrived at the flash area to talk to reporters. She was calm, cool and gracious.

“When you look back afterwards you are like, maybe I should have done this, maybe I should have done that,” said Ko. “But, I mean, what can you do?”

As Ko talked, her good friend Kang was gathering on the putting green at Highland Meadows, preparing to give her second victory speech this month. Ohio has been good to her.

“I mean, there are really no words, to be honest,” said Kang of what happened to Ko on the 18th. “As a competitor, friend, I mean, she’ll bounce back and she’s a great player and she’s proven to be one of the best players in the world.”

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Kang, 27, entered the final round four strokes back of Ko and after three-putting the 12th, she turned to her caddie, Oliver Brett, and said “Man, that’s too costly.”

Brett responded by telling her that she was five shots back of Ko with six to play.

“I like that,” Kang replied.

Brett laid out the challenge plainly to Kang and she responded, making two consecutive birdies. When she stood on the 18th tee, Kang trailed Ko by a single shot.

What happened next left everyone’s head spinning in absolute shock, though such drama certainly would’ve played out better with a packed grandstand. Only volunteers, officials and media rimmed the final green.

“It’s like putting a big musical together and all the stars of the show are here,” said longtime tournament director Judd Silverman, “but there’s nobody in the theater to watch.”

Ko’s double-bogey dropped her into a share of second with Jodi Ewart Shadoff at 14 under. Kang’s closing par for a 68 clinched the $255,000 first-place prize. She’s the first player to win back-to-back events since Shanshan Feng won the TOTO Japan Classic and the Blue Bay LPGA in the fall of 2017.

Marathon LPGA Classic scores | LPGA schedule

Jin Young Ko, the current No. 1 has yet to compete on the LPGA in 2020. She isn’t signed up for the next two events in Scotland either. Because of changes to the Rolex Rankings due to COVID-19, the LPGA can’t project whether or not Kang will move up to No. 1 after this victory. She moved to No. 2 after clinching last week’s title at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Inverness.

“I think a big part of how I’ve approached the golf game is I’m really not focused on a lot of other things other than just getting better at things I want to get better at,” said Kang. We always have room to improve, and that’s the beauty of golf.

“At the same time, I’m able to tell myself I did a good job with certain things and positive reinforcements to myself so I’m not too critical. That’s something that I think I’ve changed in how I approach my own game.”

Now a five-time winner on the LPGA, Kang made herself at home for her fortnight in Toledo and credited Amy Yang, who stayed in the room across from her at the hotel, for making enough food to share every night.

“I ate out one time,” she said, “and it was McDonald’s.”

Few distractions off the course, and a growing confidence in what she’d worked on with Butch Harmon in Las Vegas during the LPGA’s 166-day break, left her focused on one thing: learning golf courses.

Kang proved a quick study, and now she’ll head to Scotland for two weeks where she’ll try to tame a style of play that hasn’t suited her in the past.

“I’m really excited to go to Scotland actually,” she said. “Links golf hasn’t been my forte, but I’ve kind of proven that what I worked on with different parts of my game. Inverness and Highland Meadows have been two different golf courses completely, and I was able to play well on both of them.”

Ko gets on tonight’s charter flight to Scotland with plenty to think about, though if her post-round interview is any indication, she won’t let Sunday’s catastrophe linger.

“I think there are so many positives from the week,” said Ko, “and I feel overall like more confident in my game. I think that’s really the goal I had coming into this stretch after quarantine.

“Obviously, I would’ve loved to be the one holding the trophy, but I think if somebody said, ‘Hey, you’re going to be second at Marathon coming into the stretch I would’ve been, OK, cool.’ I would take that.”

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Lydia Ko looks to end two-year victory drought at Marathon Classic, where she leads by 4

Lydia Ko, who currently ranks 55th, finds herself in position to make quite a statement on Sunday at the Marathon LPGA Classic.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – It’s been 833 days since Lydia Ko last hoisted a trophy.

There was another near two-year drought before that one too. One victory in four years makes Ko’s once-dominant stretch seem like ancient history. So much has changed since the prodigious Kiwi last ruled the world on June 11, 2017. Heck, another player with the same last name even took over as No. 1 – Jin Young Ko.

