Alexa Pano gave herself a heck of a 19th birthday present, rallying on Sunday to win her first LPGA title at the ISPS Handa World Invitational. Octavio Passos

It might not be remembered by general golf fans the way Lilia Vu winning a second major in 2023 was last week at the AIG Women’s Open. But victory at the ISPS Handa World Invitational, a co-sanctioned event between the LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour, on her 19th birthday was no less a big deal for Alexa Pano.

The Florida native arrived in Northern Ireland this week with no clubs and no clothes (got to love airline travel) and just one top-20 finishes so far in 11 starts as a rookie on the LPGA Tour. And when Pano shot a disappointing six-over 76 in Thursday’s opening round at Galgorm Castle, it looked like this wouldn’t be her week either. But the former junior star who first gained notoriety as a nine-year-old in the documentary “The Short Game” shone over the last 54 holes, shooting rounds of 70-69-66, including birdies on her final two holes, to get to eight-under and find herself in a three-way playoff with England’s Gabriella Cowley and Germany’s Esther Henseleit. Then with a birdie on the third playoff hole, Pano grabbed the win, joining Dan Brown, who claimed DP World Tour title being run in the concurrent men’s event on the course.

Pano was fortunate to get to the third playoff hole. After missing the fairway on the par 5, she scrambled to make a par, then watched Cowley, the overnight leader, miss a four-foot birdie try that would have given her the victory.

Pano is the second 19-year-old to win an LPGA this season, joining Rose Zhang, and the eighth first-time LPGA winner. With the victory, she grabbed the first-place prize money payout of $225,000 from the overall purse of $1.5 million (she had only made $33,548 in her LPGA career before the win). Pano also jumped to 38th in the Race to the CME Globe Tour Championship points standings from 132nd. Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer who made the cut at Galgorm Castle in Northern Ireland.

1: Alexa Pano, -8, $225,000
T-2: Esther Henseleit, -8, $122,794
T-2: Gabriella Cowley, -8, $122,794
4: Ryann O’Toole, -7, $79,875
5: Olivia Cowan, -6, $64,291
T-6: Azahara Munoz, -5, $48,315
T-6: Diksha Dagar, -5, $48,315
8: Peiyun Chien, -4, $38,575
9: Kim Metraux, -3, $34,678
T10: Wichanee Meechai, -2, $29,352
T-10: Noora Komulainen, -2, $29,352
T-10: Chloe Williams, -2, $29,352
T-13: Emma Spitz, -1, $24,053
T-13: Dani Holmqvist, -1, $24,053
T-13: Jasmine Suwannapura, -1, $24,053
T-16: Dewi Weber, E, $18,769
T-16: Sophie Witt, E, $18,769
T-16: Leona Maguire, E, $18,769
T16: Georgia Hall, E, $18,769
T16: Casandra Alexander, E, $18,769
T16: Soo Bin Joo, E, $18,769
T-16: Albane Valenzuela, E, $18,769
T-23: Nastasia Nadaud, +1, $15,177
T-23: Ana Pelaez Trivino, +1, $15,177
T-23: Arpichaya Yubol, +1, $15,177
T-23: Marissa Steen, +1, $15,177
T-27: Emily Kristine Pedersen, +2, $13,247
T-27: Muni He, +2, $13,247
T-27: Stephanie Meadow, +2, $13,247
T-30: Hannah Burke, +3, $11,533
T-30: Ruixin Liu, +3, $11,533
T-30: Trichat Cheenglab, +3, $11,533
T-30: Bronte Law, +3, $11,533
T-34: Weiwei Zhang, +4, $9,975
T-34: Karis Davidson, +4, $9,975
T-34: Su Oh, +4, $9,975
37: Meghan MacLaren, +6, $9,196
38: Hayley Davis, +7, $8,806
Alice Hewson, +5, $7,949
Yuna Nishimura, +5, $7,949
Anne-Charlotte Mora, +5, $7,949
Jennifer Chang, +5, $7,949
Sarah Kemp, +6, $6,639
Louise Ridderstrom, +6, $6,639
Mariajo Uribe, +6, $6,639
Nicole Broch Estrup, +6, $6,639
Cara Gainer, +6, $6,639
Lauren Hartlage, +7, $5,416
Gina Kim, +7, $5,416
Ilhee Lee, +7, $5,416
Daniela Darquea, +7, $5,416
Lily May Humphreys, +7, $5,416
Ellinor Sudow, +7, $5,416
Aline Krauter, +8, $4,598
Leonie Harm, +8, $4,598
Alessandra Fanali, +8, $4,598
Chanettee Wannasaen, +8, $4,598
Sarah Jane Smith, +9, $4,208
Linnea Johansson, +10, $3,975:
Riley Rennell, +10, $3,975
Sara Kjellker, +12, $3,741
Madelene Stavnar, +12, $3,741
Allison Emrey, +12, $3,741

The post Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer at the 2023 ISPS Handa World Invitational appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Alexa Pano had a landmark Sunday as she turned the ripe old age of 19. Oh, and she also won the ISPS Handa World Invitational in a dramatic playoff.

