Last November, Lydia Ko rolled to a five-shot victory at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International. This season, however, she’ll be unable to defend her title.
Ko has withdrawn from the field due to a positive COVID-19 test. Her most recent start came at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore where she tied for 23rd, an event won by Jin Young Ko, who earned her sixth victory in 10 starts.
The tournament will be held at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City from March 7-10.
The likes of Anna Nordqvist, Georgia Hall, Carlota Ciganda, and Bronte Law are expected to compete for a $1 million purse.
Patty Tavatanakit fired a bogey-free 67 and holds a one-shot lead over Inbee Park, A Lim Kim and Danielle Kang.
After a month off, the LPGA returned to action this week at the 2022 HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore, where the leaderboard is packed with big names after the first round.
Patty Tavatanakit fired a bogey-free 67 and holds a one-shot lead over Inbee Park, A Lim Kim and Danielle Kang. There are 14 golfers who shot 65s, and the group includes World No. 1 Jin Young Ko, Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson.
Tavatanakit, who is coming up on the anniversary of her lone LPGA win at the 2021 ANA Inspiration, sounded satisfied but not thrilled with her round.
“I feel like everything was pretty solid,” she said Tavatanakit. “Couple of shots here and there. But overall, I’m really happy with how I played.”
Kang, who had a first- and a second-place finish before sitting out the third LPGA tournament so far this season, had a one-shot lead before bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18 to shoot a 68. That gives her nine straight rounds of being either first or second on the leaderboard.
“It was just getting so hot at one point. And unfortunately, I think I just kind of checked out from golf for a little bit because I was more focused on trying to stay cool,” she said. “I haven’t been in this kind of heat in a while.”
Park is seeking her third win in the event.
“I think this golf course really suits me. I think this golf course is not overly long, and that really gives me some good advantage of playing with the long hitters,” she said. “The course is playing really good for me. I mean, it has over the years, and it is this year as well.”
Jin Young Ko had an amazing streak come to an end Thursday. Ko hit 63 consecutive greens in regulation, the longest streak in LPGA as well as PGA Tour history, at the 2021 season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. On Thursday, she hit the first three greens to extend that mark to 66 but on the fourth hole, the run ended when she missed the green. But, she would go on to drain a 16-footer for birdie on No. 18 to cap a round of 69.
Lydia Ko also shot 3 under but she had perhaps the best par of the day after standing in a lake to hit off a sloping lie.
“When you keep knocking on the door, you feel like at one point it’s going to open,” said Ko.
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Lydia Ko looked down at her ball, honed in on the pin, and repeated the process two more times. She then stepped back, lifted the face of her club and pulled out a tee to clean the grooves.
The biggest shot of the Gainbridge LPGA was coming and she was standing in a greenside bunker on the 18th hole at Boca Rio. But having successfully gotten up and down twice before from a bunker, she was confident with what was coming.
“Because of that, I think that made that shot a lot easier,” Ko said.
The ball landed softly on the green and rolled to within about two feet of the cup. After Danielle Kang’s long putt rolled just left of the cup, the outcome was inevitable. Ko made her tap-in for a final-round 69 which put her at 14-under 274 for the tournament, one shot better than Kang, who shot 68 Sunday.
Ko’s resume includes 17 LPGA titles, including two majors, and two Olympic medals, a silver in 2016 and bronze last summer in Tokyo. Not bad for someone who is three months shy of her 25th birthday.
Lydia Ko and Danielle Kang hug on the 18th green after Ko defeated Kang by one stroke to win the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio Golf Club on January 30, 2022 in Boca Raton, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
But her story is one of a child prodigy whose rise was meteoric, fall was almost as fast and now is using all of those experiences to regain that lofty status.
Ko won her first LPGA event as an amateur at 15 years and four months, surpassing the record set by Lexi Thompson, who was the previous youngest champion after winning at 16 years and seven months. The winner’s share of $300,000 was rewarded to the runner-up who was three strokes back.
Then, she did it again the next year, defending her title once again as an amateur. This time the winning share of $300,000 went to the runner-up who was five shots back.
Finally, later that year, she turned pro and started having those winnings’ checks made out in her name. Checks that now have surpassed $12.6 million.
Then came the rise to No. 1 in the world rankings, which she attained at 17 years and nine months, the youngest professional golfer – woman or man – to be ranked No. 1.
