Tag: Grace Kim

Ally Ewing, Grace Kim tied for lead while Nelly Korda missed the cut at 2024 Meijer LPGA Classic

Ewing shot 63 on Friday, while Kim posted a 65.

The third women’s major of the year is next week at Sahalee Country Club, but before the ladies make their way to the Seattle area for the KPMG Women’s PGA, this week brings the 2024 Meijer LPGA Classic.

As the Meijer heads to the weekend, Ally Ewing and Grace Kim share the lead at 11 under at Blythfield Country Club in Belmont, Michigan.

Ewing shot 63 on Friday, her bogey-free round marked by seven birdies and an eagle. Ewing had a 66 on Sunday at the U.S. Women’s Open two weeks ago to forge a tie for third.

Kim has opened 68-65 and has 10 birdies and two eagles with just three bogeys so far. She’ll try to avoid a repeat of the JM Eagle LA Championship six weeks ago where she led after 36 holes but shot 76-77 over the weekend.

“You know you’re in a good position when you’re in contention and playing in the last few groups on the weekend so making sure that take that in, don’t get too nervous,” she said. “I know the nerves will be there, but I guess that’s normal. Like that’s what you get for being good at golf. Everyone will be nervous, and I think the leaderboard is quite stacked, so, yeah, just got to play your own game.”

2024 Meijer LPGA Classic
Grace Kim acknowledges the crowd after a putt on the eighth green during the second round of the 2024 Meijer LPGA Classic at Blythefield Country Club. (Photo: Raj Mehta/Getty Images)

Lilia Vu, who is making her first start since the Ford Championship 10 weeks ago, followed up her first-round 69 with a 70 and is 2 under.

Nelly Korda misses second straight cut

There was a field of 144 to start the week but among the notables who won’t play the weekend are Nelly Korda, whose Friday 67 wasn’t enough to overcome her Thursday 76. She finished 1 under and missed the cut by two shots.

In a season where she has won six times – including four in a row – Korda has now missed two straight cuts. She failed to make the weekend at the U.S. Women’s Open two weeks ago. Korda won the 2021 KPMG, the first of her two major titles.

Hannah Green repeats on LPGA with another win at 2024 JM Eagle LA Championship

Green won for the fifth time on the LPGA.

After 54 holes, there was an Aussie duo tied atop the leaderboard at the JM Eagle LA Championship in Los Angeles.

But while Grace Kim stumbled to a 76-77 weekend, defending champion Hannah Green was calm, cool and collected en route to a second straight victory at Wilshire Country Club.

Green shot a 5-under 66 on Sunday – a final round that was only bested by Madelene Sagstrom’s 65 – as she enjoyed a comfortable victory by three shots over Maja Stark.

“I felt like a couple times today almost got like a member bounce,” Green said. “I obviously really am fond of the golf club and joked that they didn’t approve it with me that they were making alterations. I love it here. Such a great atmosphere. Really good crowds this year.”

The Sunday crowd even delivered an “Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!” chant during the post-round celebration.

It’s Green’s fifth victory on the LPGA and she’s the first to defend on tour since Jin Young Ko did it in 2023.

Green’s up-and-down season continued this week on a high note. She won at the end of February at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, but then missed the cut in her next start. After a tie for 21st in Arizona, she missed the cut last week at the LPGA’s first major, the Chevron Championship.

“To obviously already win in Singapore and here this week, I hope that I can get closer to my goal of being Top 10 in the world and solidify my spot in the Olympics,” Green said.

For Stark, it’s a second straight solo second following her runner-up finish at last week’s Chevron. Haeran Ryu was solo third at 6 under, six shots back. Jin Young Ko tied for fourth with fellow Korean Jin Hee Im.

Grace Kim leads JM Eagle LA Championship, aims to be second Australian in a row to win at Wilshire Country Club

Kim has 11 birdies and an eagle with just one bogey through 36 holes.

Grace Kim tied the course record at Wilshire Country Club on Thursday with a 7-under 64. What would the Australian do for an encore in the shadows of the Hollywood Hills?

How about a second-round, 5-under 66, which staked her to a four-shot lead when she walked off the course late in the day Friday at the 2024 JM Eagle LA Championship.

Kim, who won as a rookie in 2023, is in a good position after 36 holes to earn her second LPGA victory. She would also be the third Aussie – and second in a row – to win at Wilshire, following Hannah Green (2023) and Minjee Lee (2019).

