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LPGA: Dow Championship sees pair of former World No. 1s win title lpga,dow,championship,sees,pair,of,former,world,no,s,win,title,sbnation,com,golf,lpga-golf,golf-news

On: June 30, 2024 By: admin

Although Nelly Korda currently occupies the top spot in the Women’s World Golf Rankings, Ruoning Yin and Atthaya Thitikul looked like the best players on the planet on Sunday.

Yin and Thitikul, both 21, briefly held the World No. 1 moniker last fall but have since given that distinction to Korda. Yet, these two players, who hail from China and Thailand, respectively, carded an 8-under 62 in best ball format to win the Dow Championship by one.

The Dow Championship is not unlike the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on the PGA Tour, which employs a two-man format with two rounds of Alternate Shot and two rounds of Best Ball. Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry won this year’s event at TPC Louisiana, marking McIlroy’s 25th career win on the PGA Tour and Lowry’s third.

Sunday’s win for Yin and Thitikul marked their third career LPGA victory, as they defeated 54-hole leaders Jennifer Kupcho and Ally Ewing by a stroke.

Kupcho and Ewing began Sunday’s final round at 15-under, while Yin and Thitikul sat at 14-under. The Americans went on to shoot a 6-under 64, but it was not enough. Kupcho and Ewing made pars over the final three holes, while Thitikul stuffed one inside of 10 feet on the par-3 18th hole. She then made the birdie putt for her and Yin, which proved to be the difference in the end.

The LPGA will have one week off before the Amundi Evian Championship, the fourth major of the season. France’s Celine Boutier won this title last year at the Evian Resort Golf Club, which sits along Lake Geneva on the French-Swiss border. Surely, Yin and Thitkul will arrive in France for the Amundi Evian Championship as two of the favorites.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Olympics: LPGA stars Charley Hull, Georgia Hall offer fun Paris preview olympics,lpga,stars,charley,hull,georgia,hall,offer,fun,paris,preview,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,lpga-golf,golf-news

On: June 25, 2024 By: admin

Charley Hull and Georgia Hall are best friends who grew up playing golf together and are both LPGA veterans.

This week, they paired up for the LPGA Dow Championship, a multi-format stroke-play team event at Midland Country Club in Midland, Michigan.

In rounds one and three, the ladies will play foursomes or alternate shot. For the second and final rounds, it will be four-ball or best ball—much like the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on the PGA Tour.

They have known each other since they were 11 years old, and they are celebrating 17 years of friendship. Hull calls Hall ‘George,’ while the former AIG Women’s Open champion calls her best friend ‘Charles.’

“We live three minutes away from each other now, and there’s not a day that goes by we don’t speak,” Hall said.

The duo will also represent Team Great Britain in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Becoming an Olympian is a big deal and even more special for this duo because they get to do it together.

“Just spending time with George because we love playing golf together,” Hull said. “That week is going to be a bit of a busy week, but it’s just nice to share it with your best friend, especially in a moment like that.”

Even though they will have plenty of Olympic duties, the pair has made plans to go shopping and enjoy the experience. Hall has never been to the city of love, while Hull has only visited Paris once.

“You get to share the experience with me the first time,” Hull said, smiling. “But honestly, I actually really want to go to Paris one day.”

“Yeah, let’s go shopping,” Hall said.

Shopping at the Olympics? Neither athlete is a huge sports fan, but they each have a separate event they want to watch. Hull wants to watch boxing, while Hall wants to check out gymnastics.

The best part was the compromise between the two so they could spend as much time together as possible.

“You’ll go to gymnastics, and I’ll go to boxing, and we’ll have to go to each other’s one,” Hull said.

This week, their team name is the Rose and Thorn because a good friend, Ryan Evans, gave it to them. They also have a walk-up song, “Best Friend,” by rapper Saweetie.

“Georgia goes to him, ‘Describe me and Charley,’ and Ryan goes, ‘Georgia, you’re like the lovely English rose, and Charley, you’re like the thorn.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, thanks, Ryan,’” Hull explained.

Hall acknowledged it was stark, but she quickly made her best friend feel better about it.

“There’s lots of thorns around the rose, so you protect me, don’t you,” Hall said.

“Yeah, I protect her,” Hull responded with a saucy grin.

This week in Michigan, they will tap into their connection to find success.

“I know when Charley is upset before she does, and she’s the same with me,” Hall said. “We know each other well, and I think that’s so important. This type of event, we go out there and have fun.”

“100 percent,” Hull chimed in. “George knows me better than I know myself.”

These two are among the 60 women who will compete in the Paris Olympics at Le Golf National, the 2018 Ryder Cup venue.

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.

LPGA: Lilia Vu outlasts Lexi Thompson in epic playoff lpga,lilia,vu,outlasts,lexi,thompson,in,epic,playoff,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,lpga-golf,golf-news

On: June 17, 2024 By: admin

Somehow, someway, Lilia Vu is an LPGA winner again.

Vu, the second-best player in the world behind Nelly Korda, has battled a back injury for most of the season. She even missed the U.S. Women’s Open two weeks ago, and had to withdraw from the Chevron Championship in April because of her back. But Vu overcame that ailment—and an eight-shot deficit on Sunday—to win the Meijer LPGA Classic in thrilling fashion.

Vu carded a 7-under 65 to climb up the leaderboard on Sunday, as she finished at 16-under-par, putting her in a tie with Lexi Thompson and Grace Kim after 72 holes. The trio needed three holes to determine the winner, but in the end, Vu made a birdie putt on the third playoff hole to seal the deal.

“I wasn’t thinking about winning,” Vu said.

“This was the one day I was playing really well. Felt really good with my swing. Coming back from an injury, I was a little up in the air, not knowing my swing, and I felt like I didn’t know where my arms were if I wasn’t tight. I was just trying to make contact today. That’s it.”

Like Vu, Thompson came from behind to get into the playoff. She fired a 4-under 68 on Sunday, while Kim, the 54-hole leader, carded a 1-over 73 on Sunday to fall back to the field.

After all three ladies made birdies on the first two extra holes, they walked over to the par-5 4th. After each player found the green in regulation, Thompson and Kim missed their putts to extend the playoff while Vu sank her birdie putt for the win.

“I think my mindset when it comes to putting is pretty simple: It goes in, or it doesn’t,” Vu said.

“I don’t put a lot of pressure on it. That relieves the pressure for me, and I go for it.”

Vu won her first LPGA win in Thailand in February 2023 from six shots back, so she has experience coming from behind.

“I felt like my first win I had blinders on,” Vu said.

“In the final round, I was focused on making birdies. I felt like that today. I felt like I left some out there, too. So once I got the opportunity for the playoff, I got to the box, and my caddie said, ‘There is nothing to lose now.’ We just went out there and played.”

Vu called this one of her most meaningful wins because she did not know if she could ever play golf pain-free again.

But clearly, she can.

Now, Vu has her fifth career LPGA victory as she eyes another major championship at next week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Hopefully, her back holds up for her at Sahalee.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.