Shanshan Feng Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Ruoning Yin becomes LPGA Tour’s second ever winner from China

Clarkwin — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 10:18:51 +0000

Ruoning Yin became just the second golfer from China to win a LPGA title on Sunday at Palos Verdes Golf Club. Katelyn Mulcahy

Nine miles from Palos Verdes Golf Course sits the Port of Long Beach, a primary trade point between the United States and Asian countries. Fitting, then, that it served as the backdrop to the latest import of Asian talent to the LPGA Tour. With a one-under 70 on Sunday, Ruoning Yin claimed a one-shot victory at the DIO Implant L.A. Open, the heralded 20-year-old become the second winner from China alongside Shanshan Feng in the LPGA’s history.

“That [win] means a lot, not just for me, but also for China, I think,” Yin said. “And Shanshan is always my goal here, and I think she got 10 tour wins. … She’s definitely the person I look up to.”

Yin hung on during an up-and-down Sunday as she fended off four major champions, including Georgia Hall and Hyo Joo Kim playing with her in the final group. She carded five bogeys on the day, including three straight early on the front nine, but offset them with five birdies, including four in a row to close out her opening nine.

“I’m so happy that I fought back, and, yeah, from holes six to nine it was great four birdie out there,” Yin said.

Redemption for Hall will have to wait. The 2018 Ricoh Women’s Open winner lost in a playoff last week to Celine Boutier at the Drive On Championship. She kept the momentum going into Palos Verdes Estates, posting a tournament-record nine-under 62 during Saturday’s third round. Starting Sunday four back of Yin, hall put herself five feet away for a chance to catch her on the 72nd hole. Instead of playing in back-to-back playoffs, Hall missed her birdie putt on the home hole wide left. She wiped away tears following the lost opportunity as her closing bogey-free 68 led to a 14-under finish and a second straight second place.

“I felt a little like Seve out there, so just have a chance on the last hole and gave myself the best opportunity,” Hall said. “Unfortunately, the greens this time of day are very bobbly, and it was tough to know what was the right line to pick. Unfortunately, just bobbled off line.”

It’s Hall’s third top-10 in four starts this season. The Englishwoman has shot even par or better in 11 of 12 rounds to begin 2023.

Patty Tavatanakit’s 12-under T-3 finish revived confidence within the Thai star. The 2021 ANA Inspiration winner hadn’t finished in the top 10 since a T-4 at last season’s Chevron Championship in April. Her Sunday 65 was the payoff to six months of working on her technique and mental game.

“This is Patty 2.0, I think. Nothing can really be the same,” Tavatanakit said.

Hyo Joo Kim matched Tavatanakit at T-3 but was the only other player to grab the lead at any point Sunday. The 2014 Evian Championship winner started two back of Yin. Then, as Yin bogeyed, Kim took the lead on the fifth. The South Korean birdied the seventh to get to two under for her round. She stalled from there. The 27-year-old posted an even par 71, with three bogeys the rest of the way, taking her out of contention.

Nelly Korda, the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner, joined Carlota Ciganda at 11-under to finish T-5. It’s Korda’s fourth top-10 of the season in five starts.

Yin secured her spot on the Chinese team that will compete in the Hanwha Life Plus International Crown, the tour’s team event, at TPC Harding Park in early May. Yin will lead her team as the only player with a victory, giving them confidence as the country makes its second appearance in the tournament’s fourth running.

“I think for me, it’s my first tour win, and I think it’s kind of motivation for them, too,” Yin said.

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From Leona Maguire to Ariya Jutanugarn: What it’s like to be the first woman from your country to win a title

Golf Digest Middle East — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 10:48:40 +0000

By Kent Paisley
It was always going to be a big deal personally for Leona Maguire to become the first Irishwoman to win an LPGA Tour event, the 27-year-old accomplishing the feat after four years as a professional at the LPGA Drive On Championship in February. And a big deal for her country, too; in the wake of her win, Maguire — among the players considered a favourite at this week’s AIG Women’s Open — got a social-media shoutout from none other than the country’s president, Michael Higgins.

