Tag: Nataliya Guseva

Dewi Weber, denied an Olympic spot, records seven straight birdies for a second day in a row, leads LPGA’s Portland Classic

“I’m disappointed obviously, but it’s a chapter that for me I’ve closed.”

The LPGA record for most consecutive birdies is nine and for a second day in a row, Dewi Weber made a run at that mark.

During Thursday’s first round of the Portland Classic, Weber birdied Nos. 2 through 8 en route to a 6-under 66. On Friday, she birdied Nos. 5 through 11 on her way to a 10-under 62 and sole possession of the lead at Columbia Edgewater Country Club.

Weber qualified for the Summer Olympics but the Dutch Federation chose not to send her nor male golfers Joost Luiten and Darius van Driel to the Games on the belief there was not a realistic chance any of them contend for a medal.

Weber, an Epson Tour member playing in just her second LPGA tournament in 2024, has 17 birdies and one bogey so far this week.

She was asked about the Olympics after her round, about whether not being in Paris has been on her mind.

“Not much,” she said. “Like, I can tell that, yea, I’m trying to make a statement here. Not much. I’m just trying to play golf.”

After a similar follow-up question, Weber said, “I’m disappointed obviously, but it’s a chapter that for me I’ve closed. Listen, if I win on Sunday, like I think that would make a statement obviously, but it’s not as if I’m trying to play here to make a point. The point I’m trying to make is that I’m a good golfer and good enough to be on the LPGA Tour, because I’ve been on Epson this entire year. So that’s more the point I’m trying to make I guess for myself, than, ‘See, look, I should’ve been at the Olympics.'”

A shot back on the leaderboard is Andrea Lee, who posted a 9-under 63 to hold the clubhouse lead for a while Friday. Playing the back nine first, Lee had a birdies streak of her own – six straight – on Nos. 11-16 and made the turn in 30.

“It means my game is in the right place,” she said of her first-nine birdie run. “I wasn’t even really thinking about the birdie streak to be honest. I was so focused. Then I think I chipped it in on 16 and that was my sixth birdie in a row and I was like, my gosh. So it was a pretty cool run.”

Lee, the 2022 champion of this event, tied for third at the U.S. Women’s Open in May but has a missed cut, a solo 62nd and a tie for 45th since then. Overall this season, though, Lee has four top-20s and she’s 23rd in the Race to CME points standings. She’s also seventh in Solheim Cup points.

Polly Mack, who led after Day 1, shot 67 late in the day to get to 14 under and is tied with Lee, two shots back of the lead. Jenny Shin and Grace Kim are tied for fourth at 13 under.

Last week’s winner, Lauren Coughlin, is tied for 18th at 9 under. Last year’s Portland Classic champ, Chanettee Wannasaen, is tied for is tied for 42nd at 6 under.

After this event, the LPGA pauses for the Olympic Games, with the women’s competition starting Wednesday, Aug. 7.

Polly Mack, the longest player on the LPGA, leads in Portland with Russian rookie chasing

Mack called it “pretty flawless.”

Polly Mack called it “pretty flawless.” The 25-year-old LPGA sophomore opened the Portland Classic with a career-low 9-under 63 to pace the field early at the longest-running non-major tournament on tour.

Kathy Whitworth won the first Portland Classic in 1972. A dozen past champions of the event are in the LPGA Hall of Fame.

“It feels so good,” said Mack. “Feels like I’ve been working for almost years for this kind of stuff to happen. Just finally to see a result on the scorecard, not just in the game, on the course, but also seeing it written down is really, really nice.

“I’m sure my team behind me is as happy as I am right now.”

Germany’s Mack, who leads the tour in driving distance at 284 yards, has missed 10 of 13 cuts so far this season and currently ranks 419th in the world. With so many top players prepping for next week’s Olympic Games in Paris, it’s a good opportunity to players to make big moves toward securing their cards. Mack came into this week 140th on the CME points list. The top 100 players secure their cards for next year.

“It seemed so easy out there today,” said Mack of round that included seven birdies and an eagle at Columbia Edgewater Country Club.

A trio of players sit one back at 8 under, including Samantha Wagner, a 27-year-old making her first start on the LPGA this season after losing her status last year.

Wagner was in Costco buying some stuff for her mother in Orlando, Florida, when she got the email that she was in the field this week across the country. She and her father, who doubles as her caddie, got on a plane about 12 hours later.

“It’s certainly tough out there,” said Wagner of her time back on the Epson Tour. “Coming back from a year on the LPGA I didn’t really know what to expect, but the field has been tough every week. Play has been really great.

“I mean, cuts have been just as low as LPGA, so it’s definitely a challenge.”

Wagner is currently 49th on the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card. Players who finish in the top 15 earn LPGA membership for next season.

2024 Portland Classic
Nataliya Guseva plays her shot from the 14th tee during the first round of the 2024 Portland Classic at Columbia Edgewater Country Club. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

Russian rookie Nataliya Guseva, who recorded her third top 10 of the season last week in Canada, joins Wagner and South Korea’s Hyo Joon Jang in a share of second.