Lydia Ko became the top-ranked player in the world for the first time on Feb. 2, 2015. She gave it back to Inbee Park for a stretch but ultimately stayed there for a total of 104 weeks.

Since then, six different players have been No. 1 in the world on the LPGA.

Ko, who currently ranks 55th, finds herself in position to make quite a statement on Sunday at the Marathon LPGA Classic. It’s a comfortable place for Ko, who has won here twice already, including a playoff victory in 2016.

The 23-year-old with the old soul looks at ease at Highland Meadows. With no leaderboards on the fan-free course, it’s been difficult for Ko to keep track of exactly how well she’s playing. In the scoring tent on Thursday, Ko turned to her caddie, Jason Hamilton, and asked him to confirm that she’d carded a 64. On Saturday, she didn’t know that she led by four over Danielle Kang until a reporter mentioned it in the flash area.

Casual Ko has never looked more fit either. She downed protein shakes during the LPGA’s long break and put on 7 pounds of muscle in two weeks. She doesn’t feel quite as good as she looks, however, as sudden back pain has caused her to get treatment mid-round. It hurts the most, she said, when she bends down. She jokingly told Hamilton that he needed to start teeing up her ball.

“I don’t have a back injury,” said Ko, “I think this is a one-off thing.”

Ko, who leads the field at 16 under, also plans to keep swinging aggressively on Sunday, she said, because doing that doesn’t make it hurt more.

“There’s probably no player out there that’s not fighting something,” said Ko. “I think this is a very minor thing. … It’s sometimes what Ibuprofen is for.”

Kang, last week’s winner of the LPGA Drive On Championship, described Saturday’s second-round 70 as “frustrating, annoying and irritating.”

“The golf course was very firm today,” said the 27-year-old who rose to No. 2 in the world this week. “Definitely a different release on the greens. I couldn’t really get adjusted as easily as normal. The wedges were either rolling out 18 yards some holes, and some holes it was only rolling out 2. I couldn’t really get the consistency of it.”

Minjee Lee and Jodi Ewart Shadoff are tied for third at 10 under. Ewart Shadoff played in the final group on Sunday at Inverness and struggled to a fifth-place finish. She’ll be in the penultimate group alongside Lee in the Marathon’s final round, looking for her first tour victory.

Good friends Ko and Kang will make up the final twosome. The pair first met at the 2011 U.S. Women’s Amateur, when Kang won her second consecutive Women’s Amateur title. (Ko won it in 2012.)

“(Danielle) has really taken me under her wing,” said Ko. “She’s been a big sister. There’s a few girls that I call like my big sister and she’s one of them. It’s been pretty awesome to see her play well, but that’s why it’s more important that I’m out there tomorrow just focusing on my game and enjoying being with her, and hopefully we’ll both have a good time.”

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Two-time champ Lydia Ko on top at Marathon Classic alongside recent winner Danielle Kang

Lydia Ko and Danielle Kang lead the LPGA’s Marathon Classic, the second event back after the coronavirus break, after the first round.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Lydia Ko rose to fame as a bespectacled prodigy by making the game look easy. It felt like old times on Thursday at the Marathon Classic, when Ko made five birdies from tap-in range.

After Ko hit the flagstick on the fifth hole from the rough, playing competitor Amy Olson turned to her and said, “At one point, one of these shots is going in.”

Alas, Ko had to settle for eight birdies in an opening 7-under 64. She shares a two-stroke lead with good friend Danielle Kang, who won last week’s LPGA Drive On Championship seven miles away at Inverness Club.

Only five players broke par at Inverness, where relentless rain made a tough course all the more demanding. It’s a different story here at Highland Meadows, where perfect scoring conditions led to a boatload of low scores.

“Golf is a silly game where one day you feel like everything is going your way,” said Ko, “and the next day you’re like, ‘What am I doing?’”

SCORES: Leaderboard at Marathon Classic

Ko certainly felt that way at last Saturday at Inverness when she carded a second-round 80. Kang’s post-round interview actually helped Ko turn things around. Ko heard Kang talk about a conversation she’d had with Annika Sorenstam about the need to stay aggressive at a 54-hole tournament. The Kiwi committed to that for Round 3 and beyond.