Still, it was only recently that the bigger-picture significance of her accomplishment sunk in for Maguire. Last month, a young fan and her mother approached the golfer while she was playing in the JP McManus Pro-Am charity event. The girl shared with Maguire, the lone woman competing among 50 professionals, that she had selected “Leona” as her saint name for her first communion, a tradition of the Catholic church.

“Usually, you pick a Saint, but she picked Leona, which was a little different,” Maguire said, a bit overwhelmed. “I’ve had people send me projects they’ve done or posters. It doesn’t seem that long ago I was doing that on Padraig Harrington or Serena Williams or Annika Sorenstam or whomever it was growing up. It’s a little bit full circle right now.”

Stories of players inspiring a country by becoming its first tour winner are happening more and more of late. In the LPGA’s 73-year history, women from 29 countries have won titles. Three of those countries saw their first winners come in the last two seasons, all from Europe: Ireland’s Maguire, Finland’s Matilda Castren (2021 Mediheal Championship) and Denmark’s Nanna Koertz Madsen (2022 Honda LPGA Thailand).

Nanna Koertz Madsen. Andrew Redington

“It’s definitely trending in the right direction for the European Solheim [Cup],” Koerstz Madsen said at the JTBC Classic in March. “Now there is one and a half years before for the Solheim, so we still have to continue this.”

Go back a decade, and players from six countries have recorded historic maiden wins, including three players who eventually claimed the top spot in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings: New Zealand’s Lydia Ko (2012), China’s Shanshan Feng (2012) and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn (2015).

Given the talent of all these players, the anticipation for their maiden wins left them feeling anxious, pressure building to fulfill what seemed like their destinies. Maguire’s notable amateur career — three-time NCAA player of the year at Duke, a three-time Curtis Cup participant, 135 weeks at No. 1 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking — made it seem inevitable she would give Ireland its long-anticipated first win after finally reaching the LPGA Tour in 2020. Twice she claimed runner-up finishes in 2021, duelling with LPGA stalwarts.

“I suppose at the time you tend not to focus on things like that, putting too much pressure on yourself,” Maguire said. “And obviously I wanted to win first and foremost for myself and for my family. I know I have an incredible amount of support from back home from Ireland, everybody sort of staying up late with the time changes and all that to support me.”

Social media clamoured for her success, as witnessed in the creation of a Leona Maguire Tracker account on Twitter at the start of 2022. (Yes, Maguire is aware of it and appreciates her fan’s passion. No, her twin sister Lisa doesn’t run the tracker, and as of now, she doesn’t know who is behind it.)

“Over the last year or two I’ve been on social media, if I’d been in the lead or near the lead,” Maguire said. “It was people tweeting or whatever saying: ‘Is this going to be the week? Are we finally going to have an Irishwoman win?’ or all those questions. So I guess the nice part now is, that question’s kind of over, which is a nice sort of feeling to have.”

Matilda Castren. Gregory Shamus

Castren became Finland’s first winner in June 2021 at 26 during her second year on tour. Her victory put her in an unusual spot. She was not yet a member of the Ladies European Tour so, despite being an LPGA winner she wasn’t eligible to play on the European Solheim Cup team that coming September. Her only avenue to membership, given LET qualifying school wasn’t until after the Cup’s conclusion, was to win an LET event.

Impressively, in Castren’s first opportunity, she won the Gant Ladies Open in her home country. Her spot on Team Europe was locked in, and she helped the visitors take down the Americans in the United States for the first time since 2013.

“I think last year I was just going with the flow,” Castren said, “and now I kind of look back and I’m like: ‘Wow, how did I, how did I do all that? How did I like survive the whole year?’ Because it was a long year and a lot of these very special events. I think I have a different perspective now. Obviously, last year I thought it was so cool and I was so excited and everyone around me were so excited. Now, it just feels a little bit more special, if it can.”

Despite some fans asking for photos and sharing she’s motivated them, Castren doesn’t feel like a celebrity. “I just hope that I can inspire others,” she said. “It’s always kind of hard to come over to the states to play if you haven’t gone to college or like other connections. Over here, but I hope I can inspire the next generation to want to reach for the stars and try to be playing amongst the best. I’m just trying to find different ways to help the juniors.”