“I was just really enjoying myself on the golf course,” said Guseva. “That was probably one of the best times for me on the LPGA, like on the golf course when I was just really, you know, like going, talking, not even paying attention to my game. I was just like hitting it well and knocking it in, so it’s always nice when you get into that momentum.”

The 21-year-old played collegiate golf at Miami and earned LPGA status with a T-23 finish at LPGA Q-Series last December.

Last week’s winner, Lauren Coughlin, is back in the mix after an opening 66. Coughlin, 31, won for the first time in her 101st LPGA start as a member at the CPKC Women’s Open. Coughlin didn’t make a single bogey on Thursday.

The biggest challenge of the week so far, she said, was coming down from the high of Sunday and finding a way to reset.

“I hit the ball extremely well,” said Coughlin. “Stayed super patient. Finally got some putts to drop on the back nine. Yeah, no, it was a good round especially considering last week. Very happy.”

A dozen LPGA rookies to watch in 2024, including Gabriela Ruffels, a 13-time winner from Japan and the first Russian member

A U.S. player hasn’t won the Rookie of the Year Award since Paula Creamer in 2005.

This year’s rookie class of 26 players represents 12 countries, highlighting the global nature of the LPGA.

One of the most well-known rookies of the 2024 class is former U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Gabriela Ruffels, who many thought would be a veteran by now were it not for a paperwork error. The Aussie topped the Epson Tour’s money list to earn her card.

There are plenty of players who have won multiple titles on their home tours in this year’s class, including a teen from China.

The Class of 2024 includes only five Americans: Gurleen Kaur, Auston Kim, Kaitlin Milligan, Malia Nam and Gigi Still. A U.S. player hasn’t won the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award since Paula Creamer in 2005.

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

Two weeks after earning LPGA card, Russia’s Nataliya Guseva wins LET Q-School

“It’s something I have always dreamed of.”

Two weeks after Nataliya Guseva earned her LPGA card at Q-Series, the Russian-born player headed to Morocco on a quest for Ladies European Tour status. Guseva didn’t just earn a second tour card, she dominated the field, winning the 2024 Lalla Aicha Q-School by four shots.

Guseva, 20, closed with a 69 to finish at 23-under 340 over five rounds. A winner on the Epson Tour in 2023 at the Black Desert Resort Championship, Guseva became the first player from Russia to earn LPGA status on Dec. 5 when she tied for 23rd at LPGA Q-Series.

“It’s amazing,” said Guseva, who played collegiate golf at the Univeristy of Miami. “It’s crazy that I came here already with my LPGA tour card and then just coming here and winning LET Q-School, it’s something I have always dreamed of.”

The Russian flag does not appear by Guseva’s name on the LPGA and LET websites because of International Olympic Committee guidelines. At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, individuals who qualify from Russia will compete as neutral athletes. No flag, anthem or colors from Russia will be displayed at the Games.

Maria Verchenova, the first Russian to earn LET status, competed in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, carding a course-record 62 before ultimately finishing tied for 16th.

A total of 22 players earned Category 12 membership status on the LET for 2024, while 30 players clinched Category 16 membership.

South Africa’s Cara Gorlei finished second at 19 under while Thailand’s Aunchisa Utama placed solo third.

Amateur Annabell Fuller, a fifth-year senior at the University of Florida, took a share of fifth while Texas Techs’ Shannon Tan of Singapore tied for eighth.

Spain’s Teresa Toscano made a tremendous final-round statement with a closing 64 to finish tied for 10th.

LPGA Q-Series: Former Netflix star, an NAIA history maker and freshly-minted pros set for 144-hole grind

Meet 12 of the players set for the 144-hole grind.

One hundred players will tee it up this week at LPGA Q-Series, an eight-round grind that begins on Dec. 1 and ends Dec. 11. The first week will be contested at the RTJ Trail at Magnolia Grove in Mobile, Alabama, at the Crossings and Falls courses.

The field will be cut to top 70 and ties after the first week of competition. The second week of competition will take place at Highland Oaks Golf Course in Dothan, Alabama.

A total of 45 players will receive LPGA status in 2023. This is the first year that players were required to turn professional before entering Q-Series. A total of six players turned pro for this week: Nataliya Guseva, Minji Kang, Ashley Lau, Heather Lin, Valery Plata and Natthakritta Vongtaveelap.

Players in the top 75 of the Rolex Rankings automatically advanced to the final stage. Those players include: Yuna Nishimura (44), Hae Ran Ryu (51) and Minami Katsu (56).

Players who finish in the top 20 of Q-Series will fall under Category 14 of the LPGA Priority List. Those who finish 21-45 and ties earn Category 15 and Epson Tour status Category C.

Those who complete all four rounds before the cut earn Epson Tour status.

This year’s field features an eclectic group of players, including former college hotshots, up-and-comers and a former Netflix star.

“No one really wants to be here,” said Dewi Weber, who finished 101st on the CME points list this year, one position shy of a full card.

“The vibes are always really, really weird at Q-school. But I was a rookie on the LPGA, but I feel like I’m kind of a vet when it comes to Q-school because I’ve done this now four times, even though I don’t want to but I have.”