“Like aggressive doesn’t mean you’re going at every pin,” she explained. “For me, the term aggressive is like even if … I’m playing safe, I’m still being aggressive and committed over that shot.”

Ko hit every green and every fairway on the back nine last Sunday and said the confidence in being aggressive suited her well.

A two-time winner of the Marathon Classic, Ko had a scoring average of 68 at Highland Meadows going into Thursday’s opening round. Her opening 64 is her lowest round on the LPGA since the 2017 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia.

Danielle Kang during the first round of the Marathon LPGA Classic at Highlands Meadows Golf Club. (Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports)

Ko began working with Sean Foley over the LPGA’s COVID-19 break and said they’ve FaceTimed this week while Foley’s at the PGA Championship in California.

“He just said there is not a lot that can go wrong in my swing,” she said, “so I think when somebody tells you that it gives you the confidence.”

Kang went out for ice cream with Lizette Salas after her victory at Inverness, keeping with tradition. She was hoping for Graeter’s, her favorite, but settled for Baskin Robbins. Amy Yang cooked her dinner.

Then it was back to work for Kang, who jumped to No. 2 in the world, her highest career ranking. Nelly Korda, who opened with a 67, dropped to third.

“I worked a lot on my putting for the last couple days,” said Kang, who had 27 putts in her bogey-free round. “Didn’t really like how the ball was coming off my putter. But I think that I kind of got a good feel out of it; then today my putting worked really well.”

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Danielle Kang edges Celine Boutier at LPGA Drive On, collects fourth career title

Danielle Kang might be the only player to ever win the LPGA Drive On Championship, a last-minute event thrown together in the COVID-19 era.

TOLEDO, Ohio – Exactly 100 years ago, Inverness hosted its first of four U.S. Opens. There’s an official program from the championship inside a glass case in the clubhouse. There weren’t any programs at this week’s LPGA Drive On Championship because there weren’t any fans. No friends and family or coaches or agents. Tee times were posted on a board outside the pro shop.

Danielle Kang might be the only player to ever win the LPGA Drive On trophy, as it was a last-minute event, thrown together in the COVID-19 era to give the tour a chance to create a bubble and give players an opportunity to compete.

And yet, it felt like a major championship inside the ropes. Only five players broke par. The No. 4-ranked player in the world won on a course and in conditions that tested every part of the game.

And bonus: The venue that will host the 2021 Solheim Cup delivered a Sunday singles-like showdown between Kang, who leads the U.S. points race and Boutier, who went 4-0 in her Cup debut at Gleneagles last year.

And double bonus: Kang’s boyfriend, Maverick McNealy, still had a chance to win on the PGA Tour at the Barracuda Championship in Reno, Nevada, by the time Kang wrapped up her own title.

“We definitely told each other, go and be aggressive,” said Kang of their pre-round talk. “Trust our games and don’t leave putts short.”

On the front nine Sunday, in unrelenting rain, Kang looked like she might run away with the Drive On after her aggressive lines yielded one strong look at birdie after another.

But Boutier bounced back, making three birdies in a four-hole stretch, even hitting the flagstick for a near ace on the par-3 12th. The Frenchwoman pulled into a share of the lead with Kang with four holes to play.

On the final hole, Boutier needed birdie to force a playoff. The former Duke standout delivered a beauty, knocking her 50-degree wedge to 5 feet. The ensuing lip-out stunned everyone, including the members who were dining on the clubhouse patio. (They couldn’t go on the golf course.)

“Yeah, it’s hard right now to just see the positive right away,” said Boutier, “but I definitely had, you know, a little bit of trouble in the beginning.”

As the sun broke through, Kang, 27, enjoyed a celebratory champagne shower from friends Amy Yang and Lizette Salas along with air hugs. A closing 2-under 70 put Kang at 7-under 209 for the tournament.

Now a four-time winner on the LPGA, Kang insisted that she wouldn’t look at the scores on her phone during the final round. It was permitted this week as there were no leaderboards. Ultimately she couldn’t help herself, pulling her phone out of the bag to check with three holes to play.