Castren can look to fellow recent first-time winners for advice on how to help grow the game in her country. Ko partnered with New Zealand Golf in 2015 to create a scholarship programme for two teen players to train with her in the US. Feng created a golf academy in 2017 to help more Chinese kids get into golf. Jutanugarn and her older sister Moriya partnered with Habitat for Humanity in 2018 to assist Thai families.

Ariya Jutanugarn

“So many times that I’ve spent time with the kids, they came up to me and said: ‘You’re really inspiring,’” Jutanugarn said at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. “So that just makes my day and makes my life, because I feel like that’s all I want to do.”

So which country could be the 30th to have its first LPGA winner? India’s Aditi Ashok has the potential and has already seen a substantial impact from her play within her homeland. When golf returned to the Olympics in 2016, the then 18-year-old shot back-to-back 68s to sit T-8 through the first 36 holes. Then, in November, she won the LET’s Hero Women’s Indian Open, taking down Brittany Lincicome to become the first Indian player to win a LET event.

“I’m just so happy that it was my first win,” Ashok said, “because I didn’t get to grow up looking at that trophy with an Indian girl’s name on it. I feel like now, anybody who is going to play in that event or who looks at history on the European Tour, they can see an Indian girl has won there. So I think it gives you a little more belief in yourself that it is possible.”

Aditi Ashok. Chris Trotman

At last summer’s Olympics, Ashok finished T-4, a stroke out of a playoff for a medal. Following the inspiring performance, more and more kids have taken pictures alongside the Indian golf star on the driving range at the courses she practises at, the Bangalore Golf Club and Karnataka Golf Association. She’s since claimed an LPGA career-best T-3 at the 2021 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.

“Before [the Olympics], I guess they would just look at me as another golfer practising, or maybe they didn’t even know who I was,” Ashok said. “I think the Olympics made that different, and they’d all try and get a picture with me, because I had been at the Olympics and because I had finished fourth. That has definitely done more than my three wins on European tour.”

The inspiration from the first-time winners stretches beyond their homeland. Some players are focused on becoming their country’s first LPGA members, let alone winners. For example, Epson Tour member Pilar Echeverria is working to become the first Guatemalan on tour. Those first-time winners serve as beacons that her dreams are possible.

“Even in central America,” Echeverria said, “we don’t have that many professional golf players. So we support each other a lot. There are some other Central American players on Epson Tour, and we’re always cheering on each other.

“It’s just a lot of excitement and looking forward to working hard, and hopefully make that first come true.”

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The Gulf Club — all the latest golf news around the UAE and beyond up to August 2, 2022

Matt Smith — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 08:40:46 +0000

Shanshan Feng retires

Four-time Omega Dubai Ladies Masters champion and former world No. 1 Shanshan Feng has announced her retirement. The ground-breaking Chinese star made waves on the LPGA and Ladies European Tour for her dominant streak in the 2010s — including four Dubai titles in the space of five years on the Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club from 2012-2016, and the 2012 PGA Championship. She will now help coach the China National Team.

Ramli and Faye triumph in Sharjah

Faye Muhammed

Experience and youth shone through at the Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club’s Radisson Blu Ajman Midweek Special as low handicapper Ramli Sulaiman and upcoming star Faye Muhammed teamed up with six birdies and no dropped shots to claim top spot on 66.

Faisal gears up

Faisal Salhab

Golf Saudi’s highest ranked amateur golfer Faisal Salhab has continued his progress with two excellent results in England. A T-15 in the Tilmann trophy at Castle Royle Golf and Country Club, Reading, was followed by a 16th place in the world-renowned Walton Heath Trophy in Surrey have the 25-year-old in fine shape ahead of the second half of the Asian Tour, its International Series events and the world amateur team Eisenhower Trophy.

Fashion in store

Duca del Cosma in Dubai

Italian golf fashion brand Duca del Cosma has opened its first luxury store in Dubai. Located at the luxury retail and entertainment hub of Gate Avenue in Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC), the outlet will showcase the brand’s exclusive hand-crafted shoes and accessories, offering golfers the opportunity to stay chic on the fairways. Operated in partnership with White Eagle Sport — a Dubai-based multi-sports event company — the store will provide comfort and style with Duca del Cosma’s designer golf shoes.