“I’ve been mentally in the dumps up until last week, and I wasn’t in a good place,” she said to Golf Channel’s Karen Stupples after her round. “But I knew I was close and I knew my game was good enough. I just mentally had to be sharp enough on the course, and I think having low expectations entering the week helped a lot.”

Kim went bogey free in her opening round. On Friday, after she bogeyed the par-3 12th hole, she quickly responded with an eagle on the 13th. Over two days, she has carded 11 birdies.

In seven LPGA tournaments so far in 2024, Kim has three missed cuts, including last week at the Chevron Championship, and a high finish of T-25, which came two months ago at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.

Aces high

Auston Kim made a hole-in-one on the par-3 18th hole, her ninth hole of the day, on Friday.

It was the third ace of the week, joining Jeongeun Lee5 (18th hole, Thursday) and Alexa Pano (12th hole, Friday).

Photos: Lexi Thompson, Lilia Vu, Annika Sorenstam and more LPGA stars walk green carpet at Rolex Awards

The annual event is one of the highlights of the week at the CME, which is held in Naples, Florida.

With the season-ending 2023 CME Group Tour Championship winner upon us, LPGA stars walked the green carpet at the annual Rolex Awards banquet at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort.

Among those in attendance were world No. 1 Lilia Vu and No. 2 Ruoning Yin, 2023 U.S. Women’s Open champ Allisen Corpuz, LPGA stars Lexi Thompson and Brooke Henderson as well as World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam.

The annual event is one of the highlights of the week at the CME, which is held in Naples, Florida, at Tiburon Golf Club. The top 60 golfers in the season-long standings compete for a $7 million purse. Celine Boutier and Vu entered the tournament at 1 and 2 in the standings.

Here’s a look at some of those who walked the green carpet (all photos provided by Jonah Hinebaugh for Naples Daily News):

Prize money payouts for each LPGA player at 2023 Lotte Championship

Coming into the Lotte Championship, rookie Grace Kim had made $4,460 in one made cut.

Coming into the Lotte Championship, rookie Grace Kim had made $4,460 in one made cut. By the end of the Lotte, Kim’s career earnings had ballooned to $304,460.

Needless to say, it was a banner day for the 22-year-old Australian, who was making only her third start to the season in Hawaii.

Yu Jin Sung, who was playing on sponsor invite, earned $159,346 for her share of second with Yu Liu.

Second-year tour player Lauren Hartlage took home the biggest check of her career, $58,483, with a share of sixth.

A total of 73 players made the cut. Here is the full breakdown of the Lotte Championship’s $2 million purse:

Pos Player Score Earnings
T1 Grace Kim -12* $300,000
T1 Yu Jin Sung -12 $159,346
T1 Yu Liu -12 $159,346
T4 Linnea Strom -11 $93,539
T4 Pei-Yun Chien -11 $93,539
T6 Georgia Hall -9 $58,483
T6 Lauren Hartlage -9 $58,483
T6 Natthakritta Vongtaveelap -9 $58,483
T9 You Min Hwang -8 $42,978
T9 Siyun Liu -8 $42,978
T11 Brooke Henderson -7 $36,656
T11 Caroline Inglis -7 $36,656
T13 Celine Boutier -6 $31,213
T13 Hye Jin Choi -6 $31,213
T13 Esther Henseleit -6 $31,213
T16 Nasa Hataoka -5 $27,000
T16 Perrine Delacour -5 $27,000
18 Celine Borge -4 $25,079
T19 Gabriella Then -3 $22,854
T19 Emma Talley -3 $22,854
T19 Amanda Doherty -3 $22,854
T19 Karis Davidson -3 $22,854
T23 Erika Hara -2 $18,278
T23 Ayaka Furue -2 $18,278
T23 Stacy Lewis -2 $18,278
T23 Frida Kinhult -2 $18,278
T23 Lucy Li -2 $18,278
T23 Bailey Tardy -2 $18,278
T23 Charlotte Thomas -2 $18,278
T23 Dewi Weber -2 $18,278
T31 Stephanie Meadow -1 $13,536
T31 Dana Fall -1 $13,536
T31 Aline Krauter -1 $13,536
T31 Jing Yan -1 $13,536
T31 Arpichaya Yubol -1 $13,536
T31 Mi Hyang Lee -1 $13,536
T31 Christina Kim -1 $13,536
T38 Marina Alex E $9,576
T38 Brittany Altomare E $9,576
T38 Ryann O’Toole E $9,576
T38 Lauren Stephenson E $9,576
T38 Stephanie Kyriacou E $9,576
T38 Xiaowen Yin E $9,576
T38 Sarah Kemp E $9,576
T38 Polly Mack E $9,576
T38 Yuna Nishimura E $9,576
T38 Maria Torres E $9,576
T48 Hyo Joo Kim 1 $6,708
T48 Pauline Roussin-Bouchard 1 $6,708
T48 Sarah Schmelzel 1 $6,708
T48 Gina Kim 1 $6,708
T48 Jennifer Song 1 $6,708
T48 Pavarisa Yoktuan 1 $6,708
T48 Magdalena Simmermacher 1 $6,708
T48 Soo Bin Joo 1 $6,708
T48 Valery Plata 1 $6,708
T57 Hinako Shibuno 2 $5,360
T57 Emily Kristine Pedersen 2 $5,360
T57 Pernilla Lindberg 2 $5,360
T57 Ilhee Lee 2 $5,360
T61 Wei Ling Hsu 3 $4,804
T61 Ines Laklalech 3 $4,804
T61 Su-Hyun Oh 3 $4,804
T61 Amy Olson 3 $4,804
T65 Hae Ran Ryu 4 $4,500
T65 Yae Eun Hong 4 $4,500
T67 Jaravee Boonchant 5 $4,298
T67 Riley Rennell 5 $4,298
T69 Yan Liu 6 $4,062
T69 Luna Sobron Galmes 6 $4,062
T69 Jeong Eun Lee 6 $4,062
72 Yealimi Noh 9 $3,943
73 Cristie Kerr 11 $3,893