It was a birthday to remember for Alexa Pano as she won the ISPS Handa World Invitational in a dramatic playoff for her maiden win on the LPGA and Ladies European  tours.

A final-round 66 hauled her into a playoff with German Esther Henseleit and England’s Gabriella Cowley on eight-under, and eventually came out on top on the third extra hole with an impressive birdie.

“I’ve kind of been saying that I really wanted to win this event because it’s on my birthday,” said the LPGA Tour rookie. “My best friend can contest it’s been for like two months. It feels so surreal that it’s happened. It’s been a little bit crazy because I didn’t have my clothes and clubs earlier in the week, but it’s all worth it.

“It just feels so surreal right now to have my dad on the bag as well. I can’t actually process that that just happened.”

The winning moment as birthday girl Alexa Pano lands her maiden LET/LPGA title ?#RaiseOurGame | #WorldInvitational pic.twitter.com/P8c8akJBuC

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) August 20, 2023

Pano fired a round of 66 on day four at Galgorm to put herself in contention for the win, making three bogeys and nine birdies including two in her final two holes.

England’s Cowley carded a round of 70 on the final day competition and rolled in an eagle putt on the last to secure her place in the playoff.

The 27-year-old had the opportunity to take the win on the second playoff hole when she had a five-foot birdie putt, but unfortunately, she missed it and Pano triumphed on the next hole.

While two-time LET winner Henseleit produced a second consecutive round of 69  which included three birdies in her last four holes to put herself in the playoff.

However, the German was only able to make a par on the first playoff hole and ended the week in a tie for second place alongside Cowley.

Henseleit said: “I’m pretty happy with how my game is at the moment and how it’s been the last couple months. I feel really good on the course. I had a lot of fun playing in contention the last two days, so, yeah, hopefully, we’ll be back.”

America’s Ryann O’Toole finished in fourth place on seven-under-par after a final round of 70 in Northern Ireland.

Germany’s Olivia Cowan fired a final round of 68 to end the week in fifth place and secure back-to-back top-10 finishes.

“I’m very pleased,” she said. “I played really nicely today. I played good the last two days. I just had a poor finish yesterday, but I just tried to stay positive and keep going today.

“My new mindset has been going well, I haven’t gotten angry yet, so I’m just sticking to that. I think good golf will follow. Last week gave me a lot of confidence as well, heading into the week I knew my game was well. I’m just excited to play in the next few events.”

In the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol, France’s Celine Boutier continues to lead the way with 1,725.38 with Spain’s Ana Peláez Trivino in second (1,487.20) and India’s Aditi Ashok in third (1,309.19).

Sweden’s Linn Grant is fourth with 1,276.28 points and India’s Diksha Dagar has reduced the gap in fifth and now has 1,237.34 points with Czechia’s Klara Davidson Spilkova in sixth (10,66.46).

Germany’s Cowan moves up to seventh place and now has 1,062.47 points with Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson in eighth, England’s Cara Gainer in ninth and Charley Hull in 10th.

Cowley jumps from 30th to 11th place in the 2023 standings and now has 920.27 points to her name.

The post Alexa Pano has an extra reason to celebrate her birthday with dramatic playoff victory in ISPS Handa World Invitational appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“I feel like it’s been really long time since I played my first LPGA event. But I’m just super excited,” Li said on Tuesday at Superstition Mountain Golf Club in Gold Canyon, Arizona. “This has been my goal for such a long time. To be finally out here, I’m just soaking in the moment and really excited to get going.”

Li made her first LPGA start on the major stage of the 2014 US Women’s Open in Pinehurst. At 11, she was the youngest player to ever qualifier for the championship, leaving a memorable impression as she ate ice cream during her pre-tournament press conference. Now, the 20-year-old San Francisco native rolls into her rookie season after an impressive third-place showing on the 2022 Epson Tour money list, alongside four top-25 finishes in eight starts on the LPGA.

While Li hasn’t played in a pro event since the Mediheal Championship last October — she’s simultaneously taking a course toward her soon-to-be-declared double major in data analytics and psychology as a junior at the University of Pennsylvania — her success in 2022 serves as the bedrock of Li’s confidence entering this year. Discussing her approach to her maiden season, she sounded like a multiple-year veteran.

“I know that my game is really good, so as long as I stay patient, the results will take care of themselves,” Li said.

Pano’s emergence also started at Pinehurst in 2013 when she was only seven and one a handful of golfers competing at the US Kids World Golf Championship who were showcased in the Netflix documentary “The Short Game.” Ten years later, the 18-year-old Lake Forest, Florida, native is anxious to make her first official LPGA start after earning a card via Q-Series at the end of 2022.

“It kind of feels like I’ve been working towards this for a really long time, so been a very long time coming,” she said.

Alexa Pano (front left) and Lucy Li (front right) were teammates on the 2019 Junior Solheim Cup team that competed in Scotland. Andrew Redington/WME IMG

Indeed, the past decade featured multiple appearances as an amateur on professional tours. Pano made her first start on the Japan LPGA Tour at 11 in the 2016 Yonex Ladies Open. Two years later she played her first LPGA event at the 2018 Thornberry Creek Classic. She turned pro last April following her third appearance at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, having earned a card on the LPGA’s developmental Epson Tour.