Chiara rests

Chiara Noja

Dubai-based Chiara Noja is taking some well-earned time off. After her 11th-placed finish in the €40,000 Santander Golf Tour Malaga in Spain on the Ladies European Tour Access Series extended her lead in the 2022 LETAS Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year standings, the 16-year-old German is going to have a time out after several competitive weeks on tour. A visibly tired Noja signed for a level-par 72 and a three-over finish over the three rounds in Malaga, and admitted she has “hit a wall”. However, she is still in great shape to get her full Ladies European Tour card at the first time of asking this season.

EGC and Yas take top awards

Emirates Golf Club

UAE clubs Emirates Golf Club and Yas Links Abu Dhabi have won top prizes at the Asian Golf Awards. EGC claimed best championship course in Middle East-Africa, while Yas Links won best golf course in Middle East-Africa.

DP World Tour Championship tickets now available

Collin Morikawa.

Registration is now open for those wishing to attend the DP World Tour Championship, which takes place on the Jumeirah Golf Estates Earth Course in Dubai from November 17-20. The traditional season-ending event will be bigger than ever with the Rolex Series event offering $10 million in prize money along with 12,000 DP World Tour Ranking Points as the top players fight for the honour of becoming the 2022 DP World Tour season-long champion.

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Shanshan Feng, former World No. 1 and first Chinese LPGA Tour player, announces retirement

Golf Digest Middle East — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 07:14:39 +0000

By Keely Levins
The plan was to play for a decade. That’s what an 18-year-old Shanshan Feng thought when she qualified for the LPGA in via Q-School in December 2007, becoming the first woman from China to earn her tour membership.

“I would try my best for that time and then I would do something else,” Feng recalled. “I think I can do something else in my life, I don’t want to just be a player all my life.”

Though it came four years later than originally planned, Feng announced her formal retirement from the LPGA Tour on Monday, 13-plus months since she played her last LPGA event.

A native of Guangzhou, Feng got into golf through her father. He played, so he introduced his daughter to the game. While that might not sound unique in 2022, it certainly was in the early 2000s in China. Feng was one of only a few children, yet alone female children, who were playing golf.

Shanshan Feng is a four-time winner of the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters. David Cannon

“When I was little, if I went to a golf range, when they saw me they’d be so surprised, like: ‘Oh look at this kid, she has a good swing,’” Feng, 32, said. “Right now if you go to a golf range in China, half of the people are teenagers and kids. There are so many people that are starting to play golf. I think that’s the biggest change and I’m very happy to see that.”

The change is something Feng deserves a lot of credit for. She wasn’t just the first Chinese player on the LPGA Tour, she was also the first golfer from China, male or female, to win a major championship. The 2012 LPGA Championship is one of 10 LPGA titles Feng collected during her time on tour. Her list of firsts also includes becoming the first World No. 1, male or female, from China.

“I always saw myself as a guinea pig,” said Feng, who had 18 top-10 finishes in majors during her career, including two in 2021. “There was no one ahead of me that I could follow their path, I had to really make out the path myself. I just needed to learn everything like a beginner, but I was happy I had my family and my team supporting me. Even though I became the first, and people would think it was my success, I would say it’s not. It’s the whole team. The whole team made it happen.”

Feng marks the moment where she became No. 1, back in November 2017, as the highlight of her career. She got the news while in the Dallas airport and celebrated with a steak at TGI Fridays.

“There can only be one World No.1. That meant I was the best player at that time in the world,” Feng said. “That was the biggest compliment for my career and my team and family and all the fans who were supporting me. When I became World No. 1, I won the Blue Bay event in China so my family, team and friends were there and they could share the moment with me.”

When Feng talks about her team, she includes long-time coach Gary Gilchrist. She left China as a 17-year-old to attend Gilchrist’s golf academy in South Carolina. It was soon thereafter that she finished T-9 at LPGA Q-school to get her card.

Making it on to the LPGA Tour was always the goal, but for a long time, it was actually the only goal.

“When I was 12 or 13, I set a goal: I wanted to become a player on the LPGA Tour. I thought that would be my goal for my whole life. But I actually achieved that when I was 18,” Feng said. “So after that, I thought I couldn’t stop. I wanted to win tournaments.”

