Tag: Sophia Popov

Ultra-social Sophia Popov in her element at LPGA Diamond Resorts pro-am format

Sophia Popov’s her boyfriend/caddie Max Melhes keeps her on track. “I have a great caddie who tells me when to shut up,” she said, laughing.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Sophia Popov wanted to put her name down to play a practice round with Annika Sorenstam at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, but even that felt a little intimidating. Still, a competitive round alongside Sorenstam, who retired from the LPGA in 2008 and is playing in the celebrity division of this week’s event, would be yet another high for golf’s ultimate Cinderella.

Popov, 28, wasn’t shy about her frustrations over being left out of last month’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in her hometown of Naples, Florida. The points Popov would’ve been awarded for winning the AIG Women’s British Open last August didn’t count because she wasn’t an LPGA member at the time of her victory.

But while the popular German was left out of the lucrative season-ender, she did secure a spot in this year’s fun-filled season-opener. The ultra-social player will no doubt be in her element for the pro-am format at Tranquilo Golf Club.

“I talk a lot in regular tournament play,” said Popov, “sorry to all my fellow competitors out there, beware.”

On Thursday, Popov will compete alongside former NFL stars Marcus Allen and Sterling Sharpe. There are 25 LPGA pros in the field, including Danielle Kang, Brooke Henderson, Lexi Thompson and sisters Nelly and Jessica Korda.

U.S. Women's Open
Sophia Popov at the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open at Champions Golf Club. Photo by Erik Williams/USA TODAY Sports

Popov, a four-time All-American at USC, said she was aware of Allen because she’d seen his poster up around campus. She Googled him this week to get more of the finer details of his career.

Asked if it was possible for her to talk too much out there and get distracted, Popov said her boyfriend/caddie Max Melhes keeps her on track.

“I have a great caddie who tells me when to shut up,” she said, laughing.

Fellow LPGA pros have given the TOC rookie tips on the unique format, warning her of the importance of staying focused on her own game while playing alongside Hall of Famers twice her size from other sports. On the range, Popov finds herself swiveling around at the sound of a strapping major leaguer unleashing on a driver.

“I don’t know if I should mention her name,” said Popov of a player who’d recently given her some advice, “but she said it’s very interesting, because you get very excited. But these guys out here are very good. They actually spend a lot of time playing golf. It almost becomes their second career in some sense, and they’re playing great golf. They hit it very far. You have to come to peace with the fact that your golf game is totally different. For the most part, we hit it straighter and we’re probably the more consistent player, but they’ll hit some shots where they’re outdriving you by 70 or 80 yards, and you’re going ‘Oh my god, who is the pro here?’ ”

While Popov might still yet get the opportunity to play alongside Sorenstam later this week, it’s 2020 TOC champion Gaby Lopez who has that chance in the opening round as well as John Smoltz, a two-time winner of the celebrity division.

Lopez said Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa inspired her greatly growing up.

“To me, to have this opportunity to just learn from her mind,” said Lopez, “to me that’s probably the biggest takeaway. I’m going to try to sneak in and peek at her mind tomorrow.”

Popov’s whirlwind journey from winning on the Cactus Tour last summer to claiming a major championship title continues to change her life in ways beyond her tournament schedule. She recently landed major championship backer AIG as a sponsor, with the company’s logo attached to her visor this week.

“It’s definitely a different lifestyle that I’m living,” said Popov of her daily to-do list.

Because she’s a bilingual rising star, Popov has double the media requests between the U.S. and Germany.

“Everyone said ‘Oh, well, wait until you’re done with the season and then we’ll call you,’ ” said Popov. “Yep, sure felt that.”

If everything goes as planned, those requests won’t die down anytime soon.

[lawrence-related id=778084460,778084440,778084271]

LPGA commissioner Mike Whan pushing to retroactively award CME points to non-members who win

Starting in 2021, CME points will be used to determine a player’s LPGA status for the next season rather than the money list.

NAPLES, Fla. – CME points will mean a lot more starting in 2020. LPGA commissioner Mike Whan announced that starting in 2021, CME points will be used to determine a player’s status for the next season rather than the money list.

“There’s a couple of benefits to that,” said Whan. “I know the PGA Tour went to that a few years ago, and we were tracking both their change and our sort of pseudo-change over the last few years. One of the benefits is while money can be pretty staggeringly different, we didn’t want a second-place finish at the U.S. Women’s Open to be more important than finishing in the top-five all year long.”

Whan told Golf Channel that he’s going to make a push in the offseason to allow non-members who win and then take up membership to have their CME points retroactively rewarded.

Going forward, that would given players like Sophia Popov and A Lim Kim, two players who were non-members when they won majors this season, a spot in this week’s CME Group Tour Championship field.

“I do think that’s something I’d like to see changed for the offseason,” said Whan.