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LPGA rookie Grace Kim wins Lotte Championship in third start as a tour player

The 22-year-old Australian counts Karrie Webb as a mentor.

Rookie Grace Kim clinched her first LPGA title in only her third start as a tour player. The 22-year-old Australian, who counts Karrie Webb as a mentor, smiled her way through the traditional winner’s hula dance at the Lotte Championship. The rookie shied away from nothing en route to a playoff victory over Yu Liu and Yu Jin Sung.

Kim birdied the last two holes in regulation and then birdied the 18th once again in overtime to collect the $300,000 winner’s check. She also played her way into next week’s Chevron Champions, the first major of the season.

“I guess it was a good day after all,” said Kim, who played aggressively throughout the final round.

Sung, who was trying to become the first sponsor invite to win on the LPGA since Lydia Ko in 2013, pulled out her makeup compact on the 18th tee in regulation. After the touchup, the Korean LPGA player made birdie on the last hole to join the playoff.

Sung had held at least a share of the lead since the second round, and faltered for the first time in the playoff when she thinned her third shot back over the green.

Lui was tied for 15th entering the final round and waited well over an hour for the playoff to commence. She closed with a 64 to vault into the clubhouse lead at 12 under.

Georgia Hall, the most decorated player on the board Saturday, looked poised to make a run after making a first-class par save on the ninth. Hall, a major champion, recently finished runner-up at the DIO Implant LA Open and LPGA Drive On Championship and came up short once again in Hawaii after her putter went cold down the stretch. The Englishwoman last won on the LPGA at the 2020 Portland Classic.

Sweden’s Linnea Strom battled at the top until a double-bogey on the par-4 14th gave her an uphill fight. The 2022 Epson Tour Player of the Year needed to get up and down from the front bunker for birdie on the 18th hole to get into the playoff. She closed with a 69 to take a share of fourth.

Kim is a four-time winner of the Karrie Webb Scholarship and was on hand at Hazeltine when fellow scholarship winner Hannah Green won the KPMG Women’s PGA. The scholarship comes with an all-expense-paid trip to an LPGA major with Webb.

“This win is definitely a credit to her for sure,” said Kim, who is the first rookie to win since Atthaya Thitikul captured her second 2022 victory at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship last September.

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A dozen LPGA rookies to watch in 2023, including a couple of former American prodigies, a Division II college star and a 10-time winner from Japan

Keep an eye on these 12 rookies in 2023.

It’s not often that an LPGA rookie rises to No. 1 in the world, but Atthaya Thitikul proved to be a special player last season. Will anyone be able to make such a strong showing in 2023?

This year’s rookie class is once again highly global. In fact, an American hasn’t won the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award since Paula Creamer in 2005.

There are, however, a couple of American hotshots who made headlines before they graduated from elementary school in the 2023 rookie class. Could Lucy Li or Alexa Pano break that drought?

Here are a dozen LPGA rookies to keep an eye on in 2023:

Aussies fall short Sunday of men’s, women’s titles at home ISPS Handa Australian Open

The final round wasn’t kind to the Aussies playing in their national open.