When it was over, Kang made sure to thank instructor Butch Harmon for spending a good deal of time with her in Las Vegas during the 166-day break in competition.

When asked to compare her game today to when she won the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA, Kang said it’s less about mechanics and more getting a feel for the course.

“I felt at KPMG, everything happened at the right time,” said Kang. “Now I feel that my game is stable. That I can contend I’m not looking for that one thing that will get my going that week.”

Inverness presented a stern welcome-back test and players who chose to stay sharp through the offseason with tournament play were rewarded at the Drive On.

Mina Harigae rediscovered her love of competition during the coronavirus break, winning four Cactus Tour events. She took a share of sixth at Inverness alongside former Michigan State player Sarah Burnham, who won twice on the Cactus Tour in Arizona, once on the Eggland’s Best Tour in Florida and the Michigan PGA Women’s Open by 10 shots. Burnham’s previous best finish on the LPGA was a share of ninth at the Cambia Portland Classic.

Gemma Dryburgh won twice on the Rose Ladies Series before coming over to the U.S. for a two-week quarantine.

“I can’t imagine this being the first tournament back,” said Dryburgh, who became the first woman to win a professional event at Royal St. George’s during the break. “Definitely thankful I had that prep coming in.”

One of the most impressive showings of the week came from 2016 U.S. Women’s Open champion Brittany Lang, who finished tied for sixth in her first LPGA event since giving birth to daughter Shay in January.

“I’m winning in life right now,” said Lang. “I feel like a champion.”

LPGA: LPGA Drive Championship - Second Round
Brittany Lang walks from the 7th green to the 8th tee with her caddie and husband Kevin Spann at the LPGA Drive Championship. (Photo: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports)

Shay aced her first time on an airplane, said Lang, whose husband Kevin Spann also made the trip. Because Lang’s caddie couldn’t travel due to a hurricane, Spann picked up the bag, a first for the couple at an LPGA event. Lang felt they made a good team out there, which isn’t always the case for couples inside the ropes.

“I always just say, stay positive, let’s be positive,” said Lang when asked if the couple had any caddie rules. “Let’s be in a good mood. I’m not a machine. You’re gonna make a lot of mistakes.”

Shay rocked her first week in daycare too.

“Everybody’s like, who cried most? You or Shay?” said Lang. “Actually, nobody cried. (Maybe) Kevin. Just kidding.”

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Next year’s Solheim Cup buildout will add to the Inverness splendor

This week at the LPGA Drive on Championship, players and television viewers are seeing Inverness in its purest form.

TOLEDO, Ohio – Can you picture it? A massive u-shaped structure that seats 3,000 rowdy Solheim Cup fans situated around one teeing area at Inverness Club, serving both the 1st and 10th holes. Rather than a tunnel, Solheim Cup players will walk across a bridge from the practice putting green, over the road and through the crowd, likely high-fiving their way down the stairs and onto the tee box, music blaring.

In Dennis Baggett’s mind, the crowds at Inverness are going from zero to 150,000 in 13 months’ time.

This week at the LPGA Drive on Championship, players and television viewers are seeing Inverness in its purest form. No fans. No leaderboards. No grandstands. No hospitality suites. Maybe two ropes.

The build-out around the first tee next year will extend into where players are parking their cars this week. The ninth and 18th holes will be switched for Solheim so that players can make the short walk to the 10th tee and back into the rockin’ grandstand. On Sunday, players making the turn in their singles matches will have to wait on players who are just beginning the round. The action there will be nonstop.

Exactly the kind of environment that Danielle Kang thrives in. As a Solheim rookie in Des Moines, Iowa, Kang revved up the gallery on the first tee, encouraging them to scream and shout right through her swing.

Apparently Kang doesn’t mind the quiet either, as she’s tied for the lead here at Inverness with European Solheim Cup players Celine Boutier and Jodi Ewart Shadoff. With so many Asian players opting to skip the two events in Ohio, past and potential Solheim Cuppers are peppering the board.

Mel Reid, a three-time European Solheim Cup player who served as vice captain last year at Gleneages, said Inverness is one of the toughest courses she’s ever played on the LPGA, a fact that she loves.