[vertical-gallery id=778080946]

Brittany Lincicome isn’t so sure about that change, calling it a “sticky situation.”

“If you’re a non-member, I don’t feel like you should get the same amount of perks,” she said.

Brittany Altomare said she teeters back and forth on retroactive points for non-members, but she definitely likes the change from the money list to CME points.

“I think it rewards more consistent play,” she said, “and I think the better you do out here, the points reflect that, where I don’t think the money list does.”

Azahara Munoz likes the idea of both changes, saying that one high finish at the right time (like the U.S. Women’s Open) can make a player’s entire year. The points approach, she said, is more fair.

And given how few non-members win in any given season, she has no problem with awarding retroactive points.

[lawrence-related id=778080673,778080576,778080476]

Lynch: Sophia Popov’s exclusion from CME isn’t Natalie Gulbis’ fault; it’s ‘technically’ her own

Sophia Popov finds herself in the unusual position of generating headlines for not playing.

After years of not making news while playing, Sophia Popov now finds herself in the unusual position of generating headlines for not playing.

The 28-year-old German knows something of the hard knocks that attend a life in professional golf. She almost quit the game in 2019, but decided to plow the lonely furrow of life on tour for another year. Her resilience was rewarded with a couple of victories earlier this year on the Cactus Tour and then an improbable major championship win in the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Troon in August.

The kerfuffle in which Popov currently finds herself concerns the LPGA’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, which begins Thursday in Naples, Florida. The woman who won a major four months ago will have to watch the action from her couch across town since she’s not eligible to compete.

Let’s try explaining this over the din of muskets being loaded on Twitter.

In a typical year, the top 60 point-earners on the LPGA tour qualify for the season finale. In this most atypical year, the field for the tournament was expanded to 72 players. For the first (and apparently last) time, two of those spots were reserved for sponsor’s exemptions. Since Popov wasn’t an LPGA Tour member when she won the Open, her points from Troon didn’t count. So she didn’t make the top 60. Or the top 70. Nor did she receive one of those exemptions.

Eamon Lynch

The invitations went to Sarah Kemp, who is a CME Group ambassador, and to Natalie Gulbis, who isn’t. But Gulbis is a friend of CME Group chief executive Terry Duffy, and that’s sufficient.

“I’ve known Natalie since 2005, when I did my first event with clients,” Duffy told my Golfweek colleague Beth Ann Nichols, going on to note that she was instrumental in his sponsoring the tournament.

Gulbis has made just six starts this year, missing five cuts, withdrawing once and bettering par once. It’s a tally that justifies her announcement that she would retire after the 2020 season. The pandemic pushed that plan back a year (apparently the departure of a one-time winner demands fans lining the ropes). Popov has as good a shot of winning the CME Group Tour Championship while sitting on her couch as Gulbis does actually competing. But both have earned the spot in which they find themselves. That’s the less-than-appealing reality of sports sponsorship.

Had the points Popov earned for her major win counted, she would be in the field for Naples at 16th in the standings.

But they didn’t count, so she finished 82nd and outside the cut. “It’s a fairness thing, as far as playing ability. It’s not like I haven’t earned it. It’s like I have earned it points-wise, technically,” Popov told Golfweek.

As we all learned in the schoolyard, anyone qualifying their position with “technically” is usually on shaky ground, and “fairness” is an awfully precarious hill upon which to stake a claim in sport, because “technically” Popov didn’t earn it. She didn’t play her way into the original 60, didn’t play her way into the expanded 70, and shouldn’t assume an entitlement to one of those sponsor invites.

Natalie Gulbis
Natalie Gulbis is in the field for this week’s CME Group Tour Championship due to a sponsor exemption, while recent major winner Sophia Popov is not.

The rules don’t cease to be the rules simply because a competitor and their social media supporters feel they are being treated unfairly, a thesis with standing most places beyond 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

That the field in Naples would be enhanced by Popov’s presence is undeniable. She authored what might be the best story in golf in an otherwise miserable year. But sponsor exemptions — even those questionably added to a supposedly elite event amid a pandemic — are decided by the golden rule: them what has the gold, makes the rules.

This is an argument over the 70 spots, not the other two. CME Group is wholly entitled to extend its exemptions based on corporate loyalties. With any tournament invitation, there are always more deserving players. But these invitations are not designed for the deserving nor subject to sentiment. And they are certainly not based on fairness. A Lim Kim, who won the U.S. Women’s Open on Sunday, is also not in the field this week since she is not an LPGA tour member.

Much of the frothing on social media seems less about the fact that Popov is out than that Gulbis is in. That’s fair enough. Her 2007 win at the Evian Masters is the only thing that separates Gulbis from being golf’s equivalent of Anna Kournikova, a famously winless but decidedly winsome ‘90s tennis star who launched many an internet search in lonely college dorms. And there’s nothing like the spectacle of a major champion sitting at home while a washed-up one-timer gets a spot in a big-time event during the waning days of her career.