“I heard people say, ‘you make it look easy,’ ” Ko said. “I’m like, ‘trust me it’s not easy.’
“I think when someone is playing so well … they make it look very easy. You know what? They’re putting their 100% energy and still playing amazing golf. I think it almost doesn’t get as much credit as it should.”
The dip came quick. After being No. 1 for 158 weeks, including the third longest consecutive streak of 85 weeks, she started a descent that saw her fall to No. 55 after the 2020 LPGA Drive On Championship. She said she struggled with trying to be who she once was, instead of finding out what worked for her at that time.
“I feel very fortunate about the things that happened earlier in my career,” Ko said. “When I wasn’t playing as well I think I wanted to be the person that I was and … put myself back to when I was No. 1.”
Then came advice from someone who walked her shoes. Stacy Lewis, one of three American golfers who reached No. 1 in world, told Ko she could not retrace those steps.
“Try to be the best player, best person you can be now,” Lewis told her.
“I think hearing that advice from somebody like her, that really helped me to have the confidence and to just believe in the process of sometimes you’re going to take two steps back, but you just keep working and working at just trying to be the best,” Ko said. “I’m just trying to be the best version I can be today.”
The return to the top is a work on progress. Ko reached No. 3 in the world after a top 10 finish last weekend at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Orlando and will remain there when the rankings come out Monday.
“When you keep knocking on the door, you feel like at one point it’s going to open,” she said.
On this day, that door opened with a clutch putt of about 20 feet that she started a couple of feet to the right and curled into the hole for a birdie. That allowed Ko to regain the lead after relinquishing a two-shot advantage entering Sunday on the first three holes.
“That putt on 15 was kind of the momentum shifter,” Ko said.
And shifting momentum is something she knows all about in a career that, at her age, is just getting started for some.
Ko shot a final-round 69 to earn her 17th career win and a $300,000 payday.
BOCA RATON — Lydia Ko and Danielle Kang had gone head to head for two days and 35 holes over the Boca Rio Golf Club course, so standing on the 18th tee Sunday afternoon with a one-shot lead, Ko had one thought in mind:
“Please, I don’t want to play this hole again.”
Despite hitting her drive on the 415-yard par-4 finishing hole into a fairway bunker and her 5-iron approach into a greenside bunker, Ko avoided a sudden-death playoff with her good friend, getting up and down for par and a victory in the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio.
Ko, 24, shot rounds of 63-70-72-69 for a 14-under-par 274 to earn her 17th career triumph and $300,000 on a day that was forecast to be frigid by South Florida standards, but turned out to be gorgeous with cloudless blue skies, light winds and temperatures in the upper 50s.
For Kang, whose runner-up finish followed her victory in the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Orlando, her 4-under 68, like too many of her putts Sunday, came up just short.
“I played some really good golf out there. I hit some quality shots, today and yesterday,” said Kang, who was tied with Ko at 11 under after two rounds and was paired with her Saturday.
Ko shot even par that day and Kang, who opened with rounds of 65-68, shot 74 to begin the final day two shots behind.
Lydia Ko kisses the trophy after winning the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio Golf Club on January 30, 2022 in Boca Raton, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Both players birdied the par-5 first hole, but Ko bogeyed the second and Kang birdied the third to pull into a tie at 11 under. Both birdied the 11th, then Kang birdied the 12th to take the lead at 13 under.
Kang, 29, a California native who lives in Las Vegas, bogeyed the par-3 13th when she missed the green to the left, pitched on but failed to convert the 5-foot par putt. Ko regained the lead at 13 under with a birdie at the 15th. At the par-5 16th, Ko rolled in her uphill birdie attempt, but Kang made a shorter, more breaking birdie putt on top of it to remain close.
At the par-3 17th, Kang’s birdie putt stopped inches short of the hole and Ko two-putted for par. At the 18th, Kang had about a 20-footer to tie, but it slid just past the hole.
“I felt like she was going to hole it. She putted so good today,” Ko said. “I feel like even the ones that didn’t go in had a high chance of her making.”
“The last hole, that was a really great shot into that pin,” said Kang. “I hit a great putt, but it didn’t break. The greens are really tough to read out here.