Despite having missed the first four events on the 2022 Epson schedule, Pano almost eked out LPGA status via the tour’s money list. Needing to finish in the top 10, she came in 13th, piling up five top-10s over 18 starts. But she made up for that with her T-21 performance at Q-Series last December.

Pano brings a constant throughout her golf career to her LPGA rookie debut: her father, Rick, will be caddieing for her this week. They’ve worked together in two starts events already this year on the Epson Tour, most recently missing the cut at the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Golf Classic last week.

That result might rattle some as they begin their first year on the LPGA Tour, but Pano’s time on the developmental tour taught her patience. It’s a key virtue she wants to bring into her LPGA approach starting this week in the Arizona desert.

“I think staying focused week to week on what I can control, and a little bit of what Lucy said is not being too hard on yourself and being really patient is a big deal out here,” she said.

The potential for Li and Pano to break out early in the 2023 season is real, and something that others are watching for, notably US Solheim Cup captain Stacy Lewis. Li and Pano shared that they have had conversations with Lewis about their potential prospects toward making the American team that will compete in Spain in September.

A first step to accomplishing that would be playing their way into the first major, the Chevron Championship, in late April. While they both acknowledge that’s a goal for them, Pano and Li are instead each preaching a long-horizon view of the season developed from their lengthy tenure under the spotlight.

“I’m here to compete and want to do my best, and I have big goals in that aspect, but still just want to learn something every week and learn about myself more and experience things like I did last year,” Pano said.

The post Former teen prodigies Lucy Li, Alexa Pano start their LPGA rookie seasons with surprisingly modest ambitions appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“How I played in Q-School definitely aided the decision and made it a little bit easier,” Pano said. “Timing was a big thing, too. I knew I wanted to play in the Augusta Women’s Amateur. My biggest goal, ever since they announced ANWA, was to make the cut. There was no way I could turn professional without accomplishing that.”

When Pano did achieve her goal of playing the final round of ANWA — the only round of the tournament that is played at Augusta National — the next step in her career was inevitable. The 64th ranked amateur in the world has competed in all of junior and amateur golf’s top individual tournaments, as well as prestigious team events such as the Junior Ryder Cup and Junior Solheim Cup, which she says she’ll miss the most.

The timing of Pano’s decision makes sense considering the conclusion of the ANWA and her Epson Tour status. However, as soon as the news broke of the 17-year-old’s announcement, chatter began circulating: Why was the high-profile junior bypassing college?

Pano’s answer involves a rule change in NCAA recruiting that took effect on May 1, 2019. The update in regulations stated that athletic prospects could no longer take scheduled unofficial visits with college coaches until their junior year of high school. Before the NCAA put this rule into effect, players could reach out to coaches, speak to them and organise campus visits regardless of the student’s age. The rule was instituted to reduce early recruiting and give students time to make informed decisions about where they’d like to attend college.

“Before they changed the rules, when I was 12-, 13- and 14-years-old, I did do college visits. I’ve been super lucky to have been able to meet a lot of coaches,” Pano said. “I’ve actually discussed this with my dad quite a bit: If the rules hadn’t changed, I think I might have ended up committing to a college pretty early, around 14- or 15-year-old. But it turned out that the rule change gave me more time to think about my options, and that was a really good thing for me.”

For Pano, the NCAA’s new regulation served its intended purpose in giving a young athlete time to make an informed decision about her future. Just in this case, it didn’t lead her to making a decision about where to go to college — it led to her choosing to not go to college at all. Had Pano been enticed by more Division I programs as just a middle-schooler, her path may have looked different. Despite this detail, the star amateur maintains that her decision is the right one.

“Everyone has the best plan for them,” Pano said. “For some people that may be college golf, and so many people do amazing in college and then go on to do amazing things in their professional careers. But for me, turning pro now is what I think is going to work out the best.”

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The post Alexa Pano turns pro at 17 years old, in part because of NCAA rule appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall

Alexa Pano missed out on history on Sunday. Luckily, it sounds like she won’t be short on opportunities for a second chance.

At 14 years old, Pano was in the final group at the SKYiGOLF Championship, the season opener on the LPGA’s developmental Symetra Tour. Playing on a sponsor’s exemption, the amateur was looking to become the youngest winner in the tour’s history, besting Hannah O’Sullivan’s mark by over two years.

Unfortunately, Pano didn’t take advantage of easy scoring conditions at Charlotte Harbor National Golf Club, her one-over 73 five shorts short of a playoff. She ultimately finished T-8.

“It was tough, but not the worst,” Pano told Golfweek.

Pano, who played on last year’s Junior Ryder Cup U.S. team, actually played well, hitting 16 greens on the day. Alas, in just her second career start on the circuit, she couldn’t get anything to drop, racking up a whopping 35 putts on the afternoon.

“Yeah, I’m pretty happy with it,” Pano said. “Definitely have lot of shots that I wish I had back, but nothing to dwell on I guess.”

Fans won’t have to wait much longer to see Pano, who’s already won three amateur titles this year, in action. The South Florida phenom will play next month in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

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