Tag: easily

Solheim Cup: Lilia Vu easily secures Team USA spot solheim,cup,lilia,vu,easily,secures,team,usa,spot,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,lpga-golf,golf-news

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Team USA captain Stacey Lewis has her second team member for the 19th edition of the Solheim Cup. From September 13-15 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va., Team USA will look to reclaim the Cup on home soil against the European team.

On Tuesday, former World No. 1 Lilia Vu earned enough points to clinch her spot on the 2024 team. She tied for second at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, giving her 1,932.50 total points throughout the qualifying period.

From the 2023 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament through the final day of the AIG Women’s Open on Aug. 25, players can accumulate points to try and qualify for spots on the Solheim Cup teams.

All five of her LPGA victories came during that period. She won four times last season, including two majors, and earned the Rolex Player of the Year.

This season, Vu battled a back injury that forced her to withdraw from The Chevron Championship and take two months off. However, her fifth victory came in her first start back at the Meijer LPGA Classic a couple of weeks ago. The 26-year-old defeated Grace Kim and Lexi Thompson in a three-hole playoff.

Despite her back issues, Lewis knows her experience will be so beneficial in Virginia.

“It’s been very exciting to see how she’s played the last two starts, coming out of the injury with her win and really just picking up where she left off,” Lewis said in an LPGA press release.

“She’s a tremendous player, from ball striking to putting, with a true all-around game. We’re excited to have her back for her second Solheim Cup, with an opportunity to step up and become a leader on this team.”

Vu also qualified for Team USA last year as she made her Solheim Cup debut. She went 1-3-0 at Finca Cortesin in Andalucia, Spain, claiming the singles match over Madelene Sagstrom.

The former UCLA golfer became the second automatic qualifier for Team USA in 2024. She joins current World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who secured her spot after the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Korda has six wins since the start of 2024 and held a commanding lead in the points race.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.

Rocket Mortgage: Neal Shipley finds no learning curve, easily in mix rocket,mortgage,neal,shipley,finds,no,learning,curve,easily,in,mix,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

Rocket Mortgage Neal Shipley finds no learning curve easily in
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Neal Shipley is no longer an amateur golfer but officially a professional. He made his PGA Tour Americas start last week at The Beachlands Victoria Open and finished T9.

Shipley received a sponsorship exemption into the Rocket Mortgage Classic to make his first PGA Tour start as a professional. He is no stranger to the PGA Tour, though, as he took the world by storm at The Masters and U.S. Open.

The former Ohio State Buckeye finished low amateur at both majors, becoming the second player in the last 25 years to achieve this feat. Viktor Hovland was the other player to do it in 2019.

Friday at Detroit Golf Club saw him card a 4-under 68 to follow his Thursday 5-under 67 score. He sits at 9-under total and four shots behind the leader, Akshay Bhatia. Despite being a new kid on the block, Shipley does not consider it.

“With my experience with the majors, I don’t feel like there’s a big learning curve for me,” Shipley said.

Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images

“Pretty fortunate to have had two great experiences at Augusta and Pinehurst. I’ve been in the mix at both at certain times throughout the week, so I feel comfortable. I had a great week last week as a professional as well. So getting settled in and playing good golf, and good golf travels no matter if you’re an amateur or a professional.”

He began his day with a bogey on the par-4 2nd but rebounded and put together a solid round. Shipley recorded two more birdies on the front, then three more on the back nine as he came home in 33 strokes.

The 23-year-old is No. 4 in strokes gained approach to the green, picking up +4.296 shots. He is also T10 in strokes gained total at +5.970.

“Had a good first two days so far. Played steady golf today, which I was pretty happy about,” he said. “Hope to keep that up in the weekend and maybe even go a little bit lower. Throw in a low round tomorrow, and we’ll be right in the mix.”

Shipley sits in a good spot heading into Saturday and the rest of the weekend. His PGA Tour journey does not stop in Detroit, as he will also play in next week’s John Deere Classic.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.