But the fact that golf finds itself in yet another needlessly awkward storyline is not the fault of CME Group or Gulbis. The sponsor is within its purview to extend the invite and Gulbis was within hers to accept.

The harsh reality of competitive sport is that only one person could have guaranteed Popov a place in the field this week — herself.

[lawrence-related id=778080030,778069131,778065077]

CME Group Tour Championship: Jin Young Ko is in the field; Sophia Popov is out

Jin Young Ko’s runner-up at the U.S. Women’s Open propelled her into the CME Group Tour Championship but another major champ didn’t make it.

HOUSTON – Jin Young Ko and Sophia Popov are both headed to Naples, Florida, following the conclusion of the 75th U.S. Women’s Open. Ko’s second-place finish in Houston propelled her into this week’s CME Group Tour Championship. Popov isn’t in the field; she just happens to live there.

Popov, of course, won the AIG Women’s British Open in August. Because she was a non-member at the time, she did not earn the 625 points typically awarded for first place toward the Race to the CME Globe standings. The field was expanded to 72 players this year (including two sponsor exemptions). Popov finished 82nd on the final points list; she would’ve finished 16th if the AIG had counted.

Popov, who recently bought a house in Naples, thought she then might get one of the two sponsor exemptions that were on the table. On the eve of the opening round at the Pelican Women’s Championship last month, she found out those went to Natalie Gulbis and Sarah Kemp. Popov said she was shocked, saying that she felt she deserved to be there.

“It’s a fairness thing as far as playing ability,” said Popov. “It’s not like I haven’t earned it. It’s like I have earned it points-wise, technically.”

Terry Duffy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CME Group, told Golfweek that he wanted those two sponsor exemptions to ensure that his two ambassadors – Cheyenne Knight and Kemp – got into the field.

Typically, there are no sponsor exemptions for the CME, and Duffy said there won’t be any going forward. Like so many things about 2020, this was an exception. After Knight qualified on her own, Duffy had one more spot to fill.

“I’ve known Natalie since 2005, when I did my first event with clients,” said Duffy, who noted that Gulbis was instrumental in his decision to take the step toward title-sponsoring an event.

In January, Gulbis announced that she’d be retiring after the 2020 season. She then told the Toledo Blade back in August that she’d be returning in 2021 because there weren’t any fans out for most of the season.

LPGA Chief Tour Operations Officer Heather Daly-Donofrio said sponsor-exemption decisions are at the discretion of each week’s title sponsor, without input from the LPGA, as a benefit for their investment and partnership.

“The decision to add sponsor exemptions for the CME Group Tour Championship is for this year only,” said Daly-Donofrio. “In this abnormal 2020 year, the CME Group Tour Championship is slightly different than in the past, allowing more players in the field and offering two sponsor invites. In 2021, we expect to return to a 60-player field that is filled strictly off the Race for the CME Globe rankings.”

In 2019, the CME Group Tour Championship offered the biggest payday in women’s golf history – $1.5 million to winner Sei Young Kim. Duffy also raised the purse to $5 million, thereby raising the bar for the entire tour.

Ko earned enough points in just three starts on the LPGA, leaping up to 46th on the points list with finishes of 34th, fifth and second. The World No. 1 spent most of 2020 back home in her native South Korea.

“This week is my best finish at the U.S. Open, so I can play next week, as well,” said Ko. “I’m really thankful. This season is too tough with coronavirus, so I want to say thanks to USGA and all the volunteers.”

With Amy Olson, Ally Ewing and Marina Alex not playing this week, Brittany Lincicome, Anne van Dam and Maria Torres made it into the field.

The 72-hole no-cut event will offer a purse of $3 million. The winner will receive a check of $1.1 million, the highest first-place check on the LPGA.

Popov won’t be the only 2020 major champion missing from the field. U.S. Women’s Open A Lim Kim won’t be there either. Like Popov, she will have the option to accept a two-year membership for the tour beginning in 2021.

[jwplayer l7H7JRzN-vgFm21H3]

First-time winners Ally McDonald, Sophia Popov playing ‘free’ at Pelican GC

After earning their first LPGA wins, Ally McDonald and Sophia Popov are playing much more free at the Pelican Women’s Championship.

BELLEAIR, Florida – Over the course of the past 24 hours, Ally McDonald and Sophia Popov have used the same word to describe their current mental states: free.

Winning, it seems will do that. Free up the mind. Free up the swing. Free up the purse strings.

McDonald and Popov, two first-time winners on the LPGA this season, played alongside each other in the first two rounds of the Pelican Women’s Championship and find themselves 1-2 on the board midway through Friday’s action.

