Tag: LPGA majors

2023 LPGA Chevron Championship: Live updates from Carlton Woods; Lilia Vu defeats Angel Yin on first playoff hole, leaps into lake

Old tournament, new site. That’s the story surrounding the 2023 Chevron Championship.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Old tournament, new site. That was the story surrounding the 2023 Chevron Championship, which opened Thursday at The Club at Carlton Woods near Houston.

Last year marked the final playing at the iconic Mission Hills in California, an event that was captured by Jennifer Kupcho, the 20th-ranked player in the world.

Several players in this year’s field, including Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko, discussed the new venue and how it differs from Mission Hills, noting that the 6,824-yard track has a big feel to it.

CHEVRON: Leaderboard | Photos | Merchandise

Here’s a look at live updates from the LPGA’s first major of the year, now drenched in Texas flavor:

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Meet the seven amateurs invited to the LPGA’s first major including Amari Avery and Zoe Campos, who will tee it up without a practice round

While this no longer overlaps with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, it does conflict with several NCAA conference championships.

World No. 3 Saki Baba headlines the seven amateurs who will tee it up in the Chevron Championship, the first LPGA major of the year. The 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion will make her debut in the April 20-23 event, held for the first time at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas.

While the championship no longer overlaps with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, it does conflict with several NCAA conference championships. The Pac-12 and American Athletic Conference championships end on April 19 while the Big Ten, the Big 12 and several others end Sunday, April 23.

Top-ranked amateur Rose Zhang, who recently won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, will aim for her 10th college title at the Pac-12 Championship rather than make another major championship start.

Here’s the full list of amateurs in the field:

Long overdue: Lexi Thompson headlines list of notable LPGA major championship droughts

Thompson is hardly alone among big names on the LPGA who haven’t won a major in quite some time.

Lexi Thompson’s 57th major start will long be remembered as one of her most painful losses. Certainly not on the level of the 2017 ANA Inspiration (now Chevron Championship), where a four-stroke fiasco rocked the golf world and led to a change in the Rules of Golf.

And not as stunning as the five-stroke collapse on the back nine at The Olympic Club at last year’s U.S. Women’s Open.

But the KPMG Women’s PGA loss at Congressional certainly ranks a solid third on Thompson’s list of major heartbreaks. An 11-time winner on the LPGA, Thompson still only has one major on her resume and it came at the 2014 Chevron Championship.

Thompson is hardly alone, however, in big names on the LPGA who haven’t won a major in quite some time. Here’s a list of notables:

LA Open winner Nasa Hataoka tops list of 10 best players on the LPGA without a major title

Hataoka’s sixth LPGA win puts her in elite company.

Nasa Hataoka’s sixth career victory at the DIO Implant LA Open on Sunday puts her in elite company with Jessica Korda. Together they’re the winningest players on the LPGA without a major title.

Who are the best players without a major? Some on this list, like Hataoka and Korda, have won quite a bit already. Others, like rookie Atthaya Thitikul, make the list based on talent and potential.

Minjee Lee and Jennifer Kupcho are two players who played their way off of last year’s list. Lee won the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship, and Kupcho broke through with her first LPGA title at the Chevron Championship earlier this month.

Here’s a list of 10 players (with their Rolex Ranking) who are either primed to win a major or past due:

Cristie Kerr, 43, awarded special exemption into U.S. Women’s Open field at The Olympic Club

Cristie Kerr joins fellow former champion Paula Creamer as the two special exemptions into the U.S. Women’s Open in June in San Francisco.

Cristie Kerr has accepted a special exemption into the 76th U.S. Women’s Open, the USGA announced Monday.

Kerr, 43, will make her 24th consecutive start in the championship June 3-6 at The Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco.

Kerr won the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina. The championship returns there for a record fourth time in 2022. She has eight top-10 finishes, the most recent coming at the 2016 USWO at CordeValle in San Martin, California.

“Winning the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles was a career- and life-changing moment,” said Kerr. “I’m grateful to everyone at the USGA for this special exemption and the opportunity to continue to play in what I consider our sport’s greatest championship. I can’t wait to arrive at The Olympic Club and tee it up in my 26th U.S. Women’s Open.”

Last week, 2010 USWO winner Paula Creamer accepted a special exemption to compete in this year’s championship. Creamer, 34, grew up in Pleasanton, California, less than 50 miles from the historic venue. She’s had five top-10 finishes and 11 top-20 finishes in her 17 USWO career starts, including a victory at Oakmont.

Kerr’s special exemption brings the total to 13 U.S. Women’s Open champions in the field.

Prior to Creamer, two-time champion Karrie Webb of Australia was the last player to receive a special exemption into the U.S. Women’s Open, in 2018 at Shoal Creek in Alabama. The two most recent special exemptions before Webb were given to Se Ri Pak in 2016 at CordeValle and Juli Inkster in 2013 at Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton, New York.

Kerr, a 20-time winner on the LPGA and former World No. 1, has made six starts on tour this season, with her best, a tie for 28th, coming at the ANA Inspiration.