Feng achieved much in her career. She claimed the Omega Dubai Ladies classic four times in five years from 2012 to 2016 on the Ladies European Tour. But beyond the wins — there was also the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio — there were things she failed to accomplish. Winning an Olympic gold medal was a big one; she tried again in Tokyo last summer, which was what pushed her to extend her career longer than expected. And she never made it into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame. But when she looks back at what the goal was when this all started, she’s reminded that the goal was just to make it to the tour.

A bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics was among the highlights of Feng’s career. Scott Halleran

“I’ve gone really far compared to that goal. I gave 100 per cent. Nothing to regret,” Feng said.

Feng was never afraid to show some personality with her style on the golf course.

Feng hasn’t picked up a club since September 2021. She’s happy to be living a life without alarm clocks or any real schedule. During her time on tour, she’d only get to be home in China for a month every year. Now, she’s settled into life at home, getting to see friends and family whenever she wants, getting to eat at her favorite restaurants.

“The Chinese food is the thing that I missed the most,” Feng said, laughing.

The one thing that is providing some structure to her days is a new coaching gig. Since December, Feng has been working for the Chinese Women’s National Team.

“I thought I earned a lot from golf. This is a time I need to give back. I do think I have a lot of good experiences that I could share with the others,” Feng said of the decision to join the coaching staff.

Feng is quick to admit she misses the tour, the players, the fans and media. Her humour, easy-going nature and fearless fashion sense made her easy for anyone to get along with. But it’s clear her happiness didn’t come from winning golf tournaments. Talking to the media over Zoom about her retirement, a smile never left her face. Happy is just who she is. It won’t be lost in retirement.

“As everybody knows, Shanshan is a happy person,” Feng said. “Life is great. I just want to enjoy life, whatever I’m doing.”

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Tokyo Olympics women’s tee times: Starting times and pairings for the first and second rounds

Golf Digest Middle East — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 06:34:36 +0000

Mike Ehrmann

As was the case with the men’s Olympic competition, International Golf Federation officials have appropriately given the honour of hitting the opening tee shot of the 2021 Olympic women’s golf tournament to a native of the host country.

Japan’s Mone Inami will be the first player off when the women’s event begins on Wednesday at Kasumigaseki Country Club at 7:30 a.m. local time (6:30 p.m. eastern time Wednesday in the U.S.). Inami will be playing in the threesome with Maria Fassi of Mexico and Albane Valenzuela of Switzerland. (Side note: You might recall that Sepp Straka was in the opening pairing of the men’s tournament and shot a 63 to take the early lead last week.)

There are several interesting pairings to follow, most notably the threesome of Inbee Park, Lydia Ko and Shanshan Feng that tees off on Day 1 at 7:25 p.m. Tuesday night U.S. time. The trio from South Korea, New Zealand and China won gold, silver and bronze at the 2016 Rio Games.

As for the four Americans competing in the women’s event, World No. 1 Nelly Korda tees off at 7:14 p.m. Wednesday night U.S. time (paired with Nasa Hataoka and Jin Young Ko), with Lexi Thompson following her at 7:25 p.m. (with Brooke Henderson and U.S. Women’s Open champ Yuka Saso). Jessica Korda tees off at 9:03 p.m. and Danielle Kang has a 9:36 p.m. tee time.

ANA Inspiration winner Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand and Amundi Evian Championship winner Minjee Lee of Australia are paired together along with 2020 AIG Women’s British Open winner Sophia Popov. They tee off at 9:14 p.m. Tuesday in the U.S.

Here are all the first and second round tee times at Kasumigaseki Country Club:

ROUND 1
First Tee

7:30 a.m./6:30 p.m.
Mone INAMI, Japan
Maria FASSI, Mexico
Albane VALENZUELA, Switzerland

7:41 a.m./6:41 p.m.
Kelly TAN, Malaysia
Alena SHARP, Canada
Anne VAN DAM, The Netherlands

7:52 a.m./6:52 p.m.
Leona MAGUIRE, Ireland
Bianca PAGDANGANAN, Philippines
Matilda CASTREN, Finland

8:03 a.m./7:03 p.m.
Mel REID, Great Britain
Caroline MASSON, Germany
Anna NORDQVIST, Sweden

8:14 a.m./7:14 p.m.
Nasa HATAOKA, Japan
Jin Young KO, South Korea
Nelly KORDA, USA