“Kind of the running joke between players and caddies this week,” said Reid, “is it’s a major for $1 million.”

The LPGA lost one of its five majors to COVID-19 this season when the Evian Championship was canceled. Inverness, a course that has hosted four U.S. Opens and two PGA Championships, has certainly given the women an unexpected treat. It was only seven weeks ago that the LPGA approached Inverness about hosting the last-minute event and five weeks ago that the club agreed.

While the first round played firm and fast, the second offered a completely different challenge as rain ruled the day. There was a 45-minute delay Saturday afternoon for maintenance crews to squeegee water off the greens. Kang marveled at the way Inverness changed like a chameleon.

There likely hasn’t been a more fan-friendly course than this Donald Ross design. Baggett has walked the course this week like he would as a fan, anticipating crowd flow issues and fairway crosswalks.

“I remember standing in the clubhouse one time and I could see 13 flags,” said Baggett.

Fans can purchase upgraded tickets to the Solheim Pavilion, a structure that offers fans views of the greens on Nos. 4, 11 and 14, the 15th tee and the entirety of Nos. 5 and 12.

Community support is terrific, too. Before the pandemic hit, 84 partners signed up for next year. The good news is that not a single one has pulled out. The bad news is that it’s a tough time to add more.

The Toledo market is faithful to the LPGA. Next week the Marathon Classic will be held less than 10 miles away for the 35th time. When Drive On organizers spotted a concerning pothole on Dorr Street earlier this week, right at the entrance of Inverness, a phone call was placed to the mayor and the hole was fixed the next day.

There are 19 of 24 Solheim Cup players from last year in the field this week as well as 2021 assistant captain Angela Stanford. Captains Pat Hurst and Catriona Matthew aren’t here now, but they’ll be on property soon enough.

“Honestly, this is going to be a spectacle,” said Reid.

At last, a course that is as spectacular as the contest itself.

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Danielle Kang contends at Inverness with support from afar, including boyfriend Maverick McNealy

It was a scattered day at the LPGA Drive On Championship and Danielle Kang will no doubt hash it all out with boyfriend Maverick McNealy.

TOLEDO, Ohio – When Danielle Kang took out her phone after the round, she looked a bit shocked when she saw that the cutline at the LPGA Drive On Championship had moved to 6 over. She knew it was tough at soggy Inverness, but with no leaderboards on the course it’s tough to gauge exactly how tough.

Players are allowed to check the scores on their phones this week, but Kang won’t do it. During the 45-minute afternoon delay that allowed maintenance staff to squeegee the greens, Kang phoned her instructor, Butch Harmon, to ask for advice and inquire about the scores.

“I felt like I was struggling, and I was kind of behind the field,” said Kang. “He’s like, ‘You’re doing fine.’ ”

Kang held the lead at 6 under when Round 2 started. She dropped one stroke and ended the day in a share of first with two European Solheim Cup players, Celine Boutier (71) and Jodi Ewart Shadoff (72) at 5-under 139.

Kang’s group was put on the clock on the eighth hole and remained on the clock for the rest of the round. She tried not to worry about it but wasn’t successful, noting that she’s “out of practice” in being timed. Add in all the weather challenges and it got a bit overwhelming.

She’ll no doubt hash it all out with boyfriend Maverick McNealy tonight. He’s in contention as well at the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship on the West Coast.

“We talk about the best shots we hit, the best putt we made, the most unlucky shot we got,” she said. “We talk a lot of golf. We just go ‘Babe you would’ve loved this shot, I hit this high cut over a tree.’ … He actually 3D satellites on maps and looks at my entire golf course track. … I don’t do that for his tournaments.

“Hopefully he plays well today, and it will be a really exciting Sunday for us.”

Another phone call in particular helped this week too. Over the extended break, Kang talked to Annika Sorenstam about tackling 54-hole events.

“One of the things was just go out there and be aggressive and put on the gas,” said Kang, “and that’s what I did and shot 6 under yesterday. It’s definitely a benefit going into the weekend.”

Sunday at Inverness could turn into a Solheim-like shootout, a fitting end for a club set to host the biennial event in 2021.