“The three-footers were really hard for me because the ball kept sitting in a hole. I hit two putts that were in a hole and they bounced out and didn’t even hit the cup.”
Yuka Saso of Japan shot a 5-under 67, highlighted by birdies on the 17th and 18th holes, to finish third at 12-under 276. Charley Hull of England shot 68 to end up tied for fourth at 11-under with Celine Boutier of France, who shot 69 playing with Ko and Kang.
“I played really well today,” said Hull, who had three birdies on her front nine and two birdies and a bogey on the back. “I started off pretty good and hit it close on the back nine on pretty much most holes. I just couldn’t get the putts going in. I was making good strokes, but just misreading them a little bit.”
Canadian Brooke Henderson, who was 6-under through her first 10 holes with four birdies and an eagle, shot 68 to tie for sixth with Lexi Thompson of Delray Beach at 7 under.
“The front nine was a lot of fun,” Henderson said. “We were making some birdies and I was really running and trying to chase down that lead as best I could. Making the turn, it looked like if I could have a solid back nine I could post a low score in the clubhouse. Unfortunately I didn’t finish off the way I wanted to, but I definitely started the way I wanted to.”
Jessica Korda of Jupiter shot 71 to finish in a seven-way tie for 20th at 2 under that included her sister, Nelly, who will fall to No. 2 in the world rankings behind Jin Young Ko.
World Golf Hall of Famer Karrie Webb of Boynton Beach shot 74 to finish at 4 over, and Jaye Marie Green of Jupiter also shot 74 to finish at 9 over.
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Saturday’s 50-degree temperatures were the least of the concerns of the golfers competing in the third round of the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio.
It was the gusty, shifty winds that accompanied the cold front that perplexed Lydia Ko and Danielle Kang, who began the day tied for the lead at 11 under par.
Whether they were on the tee boxes, the fairways or the greens, the wind, which blew as hard as 33 mph, had them backing away from shots, re-thinking their club selections and wondering how hard or how easy to hit their putts.
Given those challenges, Ko was happy to grind out an even-par 72, while Kang was happy to still be in the hunt for her second consecutive victory after a 2-over 74.
“I’m proud that I just stayed in it and have a chance tomorrow,” said Kang, who had two birdies and a bogey on the front nine, but had three bogeys on the back.
Danielle Kang reacts on the 16th green during the third round of the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio Golf Club on January 29, 2022, in Boca Raton, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Ko, who grew up in New Zealand and now lives in the Orlando area, opened with a 63 Thursday followed by a 70 Friday and is at 11-under 205.
She and Ko will be in the final threesome Sunday, teeing off at 11:40 a.m. They’ll be joined by Celine Boutier of France, who had Saturday’s best round, a bogey-free 3-under 69, to get to 8 under.
Charley Hull of England and Yuka Saso of Japan were tied for fourth at 7-under 209. Hull might’ve had the most interesting round Saturday. She birdied her first two holes, then bogeyed four of the next six. She came back with three birdies over her final 10 holes to finish with a 71.
Nasa Hataoka of Japan, who finished second here in 2020, was alone in sixth at 5-under 211 on rounds of 67-71-73.
Kang had good looks at birdie on the first and second holes and took the lead at 12 under with a short birdie putt on the par-4 fourth. She bogeyed the fifth after an errant drive, but came right back with another short birdie putt on the par-3 sixth.
Swirling winds had her back off her wedge shot to the par-5 10th several times, and she ended up hitting it into a bunker, then failed to get up and down for par.
“I didn’t know how to hit the shot,” she explained. “If it does one thing, it’s in the back bunker; if I do another, it’s in the front bunker; if I hit the shot that I want, it’s going to be right.”
Lydia Ko of New Zealand hits from the 16th tee during the third round of the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio Golf Club on January 29, 2022, in Boca Raton, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Ko, who sent a long, delicate, downhill birdie putt off the green on No. 7 for a three-putt bogey, birdied the 10th from short range to tie Kang. Ko parred in from there, making several good up and downs, including on the 18th hole from a back bunker.
“I think overall my game wasn’t as sharp as the other days, but when the conditions are tough, I think it’s difficult,” she said. “I don’t think I gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities, but I still was able to hit a fair amount of greens.
“To finish even par after a tough, grindy day, I think it was a solid day at the office.”