8:25 a.m./7:25 p.m.
Brooke HENDERSON, Canada
Lexi THOMPSON, USA
Yuka SASO, Philippines

8:41 a.m./7:41 p.m.
Inbee PARK, South Korea
Lydia KO, New Zealand
Shanshan FENG, China

8:52 a.m./7:52 p.m.
Sanna NUUTINEN, Finland
Maria TORRES, Puerto Rico
Tiffany CHAN, Hong Kong

9:03 a.m./8:03 p.m.
Klara SPILKOVA, Czech Republic
Manon DE ROEY, Belgium
Christine WOLF, Austria

9:14 a.m./8:14 p.m.
Maha HADDIOUI, Morocco
Lucrezia COLOMBOTTO ROSSO, Italy
Daniela DARQUEA, Ecuador

9:25 a.m./8:25 p.m.
Nanna KOERSTZ MADSEN, Denmark
Aditi ASHOK, India
Giulia MOLINARO, Italy

9:36 a.m./8:36 p.m.
Wei-Ling HSU, Chinese Taipei
Azahara MUNOZ, Spain
Jodi EWART SHADOFF, Great Britain

9:47 a.m./8:47 p.m.
Xiyu LIN, China
Emily Kristine PEDERSEN, Denmark
Madelene SAGSTROM, Sweden

10:03 a.m./9:03 p.m.
Jessica KORDA, USA
Celine BOUTIER, France
Gaby LOPEZ, Mexico Gaby Mexico

10:14 a.m./9:14 p.m.
Minjee LEE, Australia
Patty TAVATANAKIT, Thailand
Sophia POPOV, Germany

10:25 a.m./9:25 p.m.
Ariya JUTANUGARN, Thailand
Hyojoo KIM, South Korea
Carlota CIGANDA, Spain

10:36 a.m./9:36 p.m.
Danielle KANG, USA
Hannah GREEN, Australia
Sei Young KIM, South Korea

10:47 a.m./9:47 p.m.
Min LEE, Chinese Taipei
Stephanie MEADOW, Ireland
Perrine DELACOUR, France

10:58 a.m./9:58 p.m.
Mariajo URIBE, Colombia
Pia BABNIK, Slovenia
Magdalena SIMMERMACHER, Argentina

11:09 a.m./10:09 p.m.
Diksha DAGAR, India
Kim METRAUX, Switzerland
Tonje DAFFINRUD, Norway

ROUND 2
First Tee

7:30 a.m./6:30 p.m.
Nanna KOERSTZ MADSEN, Denmark
Aditi ASHOK, India
Giulia MOLINARO, Italy

7:41 a.m./6:41 p.m.
Wei-Ling HSU, Chinese Taipei
Azahara MUNOZ, Spain
Jodi EWART SHADOFF, Great Britain

7:52 a.m./6:52 p.m.
Xiyu LIN, China
Emily Kristine PEDERSEN, Denmark
Madelene SAGSTROM, Sweden

8:03 a.m./7:03 p.m.
Jessica KORDA, USA
Celine BOUTIER, France
Gaby LOPEZ, Mexico Gaby Mexico

8:14 a.m./7:14 p.m.
Minjee LEE, Australia
Patty TAVATANAKIT, Thailand
Sophia POPOV, Germany

8:25 a.m./7:25 p.m.
Ariya JUTANUGARN, Thailand
Hyojoo KIM, South Korea
Carlota CIGANDA, Spain

8:41 a.m./7:41 p.m.
Danielle KANG, USA
Hannah GREEN, Australia
Sei Young KIM, South Korea

8:52 a.m./7:52 p.m.
Min LEE, Chinese Taipei
Stephanie MEADOW, Ireland
Perrine DELACOUR, France

9:03 a.m./8:03 p.m.
Mariajo URIBE, Colombia
Pia BABNIK, Slovenia
Magdalena SIMMERMACHER, Argentina

9:14 a.m./8:14 p.m.
Diksha DAGAR, India
Kim METRAUX, Switzerland
Tonje DAFFINRUD, Norway

9:25 a.m./8:25 p.m.
Mone INAMI, Japan
Maria FASSI, Mexico
Albane VALENZUELA, Switzerland

