Tag: Portland Classic

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.”

2023 Portland Classic prize money payouts for each LPGA player

It pays to play well on the LPGA.

For the 10th time this season the LPGA has a first-time winner.

Chanettee Wannasaen, a 19-year-old rookie who Monday qualified for this week’s 2023 Portland Classic at Columbia Edgewater Country Country Club, shocked the field with a four-shot win at 26 under following a bogey-free 9-under 63 on Sunday. She’s the third Monday qualifier to win on the LPGA and the second to do so at the Portland Classic, joining Brooke Henderson in 2015.

After missing the cut in her last nine starts on tour, Wannasaen will take home the top prize of $225,000 for her efforts, while second-place Xiyu Lin will leave with $140,305.

Check out how much money each LPGA player earned this week at the 2023 Portland Classic.

Portland Classic prize money payouts

Position Player Score Earnings
1 Chanettee Wannasaen -26 $225,000
2 Xiyu Lin -22 $140,305
T3 Ruoning Yin -20 $81,297
T3 Gina Kim -20 $81,297
T3 Carlota Ciganda -20 $81,297
6 Megan Khang -19 $51,851
T7 Ariya Jutanugarn -18 $38,536
T7 Linn Grant -18 $38,536
T7 Atthaya Thitikul -18 $38,536
T10 Andrea Lee -17 $29,958
T10 Hyo Joon Jang -17 $29,958
T12 Alexa Pano -16 $26,040
T12 Olivia Cowan -16 $26,040
T14 Lilia Vu -15 $21,739
T14 Georgia Hall -15 $21,739
T14 Nelly Korda -15 $21,739
T14 Danielle Kang -15 $21,739
T18 Mi Hyang Lee -14 $18,333
T18 Perrine Delacour -14 $18,333
T18 Pavarisa Yoktuan -14 $18,333
T21 Jasmine Suwannapura -13 $15,840
T21 Xiaowen Yin -13 $15,840
T21 Hyo Joo Kim -13 $15,840
T21 Sarah Kemp -13 $15,840
T21 Nanna Koerstz Madsen -13 $15,840
T26 Pernilla Lindberg -12 $12,348
T26 Charley Hull -12 $12,348
T26 Ayaka Furue -12 $12,348
T26 Dewi Weber -12 $12,348
T26 Jennifer Kupcho -12 $12,348
T26 Grace Kim -12 $12,348
T26 Angela Stanford -12 $12,348
T26 Madelene Sagstrom -12 $12,348
T34 Ally Ewing -11 $9,075
T34 Ashleigh Buhai -11 $9,075
T34 Brooke Henderson -11 $9,075
T34 Mina Harigae -11 $9,075
T34 Pornanong Phatlum -11 $9,075
T34 Muni He -11 $9,075
T34 Lauren Hartlage -11 $9,075
T41 Polly Mack -10 $7,221
T41 Elizabeth Szokol -10 $7,221
T41 Hinako Shibuno -10 $7,221
T41 Jeongeun Lee6 -10 $7,221
T45 Pauline Roussin -9 $6,183
T45 Amelia Lewis -9 $6,183
T45 Jenny Shin -9 $6,183
T45 Moriya Jutanugarn -9 $6,183
T49 Caroline Inglis -8 $5,319
T49 Yan Liu -8 $5,319
T49 Brittany Lincicome -8 $5,319
T49 Patty Tavatanakit -8 $5,319
T53 Bianca Pagdanganan -7 $4,686
T53 Riley Rennell -7 $4,686
T53 Lauren Stephenson -7 $4,686
T53 Jodi Ewart Shadoff -7 $4,686
T57 Samantha Wagner -6 $4,225
T57 Maria Fassi -6 $4,225
T59 Albane Valenzuela -5 $3,780
T59 Emily Kristine Pedersen -5 $3,780
T59 Gabriella Then -5 $3,780
T59 Morgane Metraux -5 $3,780
T59 Yuka Saso -5 $3,780
T64 Ryann O’Toole -4 $3,495
T64 Sung Hyun Park -4 $3,495
T66 Christina Kim -3 $3,342
T66 Yu-Sang Hou -3 $3,342
68 Jennifer Song -1 $3,226

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Monday qualifier and 19-year-old LPGA rookie Chanettee Wannasaen wins 2023 Portland Classic

Wannasaen had missed her last nine cuts entering this week in Portland.

Women’s golf is loaded with young, rising talent as yet another teenager has won on the LPGA in 2023.

Five players were within four shots of the lead as the final group made the turn to the back nine on Sunday at the 2023 Portland Classic, but none of them caught Chanettee Wannasaen.

The 19-year-old rookie was a Monday qualifier for this week’s event at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Oregon but left with the trophy after a memorable week in the Pacific Northwest. Wannasaen shot her season-low round of 66 on Friday and went one better with a Saturday 65 before a blistering bogey-free 9-under 63 on Sunday sealed the deal at 26 under for her first LPGA win, the 10th player to accomplish the feat this season.

A native of Chiang Mai, Thailand, Wannasaen last won in June of 2022 at the Trust Golf Links Series – Ramside Hall on the Ladies European Tour Access Series after a pair of wins earlier in the year on the Thai LPGA Tour at the Singha Pattaya Ladies Open and Thai LPGA Championship. She made the cut in her first two LPGA starts in February and March of this year at the LPGA Drive On Championship (T-57) and Honda LPGA Thailand (T-51), respectively, but hadn’t made a cut in nine starts since.

“I miss cut about like nine events in LPGA tournament this year,” said Wannasaen on Saturday. “That get me more confident.”

That confidence showed on Sunday as the teenager played the final round with ease and handled the pressure with the confidence of a multi-major champion. After a par-par start, Wannasaen caught fire with a five-hole stretch of birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie on Nos. 3-7 to take a three-shot lead with nine holes to play. Wannasaen added three more birdies on the back at Nos. 13, 14 and 17 to cruise to a four-shot win.

Wannasaen is just the third player to Monday qualify and then win the same week on the LPGA, joining Laurel Kean at the 2000 State Farm LPGA Classic and Brooke Henderson, who also Monday qualified for the Portland Classic at Columbia Edgewater Country Club and went on to win the event in 2015. Yealimi Noh almost joined Kean, Noh and now Wannasaen at the 2019 Portland Classic, but the then-18-year-old blew a three-shot lead on Sunday as Hannah Green went on to win by a single shot.

Ranked No. 367 in the world, Wannasaen is the third-lowest ranked player to win on the LPGA. The previous two, Rose Zhang (482) and Alexa Pano (402), happened earlier this summer.

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Nelly Korda surprised Megan Khang after her first LPGA win (and now she’s shining in Portland)

Knowing she was sharing a house with Khang this week for the Portland Classic, Korda planned a surprise.

With eight wins on the LPGA and three more on the Ladies European Tour, Nelly Korda knows a thing or two about celebrating victories. So when her dear friend Megan Khang finally broke through and earned her first victory last week at the CPKC Women’s Open in her 191st career start, Korda thought a special celebration was in order.

Knowing she was sharing a house with Khang this week for the Portland Classic, Korda planned a surprise for her friend’s room to go along with a gift sent by Khang’s boyfriend.

“I came to this week a little late and I’m sharing the house with Nelly,” Khang explained, “and she was showing me my room and totally caught me off guard. She had balloons done for my room and my boyfriend had sent flowers.

“I had no idea that was going to happen. I think I like cried for the first time. I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy,’ and it really hit.”

After enjoying a little celebration with her friend, however, it was back to business on Thursday for Korda at Columbia Edgewater Country Club as she finished the day with three straight birdies to get to 7 under, just two shots behind leader Perrine Delacour after the opening round of play.

Thursday brought a little rain, but that didn’t impact Korda, who had birdies on the day to go with just one bogey.

“I think the golf course is just in general playing a little softer than it was last year. I just knew with the amount of rain we were getting throughout the day that I could just be a little bit more aggressive,” Korda said. “So making sure that I was flying to the right numbers and taking dead aim at flags was possible.

“I think (the rain is) good. It boosts your confidence in a sense when you’re hitting it good. Obviously, it’s tough to play in the rain and there is a lot more going on, as in trying to stay dry and it’s a little bit more hectic, but overall it didn’t really dump on us. It stayed consistent throughout the day.”

Korda didn’t touch a club for several weeks this spring after lower back pain resulted in a forced break. When the 25-year-old returned to work, it was with a new swing instructor, Jason Baile, the director of instruction at Jupiter Hills Club in Florida. She hasn’t won since returning, but she’s playing well with two top-11 finishes in the most recent majors, the Amundi Evian Championship and the AIG Women’s Open can attest.

“It’s been an interesting time since my injury. You know, I came back — I played really well before it, and then when I came back it was very hard to get into the groove of things,” Korda said. “I came back to pretty much four majors in a row, so definitely tough golf courses, firm golf courses where it’s kind of hard to get your confidence back.

“But one step at a time I think. I’m pushing in the right direction.”

With the Solheim Cup right around the corner, Korda is concerned with fine-tuning her game, but her focus is solely on playing well in Portland.

This will be Korda’s third appearance at the biennial event against the Europeans and has a 5-2-1 record in her previous starts. But that’s in the future.

“I’m just really focusing on this week, and once I get to that week I’ll focus on that week,” she said. “I’m just trying to take it one round at time, play some consistent golf, and hopefully I can take that into Spain.”

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World No. 1 Jin Young Ko won’t defend at this week’s AmazingCre Portland Classic

Ko is sitting out the next few weeks under medical advisement for an overworked wrist.

Jin Young Ko will not be in the field this week to defend her title at the AmazingCre Portland Classic, which returns to Columbia Edgewater Country Club. Golf Digest first reported that she’s out with a recurring wrist injury and will likely return to competition in late October at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea.

The LPGA confirmed that Ko is sitting out the next few weeks under medical advisement for an overworked wrist.

That means Ko will also miss the Ascendant LPGA event in Texas later this month, which she won last year as well at the Old American Golf Club.

The World No. 1 famously hit 63 consecutive greens in regulation, the longest streak in LPGA and PGA Tour history, last year at the CME Group Tour Championship on that bum left wrist. Her wrist hurt so bad, in fact, that she didn’t take a full swing beyond her 52-degree wedge while warming up before any of her rounds.

Ko, 27, has missed the cut in her last two starts. She won once this year, in her first start of 2022 at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, and last finished in the top 10 at the Amundi Evian Championship, where she tied for eighth.

While Ko isn’t in Portland, World No. 2 Nelly Korda returns to action for the first time since the CP Women’s Open, where she tied for second. Korda missed four months of competition earlier this season with a blood clot that required surgery.

Ko has been ranked No. 1 for the past 32 weeks, dating back to Jan. 31, 2022. She’s held the No. 1 position for a total of 138 weeks.

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