The wind was a factor on the greens for both players. Ko said it was sometimes difficult to be stable standing over the ball. Kang three-putted the 14th for a bogey, sending her first putt zooming past the hole, and failed to get up and down on the 15th.
“I wasn’t that bothered (by the wind) with ball striking, but it bothered me a lot on the greens,” she said. “That three-putt … I decelerated on probably 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, so I told myself to accelerate and I did, and then I hit it by 12 feet. It was just a lot of calibrating on the greens today, which was not a good way to play, especially in this gusty wind.”
Boutier was concerned about the conditions, but then she birdied the par-5 first hole and added birdies at the par-4 12th and par-5 16th.
“I was a little bit apprehensive with the day just because it was just so windy, and then being able to have a good start definitely helped me get more confidence,” Boutier said. “It was just a really solid day from start to finish.”
Among local players, Lexi Thompson of Delray Beach shot 73 and was tied for 10th at 3 under 213. Jessica Korda of Jupiter was at 1 under after a 75.
World Golf Hall of Famer Karrie Webb of Boynton Beach also shot 75 and was 2 over. She’ll be among the first players to tee off Sunday morning, starting on the 10th tee at 9:28 a.m. Jaye Marie Green of Jupiter shot 78 and was at 7 over.
Karrie Webb made the cut after a 15 month break from LPGA golf.
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Cooler than expected temperatures accompanied by overcast skies and occasional wind gusts made for much more challenging playing conditions in the second round of the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio Friday morning.
That doesn’t bode well for the 74 players who made the cut at 1-over-par 145, as temperatures are forecast to be in the 40s and 50s Saturday and Sunday.
Given Friday morning’s weather, Lydia Ko, who shot a 9-under-par 63 for a two shot lead Thursday, was satisfied with a 2-under 70. That was good enough for her to be tied with Danielle Kang, who followed her opening 7-under 65 with a 68 Friday afternoon for an 11-under 133 total.
“I think the temperature was kind of a big thing,” said Ko. “Par 5s that played pretty short yesterday, they played like a completely different hole. Yesterday I hit driver, 3-wood, and a little flip wedge into 10, and today it was like a low driver and a 3-wood, and like an 8-iron.
“I think the temperature plays a huge factor because the course is not running out a lot. It just makes the golf course longer. Having some longer irons into the green definitely makes it a lot harder, where yesterday I felt like I hit a lot of mid-irons.”
“Coming in 2 under coming into the last couple holes, I just really wanted to get to the double digits. That was kind of my goal today, so I was happy to do that,” said Kang, who started her round on the back nine.
Danielle Kang hits from the 18th fairway during the second round of the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio Golf Club on January 28, 2022, in Boca Raton, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
She hit a wedge from 94 yards to seven feet on the par 5 eighth and a 7-iron from 154 yards to 10 feet on the ninth hole to accomplish her goal of tying Ko, whom she’ll play with in the final threesome Saturday along with Jodi Ewart Shadoff.
Shadoff, of England, shot a 69 and is tied for third at 7-under 137 with Yuka Saso of Japan. Morgane Metraux of Switzerland, who birdied seven of her final 12 holes to shoot Friday’s lowest round at 66, is tied for fifth at 6 under with Bronte Law, Charley Hull, Nasa Hataoka, and Aditi Ashok.
Ko, 24, who had nine birdies and no bogeys Thursday, had two birdies and two bogeys through her first 11 holes Friday. She banged in a lengthy birdie putt on the 14th hole and birdied the par-3 17th.
She’s using a new putter following a disappointing performance on the greens in the season opener.
“After last week I said, ‘What the heck.’ Kind of seeing something new, sometimes I feel like it brings a little bit of a different energy,” she said.
Ko’s most impressive putt, a 33-foot birdie on the 14th hole, might’ve been too energetic. She admitted that she hit the ball way too hard, but it dove into the cup.
“I think for the most part these greens aren’t as fast as last week, so I was leaving a few putts short. I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to get it to the hole,’ and I definitely got it to the hole,” Ko said. “I definitely got the read wrong because that was not the pace I was looking for. But it ended up being a perfect putt, so I’ll take it.”