9:36 a.m./8:36 p.m.
Kelly TAN, Malaysia
Alena SHARP, Canada
Anne VAN DAM, The Netherlands

9:47 a.m./8:47 p.m.
Leona MAGUIRE, Ireland
Bianca PAGDANGANAN, Philippines
Matilda CASTREN, Finland

10:03 a.m./9:03 p.m.
Mel REID, Great Britain
Caroline MASSON, Germany
Anna NORDQVIST, Sweden

10:14 a.m./9:14 p.m.
Nasa HATAOKA, Japan
Jin Young KO, South Korea
Nelly KORDA, USA

10:25 a.m./9:25 p.m.
Brooke HENDERSON, Canada
Lexi THOMPSON, USA
Yuka SASO, Philippines

10:36 a.m./9:36 p.m.
Inbee PARK, South Korea
Lydia KO, New Zealand
Shanshan FENG, China

10:47 a.m./9:47 p.m.
Sanna NUUTINEN, Finland
Maria TORRES, Puerto Rico
Tiffany CHAN, Hong Kong

10:58 a.m./9:58 p.m.
Klara SPILKOVA, Czech Republic
Manon DE ROEY, Belgium
Christine WOLF, Austria

11:09 a.m./10:09 p.m.
Maha HADDIOUI, Morocco
Lucrezia COLOMBOTTO ROSSO, Italy
Daniela DARQUEA, Ecuador

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Chinese players withdraw after being told to skip LPGA event in Taiwan, according to report

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 06:55:15 +0000

STR
Feng Shanshan of China plays a shot during round four of the Shanghai LPGA golf tournament in Shanghai on October 20, 2018. (Photo by STR / AFP) / China OUT (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

By Alex Myers
Two Chinese golfers, Shanshan Feng and Yu Liu, withdrew from this week’s Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship on Tuesday. And according to Reuters, this had nothing to do with an issue specific to either player, but everything to do with their home country.

Reuters reports someone “high up” in the Chinese government told Feng, a former World No. 1, and Liu to skip the event amid growing tensions between China and Taiwan.

“They said I can’t respond regarding the issue of withdrawing from the competition,” Liu, an LPGA rookie who played collegiately at Duke, told Reuters via her official account on the Twitter-like social-media platform Weibo. Liu added her decision was “not for personal reasons.”

Both Feng and Liu had played each of the past two weeks to kick off the Asian swing of the tour’s fall schedule.

Someone working at the tournament told Reuters neither player would be fined for such a late WD “given the circumstances,” though there was no elaboration as to what those “circumstances” are. Feng and Liu’s agent, Ruby Chen, denied her players were being pressured into not playing. However, Chen also didn’t provide Reuters with an explanation.

Feng, a nine-time LPGA winner and the bronze medalist at the 2016 Olympics, had finished runner-up and T-3 the past two years at the Taiwan event.

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In-Kyung Kim eyes Classic’s new ‘piece of art’

Kent Gray — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 17:22:01 +0000

By Kent Gray

There’s a new name and a new trophy at this week’s OMEGA Dubai Ladies Classic. In-Kyung Kim struggled to get her head around the former on the eve of the Ladies European Tour season-ender – “I was like Masters? No. Championship? No. Classic?” – but has very clear designs on that sparkling new dallah come Saturday afternoon.

“It looks more like the guy’s trophy. Fantastic,” said the reigning British Open champion.

“Look’s like a genie is going to come out of it or something. I kept staring at it [during yesterday’s Pro-Am] on the first tee. Yeah, it’s kind of a piece of art.”

With four-time defending champion and world No.1 Shanshan Feng home in China to receive a civic award, Kim is the only former winner and highest ranked player in the field for the $500,000 LET event. But the world No.8 knows she isn’t going to get her hands on the freshly minted silverware without a scrap, not with two-time major champion Brittany Lincicome, recent Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open winner Aditi Ashok and newly crowned European No.1 and LPGA Tour graduate Georgia Hall all in rich form. Charley Hull, who closed with a 65 around the Majlis to finish runner-up to Feng last December, is another who deserves to be in the title contenders conversation.

“I.K.” Kim finished sixth in her last appearance in Dubai to seal LET rookie honours in 2010, a year after closing with a 68 to hold off fast-finishing Michelle Wie, who fired a 63, for the third of her now four LET titles.