Sarah Schmelzel missed her first three cuts of 2020 and now finds herself two strokes off the lead after carding a 3-under 69 in Saturday afternoon’s downpour. The LPGA sophomore has one career top 10, a sixth-place at last year’s Cambia Portland Classic.

Only a dozen players broke par after two rounds. Fifteen players are within five shots of the lead, including a rookie (Yui Kawamoto), a player who had retired from the LPGA (Lee-Anne Pace) and a woman competing in her first LPGA event since giving birth last January (Brittany Lang).

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LPGA players face a waiting game as season enters unexpected month-long break

Three LPGA events came off the calendar due to concern over the coronavirus outbreak, leaving players with an unexpected month off.

When Muni He triumphed at LPGA Q-Series last November, she seized control of something every professional golfer holds dear: her schedule. Being able to sign up for an event and not have to rely on the streaky nature of Monday qualifiers and the luck of the alternate list feels like a luxury for young players on the highest stage.

He, 20, decided early on that she’d skip the first three LPGA tournaments that she was eligible for and start 2020 on a three-week stretch in Asia, playing off of sponsor exemptions in limited-field events in Thailand and Singapore and the Blue Bay LPGA in her native China.

No one could’ve predicted that her first three starts would be canceled due to threats from the coronavirus. That control He worked so hard for went up in a puff of smoke. She’ll now make her first start of 2020 in late March at the LPGA event in Phoenix.

“I’m really trying hard not to stress,” He said by phone from London. Her original plans included a stop first in London to see friends. She decided to go ahead and make that trip and play Wentworth for a few days before heading back to Los Angeles to practice.

But not over-practice. Or overthink. It’s so difficult not to do both or either with so much unplanned time on the calendar.

Golfers live by the calendar. Natalie Gulbis used to literally schedule her sleep for the year, going to bed at 9 p.m. and rising at 5 a.m. Probably still does.

Danielle Kang said she was devastated to learn that her next three events had been canceled but agrees with the decision to put safety first. The Asian events are among her favorite on tour. Kang said she hasn’t had seven weeks off since high school.

“I honestly have no plans,” said Kang, who skipped the Australian swing. There’s now a four-week gap between tournaments on the LPGA schedule.

After having some time to let the news soak in, the World No. 5 started to view the unexpected break as a good thing. Kang didn’t have much of an offseason over the winter and found herself feeling tired at the first two events of the year in Florida. The idea of getting into a routine for a long period of time in Las Vegas started to sound appealing.

“I only have four weeks left!” said Kang, uttering an unheard phrase this time of year.

At the start of the week in Australia, Inbee Park was lamenting over the fact that she so often can’t buy groceries at home like a regular person because she’s not there long enough to eat them.

After collecting her 20th career LPGA victory at the ISPS Handa Australian Women’s Open, Inbee Park headed home to South Korea, where she can buy as much as she wants in the produce section with a month off. Park hadn’t originally planned to play in Phoenix, but that might change.

The top two players in the world, Jin Young Ko and Sung Hyun Park, have yet to hit a shot on the LPGA this season. Here’s a wild thought: There are now only two events remaining on the schedule before the first major of the year. Ko won the Founders Cup and ANA Inspiration in 2019.

Last year He, a former USC standout, put too much pressure on herself to get off to a fast start.

“Look at how that turned out for me,” she said.

He, who goes by “Lily,” now views the full season as she did Q-Series, one long marathon.

Born in Chengdu, China, He said she might have had trouble getting into Singapore anyway given that she travels on a Chinese passport. She was in China over the holidays to celebrate her grandfather’s birthday.

“The society isn’t really functioning at this point,” said He. “Thankfully, we left right before the whole thing broke out.”

The mysterious virus has infected more than 69,000 people, with the overwhelming majority of patients in China, where the outbreak originated.

He took off a month and a half after Q-Series, traveling to Abu Dhabi with Angel Yin for a Formula One race. Then she was off to Australia for the Presidents Cup to do media work for the PGA Tour. He, whose Instagram following is approaching 300,000, took a photo with her “idol” Tiger Woods at Royal Melbourne. Her father used to take her out to Shanghai every year to watch Woods compete in the HSBC event when she was a small child.