Among local players, Lexi Thompson of Delray Beach had a second consecutive 70 and is tied for 17th along with Jessica Korda of Jupiter at 4 under. World Golf Hall of Famer Karrie Webb of Boynton Beach is at 1 under after a 72. Jaye Marie Green of Jupiter shot 75 and is at 1 over to make the cut at 145. Missing the cut were Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Boca Raton, who was 2 over after a 72, and Taylor Collins of Fort Lauderdale, who was 10 over after a second 77.
“That’s the reward for making the cut, right? Get to play in bad weather over the weekend,” she said. “It’s been a while since I played in cold weather, so we’ll see how it goes.”
“I played with the president of the club (Wednesday) in the pro-am, so maybe he gave me some good energy?” said Ko.
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Lydia Ko did not play in the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in 2020, but her lack of familiarity with the 6,701-yard course was not a handicap.
The 24-year-old two-time major champion from New Zealand shot a bogey-free 9-under-par 63 in Thursday’s opening round to take a two-shot lead over Danielle Kang.
“I played with the president of the club (Wednesday) in the pro-am, so maybe he gave me some good energy?” said Ko. “I didn’t get into too much trouble, so I was kind of putting myself in play.”
Starting on the back nine, Ko birdied the par-5 10th, and also birdied 13, 14 and 15 to go out in 32. She began the front nine with three consecutive birdies, added another at the par-3 sixth, and had her shot of the day at the par-5 eighth when she hit her third past the pin and spun it back to within a foot for a tap-in birdie.
“I do know that you have to drive it pretty well around here, and that sets up lots of good birdie opportunities,” Ko said. “I hit one very, very loose shot, but luckily it was in play and I was able to set up another birdie chance. Other than that, it was overall pretty solid. Hopefully, I’ll be able to maintain the goods from today to the rest of the week.”
It helped that players were allowed to lift, clean and place the ball in the rain-softened fairways.
Kang, of Las Vegas, came into Boca Rio off a victory Sunday in the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Orlando. But she didn’t think that was a factor on a day that featured eight birdies and one bogey.
“I don’t really try and focus on momentum and whether you have to create it or you have to ride it or it’s not there or there,” she said. “It doesn’t really matter, right? I played well last week, It’s a new week. I still have things to work on. I still have things I need to focus on.”
Such as?
“I think I’m focused too much on how to guide the ball moreso than just hitting it. But I don’t mind it,” she said. “It is what it is. Trying to hit the best shot I can hit, and I hit some really great drives and really bad drives, and I’m OK with that.”
Kang birdied the first and third holes to go 2 under, bogeyed the fourth, then birdied the sixth and eighth to go out in 3-under 33. She had four birdies on the back nine. When the inaugural tournament was held here in 2020 – it was held in Orlando last year – Kang finished third after being in a three-way tie for the lead on the final day.
Aditi Ashok of India was alone in third after a 6-under 66. She was 2 under on her front nine, then had five birdies in a seven-hole stretch before a bogey on 18.
Nasa Hataoka of Japan, who finished second here in 2020, one shot behind first-time winner Madelene Sagstrom, was in a seven-way tie for fourth at 5-under 67. Fourteen players were tied for 11th at 68, including world No. 1-ranked Nelly Korda of Bradenton, who won the 2021 Gainbridge in Orlando. Seventeen golfers shot 69. Sagstrom was tied for 30th at 2-under 70.
“It’s just nice to be on site,” said Sagstrom, of Sweden. “Last time I left here I was just so … literally, I couldn’t grasp what was going on. It feels good to be at a place where you have played well, where you have won. It’s a nice, comfortable feeling. I feel like my game hasn’t been that great but I still enjoy it.”
Jaye Marie Green of Jupiter, who grew up in Boca Raton, also shot a 70 with four birdies and two bogeys. Green, who tied for 19th two years ago, wasn’t sure how she’d play in her first event of the year.
“I hit it really solidly today. The first tournament back you’re always trying to work out some kinks, a little rust,” she said. “I think overall for the first round of 2022, for once in my life I feel prepared going into a season.”
Green, whose gallery included her family, her fiancé’s family and lots of friends, said the soft greens were slower than she expected.
“I had a hard time adjusting to green speeds,” Green said. “All off-season I’d been practicing on greens rolling 12, 13 (on the stimpmeter), and these were probably 10.5, so I really struggled with my tempo on getting putts to the hole. I’m going to go practice and they’ll probably speed up the greens tomorrow.”
Among other locals, Lexi Thompson of Delray Beach also shot 70. Jessica Korda of Jupiter shot 72. Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Boca Raton shot 74 and Taylor Collins of Fort Lauderdale shot 77.
“I’m extremely lucky to have the privilege to pursue a passion and a childhood dream and play in this event.”
The field list for the upcoming Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio features a who’s who list of stars including World No. 1 Nelly Korda, Inbee Park, Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko, Lexi Thompson and 2020 champion Madelene Sagstrom.
But there’s also a name that most golf fans aren’t familiar with, a 32-year-old local teaching pro who beat the men to make history late last year and on Tuesday was named the 2021 PGA of America Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year.
Madelene Sagstrom during the final round of the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio in Boca Raton, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Taylor Collins, winner of Golf Channel’s “Big Break Mexico” and longtime pupil of the legendary Bob Toski, will compete in Boca Raton, Florida, later this month on a sponsor exemption.
The Gainbridge LPGA is the first full-field event for the 2022 LPGA season and will feature 120 players competing for a share of a $2 million purse Jan. 24-30 at Boca Rio Golf Club. Last year’s event, won by Nelly Korda, was held at Lake Nona due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Collins played collegiately at Nova Southeastern, winning the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship and helping her team win titles in 2009, 2010, 2011. She turned professional after graduation, but ultimately had to walk away from the game after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.
“I was struggling to pretty much walk,” said Collins, who also struggled to grip a club. “I almost bought a cane to start walking with, so I had to take like a year off of golf.”
Medications now help to keep the arthritis in check, though she still deals with flare-ups.
Last September, Collins, a PGA assistant pro at Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, won the South Florida PGA Section’s signature event – the PGA Professional Championship – by four strokes at 8-under par, becoming the first woman to win in its 42-year history.
Collins said the men she competed alongside and the guys she works with have been supportive, but it wasn’t entirely without controversy given that she played from 81 percent of the distance the men played, as stipulated by tournament rules.
“I do happen to be one of the long hitters out there,” said Collins, “so it could look unfair sometimes with myself hitting the ball, but perhaps not other ladies when they are playing. So it wouldn’t be fair to just judge it off the long-ball hitters.
“And I think something that’s forgotten a lot when you’re playing is I’ll hit my driver, I’ll happen to hit it long and one of the long guys will hit it past me and I might be hitting a pitching wedge and he’s hitting a sand wedge, or I’m hitting an 8-iron and he’s still hitting a pitching wedge. So I understand, I guess, all sides of it. It’s a tricky one, but I’d say it’s fair for the most part if I’m honest.”
Collins said she hits it anywhere from 240 to 270 yards, depending on the day.
Competing in an LPGA event so close to where she lives and works is dream scenario for Collins, who plans to have the junior players she coaches each mark a golf ball that she will play with during the competition. It will be good for her to be reminded of her day job while in the heat of battle, she said, and also fun for the kids to have a souvenir.
“I love the job that I have outside of it,” said Collins, “but I’m extremely lucky to have the privilege to pursue a passion and a childhood dream and play in this event.”
After years of debate, 2022 is promising to be much more lucrative on the women’s side.
After years of debate over the discrepancy between purses on the men’s and women’s professional golf tours, 2022 is promising to be much more lucrative on the women’s side.
The USGA announced on Friday that the first-place prize for the U.S. Women’s Open this year will climb to $1.8 million, up from $1 million in 2021. Also, the CME Group Tour Championship’s total purse will jump up by $2 million (to $7 million), and its $2 million first-place prize will become the largest in professional women’s golf history.
To put that in perspective, only 27 times in the history of the LPGA has a player amassed $2 million or more in a single season, let alone a standalone week.
Here’s a look at those who have made this sum for an entire year (heading into the 2022 campaign).
It was a year that saw the LPGA go through some big changes.
The LPGA season ended last weekend in Naples, Fla., with the final round of the CME Group Tour Championship, a spirited day with some of the game’s best players fighting for a win and a variety of season-long awards in the women’s game.
It was a year that saw the LPGA go through some big changes, and also a year that saw the tour try to get back to what it was in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic started to take a huge toll on the women’s game with tournament cancellations.
Here are five of the biggest stories from the women’s tour in 2021:
