Tag: Frida Kinhult

Sweden’s Frida Kinhult grew up playing on a windy island, and she leads after the first round of the LPGA’s Lotte Championship in Hawaii

It was a windy start in Hawaii.

Frida Kinhult grew up on an island in Sweden. This week, she’s playing on the Hawaiian islands. Although the two have stark differences, there is one commonality: wind.

The wind was blowing Wednesday during the first round of the LPGA’s Lotte Championship at Hoakalei Country Club in Ewa Beach. And it provided difficult conditions for everyone in the field, but Kinhult excelled.

The 23-year-old shot 6-under 66 to share the first-round lead with Natthakritta Vongtaveelap. Kinhult’s round included seven birdies and one bogey, which came on her last hole of the day, the par-3 ninth.

“It was very solid. Nothing crazy really happened,” Kinhult said. “Throughout the day tried to hit some fairways, and then I think I hit most greens, which is helpful in this wind. Just tried to stay patient out there shot by shot for real in this wind. A lot of the math in my head, so probably going to fall asleep pretty good tonight.

“Super happy with the start and pumped for the rest of the week.”

It’s the first time Kinhult has held a share of the 18-hole lead in her LPGA career.

Vongtaveelap had a bogey-free performance, which included an eagle on the par-5 fifth. She credited a strong driver with her great start.

Four players are tied for third at 4 under: Yu Jin Sung, Bailey Tardy, Nasa Hataoka and Hyo Joo Kim.

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Frida Kinhult earns LPGA card with Symetra Tour Championship win

Frida Kinhult is headed to the LPGA after her win at the Symetra Tour Championship.

Frida Kinhult was all smiles Friday afternoon at River Run Country Club for a few reasons.

First and most obvious, the 21-year-old won the Symetra Tour Championship by four shots after surviving some trouble on the back nine for her first career win on the tour. Most importantly, she earned her LPGA tour card and a U.S. Women’s Open invite with her win in Davidson, North Carolina.

The former No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings from Fiskebackskil, Sweden, shot rounds of 68-71-69-70 to finish the tournament at 10 under. Her final round began with four birdies on the front nine to lead by seven shots at the turn. Kinhult added another birdie on No. 10 to sit at 13 under overall, before a little bit of trouble began.

The former Florida State golfer carded bogeys on Nos. 12, 14 and 17. However, her performance through the event’s first 65 holes gave her some security.

Finishing in second, four shots behind Kinhult, was Demi Runas at 6 under. Runas shot a final-round 66 thanks to a hot start to her round with five birdies within the first six holes, and back-to-back birdies to finish.

Former Florida Gator Sierra Brooks finished third at 4 under. Laura Wearn finished in fourth at 2 under while Janie Jackson and 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Gabi Ruffels finished T-5 at 1 under.

The top 5 golfers on the 2020 Symetra Tour money list earned LPGA cards: Former Duke golfer Ana Belac; Fatima Fernandez Cano, who withdrew from the Symetra Tour finale after testing positive for COVID-19; Kim Kaufman; Kinhult; and Janie Jackson all finished Nos. 1-5 respectively on the 2020 Symetra Tour money list.

It’s Symetra Tour finale week and a U.S. Women’s Open berth is at stake

There’s a tournament within a tournament at the Symetra Tour Championship that could ultimately mean more than the LPGA card itself.

There’s a tournament within a tournament at this week’s season-ending Symetra Tour Championship that could ultimately mean more than the LPGA card itself.

The top five on the Symetra Tour money list at the conclusion of this week’s event earn LPGA status for 2021. It’s worth noting, however, that this group’s status will be significantly lower on the priority list than previous years, dropping from Category 9 to 19. (Category 19 is typically reserved for the Class A/Veteran International players who have been active on the tour for at least 10 consecutive years. Category 19 sits below Nos. 125-150 on the money list.)

It’s basically like an LPGA card lite.

The other carrot dangling on the horizon?

A start in the 75th U.S. Women’s Open next month. The top five on the money list also earn a spot at Champions Golf Club Dec. 10-13 in Houston. And on a tour where only 38 players have crossed the $10,000 mark in earnings – for the year – the USWO’s $5,500,000 purse is a mega-opportunity.

“Today was big for me,” said rookie Sierra Brooks of a 3-under 69 that vaulted her into a tie for third. “I knew coming into this week that there was maybe an outside chance of me winning to sneak into the top five there.

“I needed a day like today to have a good run at it for the last two days.”

This week’s Symetra Tour Championship at River Run Country Club in Davidson, North Carolina, offers a first-place check of $26,250. At the start of the tournament, 34 players had a chance to finish in the top five. Money leader Fatima Fernandez Cano hopes to hang on to one of those spots from her hotel room in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she’s currently quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19 for a second time this season

Ana Belac, Kim Kaufman, Bailey Tardy and Peiyun Chien round out the top five, with Chien checking in at $36,570. (Kaufman’s LPGA status is already better than what’s on offer from the Symetra Tour. But that USWO start would be big.)

Charlotte native Laura Wearn sits tied with Sweden’s Frida Kinhult at the midway point at 5-under 139. Wearn came into the week 10th on the money list and must finish solo seventh or better to have a chance. She’s sleeping in her own bed this week, 45 minutes from the course, and trying her best not to think about what’s at stake.

“I’ve just done a good job of staying in the moment,” she said of her second-round 67.

A strong finish at Champions Golf Club could go a long way toward eliminating the financial strain of a Symetra season that included only 10 starts. The original purse for the Symetra Tour finale was slated to be $250,000 but has since dropped to $175,000. A tour official said purses this year were fluid up until the start of the event, “as economics allowed.”

“At the end of the day, what the purse is is completely out of my control,” said Wearn. “If it’s $175,000 and that means we get another tournament in, that’s fantastic.”

It’s worth noting too that the purse for the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship will also be down from last year’s $5 million payout to $3 million.

No tour was spared.

Kinhult has competed in one ANA Inspiration and two Women’s British Opens but hopes to make her first start in the U.S. Women’s Open next month alongside several of her former Swedish national teammates.

“I know the only thing I can do to try to make that happen is to get the win,” she said.

There’s actually a third carrot on the line for Kinhult: If she wins an event, her family promised she’d get a TrackMan.

To get that done, Kinhult will need to keep working on an area that 2020 has forced her to address.

“I like to have control over everything,” she said, “which has really been tested this year.”

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