McDonald holds the clubhouse lead at 7 under at the newly renovated Pelican Golf Club after a sparkling 4-under 66. Popov, winner of the AIG Women’s British Open, cooled off a bit with her even-par 70, but sits one shot off the lead.

Both credit hot putters for their ascent.

“They’re not on camera,” said Popov, “but I think I made more feet of putts today for par than all of yesterday, and I thought I putted really well yesterday. But today I made a lot of key putts. I think I made about three 10- to 15-footers for par, and those keep the momentum going.”

More solid ball-striking gave McDonald better looks at birdie on another gusty day at Pelican, where firm, undulating greens make approach shots critical. McDonald, winner of the LPGA’s last event in Georgia, hit every fairway and 15 greens.

“I wouldn’t say that I feel carefree or careless,” said McDonald. “I just have a little bit more I guess confidence. I don’t feel as stressed about things since I got that win under my belt.

“I know tomorrow is going to be completely different, but it definitely helps to know that I finished a golf tournament a few weeks ago and still carrying some positive momentum from that.”

While the three-week break in the schedule wasn’t ideal for McDonald’s momentum, she appreciated the time she had to fulfill media obligations.

“I can’t imagine having to tee it up on a Thursday after that dealing with media stuff,” she said.

Ally McDonald during the second round of the 2020 Pelican Women’s Championship at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

McDonald, who got married during the LPGA’s COVID-19 break, said happiness outside the ropes definitely helps translate to better golf. After winning the LPGA Drive On Championship on her 28th birthday at Lake Reynolds Oconee in Georgia, she drove home to Mississippi, following behind in her parents’ car. Her four grandparents were there to greet her.

“It was around midnight,” she said, “so they had paced floors long enough to hang around and sing happy birthday to me and everything when I pulled in.”

McDonald said she never questioned her ability to compete on the LPGA, but she did wonder if she’d ever win.

Good friend Angela Stanford can see the confidence rising in the young American.

“I don’t really catch her looking around a whole lot,” said Stanford. “I think she’s just concerned with what she’s doing, because she believes in what she’s doing.”

[lawrence-related id=778077263,778077175]

‘Yikes!’ Sophia Popov’s career-low 64 paces field at Pelican Women’s Championship

Sophia Popov wasn’t eally thinking about her birdie streak at the Pelican Women’s Championship until she saw her scores on a leaderboard.

BELLEAIR, Florida – Sophia Popov wasn’t really thinking about her birdie streak during Round 1 of the Pelican Women’s Championship until she saw her scorecard on a leaderboard.

“Yikes!” Popov said of the five-birdie run. “That was better than anticipated.”

The 2020 AIG Women’s British Open champion holds a two-shot lead over Ashleigh Buhai after posting a career-low 6-under 64 at the newly renovated Pelican Golf Club.

Popov relished the challenge of the wind and the creativity the Donald Ross-designed greens allow.

“I think mentally I’ve never felt as freed up as I do now,” she said.

“You know, I don’t know if that’s from winning the tournament or just overall just having more fun out here. Having obviously an exemption for the next couple years just frees up the swing a little bit, my mindset, I can be a little bit more aggressive, and I think I just took advantage of that.”

PELICAN WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP: Leaderboard

The player who had only Symetra Tour status at the start of the year played alongside World No. 1 Jin Young Ko in her first round back on the tour since November 2019.

“I’ve watched her play a lot of golf. … on TV,” said Popov.

“I was honestly just excited, maybe fan-girling just a little bit.”

Ko opened with a 2-over 72, noting that she was confused by the grain on the greens. The 2019 LPGA Player of the Year made her first birdie on the LPGA in 2020 on the 10th hole. Popov had posted six on the day by then, thanks to a hot putter.

Pelican Women's Championship 2020
Jin Young Ko hits her tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the Pelican Women’s Championship at Pelican Golf Club on November 19, 2020 in Belleair, Florida. Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

“Looks easy,” said Ko, when asked for her impression of Popov’s game.

Ally McDonald, who played alongside Popov and Ko, broke through with her first victory in Georgia last month at the LPGA Drive On Championship and continued her hot streak with a 3-under 67, good for a share of third. McDonald was hoping to be introduced as an LPGA champion for the first time on Thursday but apparently the starter didn’t have it in his notes.

“I was disappointed,” said McDonald. “I was anticipating hearing that. So I got the Solheim Cup, which was great, but I kind of waited a second to tee my ball up. Never heard it, but it’s just whatever.”

Sei Young Kim, the KPMG Women’s PGA champion, also holds a share of third at 3 under. Brooke Henderson headlines a group at 2 under.

“It’s definitely a tricky golf course,” said Henderson. “You got to be careful out there. It can kind of jump up and bite you if you’re not paying attention, and especially with how windy it was earlier today. I feel like we really had to judge the conditions really well.”

Popov said the pinch-me moments are less frequent these days, though she does enjoy reminiscing when people ask questions. Royal Troon’s life-changing victory is never too far from her thoughts, however, considering where she keeps the trophy.

“The trophy is on my nightstand,” said Popov, smiling. “Right where it’s supposed to be.”

[jwplayer 7NBaZ2A0-vgFm21H3]

[lawrence-related id=778077043,778077018]

U.S. Women’s Open field is set: Sophia Popov and Cristie Kerr are in; Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer are out

The field is set for the final major of 2020 as the USGA announced 28 additional players who earned their way into the U.S. Women’s Open.

The field is set for the final major of the season after the USGA announced the 28 additional players who earned their way into the 75th U.S. Women’s Open through the Rolex Rankings. Notables among those include former USWO champion Cristie Kerr and 2020 AIG Women’s British Open champion Sophia Popov.

Several big-name players who didn’t sign up to compete in Houston next month include USWO past champions Michelle Wie (2014), Paula Creamer (2010) and Na Yeon Choi (2012). This marks the final year of Creamer’s 10-year exemption into the championship after her stirring triumph at Oakmont.

Wie, who gave birth to daughter Makenna Kamalei Yoona West on June 19, applied to play for the championship last month but told Golfweek that she was unsure about traveling without a vaccine in place.

“I just don’t know what COVID is going to look like,” Wie said. “I just don’t know if I feel comfortable traveling with her yet. In my mind I always thought by December it’s going to be safe to travel with her, but now … I’m not quite sure.”

Creamer last competed on the LPGA in October of 2019 at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea. She took up gardening during the LPGA’s long pandemic break.

The 2020 USWO, pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, takes place Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston. The 2019 champion, Jeongeun Lee6, will be on hand to defend her title. Lee6, who last competed on the LPGA in February, is in the field at this week’s inaugural Pelican Women’s Championship in Florida.

The following 28 players gained entry via the Rolex Rankings: Hae Ran Ryu, Sophia Popov, Ayaka Furue, Hyun Kyung Park, Yuka Saso, Sakura Koiwai, Na Rin An, Song Yi Ahn, Erika Hara, Yuna Nishimura, Ji Hyun Kim, Anne van Dam, Alena Sharp, Min Sun5 Kim, Lala Anai, Eri Okayama, Cristie Kerr, Ga Young Lee, Ah-Reum Hwang, Pornanong Phatlum, Jun Min Lee, Ji Hun Oh, Emily Kristine Pedersen, Mi Jeong Jeon, Maria Fernanda Torres, Bo Ah Kim, Teresa Lu and Wei-Ling Hsu.

Popov, currently No. 28 in the world, will make her second USWO start in Houston. Kerr, the 2007 USWO champion at Pine Needles, has now qualified for her 22nd consecutive Women’s Open.

The list of the 156 golfers who are in the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open field (as of Tuesday, Nov. 17):

Marina Alex
Brittany Altomare
Na Rin An
a-Ho Yu An
Lala Anai
Saki Asai
Seon Woo Bae
Ana Belac
Celine Boutier
Nicole Broch Larsen
Ashleigh Buhai
Chella Choi
Hye Jin Choi
In Gee Chun
Carlota Ciganda
Cydney Clanton
a-Allisen Corpuz
Perrine Delacour
a-Caterina Don
Austin Ernst
Jodi Ewart Shadoff
Shanshan Feng
Fatima Fernandez Cano
Ayaka Furue
a-Amelia Garvey
Kristen Gillman
a-Linn Grant
Hannah Green
Jaye Marie Green
Georgia Hall
Jin Seon Han
Erika Hara
Mina Harigae
Nasa Hataoka
Brooke Henderson
Esther Henseleit
Mamiko Higa
Wei-Ling Hsu
Charley Hull
a-Lily May Humphreys
Mi Jung Hur
Ah-Reum Hwang
Mone Inami
Nuria Iturrioz
Janie Jackson
Mi Jeong Jeon
Eun-Hee Ji
Ariya Jutanugarn
Moriya Jutanugarn
Danielle Kang
Minami Katsu
Kim Kaufman
Yui Kawamoto
Cristie Kerr
Megan Khang
A Lim Kim
a-Auston Kim
Bo Ah Kim
Ji Hyun Kim
Ji Yeong2 Kim
Min Sun5 Kim
Sei Young Kim
a-Ina Kim-Schaad
Frida Kinhult
Katherine Kirk
Cheyenne Knight
Jin Young Ko
Lydia Ko
Nanna Koerstz Madsen
Sakura Koiwai
Jessica Korda
Nelly Korda
Jennifer Kupcho
a-Agathe Laisne
Brittany Lang
Bronte Law
Andrea Lee
Ga Young Lee
Jung Min Lee
Mi Hyang Lee
Minjee Lee
Minyoung2 Lee
Mirim Lee
Jeongeun Lee6
Stacy Lewis
Hee Jeong Lim
Xiyu Lin
Brittany Lincicome
Pernilla Lindberg
a-Ingrid Lindblad
Yu Liu
Gaby Lopez
Teresa Lu
Meghan MacLaren
a-Lucie Malchirand
Caroline Masson
Ally McDonald
a-Olivia Mehaffey
a-Emilia Migliaccio
a-Benedetta Moresco
Azahara Munoz
Yuna Nishimura
a-Alessia Nobilio
Yealimi Noh
Anna Nordqvist
Su-Hyun Oh
Ji Hyun Oh
Eri Okayama
Amy Olson
Ryann O’Toole
Bianca Pagdanganan
a-Kaitlyn Papp
Annie Park
Hee Young Park
Hyun Kyung Park
Inbee Park
Ji Young Park
Sung Hyun Park
Emily Kristine Pedersen
Pornanong Phatlum
Gerina Piller
Sophia Popov
Morgan Pressel
Mel Reid
a-Pauline Roussin-Bouchard
a-Gabriela Ruffels
Hae Ran Ryu
So Yeon Ryu
Madelene Sagstrom
Lizette Salas
Yuka Saso
Alena Sharp
Hinako Shibuno
Jenny Shin
Marianne Skarpnord
Sarah Jane Smith
Jennifer Song
a-Emma Spitz
Angela Stanford
a-Maja Stark
Lauren Stephenson
Jasmine Suwannapura
Kelly Tan
Lexi Thompson
Maria Fernanda Torres
a-Emily Toy
Momoko Ueda
Anne van Dam
a-Beatrice Wallin
Lindsay Weaver
Christine Wolf
Jing Yan
Amy Yang
a-Lei Ye
Angel Yin
a-Rose Zhang

a-denotes amateur; bold indicates past champion

[jwplayer vIMBikYj-vgFm21H3]

[lawrence-related id=778074958,778073899,778073123]

Sophia Popov makes first major start since stunning the golf world at Royal Troon

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship marks Popov’s first major since she shocked the golf world in August at the AIG Women’s British Open.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – When Sophia Popov teed off Tuesday morning at Aronimink Golf Club wearing mittens and a beanie, it felt for a moment like she was back at Royal Troon.

“Except for the fact that I was hitting 3-hybrids into every green,” she said, smiling.

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship marks Popov’s first major since she shocked the golf world in August at the AIG Women’s British Open. There are times when she looks at the amount of money that’s now in her bank account and gets the feeling that something illegal happened there.

“I still look at it and I go, ‘Oh my,’ ” she said of the $675,000 payday.

As for big purchases, Popov said she bought a TrackMan, something she’d long wanted but couldn’t afford. She’s not much of a shopper or a spender, putting half of it away and setting aside more for taxes.

“German people save all their money,” she said, “and then one day they pass it on to their kids or something. That’s probably what’s going to end up happening.”

On the morning after she won, Popov said she had more than 400 text messages and still has about 90 left to reply to. In all, a good 600 written well wishes rolled in on various platforms.

“If you’re in the 90,” she said, “I’m sorry.”

Popov has competed twice on the LPGA since winning the AIG, finishing tied for 24th at the Cambia Portland Classic and T-43 last week at the ShopRite, where she was mic’d up early in the week.

The outgoing Popov has enjoyed the media attention, hoping to one day have a career in television. She worked for a German television station during the 2015 Solheim Cup in Germany and had several internships while majoring in communications at USC.

While so many shy away from the spotlight, Popov truly shines in it.

The confidence that Popov feels naturally off the golf course has transferred to inside the ropes after her victory at Troon. There’s a sense of belonging now on the LPGA, like she could be in the mix any given week.

Even so, the magnitude of what she accomplished still hasn’t quite sunk in. Eventually it will, she said, but not this year.

“I mean, this is just my birthday present,” she said, “my Christmas present, everything to myself.”

Champions on both the men’s and women’s side advised her to take the time to soak it all in. As time goes on, many told her, it’s easy to constantly look ahead and forget what’s in the past.

Since she wasn’t in the field in Arkansas or the ANA Inspiration, Popov had three weeks to celebrate with family and friends.

“It’s been crazy,” she said, “… probably the coolest five weeks of my life.”

[lawrence-related id=778065077,778063581,778062905]

Opinion: Baffling rules and inflexibility kept Sophia Popov, golf’s Story of the Year, out of this week’s ANA Inspiration

Sophia Popov is the Story of the Year so far in all of golf. Incredibly, she’s not in the 105-player field at this week’s ANA Inspiration.

When Sophia Popov came up the 18th hole at her home club last Friday, members of FireRock Country Club in Fountain Hills, Arizona, had gathered around the green. They wanted to give Popov the applause she didn’t receive at Royal Troon. The party was capped at 50 people due to COVID-19.

Popov is a friendly pro, the kind of player who will stop what she’s doing and engage in conversation. Sometimes give a mini lesson. It’s no wonder that members had tears in their eyes when they came up to congratulate the most improbable winner of the AIG Women’s British Open. Heck, they were proud of those three Cactus Tour wins too.

“We realized that the cup could’ve been made by Yeti,” said Popov. “We put ice cold beer in there, and it stayed ice cold the entire time.”

Golf fans around the world became enthralled with the story of Sophia Popov, the 304th-ranked player who became the first major winner of 2020.

It’s the Story of the Year so far in all of golf. And yet, incredibly, she’s not in the 105-player field at this week’s ANA Inspiration.

It’s a complete whiff by the tour. Popov will be the most talked-about player who isn’t at the blistering Dinah Shore Tournament Course, and that includes the defending champion and No. 1-ranked Jin Young Ko.

Why?

Because Ko hasn’t played all year on the LPGA. She’s not top of mind for most fans. Popov, on the other hand, is the new LPGA darling, the Cinderella who catapulted from Symetra Tour status to major champion in the span of seven days. In the weeks following her victory, Popov averaged five to six media interviews per day. She was in demand, and rightly so.

Interest grew even more after a Golf.com story reported that Popov wasn’t eligible for the tour’s five-year exemption as she was a non-member at the time of her victory. Instead, Popov is exempt for the remainder of 2020 and all of 2021. Her first eligible start is next week’s Cambia Portland Classic.

Popov, a four-time All-American at USC, isn’t in this week’s field because the criteria for the ANA Inspiration (originally scheduled for April) was set before the LPGA took a 166-day break due to the coronavirus. The winner’s five-year exemption into the ANA was slated to start in 2021.

LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said that there was no changing it.

The simplest answer to this would have been to let Popov start her five-year exemption into the ANA in 2020. She wouldn’t get more years than anyone else. She’d simply be able to start the clock now. That would’ve given Popov and the LPGA the chance to capitalize on the momentum of the moment.

There was plenty of room for Popov in the field. Plenty of players chose to skip this year’s ANA due to COVID-19, including former major winners So Yeon Ryu, Jeong Eun Lee6, Hyo Joo Kim, Shanshan Feng and Ko.

The world needs more Popov stories in these uncertain times. A bigger picture perspective would’ve served the tour well here.

Popov kept waiting for the LPGA to offer her a seat on the charter flight and a spot in the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. There was a spot reserved in the Arkansas field for the winner at Royal Troon if needed, but Popov didn’t qualify for that either because she wasn’t a member when she won. (And her winnings from the AIG don’t count toward the money list either because she wasn’t a member.)

No one was more shocked by this than the player who benefited from that bewildering rule, first alternate Kristy McPherson, who made the most of the start by finishing in the top 10.

While the criteria was set for the ANA last spring, there was still a way to play in through the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. The top 20 players and ties on the money list, not otherwise qualified, through the end of the Walmart event made the field, provided those players were within the top 80 on the money list.

Dani Holmqvist was the last player in through that category with $48,127. She’s 80th on the money list.

Popov first earned LPGA membership in 2015 and lost her card last year by one stroke. She has competed in 34 LPGA tournaments in her career and played three times on the Symetra Tour this season.

Several male pros, including Ian Poulter and Tommy Fleetwood, took to Twitter to express their disdain for the LPGA’s exemption rule for non-members.

Whan said he would look into the rule in the offseason but wouldn’t change it midseason, pointing out other non-members who have won previous majors – last year’s Women’s British winner, Hinako Shibuno, for starters. Shibuno didn’t take up LPGA membership.

Shibuno differs from Popov in that she hadn’t spent any time on the LPGA in previous years, nor had she competed on the LPGA’s developmental tour. She came directly from the Japan LPGA.

“I think everybody in their right mind thinks (Popov) should get a five-year exemption,” said McPherson, “but that’s how it’s written.”

It’s time for the LPGA to loosen up its non-member rules and reward exceptional play.

Anyone who wins a major – regardless of what tour they came from – deserves a five-year exemption.

Anyone who wins a tournament deserves a spot in the next week’s field.

The LPGA should also take this time to strongly consider adopting a top-10 rule that allows non-members and members alike the chance to play their way into the next event with a top-10 finish.

Growing the tour should always be the main goal.

“I truly believe that a major champion is a major champion,” said Popov, “regardless of what status you came into the tournament with. It should be rewarded the same.”

Popov isn’t exempt into this year’s U.S. Women’s Open either but has a strong chance to get into the field by way of her Rolex Ranking, which vaulted to 24th after the British.

“It was imperative to us as we built the exemption categories for this year’s U.S. Women’s Open that the final field most closely resemble a traditional championship, which includes rewarding players for solid play leading up to the event,” said Shannon Rouillard, Senior Director, Championships.

“In addition to several play-in events this fall, we also created a category for LPGA money list high performers not otherwise exempt, as well as made the decision for the remainder of the field to be filled using the Rolex Rankings, to ensure those playing well would find themselves in the championship.”

As of now, the final 11 spots will be awarded off the Rolex Rankings and Popov tops that list.

Popov has taken the high road throughout the controversy, saying that she doesn’t want to dwell on it too much ahead of Portland. She also made sure to note that the LPGA staff has been overwhelmed in general with COVID-19 protocols and that she appreciates what they’ve done to get tournaments running again.

This is a player with great perspective. A player who has overcome health battles with Lyme Disease and Q-School heartbreak, battling back from obscurity to give the LPGA a storyline that reverberated throughout the sports world.

Baffling rules and inflexibility robbed Popov from making her debut in the ANA Inspiration. That robbed the rest of us too.

It didn’t have to be this way.

[lawrence-related id=778063581,778062947,778062905]

Why no five-year LPGA exemption for Sophia Popov? Commissioner Mike Whan explains

Sophia Popov’s status as a non-member winner – and the current COVID climate – affects her perks associated with winning AIG Women’s Open.

Sophia Popov became perhaps the best Cinderella story of the month — even the year? — when she won the AIG Women’s British Open at Royal Troon on Aug. 23.

She was a Symetra Tour member, having missed out on earning her full LPGA card by one shot at last fall’s Q-School. She gained late entry into the Women’s British Open courtesy of a top-10 finish at the Marathon LPGA Classic.

Popov rode it all the way to a trophy and career-changing perks. Her status as a non-member winner – and the current COVID climate – limits those, however.

When Popov won at Royal Troon, she was granted instant LPGA membership. According to Category 3 of the LPGA’s priority status document, any player who wins a major as an LPGA member secures status for the next five years.

Therein went the overlooked detail of Popov’s situation. She was not an LPGA member when she won, thus she went into Category 7 on the tour’s Priority List, which is for non-member wins. If she had been an LPGA member, she would have gone into Category 3, which is for major winners.

Thus, Popov will hold full LPGA membership through the completion of the 2021 season.

Sophia Popov
Sophia Popov holds up the trophy after winning the 2020 AIG Women’s Open at Royal Troon. (Photo: R&A via Getty Images)

In addition to LPGA membership, another perk associated with winning the Women’s British Open comes in the form of major exemptions. Popov now has an unlimited exemption (at least through age 60) into the Women’s British Open and a five-year exemption into the tour’s other four majors.

But here’s the asterisk: She is not in the field at next month’s ANA Inspiration or the U.S. Women’s Open in December. Her five-year exemption into those events begins in 2020. That’s largely because the majors are out of order in 2020.

Popov is in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in October. That five-year exemption runs from 2020 through 2024.

LPGA commissioner Mike Whan addressed the Popov status issues on Friday in a video shot at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

The ANA Inspiration field was finalized in March to make to sure that players who qualified into the ANA were secure. In doing so, anything that happened after the field was set would be addressed in later years.

“You don’t have to like that, you don’t have to agree with me on that,” Whan said. “But that way, from the very beginning we knew that a winner there was going to qualify for the 2021 ANA.”

As for limited membership, Whan points out it has happened before – and recently.

“I’ve been commissioner 11 years. I’ve seen plenty of non-member wins at majors,” Whan said. “And I’ve seen almost all of those non-members go onto long and storied careers on the LPGA.”

According to the LPGA, In Gee Chun (2015 U.S. Women’s Open) and Hyo Joo Kim (2014 Evian Championship) are among recent players who won a major championship and received a two-year LPGA membership. Hinako Shibuno (2019 AIG Women’s Open) would have received the same if she had accepted LPGA membership.

Whan said he would think harder about that situation in the off-season and whether it’s a regulation that needs an update. He would not, he said, change a regulation mid-season, “the Monday after an emotional win.”

Popov’s situation initially was reported by Golf.com on Friday. According to writer James Colgan, Popov was contacted by an LPGA official shortly after the trophy presentation at Royal Troon and informed she would not receive the five-year membership exemption.

“I definitely got a little bit frustrated about the whole thing,” Popov told Golf.com a couple of days after the Women’s British Open. “It’s tough because I feel like I deserve the full five years of exemption from the LPGA, but at the same time, I understand the regulations and the fact that they can’t change the rules for a certain player.”

Popov could potentially appeal the rule, an option other players have exercised in similar situations. Lydia Ko and Lexi Thompson both used that avenue to gain LPGA membership after winning an LPGA event before they reached 18, the tour’s required age for membership.

[lawrence-related id=778062947,778062905,778062766]