The unique ISPS Handa Australian Open – held over two courses with men’s, women’s and all-abilities divisions playing concurrently – featured a trio of great finishes on Sunday, but the final round wasn’t kind to the natives in their national open.

On the men’s side, 54-hole leader Adam Scott struggled to a 2-over 72 thanks to a crucial double-bogey on the par-4 17th. After making eagle at the par-5 18th the previous two rounds at Victoria Golf Club, the 2013 Masters champion instead signed for a par on Sunday to seal his runner-up fate at 9 under. Adrian Meronk, on the other hand, eagled the final hole to sign for a 4-under 66 to extend his winning margin to five shots at 14 under.

Two more Aussies finished in the top five as Aussie Min Woo Lee placed third at 8 under, with Haydn Barron T-4 at 7 under alongside Alejandro Canizares.

“I’m super excited and to finish like that on the 18th hole is just unreal,” said Meronk.

On the women’s side, three Aussies finished Nos. 3-5 while Ashleigh Buhai claimed a one-shot win over Jiyai Shin at 12 under after Shin missed a putt to force a playoff on the final hole. Hannah Green led after 54 holes, but similar to Scott, a 2-over 72 on Sunday saw her fall off the pace to finish two shots back in third at 10 over. Grace Kim was 2 under through 15 holes in the final round but a costly double-bogey on the par-5 18th brought her back to even on the day and fourth at 9 under for the tournament. Minjee Lee shot a 1-under 71 to finish fifth at 8 under.

Kipp Popert won the all-abilities division with ease thanks to the lone round under par on Sunday, a 3-under 69. Currently No. 1 on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability, Popert finished the three-round event at 2 under, seven shots clear of runner-up Kurtis Barkley.

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‘That is as bad as I’ve played in a long time’: Cameron Smith off to ‘rubbish’ start at ISPS Handa Australian Open

The world No. 3 won the Australian PGA Championship for a third time last week.

Looking to become the first Australian to win the British Open and Australian Open in the same year, Cameron Smith got off to a “rubbish” start on Thursday at his national Open, and by his terms that’s putting it lightly.

“That is as bad as I’ve played in a long time. It was pretty (expletive),” said Smith of his 1-over 71 in the opening round at Victoria Golf Club. “I think the course was pretty difficult, the conditions were pretty difficult, but I need to be better than that.”

The world No. 3 won the Australian PGA Championship for a third time last week and properly celebrated the victory with friends and family at a local bar.

“Maybe some delayed tiredness, maybe. I did feel a little bit foggy out there at times,” explained Smith, “but it’s not really an excuse, it’s my job to do all that stuff.”

“It’s not like I don’t know how to play golf, it was just a bit of a bad day.”

The unique event is held over the two courses – Victoria and Kingston Heath golf clubs – and this year is concurrently running both men’s and women’s tournaments, with each offering a $1.15 million purse. This year’s event also includes an all-abilities division which will begin play on Friday.

David Micheluzzi shot a 7-under 63 on Thursday at Victoria to take the early lead on the men’s side, with Grace Kim leading the women after a 7-under 66 at Kingston Heath (the women are playing the course at a par 73) in the first round.

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Meet the 10 Epson Tour players who earned LPGA cards for 2023

The top 10 players on the Ascensus Race for the Card earned LPGA status for the 2023 season.

Hyo Joon Jang, a 19-year-old rookie from South Korea, entered the Epson Tour Championship ranked 11th on the money list with $74,202, just $1,076 behind No. 10 Alexa Pano. Jang’s T-11 finish was enough to push her into the 10th spot, forcing Pano to head to Q-Series to earn her LPGA card.

The top 10 players on the Ascensus Race for the Card earned LPGA status for the 2023 season. The top three players – Linnea Strom, Xiaowen Yin and Lucy Li – had their cards locked up coming into Daytona Beach, Florida.

For the second time in three years, Bailey Tardy missed her card by one spot. In 2020, Tardy missed her card by $343. She held the lead on Sunday at the Tour Championship on the strength of five birdies in six holes on the front nine. A back-nine 37, however, dropped her down to third place. This time, the former Georgia standout missed the 10th spot by $1,765.

Jaravee Boonchant birdied the 18th to win her first Epson Tour title at LPGA International and moved up to 12th on the money list. While it wasn’t enough to earn her LPGA card, the former Duke player will get to skip the second stage of Q-School.

Find out more about the card winners for the 2022 Epson Tour season: