Tag: Minjee Lee

Thursday tee times for the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach

Brooke Henderson, Rose Zhang and Lydia Ko tee off at 5:35 p.m. ET Thursday.

On Thursday, the best women golfers on the planet will play Pebble Beach Golf Links for the very first time for the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open.

Minjee Lee enters the week as the defending champion as she beat Mina Harigae by four shots at Pine Needles Golf and Country Club in North Carolina last year.

Lee is joined in the field by countless stars, including Nelly Korda, Jin Young Ko, Rose Zhang, Lexi Thompson, Brooke Henderson and Lydia Ko.

Pebble Beach will play as a par 72 this week, measuring 6,816 yards.

Here are the tee times for the opening round of the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open on the Monterey Peninsula.

Note: All times listed are ET. Pebble Beach is three hours behind.

USWO: How to watch | Expert picks to win

Tee times

1st tee

Tee time Players
10 a.m.
Kelly Xu (a), Haeji Kang, Lindy Duncan
10:11 a.m.
Miyu Sato, Jaravee Boonchant, Amanda Doherty (a)
10:22 a.m.
Azahara Munoz, Amy Olson, Emma Spitz
10:33 a.m.
Na Rin An, Benedetta Moresco (a), Amy Yang
10:44 a.m.
Nanna Korestz Madsen, Hae Ran Ryu, Jeneath Wong (a)
10:55 a.m.
Jenny Shin, Jeongeun Lee6, Alison Lee
11:06 a.m.
Ariya Jutanugarn, Mina Harigae, Gaby Lopez
11:17 a.m.
Minjee Lee, Saki Baba (a), Ashleigh Buhai
11:28 a.m.
Amari Avery (a), Ally Ewing, Angel Yin
11:39 a.m.
Lilia Vu, Danielle Kang, Charley Hull
11:50 a.m.
So Yeon Ryu, Anna Davis (a), Yuka Saso
12:01 p.m.
Yuri Yoshida, Paula Reto, Ryann O’Toole
12:12 p.m.
Milagros Chaves, Haru Nomura, Aya Kinoshita
3:45 p.m.
Krissy Carman (a), Laura Sluman, Farah O’Keefe (a)
3:56 p.m.
Ayako Uehara, Amelia Garvey, Therese Warner
4:07 p.m
Maria Fassi, Grace Summerhays (a), Xiaowen Yin
4:18 p.m.
Alice Hewson, Kana Mikashima, Emilia Migiaccio (a)
4:29 p.m.
Chizuru Komiya (a), Jenny Coleman, Hana Wakimoto
4:40 p.m.
Jess Baker (a), Pajaree Anannarukkarn, Chella Choi
4:51 p.m.
Andrea Lee, Anna Nordqvist, Cheyenna Knight
5:02 p.m.
Madelene Sagstrom, Hyo Joo Kim, Miyu Yamashita
5:13 p.m.
Ayaka Furue, Hannah Green, Linn Grant
5:24 p.m.
Jennifer Kupcho, Atthaya Thitikul, Leona Maguire
5:35 p.m.
Brooke Henderson, Rose Zhang, Lydia Ko
5:46 p.m.
Mirim Lee, Teresa Toscano Borreto, Angela Zhang (a)
5:57 p.m.
Brooke Matthews, Julia Misemer (a), Marissa Chow

10th tee

Tee time Players
10 a.m.
Sadie Englemann (a), Gabriela Ruffels, Charlotte Thomas
10:11 a.m.
Bronte Law, Grace Kim, Monet Chun (a)
10:22 a.m.
Brittany Lang, Jill McGill, Angela Stanford
10:33 a.m.
Patty Tavatanakit, Aine Donegan (a), Sung Hyun Park
10:44 a.m.
Zoe Campos (a), Moriya Jutanugarn, Haruka Kawasaki
10:55 a.m.
Lizette Salas, Jdio Ewart Shadoff, Yana Wilson (a)
11:06 a.m.
Sei Young Kim, Ruoning Yin, Megan Khang
11:17 a.m.
Carlota Ciganda, Xiyu Janet Lin, Hye-Jin Choi
11:28 a.m.
Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie West, In Gee Chun
11:39 a.m.
Celine Boutier, Georgia Hall, Nasa Hataoka
11:50 a.m.
Jin Young Ko, Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson
12:01 p.m.
Albane Valenzuela, Momoko Ueda, Maddison Hinso-Tolchard (a)
12:12 p.m.
Yuna Mishimura, Pernilla Lindberg, Annie Park
3:45 p.m.
Bailey Tardy, Dottie Ardina, Kaili Xiao (a)
3:56 p.m.
Sarah Edwards (a), Dewi Weber, Aline Krauter
4:07 p.m
Mackenzie Hahn, Sophie Linder (a), Kumkang Park
4:18 p.m.
Ruixin Liu, Daniela Darquea, Minori Magano (a)
4:29 p.m.
Perrine Delacour, Lauren Kim (a), Manon De Roey
4:40 p.m.
DaYeon lee, Minami Katsu, Natthakritta Vongtaveelap
4:51 p.m.
A Lim Kim, Hinako Shibuno, Eun Hee Ji
5:02 p.m.
Allisen Corpuz, Jiyai Shin, Marina Alex
5:13 p.m.
Tingsuan Huang (a), Chisato Iwai, Minji Park
5:24 p.m.
Mao Saigo, Maja Stark, So Mi Lee
5:35 p.m.
Gemma Dryburgh, Aditi Ashok, Akie Iwai
5:46 p.m.
Beatrice Wallin, Joy Chou, Celeste Dao (a)
5:57 p.m.
Allysha Mae Mateo, Jing Yan, Megan Propeck (a)

 

Jin Young Ko outlasts Minjee Lee in playoff for 15th LPGA title and third Founders Cup victory

Ko now has 20 of the 27 points needed to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame.

Jin Young Ko battled through fatigue at the Cognizant Founders Cup to outlast Minjee Lee in a sudden-death playoff for her 15th LPGA title. Ko birdied the 18th hole all four rounds, with that last birdie in regulation pushing her to a 5-under 67 and a 13-under total at Upper Montclair Country Club. Ko’s 67 was the lowest round of the day by two shots.

Lee, who won this event in 2022, held a two-shot lead with three to play but couldn’t hold on for the outright victory, carding a 71 to finish knotted with Ko at 13 under.

In the playoff, the Aussie appeared to have the advantage until she misjudged her speed significantly on the birdie attempt, which flew past the hole. The ensuing three-putt handed the victory to Ko, who won the Founders Cup for a third time on a third different course. Ko’s caddie, David Brooker, was on the bag for two of Lorena Ochoa’s victories at Upper Montclair at the Sybase Classic.

As the final group came up the 18th fairway at Upper Montclair, a group of junior girls walked hand-in-hand behind the players, wearing vintage-looking attire in honor of the LPGA’s 13 founders. Since former LPGA commissioner Mike Whan started this event in 2011, it’s been a catalyst of growth for LPGA-USGA Girls Golf.

“It’s a great honor,” said Ko of winning what has become one of the LPGA’s premiere events. “I thank all the past founders today, so I really thank to everybody to make that amazing tour.”

Australia’s Lee, who actually played more golf than Ko last week at the Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown, was surprised to learn that she’d only made five LPGA starts this year outside of the Crown.

“It’s still pretty early I guess in my season,” said Lee, “and I have a lot more events coming up. So I feel like I could take a lot of positives into, you know, the next couple majors coming up and obviously Mizuho is my next event.

“I think I’m going to train hard the next two weeks and be ready for Mizuho.”

Ko began Sunday four strokes behind but heard before she started her round that Sungjae Im had come from five back to win on the Korean PGA earlier that day.

“So that was inspir(ing) me,” said Ko, “and if I like play really well, I could chance for win.”

Ko said her swing coach, Si Woo Lee, will come to Texas next Saturday to begin working with her in the lead-up to the next two majors. She’ll skip the LPGA match-play event in Las Vegas as well as the Meijer LPGA Classic in Michigan. They will mostly focus on her ball striking.

Ko now has 20 of the 27 points needed to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame, which she said has been a goal since around age 10.

“I will do my best in my future, and I will practice hard, harder than this,” she said. “We’ll see.”

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LPGA: 5 things to look for in Thailand, where Lydia Ko, Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko are primed for battle along with Japanese teen sensation Saki Baba

Nine of the top 10 players in the world are in Asia this week.

Nine of the top 10 players in the world are in Asia this week for the 16th staging of the Honda LPGA Thailand. American Lexi Thompson, No. 6, is the only top-10 player not in the field at Siam Country Club’s Pattaya Old Course in Chonburi.

World No. 1 Lydia Ko heads into Thailand hot off a victory at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International, where she won $750,000. It’s the newlywed’s third victory worldwide in her last four starts, earning her more than $3 million in that stretch.

2022 major champions Minjee Lee and In Gee Chun will join Ko in beginning their LPGA seasons this week.

Last year, Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen notched her first LPGA victory at the Honda LPGA Thailand, defeating Xiyu Lin with an eagle on the second playoff hole.

Here are five things to look for this week in steamy Thailand, where scores are low and the humidity is high:

Photos: Minjee Lee through the years

Minjee Lee is one of the best players in the world. View photos of the major champion throughout her career

In nearly a decade on the LPGA Tour, Minjee Lee has become one of the biggest stars in the game before her 30th birthday.

In 2021 at age 25, Lee broke through for her first major title, erasing a seven-shot deficit en route to winning the Evian Championship on the first playoff hole.

In 2022, Lee took home her second major, winning the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles.

With top-three finishes in all five women’s majors, Lee is a force when there is a major title on the line.

In 2018, Lee became the first woman to be awarded the Greg Norman Medal. Awarded to the best Australian golfer on the world stage, Lee took home the accolade thanks in part to a seventh-place finish at the 2018 Olympics and earning more than $1 million during the LPGA season.

The Korean-Australian has shown she can win on any stage and as of late has been extremely consistent in majors. With that recipe, Minjee Lee should be a force on the LPGA Tour for years to come.

2022 Golfweek Awards: Female Player of the Year

Without further ado, the 2022 Golfweek Award winner for Best Female Player of the Year goes to …

Heading into the 2022 season, fans were eager to see Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko build upon the rivalry that emerged in 2021. While health issues for both players kept that from materializing, a host of new winners kept the season fresh, as 11 players broke through to win for the first time.

Chief among those was Atthaya Thitikul, the rookie who rose to No. 1 in the world.

When it came to who had the best season in golf, however, the discussion at the table among staff was fairly short. It wasn’t a new face who impressed the most, but rather one who hadn’t been in such a position in a long, long time.

Without further ado, the 2022 Golfweek Award winner for Best Female Player of the Year goes to …

Women’s field reduced to 108 players at historic Australian Open, while men’s field grows to 156

Originally, both the men’s and women’s fields were slated to have 144 players each.

Major champions Minjee Lee, Hannah Green and Karrie Webb are back on home soil this week for the ISPS Handa Australian Open, which will be held concurrently with the men’s championship for the first time. But while the history-making events, held in Melbourne on Victoria and Kingston Heath Golf Clubs, will offer equal prize money, they will no longer have the same field size.

Originally, both the men’s and women’s fields were slated to have 144 players each. The women’s field has since been reduced to 108 players and the men’s enlarged to 156. The purse for each will be $1,150,000 ($1.7M AUD).

For years, the Australian Open was co-sanctioned by the LPGA and held early in the year. This time, however, the event falls during the LPGA’s offseason and during the tour’s final stage of qualifying school. The men’s event is on the DP World Tour schedule.

“We are fortunate to have solid depth of talent in our women’s field for the ISPS Handa Australian Open, with field sizes now adjusted to 108 women and a men’s field of 156,” Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland said in a statement to Golf Australia magazine.

“Co-sanctioning the event with the LPGA wasn’t possible this year due to contractual arrangements in the schedule, and numbers have been significantly impacted by the LPGA Tour school, which was delayed by a hurricane. That has resulted in approximately 120 players not being able to enter the event and has led to a reduction in field size so as to avoid compromising the integrity of the national Open.”

Other LPGA players in the field include 2022 major winners Jennifer Kupcho (Chevron) and Ashleigh Buhai (AIG Women’s British Open). Marquee players in the men’s field include British Open champion Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and New Zealand’s top player Ryan Fox.

It’s a family affair for several of the biggest names as Minjee Lee will be joined by brother Min Woo in the men’s Open field along with Green’s fiancé Jarryd Felton.

There will be two cuts for each field. The first will come after 36 holes to top 60 professionals and ties plus amateurs, and the second after 54 holes to top 30 and ties (both pros and amateurs).

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Carefree Lydia Ko in command by five at season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, where the winner earns $2 million

Lydia Ko is in position to finish her season strong.

NAPLES, Fla. – Leona Maguire took a vastly different road to the LPGA than Lydia Ko, ruling the women’s amateur scene for years as a standout at Duke. A dozen years ago, a 27-year-old Maguire teed it up with a 13-year-old Ko at the World Amateur Team Championship in Argentina.

“She was a phenom then getting ready to turn pro,” said Maguire. “I remember her short game was incredible. A wedge shot didn’t go outside 3, 4 feet.”

Players still marvel at Ko, who at 25 is enjoying a magnificent career resurgence. After a second-round 66, Ko leads the field by five at the CME Group Tour Championship at 13-under 131. A victory here would shore up her first LPGA Player of the Year award since 2015, not to mention a $2 million payday.

Ko said she wanted to finish the season with no regrets, playing freely.

“I think when I play freely,” said Ko, “I’m not being tentative. I’m controlling how the shot is going to go. I think that way it’s just a little bit stress-free.

“If I do miss it, hey, like, I’m going to miss one here and there. So it’s just a better place for me to be at. And obviously when the nerves kick in, that bit is a lot harder, but I think when I was struggling, I got more and more tentative and trying to control the ball and trying to make it work.”

While she hasn’t mathematically clinched the Vare Trophy for low scoring average, it’s basically a done deal. To rise to No. 1 in the world again, she’d have to win and have Nelly Korda finish solo 21st or worse. In 2015, Ko became the youngest player to ever reach No. 1 in the world ­– male or female – at age 17.

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Korda sits in a share of third with Anna Nordqvist, Gemma Dryburgh, and Nasa Hataoka, six strokes back. Hyo Joo Kim sits alone in second at 8 under. Maguire, a first-time winner this season, is at 6 under with Amy Yang and Jeongeun Lee6.

Top-ranked Korda, who is wearing her new signature line with J.Lindeberg this week, made four birdies on the front nine and then parred the last nine holes after the putter went dry.

“They’ve kind of used a lot of the Sunday pins,” said Korda, who won last week’s Pelican LPGA Championship.

“I would say, 16, 17, they kind of put them in the back just over a bunker. When you kind of get on one of those ridges that it can break either way, like, it just happens that occasionally you don’t roll them in.”

Nelly Korda gives a smile on the 18th green during the second round of the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on Nov. 18, 2022 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

Ko, a two-time winner on tour this season and the 2014 CME champion, leads the LPGA in strokes gained total per round and strokes gained putting per round this season. Coming into this event she had made 201 putts of 10 feet or longer this season, eight more than any other player on tour.

Ko tops the tour in putts per green in relegation with a 1.72 average. She did the same in 2016 (1.71).

“I think during the times when I wasn’t hitting it as good, my short game improved,” said Ko. “So it’s good and bad, but I don’t feel like I’m the best putter in the world. I feel like there is so much room for improvement.”

Minjee Lee trails Ko by one point in the POY race. The Aussie bogeyed the last hole to shoot 68. She’s 5 under for the tournament in a share of 10th.

Coming into the event, Ko was 26 under at the CME over the past two years compared to Lee at 24 under.

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Minjee Lee wins Aon, collects another seven-figure check. She could enjoy richest season in LPGA history with strong week at CME

Minjee Lee could enjoy the richest season in the history of women’s golf.

NAPLES, Fla. – Minjee Lee collected her second seven-figure check of the season after winning the 2022 Aon Risk Reward Challenge and the $1 million prize.

Seven-figure checks remain rare in women’s golf. This year, seven will be handed out, though the Aon prize is unofficial money.

Earlier this season, Lee, 26, won the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles for her second major title and a record-setting $1.8 million paycheck. A two-time winner this season, Lee currently tops the money list with $3,759,835.

Lee, who already clinched the Rolex Annika Major Award, could actually enjoy the richest season in the history of women’s golf, should she win this week’s $2 million prize at the CME Group Tour Championship. Actually, she could finish second ($687,000) and still beat Lorena Ochoa’s record of $4,354,994 set in 2007. Ochoa won seven times that season, including one major.

“I haven’t really had the time to go shopping yet,” said Lee when asked if she’d splurged. “Maybe this week.”

While Lee started the year off strong, she hasn’t had a top 10 since August. Currently No. 5 in the world, Lee sits one point behind Lydia Ko in the LPGA Player of the Year race, which carries the added bonus of a Hall of Fame point.

Lee played both events in Asia but skipped last week’s Pelican LPGA Championship. After such a strong start to 2022, Lee said she’s learning how to refresh.

“Probably the last few weeks, I haven’t really been quite on top of my game,” she said. “I was striking it so well come, what, like eight, nine months throughout the year. Probably didn’t hit it as well or putted it as well the last couple of weeks, but this is the last event of the season, of the LPGA season. I really want to do well.”

The Aon Risk Reward Challenge offers a $1 million prize to winners on both the LPGA and PGA Tours. Scottie Scheffler clinched the men’s race earlier this season.

One of the best ball-strikers on the LPGA, Lee has added length to her game in recent years, and she went for the green on the challenge holes 58 percent of the time compared to a tour average of 32 percent. The race tabulates the two best scores on the designated challenge holes from every participating event a player competes in. Players must compete in a minimum of 40 rounds throughout the season to qualify.

“It’s quite life-changing money that Aon puts up,” said Lee, “and it’s really great for the women’s tour and the LPGA. It’s a great opportunity for us on both tours just to be put on kind of the same plane.”

Lee is the second consecutive Aussie to win the title, following Hannah Green. Spain’s Carlota Ciganda won the first Aon race.

Jennifer Bell, Aon’s chief executive officer, North America, said she hopes what they’re doing to support the LPGA equally with the men’s tour will influence other firms to do the same.

“In order to make sure that we’re getting gender equity and making sure that we lift the LPGA Tour and the players up to get to the level of pay that they should, I always say, ‘What is your firm doing?'” said Bell.

“It’s interesting because it puts the pressure, so it’s more of an influence than anything. Hopefully it’s making a difference.”

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Minjee Lee, Atthaya Thitikul have one last chance to make their moves for Aon Risk Reward’s $1 million prize

Minjee Lee and Atthaya Thitikul are dueling it out in the Aon Risk Reward Challenge. The winner of the season-long race earns $1 million.

Minjee Lee and Atthaya Thitikul have much to play for as the LPGA season winds down, including a couple of seven-figure checks. In addition to the CME Group Tour Championship’s record-setting $2 million winner’s check, they currently top the standings in the Aon Risk Reward Challenge.

Both players are in the field at this week’s Toto Japan Classic, where the challenge hole is the par-5 13th at Seta Golf Course, set at 476 yards. The Aon insight says that from the fairway, 27 percent of the field is expected to successfully reach the green.

The winner of the season-long race earns $1 million. When Lee won the U.S. Women’s Open in June, she earned a first-place check of $1,800,000. So far this season, 22 players have crossed the $1 million mark in earnings.

Players take their best two scores from each Aon Risk Reward Challenge hole, with the winners having the best average score to par at the end of the regular season. Only two events remain before a winner will be decided. Neither Lee nor Thitikul will be competing in Pelican LPGA Championship, Nov. 10-13, which means this is their final event to make a move.

2021 Amundi Evian Championship
Atthaya Thitikul looks on on the 6th hole during day two of the 2021 Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Lee currently holds the lead with a season-long average score to par of -0.912. Thitikul, who just moved to No. 1 in the world, is at -0.891.

If Lee records two birdies this week, her season-long average would move to -0.917, requiring Thitikul to record an eagle and a birdie to tie her score.

If Lee makes a par and a birdie on the hole, her score will move down to -0.899.

Should Lee make a birdie and an eagle, she’d all but lock up the competition.

Thitikul could move into first place with a pair of eagles. A birdie and an eagle would move her to -0.917, which would tie Lee, should she record two birdies.

China’s Xiyu Lin is not in the field in Japan. She’ll need at least one eagle, possibly two, at the Pelican next week to have a chance.

Thitikul and Lee are tied for 12th on the LPGA in par-5 scoring at 4.62. Lin is second at 4.56 behind Jennifer Kupcho (4.54).

Previous winners of the Aon include Carlota Ciganda and Hannah Green. Scottie Scheffler won the Aon Risk Reward Challenge on the PGA Tour and the $1 million prize a year ago.

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LPGA Player of the Year race tightens with only four events left in 2022, and a rookie might steal the show

The Rolex LPGA Player of the Year race could once again turn into a doozie.

With four events left in the season, the Rolex LPGA Player of the Year race could once again turn into a doozie.

As it stands, the Rolex Annika Major Award winner Minjee Lee holds a 19-point lead over Brooke Henderson. Unlike the PGA Tour, the LPGA’s POY is based on a points system, with no player votes. A victory is worth 30 points and a second place is worth 12. A 10th-place finish is worth one point.

Points were doubled at the majors, which explains why four of the top six players in the standings are 2022 majors winners.

Jennifer Kupcho has won three times this season, but her victory with Lizette Salas at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational wasn’t eligible for POY points. She’s sixth on the list and trails Lee by 54 points.

Last season, Jin Young Ko had to win the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship to overtake Nelly Korda in the points race, and she did just that, earning an LPGA Hall of Fame point in the process. Ko won three of her last four starts to make a dramatic late-season push.

This year, both Ko and Korda have battled health issues and are T-10 and 43rd, respectively, in the POY standings.

Here’s a closer look at the top four in the running as the race winds down: