Category: LPGA Tour

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LPGA Tour

LPGA Announces “Drive On: LPGA All Access” Series Coming to LPGA Platforms

The LPGA Tour launches its own documentary series. (photo: getty)
The LPGA Tour launches its own documentary series. (photo: getty)

The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) announced the creation of “Drive On: LPGA All Access,” a multi-episode series that will air on LPGA platforms and give fans a beyond-the-course glimpse into the lives of some of the best golfers in the world – LPGA Tour athletes.. Approximately 10 episodes are planned for the 2023 season. The first episode will debut Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. EST on YouTube and LPGA.com, and feature behind-the-scenes moments with players like Gemma Dryburgh, Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Ashleigh Buhai during the 2023 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.

One of the players featured in the Series is Gemma Dryburgh. She entered the 2023 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions following a career-defining year where she became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2022 TOTO Japan Classic. Dryburgh made the most of her experience at Lake Nona, playing alongside idol and 72-time Tour winner Annika Sorenstam and meeting celebrities like Ellie Goulding.

Jodi Ewart Shadoff is also part odf the show. After nabbing her career-first win at the 2022 LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship, Ewart Shadoff finally got to play a “home game” at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, about 30 minutes from her residence in Orlando that she shares with her husband and local sports reporter Adam Shadoff.

Another one taking part in the series is Ashleigh Buhai. The South African, who was exempt into her first #HGVLPGA thanks to her major victory at the 2022 AIG Women’s Open, had a busy offseason, capturing the 2022 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open in December and returning home to South Africa. She’s ready for competition with husband David Buhai on the bag for one week only.

The docu-series will showcase the “stories and personalities of LPGA Tour”

The first-of-its-kind series for the LPGA Tour will follow the storylines of the 2023 season like never before, with exclusive moments between players on and off the course during the year’s biggest events like the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown at TPC Harding Park and the Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin.


“This docu-series is an excellent opportunity to continue showcasing the many stories and personalities of LPGA Tour athletes and give fans a peek into what goes into life on Tour,” said Brian Carroll, EVP of global media distribution and partnerships for the LPGA. “We’re excited to embark on this season-long production with episodes illustrating a record-breaking year for those battling for titles week in and week out on the LPGA Tour.”

The documentary series will be produced in partnership with toldright and Executive Producer Adam Hertzog.

About the LPGA

The LPGA is the world’s leading professional golf organization for women, with a goal to change the face of golf by making the sport more accessible and inclusive.

Created in 1950 by 13 Founders, the Association celebrates a diverse and storied history. The LPGA Tour competes across the globe, reaching television audiences in more than 220 countries. The Epson Tour, the LPGA’s official qualifying tour, consistently produces a pipeline of talent ready for the world stage. The LPGA also holds a joint-venture collaboration with the Ladies European Tour (LET), increasing playing opportunities for female golfers in Europe. Across the three Tours, the LPGA represents players in more than 60 countries.

Additionally, the LPGA Foundation has empowered and supported girls and women since 1991, most notably through LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, the only national program of its kind, which annually engages with nearly 100,000 girls. The LPGA Amateur Golf Association and LPGA Women’s Network provide virtual and in-person connections to female golfers around the world, while LPGA Professionals are educators, business leaders and gamechangers dedicated to growing the game of golf for everyone.

Follow the LPGA on its U.S. television home, Golf Channel, online at www.LPGA.com and on its mobile apps. Join the social conversation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

(Text: LPGA)

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LPGA Tour

Lydia Ko: Despite mom’s insult, the former prodigy is better than ever at 25

Lydia Ko (Photo: Getty)
Lydia Ko (Photo: Getty)

Lydia Ko will probably have to put up a new wardrobe at home in Orlando – with all the trophies she brings home from the CME Group Tour Championship: the glass globe for winning the LPGA final tournament, the silver bowl of the Vare Trophy, the “Player of the Year” awards and everything else the 25-year-old was presented with at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples. “The winner takes it all,” ABBA once warbled. But despite the record check for two million dollars and a total of 4,364,403 dollars for three victories and a total of seven top-five finishes since the Amundi Evian Championship in July, the most successful prize money season of all time didn’t work out. Lorena Ochoa was “better” by $591 in 2007.

“She’s made peace with herself”

But money, as we all know, isn’t everything. Especially when the “main prize” is standing on the edge of the 18th green: Ko’s fiancé Jun Chung. “He makes me smile, motivates and inspires me to become a better person and a better player,” says the New Zealander. “Since she met him, she has made peace with herself,” confirms her sister Sura.

Lydia Ko and Jun Chung have been a couple for almost two years, writing letters to each other for six months until the Corona pandemic allowed the first real date. Meanwhile, Chung, who lives in San Francisco, is the son of a Hyundai manager, works in the finance department of the Korean car company and first had to Google his new pen pal’s golf career, had taken up golf himself. On December 30, the two will marry in Kos and Chung’s native Seoul.

But after that, not much will change, says Chung, who likes to stay out of the camera’s focus: “She’ll keep playing. I don’t want to get involved in that. I want ‘Lyds’ to give all she can in the time she has ahead of her at this top level.” In turn, she says, “Since I’ve been with him, I want to make better use of the time I have to work on my game. To then be able to really enjoy the time off. I feel like that helps me train better and focus more.”

Three “meager” years already count as a crisis there


Time is the key word in every sense of the word for change, for the development of exceptional golfer Lydia Ko, who began as a teenage sensation, won her first professional tournament at 14, became the youngest tour winner in LPGA history at 15 years, four months and two days at the Canadian Open in August 2012, was number one in the world amateur rankings for 130 weeks and won her first professional tournament at the age of 18. Before the age of 20, she had already won two majors and the silver medal in golf’s Olympic comeback, and now has 19 LPGA victories to her name.

With such a golfing career, three years, the period between July 2016 and April 2021, with only one tournament title and a drop to 46th in the world rankings, can seem like a sporting crisis: “When you’re not playing so well, you have these weaker moments that feel so long. All too often, she has linked her existence exclusively to the numbers on the scorecard, identifying herself by her results on the golf course, Ko admits self-critically and unapologetically.

Interviewer rendered speechless

As bluntly as she spoke in June about her menstrual cramps and their effects on her back muscles (“It’s that times of the month”) after asking for medical help during the round – which literally left the interviewer from the “Golf Channel” speechless.

Equally candid, she says Jun Chung has given her “a new outlook on golf and life”: “How he perceives me doesn’t depend on my performance on the course.” And that’s precisely why “above all, I really wanted to win the BMW Ladies Championship last month in both our motherland, South Korea, with him by my side.” Mission accomplished. If Rosamunde Pilcher had written this plot, the whole world would have called it kitsch.

“You played better when you were 15”

So be it. From Ko’s point of view, the balance in her life has never been better. Without the period of the so-called form crisis, “I probably wouldn’t have the attitude I have today,” she says after her first season of multiple wins since 2016. “I feel like I matured a lot during that time.” And then isn’t fazed by a “You played better when you were 15” comment from her mother Tina: “What am I supposed to do with that information?” After nine years on the tour, you act differently, you’re simply more experienced, more familiar with the processes and conditions.

“Experience is the reason why some players play successfully on the tour for 15, 20 years. They hit their balls and know what’s going to happen. That comes naturally over time. Experience is like having a 15th club in the bag.”

Lydia Ko

On and off the court – starting with training on “more different types of grass than you can name in the same breath,” grins the new world number two behind Nelly Korda. “I used to play up liberated because I was young and clueless. Today I’m freer because I’ve learned to take things as they come and deal with them.”

Soon to be youngest Hall of Fame member

No question, the former child prodigy has grown up. And will probably soon become even the youngest member “ever” in the LPGA Hall of Fame. Until now, or since 2016, this privilege has gone to Inbee Park, who had to turn 27 to become a member. Ko, meanwhile, is only two points short.

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LPGA Tour

LPGA Tour: Lydia Ko Wins 2022 Rolex Player of the Year Award, Vare Trophy

Lydia Ko celebrates her 19th win on the LPGA Tour. (photo: Getty)
Lydia Ko celebrates her 19th win on the LPGA Tour. (photo: Getty)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Nov. 10, 2022 ­– The LPGA Tour announced today that Lydia Ko earned the 2022 Rolex Player of the Year award with her win ­at the CME Group Tour Championship. Ko, who earned two additional victories this season at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio and the BMW Ladies Championship, is the 15th different player to win the award at least twice.

The 25-year-old also won the 2022 Vare Trophy for recording the season’s lowest scoring average of 68.988. Her season-long scoring average is the second-lowest Vare Trophy-winning scoring average in Tour history, behind Annika Sorenstam’s 68.70 in 2002. Sorenstam and Ko are the only two players to win the Vare Trophy with a scoring average in the 68s. Ko is the 12th player in LPGA Tour history to win the award in consecutive seasons and the 15th player to win the trophy more than once.

With the CME Group Tour Championship victory, the Rolex Player of the Year honor and the Vare Trophy, Ko now has 25 points toward qualifying for the LPGA Hall of Fame, two points shy of the 27 needed to be inducted.

“It’s a dream come true” for Lydia Ko

“I feel like it’s really difficult to compare, like, when I won the Player of the Year in 2015 to now. I don’t even — I don’t do stats very much, so I don’t even know what it is actually by numbers, but this year has been special,” said Ko following her win at the CME Group Tour Championship. “To win again at the Gainbridge so early in the season after winning in LOTTE last year, especially when I didn’t feel like I was ready, it kind of came to me as a surprise. Winning in Korea was special at a place where I was born, and it was my goal to have won there once. And to kind of do that, it was like a bucket-list thing.

You know, coming into these two events in the Florida stretch because I had won in Korea, I wanted to not have too high expectations. And obviously I wanted to end the season on a high but, you know, know that whatever happens and even though there’s a lot of things on the line, just know that it’s been a great season. And to be the Player of the Year and to win the Vare Trophy again and to win the CME Group Tour Championship, it’s a dream come true. To be able to do it in front of family and my team, you know, it’s a very special one.”

Ko entered the week in Naples, Fla. as one of four players with a mathematical chance of winning Player of the Year, leading the standings with 150 points, one clear of Minjee Lee and 20 ahead of Brooke Henderson and Atthaya Thtiikul. She also led Thitikul by 0.386 of a stroke heading into the final event, meaning the Thai rookie would have needed to score 35 strokes better than Ko to have a chance at the Vare Trophy.

The Kiwi set herself apart from the first day of play, managing the windy conditions throughout the week better than anyone to earn her second wire-to-wire victory of the season and of her career. By the end of the second round, Ko had a five-stroke lead on the field, but Irishwoman Leona Maguire made the most of Moving Day to tie things up before the final day. A 2-under 70 was all Ko needed on Sunday to finish -17 overall, two strokes ahead of Maguire, and secure the three season-ending titles.

Ko won her first Rolex Player of the Year award in 2015 after earning five victories that season, including her first major championship title at the Amundi Evian Championship. She earned her first Vare Trophy last year with a season-long scoring average of 69.329. Her accolades include the 2021 Founders Award and the 2014 Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year honor.

Ko celebrates her 19th LPGA Tour win

Along with her three victories this season, Ko notched 11 additional top-10 finishes, including third-place finishes at the Palos Verdes Championship presented by Bank of America, the Amundi Evian Championship and The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America.

Ko is now a 19-time LPGA Tour winner (ranked T29 on the LPGA Tour’s All-Time Wins List), with major titles at the 2015 Amundi Evian Championship and the 2016 Chevron Championship. She is a former World No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, first achieving the top spot in February 2015 as the youngest player ever to be ranked No. 1 in professional golf. Ko is also the only amateur in history to win two LPGA Tour events, and officially joined the Tour as a 2014 rookie after petitioning for Membership in October 2013. Ko is a two-time Olympian representing New Zealand, winning the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The prestigious Rolex Player of the Year award was introduced to the LPGA in 1966. LPGA Tour players are awarded points at each official LPGA tournament based on top-10 finishes with the top points earner taking home the prestigious honor each year. Points are doubled at each of the LPGA’s five major championships – The Chevron Championship, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the U.S. Women’s Open presented by ProMedica, the Amundi Evian Championship and the AIG Women’s Open.

The Vare Trophy was presented to the LPGA by Betty Jameson in 1952, in honor of the great American player Glenna Collett Vare. Vare Trophy scoring averages are computed on the basis of a Member’s total yearly score in Official Tournaments divided by the number of official rounds she played during a season.

(Text: LPGA)

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LPGA Tour

LPGA Tour Announces Record-Breaking 2023 Schedule

Pebble Beach becoes host to LPGA Tour tournament 2023. (Photo: Getty)
Pebble Beach becoes host to LPGA Tour tournament 2023. (Photo: Getty)

 In a breakthrough moment in the history of women’s sports, the athletes of the LPGA Tour, the world’s leading destination for female professional golfers, will compete for more than $101 million in official purses in 2023. The LPGA today announced that the 2023 schedule will comprise 33 official events, with a total official prize fund of $101.4 million, along with the biennial playings of the Solheim Cup and the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown.

“Because of our athletes, partners, volunteers and incredible fans, 2023 will be a banner year for the LPGA Tour,” said LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan. “The schedule features new events, elevated purses, unique formats and world-class golf courses. Our athletes are playing for more total prize money than any time in history, and we have over 500 hours of broadcast television. All those things combine to make the LPGA the leading women’s professional sports property in the world. The LPGA Tour has never had better or more committed partners who see the commercial value in investing in women’s sports and who understand how their partnerships elevate women and girls on and off the golf course. As the home to the world’s best female golfers, the LPGA provides a platform to inspire young girls and women to dream big.”

The 2023 global schedule will take the LPGA Tour to 11 states across the United States and 12 countries and regions. Starting with the annual season kickoff at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, the Tour will visit Asia before heading to Superstition Mountain Golf Club in Gold Canyon, Ariz., for the fifth playing of the LPGA Drive On Championship. Superstition Mountain, the home club for numerous LPGA Tour stars, hosted the 2004-2008 Safeway International, with a Hall-of-Fame list of winners in Annika Sorenstam (2004, 2005), Juli Inkster (2006) and Lorena Ochoa (2007, 2008).

The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, will make its debut as host of The Chevron Championship, the first women’s major of the season, with a newly elevated purse of $5.1 million. The following week, the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro will join the Tour schedule at Wilshire Golf Club in Los Angeles, boasting a $3 million purse.

New Jersey will host four events in 2023, starting with the Cognizant Founders Cup at Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, the LPGA Tour’s annual celebration of the past, present and future of the women’s game. The Mizuho Americas Open at Jersey City’s Liberty National Golf Club will include 24 elite female amateurs competing in a concurrent AJGA Invitational, playing alongside their professional heroes. The Bay Course at Seaview in Atlantic City will host the 35th playing of the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer, and the swing through the Garden State will end with a minimum $9 million purse at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, just the second elite women’s competition to be held on the Lower Course at the famed Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield.

Two weeks later, the U.S. Women’s Open presented by ProMedica will bring female professional golfers to Pebble Beach for the first time, adding a new page to a history book that includes seven men’s majors. Players will compete for at least $10 million at one of the country’s most popular venues.

In July and August, the Tour will make its usual swing through Europe, opening in France with the Amundi Evian Championship and its $6.5 million purse. The AIG Women’s Open, which will be contested with a purse of at least $7.3 million, will take place at Walton Heath, host venue for the 1981 Ryder Cup. The LPGA Tour will then compete across the United States and Canada before heading back to Asia for the month of October.   

2023’s competitive schedule will culminate with back-to-back events along the Southwestern Florida coast. THE ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, featuring a purse of $3.25 million, will welcome 72-time LPGA Tour winner Annika Sorenstam as the official tournament host. Finally, the season will end at Tiburon Golf Club for the CME Group Tour Championship, with the winner receiving $2 million, the largest single prize in the history of women’s golf.

The 2023 season will also feature two exhilarating team competitions. The Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown, a team match-play competition that showcases the best female golfers from the top eight countries across the globe, will return to the LPGA Tour calendar for the first time since 2018

and will be held at San Francisco’s famed TPC Harding Park on May 4-7. And on Sept. 22-24, the Solheim Cup, featuring the 12 best U.S. players versus the 12 best European players, will be held at Finca Cortesin in Spain.

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LPGA Tour

LPGA Tour: Atthaya Thitikul Wins 2022 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award

Atthaya Thitikul is named LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year. (Photo: Getty)
Atthaya Thitikul is named LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year. (Photo: Getty)

The LPGA Tour announced today that Atthaya Thitikul has earned the 2022 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award. Thitikul, who has two victories this season – the JTBC Classic presented by Barbasol and the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G – has clinched the honor after finishing in a tie for 10th at last week’s TOTO Japan Classic. Thitikul has earned 1,537 points and holds an insurmountable 250-point lead over Hye-Jin Choi, who withdrew from the Pelican Women’s Championship, with two events remaining in the 2022 season.

Thitikul is the second consecutive player from Thailand to earn Rookie of the Year honors and third overall, joining Patty Tavatanakit (2021) and Moriya Jutanugarn (2013).

LPGA Tour: Rookie of the Year

“It is such an honor to win the Rookie of the Year award, especially being the second consecutive player from Thailand to win this honor,” said Thitikul. “I’m happy to have made my home country proud. My rookie year has been really fun and memorable, but we still have a long way to go.”

The 19-year-old first earned LPGA Tour Membership after she finished third at LPGA Q-Series in 2021. In March, Thitikul became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the JTBC Classic when she defeated Nanna Koerstz Madsen in a playoff at Aviara Golf Club. She earned her second Tour title in September, beating Danielle Kang with birdie on the second playoff hole to win the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. Along with her two victories, Thitikul has 13 additional top-10 finishes this season, including a solo fourth at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, a tie for eighth at the Amundi Evian Championship and a tie for seventh at the AIG Women’s Open.

In a rookie year to the world’s best

Thitikul recently ascended to No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings on Oct. 31, becoming just the second Thai player to ever do so alongside Ariya Jutanugarn. With two events left, she is currently second in the Race to CME Globe standings (2,690.127 points), third in scoring average (69.435) and tied for third in the Rolex Player of the Year standings (130 points), 20 points behind leader Lydia Ko. Thitikul is leading the LPGA Tour in both birdies (392) and top-10 finishes (15), is fifth on the season’s Official Money List ($2,110,142) and is tied for third in strokes gained total (1.950). She is also tied for fourth in eagles made this season (11).

Thitikul turned professional in 2020 after a stellar amateur career that saw her become the youngest person ever to win a professional tournament at the 2017 Ladies European Thailand Championship at 14 years, 4 months and 19 days. She also won the 2019 Ladies European Thailand Championship as an amateur.

Prior to joining the LPGA Tour, Thitikul won the Race to Costa del Sol, Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors in 2021 on the Ladies European Tour, joining Dame Laura Davies, Carlota Ciganda and Esther Henseleit as the only players to win the Race to Costa del Sol and Rookie of the Year in the same season. She is the youngest-ever winner of the Race to Costa del Sol at 18 years, 9 months and 8 days.

Thitikul will receive the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award at the 2022 Rolex LPGA Awards ceremony, to be held Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Fla. during the week of the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. 

Since its inception in 1962, 12 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year winners have become members of either the LPGA Hall of Fame or World Golf Hall of Fame: Susie Maxwell Berning (1964), Joanne Carner (1970), Jan Stephenson (1974), Amy Alcott (1975), Nancy Lopez (1978), Beth Daniel (1979), Patty Sheehan (1981), Juli Inkster (1984), Annika Sorenstam (1994), Karrie Webb (1996), Se Ri Pak (1998) and Lorena Ochoa (2003).

Text: LPGA Tour

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LPGA Tour

2022 Pelican Championship shortendes to 54 holes

The LPGA Tour shortens the Pelican Women's Championship by one round. (Photo: Getty)
The LPGA Tour shortens the Pelican Women's Championship by one round. (Photo: Getty)

After meeting with senior LPGA and tournament leadership and in consultation with our on-site meteorologist, Pelican Golf Club will be closed on Thursday due to Tropical Storm Nicole. Due to the chance of a delay in Friday’s start of play, the LPGA has made the decision to shorten the Pelican Women’s Championship to 54 holes.

Forecasts call for 1-3 inches of rain and strong winds, with gusts up to 50 MPH. Local authorities have closed schools and may need to close bridges, which would affect access to the course. Due to the high winds, it is not safe to have players, caddies, fans, volunteers and staff on site.

The first round of the Pelican Women’s Championship will begin no earlier than Friday at 6:55 a.m. Friday morning’s forecast from our on-site meteorologist, who is constantly monitoring the latest data, includes a chance of a lingering thunderstorm. The Friday forecast is thankfully trending in a positive direction, and we will share additional information with you as soon as we can.

With a full field and limited daylight, we feel this decision provides the fairest test to the entire field. All services at Pelican Golf Club will be closed on Thursday, including dining, the gym and all practice facilities. We will have an update on Friday’s start of play on Thursday afternoon.

NELLY KORDA READY TO DEFEND TITLE AFTER ROCKIEST PATCH OF PLAY THIS SEASON

After taking five weeks off from LPGA Tour competition, NellyKorda will defend her title at the Pelican Women’s Championship presented by Konica Minolta and Raymond James and make what she hopes will be a triumphant return. However, Korda would prefer to win in a different fashion than last year, when she survived a four-person playoff against majorchampions Lydia Ko, Lexi Thompson and Sei Young Kim.

“Last year it was definitely a very interesting finish. I think I tripled 17 and then I birdied 18 to get into the playoff, and then I birdied my first hole in the playoff. So, yeah, didn’t make it very easy for myself,” laughed Korda, who birdied the first playoff hole in 2021 to take home the title. “I definitely lost a couple years off my life with the stress that I caused. Other than that, amazing memories coming back here. Hopefully I can make some really good ones this year.”

Korda’s victory at Pelican Golf Club is her most recent win on Tour, and the event was one of the last she played before she suffered a blood clot in her left arm in February of 2022, which forced her to spend nearly four months away from the game. She returned to the Tour in June in resounding fashion, earning five top-10 finishes in 10 events since coming back. But it all hasn’t been smooth sailing.  

“I would recap (this season) in it was a rollercoaster. There was definitely a lot of ups, a lot of downs,” Korda said. “I played some solid golf since coming back, but I’ve also overdone it and also played some poor golf. So, definitely a learning year, more about myself, more about my body.”

Korda missed the cut in her two most recent LPGA starts, the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G and The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America, the first of which marked the first time she missed playing the weekend since June of 2021. The seven-time Tour winner has only missed one cut in each of the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons. Luckily, Korda says it isn’t an injury that has contributed to her lackluster play as of late, but rather an overly competitive desire to make up for lost time.

“I think I missed so much of the year that I kind of wanted to make it all up in a sense,” she said. “I think I came back at the time that I needed to, or that was acceptable. The only thing that I may have made a mistake in is then trying to catch up and just being on the road too much and not taking a breather and stepping back and being fresh.”

Text: LPGA Tour

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LPGA Tour

Four Events Remain in 2022 LPGA Tour Schedule

The BMW Ladies Championship is going to be at the Oak Valley Country Club in the Republic of Korea. (Foto: Twitter/@LPGA)
The BMW Ladies Championship is going to be at the Oak Valley Country Club in the Republic of Korea. (Foto: Twitter/@LPGA)

Four events remain in the 2022 LPGA Tour schedule, including the third edition of the BMW Ladies Championship this week in the Republic of Korea at Oak Valley Country Club.

Rolex Player of the Year

A quick look at the standings of the season-ending awards and races: There are 18 players who have a mathematical chance of winning the Rolex Player of the Year award. Of the top four in contention, Minjee Lee, Brooke Henderson or Atthaya Thitikul would earn their first Player of the Year honors if they were to win by the end of 2022. Lydia Ko would earn her second POTY award; she won in 2015 with 280 points Ko would be the 16th player since 1966 to earn the award at least twice in her LPGA Tour career.

1Minjee Lee*149 points
2Brooke Henderson130 points
3Atthaya Thitikul*124 points
4Lydia Ko*120 points
*In the BMW Ladies Championship field

Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year

Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors is mathematically down to Atthaya Thitikul and Hye-Jin Choi, which Choi only trailing by 243 points. If she were to win by the end of 2022, Thitikul would become the second consecutive player from Thailand to earn the honors, following Patty Tavatankit, who clinched Rookie of the Year following the 2021 BMW Ladies Championship. She would also become the third player from Thailand to win, along with Tavatanakit and Moriya Jutanugarn (2013).

1Atthaya Thitikul*1,425 points23 events
2Hye-Jin Choi*1,182 points24 events
*In the BMW Ladies Championship field

Vare Trophy

Lydia Ko currently leads in the hunt for the Vare Trophy. Minjee Lee would need an average strokes per round of 68.389 in her remaining events to pass Ko’s current average. Atthaya Thitikul would need an average round score of 67.158 to contend If she were to win by the end of 2022, Ko could become the first back-to-back winner of the award since Stacy Lewis in 2013 and 2014. Ko would also become the 15th multiple winner of the Vare Trophy since 1953 The average winner’s scoring average since its inception in 1953 is 71.35451. Annika Sorenstam holds the record for the lowest scoring average – 68.70 – in 2002.

1Lydia Ko*69.17674 rounds
2Minjee Lee*69.33360 rounds
3Xiyu Lin69.43982 rounds
4Atthaya Thitikul*69.46484 rounds
5Brooke Henderson69.47971 rounds
*In the BMW Ladies Championship field

Official Money List

1Minjee Lee*$3,742,44017 events
2In Gee Chun$2,603,12817 events
3Brooke Henderson$2,307,58420 events
4Lydia Ko*$2,047,06219 events
5Atthaya Thitikul*$2,005,94523 events
*In the BMW Ladies Championship field

(Text: Megan McGuire)

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LPGA Tour

LPGA: 14-year-old qualifies for an event in the tournament series for the third time in a row

Gianna Clemente qualifies for an LPGA Tour tournament for the third time at just 14 years old. (Photo: Getty)
Gianna Clemente qualifies for an LPGA Tour tournament for the third time at just 14 years old. (Photo: Getty)

It’s an incredible story. At just 14 years old, Gianna Clemente has already qualified for a tournament on the LPGA Tour for the third time. In the past two weeks, she already secured a place at the LPGA Tour events through the “monday qualifier”. Now she has achieved this feat for the third time.

“It’s definitely crazy” – Clemente qualifies for LPGA Tour event again

It’s probably the summer of her life. For the third week in a row, 14-year-old Gianna Clemente has secured entry to an event on the LPGA Tour via Monday qualifying. The high school student from Ohio played some of her best rounds of golf in the past three weeks. The American qualified for the CP Women’s Open as well as the Dana Open in the past two weeks, and now she also managed to qualify for the upcoming tournament in Cincinnati. At the Kroger Queen City Championship, the 14-year-old will once again compete with the likes of Gaby Lopez, Meghan Khang and Caroline Masson.

For the amateur, it’s a great opportunity to showcase her skills again on a big stage. While other girls her age are still enjoying the last days of summer at the lake, it’s off to Kenwood Country Club for the up-and-coming golfer. It’s an experience she’s already more than grateful for. “It’s definitely crazy,” Clemente said. “But just super lucky for this opportunity.”

Will Clemente make the cut this time?

In her previous appearances, the young golfer had to pack her bags after just two rounds. This time, of course, the American wants to avoid an early departure, but with the strong field, it will probably be difficult again. The 14-year-old is nevertheless looking forward to the pros: “It’s super inspirational,” Clemente said. “I think I’ve obviously watched all of them on TV, and it’s super special to just be out here like watching, but let alone to play is such an amazing experience.”

Even though she has failed to make the cuts so far, the amateur will again give everything this week to keep up with her idols, such as Lexi Thompson. It remains to be seen how far Clemente will make it this week, but as we all know, good things come in threes…

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LPGA Tour

Two months after surgery: Is Nelly Korda about to make a comeback?

Nelly Korda could make her comeback to the LPGA Tour at the 2022 US Women's Open. (Photo: Getty)
Nelly Korda could make her comeback to the LPGA Tour at the 2022 US Women's Open. (Photo: Getty)

Nelly Korda, former number two in women’s golf is probably on the verge of her comeback. The 23-year-old was diagnosed with a blood clot in her left arm three months ago, after complaining of pain in her left arm at a press event in early March. After successful surgery in April, she was on the road to recovery, but there was no talk of a return to the LPGA Tour until now. Now there is news from Nelly Korda’s side. GolfCentral announced in a Twitter post on May 26, 2022, that Korda would attend the press conference for the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open in Southern Pines, North Carolina, a possible sign of her start at this important major in the women’s golf world.

Is Nelly Korda’s time off from the LPGA Tour over?

Korda won a total of four LPGA Tour titles last year, including her first major victory at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, as well as the gold medal at the Olympics. That’s when the unwanted time off due to the blood clot was a major blow to the young golfer. But just three months after the diagnosis and two months after surgery, she could now celebrate her return to the LPGA Tour. Because in addition to the announced press conference in the run-up to the tournament, she showed up again on Instagram with golf clubs on the driving range.

Although the American continues to wear a supportive sleeve on her operated left arm, her swing is promising. And sister Jessica Korda is also confident that she will soon be able to welcome her sister back to the tour. “It’s like you never left!” the elder Korda sister commented under the video.

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LPGA Tour

LPGA Tour Announces Change to Q-Series

LPGA Tour Q Series criterias will be changed beginning in 2022 (Foto: Getty)

The LPGA announced today that beginning in 2022, players must compete as professionals in Q-Series, the final stage of qualifying for the LPGA Tour. If an amateur player advances to or is exempt into Q-Series, she must turn professional to compete for the opportunity to earn LPGA Tour Membership.

All players who qualify for Q-Series through Stage II of Q School receive Epson Tour status. Amateur players can continue to compete as an amateur, which is permitted on the Epson Tour, or may elect to turn professional and compete for an opportunity to advance directly to the LPGA Tour.

The Epson Tour, the official qualifying tour of the LPGA Tour, has a mission to prepare the world’s best young women professional golfers for a successful competitive career. Since its inception in 1999, more than 600 Epson Tour alumnae have earned LPGA Tour Membership, including major champions Nelly Korda, Lorena Ochoa and Inbee Park.

This decision, which came following feedback from the LPGA Tour Membership and the college coaching community, will provide the most fair and consistent pathways to the LPGA Tour. Requiring professional status for Q-Series competitors will set an equal playing field for those committed to competing full time on the LPGA Tour.

No Amateur Status allowed in Q-Series

“LPGA Q-Series is the final stage to competing on the LPGA Tour, which is a fully professional tour that requires that its Membership competes as professional athletes,” said Ricki Lasky, Chief Tour Business and Operations Officer for the LPGA. “Ensuring all competitors have made the same choice to be a professional player elevates the Q-Series competition and creates the most appropriate options for athletes at different stages of their careers. Providing Epson Tour status to those athletes who advance through Q School but choose to retain their college eligibility provides an appropriate pathway for those players to complete their college season or career and then immediately compete on the Epson Tour.”

In 2018, the LPGA began permitting amateurs who earned LPGA Tour status at Q-Series to defer their Membership until July 1 of the following year. This change gave the amateur athlete the option to finish her college season and/or career before turning professional. Of the 16 amateur players who earned LPGA Tour Membership in 2018, 2019 and 2021 (Q-Series was not held in 2020 due to the pandemic), Jennifer Kupcho and Maria Fassi (both in 2018) are the only players who elected to defer. The remaining 14 amateurs all immediately accepted LPGA Tour Membership, with numerous other players turning professional and competing immediately on the Epson Tour.

The LPGA is committed to working with the Women’s Golf Coaches Association and its membership and will create a working group for further discussion on ways of providing the best opportunities for aspiring professionals to live their dreams. “I am very appreciative of the college coaches who have shared their thoughts on this process. These coaches are developing the future stars of the women’s game, and we want to make sure that they are providing the best opportunities to their players, just as we do at the LPGA Tour,” said Tommy Tangtiphaiboontana, the LPGA’s senior vice president of Tour Operations.

2022 LPGA Q-Series, held over eight rounds in consecutive weeks, will be held Dec. 1-4 at Magnolia Grove (Crossings and Falls Courses) in Mobile, Ala. The second week will be held Dec. 8-11 at Highland Oaks (Highlands and Marshwood Courses) in Dothan, Ala.

Players finishing inside the top 45 and ties following the conclusion of the cumulative eight rounds of Q-Series will receive LPGA Tour status for the following season. All players finishing outside the top 20 and ties will also receive Epson Tour status.

Stage I of 2022 LPGA Q School will be held Aug. 18-21 at Mission Hills Country Club (Dinah Shore and Palmer Courses) in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and Shadow Ridge Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif. Stage II will be held Oct. 18-21 at Plantation Golf and Country Club (Bobcat and Panther Courses) in Venice, Fla.

(Text: LPGA Tour)