“I don’t get starstruck very often,” said He, “but I was starstruck in that moment.”

From there she was off to China for family time followed by New Year’s in Japan with friends. After battling through sickness for 10 days at home in California, she was back to work in January and quite pleased with her progress.

“Now with four more weeks on my hands,” she said, “I’m just trying to maintain.”

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Danielle Kang cruises to 63 alongside country music friends at LPGA TOC

Danielle Kang opened her year with an 8-under 63 to jump out to a two-stroke lead at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Danielle Kang recently posted a video of she and Maverick McNealy getting a “Couples Lesson” from Butch Harmon on the range at Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada. When your boyfriend is a PGA Tour pro, it’s easier to make a date out of work.

Kang considers 2020 a rollover season, saying she took two days off after making a run at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. There were outings. Golf in Hawaii and Palm Springs. And, of course, work with Harmon.

It worked out, with Kang opening the year with an 8-under 63 to jump out to a two-stroke lead at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions. Gaby Lopez, Angela Stanford and Inbee Park are tied for second. Lexi Thompson is among those who are three strokes back.

Mark Mulder leads the celebrity division with 42 points. He’s three ahead of fellow MLBer Eric Gagne in the Stableford format.

“We go practice at Rio Secco quite a bit,” said Kang, who lives in Las Vegas. “Butch designed the practice range, and it’s a beautiful practice facility. The way he managed to put all the wedge numbers and the chipping green, the way it slopes right to left – everything that Butch made, it kind of fits a golfer’s style. Mav and I go out there and practice quite a bit and sometimes joke around.”

Tournament of Champions: Photos | Leaderboard | Celebrities

Kang’s second trip to the TOC brought a strong sense of familiarity after she was once again paired with country singers Lee Brice and Cole Swindell. Kang doesn’t listen to country music, expect for these two.

“I’m a big fan of theirs,” said Kang. “I know when Lee comes out with new singles or Cole says he has pretty cool stuff coming in the future and things like that. So we talk about our own jobs out there because they say they can’t do mine.”

Danielle Kang looks over a putt on the 15th green during the first round of the 2020 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Kang finished the 2019 season 1-2-3 in her last three starts, moving up to No. 4 in the world. The 27-year-old said she only pays attention to the rankings “because Butch pays attention.”

She wasn’t too keen to talk about how badly she wants to get to No. 1 either.

“To be honest,” sai Kang, “right now I just need to get back inside. It’s pretty hot. Everybody has a specific goal. I have my own goals and why I started golf and things that I wanted to accomplish. I have goals for this week. I have short term, long term. Right now, today, I think I’ve accomplished today’s goal, went out there and shot 8 under, and I’m excited for tomorrow.”

No one on the LPGA now knows more about being No. 1 than Park, who is starting her season in January for the first time since 2016. Park pays attention to the rankings now because they tell the story of whether or not she’ll return to the Olympics in 2020. And Tokyo is her No. 1 goal.

“I feel like my putting improved a bit compared to last year,” said Park, “so I’m happy with that. Bogey-free round was a great start to start off the season.”

Inbee Park reacts after a birdie on 14 during the first round of the 2020 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Stanford is in the midst of marathon training and said her legs are the strongest they’ve been in 10 years.

“Ran four miles yesterday with Cydney Clanton,” said Stanford. “I told her, it’s like training with a gazelle.”

The mental strength is takes to push through pain while running has already helped her to snap back into focus inside the ropes.

“In the past, I think I would have just kind of checked out and got frustrated and would have said, well, you know, it’s typical,’ ” said Stanford. “… I told my caddie I need to be more aware of this. I don’t know if it’s just me or if it is when you get older, it’s hard to hold your focus for an extent. I felt it the last couple of years, where I’m like, man, I played nine really good holes and then I kind of hit a wall in the back nine.”

Stanford shot 31 on the back nine at Tranquilo Golf Club and trails Kang by two.

“It’s funny, people are like, ‘Oh, you just have to beat 25 people,’ ” said Stanford. “Yeah, they’re 25 winners. It’s not just beating a random 25 people. I know I’ve got to bring it all week. Let’s see if I can.”

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