She returns to Dubai after a career year, highlighted by her first major title at Kingsbarns in August and before that her fifth and sixth LPGA Tour titles at the ShopRite LPGA and Marathon Classics.

The 5ft 3in South Korean is certainly battled hardened, not allowing the missed 14-inch putt on the 72nd green that cost her the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship (now the ANA Inspiration) to define her career.

The 2009 win in Dubai certainly helped shape it and Kim knows what will be needed this week. “I think this golf course, keeping it in the fairway is very important. Some pin positions are really hard to get to. So whoever is bravest, and also plays smart, should be the winner.

“Sometime I plan everything, like how I want to play. But this golf course, when the wind changes…I remember this golf course is one of the golf courses that can be very tough to shoot even par on the back nine when it›s very windy.”

Hall, fresh from securing an LPGA Tour card for 2018, has an unassailable lead in the LET order of merit race. What’s not so clear cut is the rookie race where French leader Camille Chevalier is looking for a top finish in her first Dubai appearance to seal the deal.

The 23-year-old, who claimed her maiden title at last month’s Hero Women’s Indian Open, sits approximately €31,000 ahead of Swede Jenny Haglund with season earning’s of €62,985 from eight starts. But with a winner’s cheque worth US$75,000, or approximately €63,246, any of the other first year members in the field could effectively seal the leading rookie title with a victory in Dubai, if Chevalier missed the cut.

Haglund or third placed Luna Sobron could mathematically overtake Chevalier with a runner-up finish but Chevalier is thinking positive.

“A win would be awesome. If not, a top 10 will be okay,” said Chevalier. “I came here to win. If you don’t come to win, then why do you come?”

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British No.1 Hull aims to go one better at Omega Dubai Ladies Classic

Kent Gray — Sat, 02 Dec 2017 09:53:40 +0000

By Kent Gray
The old adage about only being as good as your last performance has world No.28 Charley Hull in a bullish mood ahead of the 12th Omega Dubai Ladies Classic. It doesn’t hurt there’s a notable absentee from the Ladies European Tour event starting Wednesday either.

A closing 65 around Emirates Golf Club saw the British No.1 snare solo second in the LET season-ender last December. It wasn’t enough to prevent Shanshan Feng from claiming her fourth Dubai title in five years by two shots but did reinforce Hull’s love affair with Emirate’s G.C.’s Majlis layout after she also finished 5th in 2014 and 8th the previous year.

Whats more, the 21-year-old LPGA player doesn’t have to content with Feng this time; the Chinese world No.1 has been granted a special leave of absence as she is to receive a state honour in her homeland.

“I do have great memories of this event,” said Hull who was T-11 in her most recent start, the CME Group Tour Championship to finish the LPGA season 31st overall.

“It’s fun, I like it, especially [after sealing] the Rookie of the Year award in 2013 because I remember it being quite close between me and Holly (Clyburn) and I kind of felt the pressure, but played well, and then last year there was a bit of a battle between me and Shanshan.

“It would be pretty cool if I could finish with a win this time around, but for that to happen I need to play some very good golf as there are many strong contenders in the field. I still have a lot to learn.”

Hull joins Women’s British Open champion In-Kyung Kim, two-time major champions Suzann Pettersen and Brittany Lincicome and Indian teen sensational Aditi Ashok in a strong field for the Dec. 6-9 event.

The three-time Solheim Cup player arrives in Dubai with three top-10s highlighting her 2017 LPGA campaign.

“I am really happy with my golf. I want to win a lot of tournaments. That is what I am out there to do,” said Hull who claimed her first LPGA title at the 2016 CME Group Tour Championship, two years after breaking through on the LET with victory at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco.

Part of the first European Solheim team to win in US soil back in 2013, Hull also competed at the Rio Olympics, finishing 7th.

Entry to the event is free but you must register online for tickets.

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Shanshan Feng wins back-to-back, projected to become China’s first World No. 1

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 07:10:40 +0000

HAINAN ISLAND, CHINA – NOVEMBER 11: Shanshan Feng of China plays a shot on the 6th hole during the final round of the Blue Bay LPGA at Jian Lake Blue Bay golf course on November 11, 2017 in Hainan Island, China. (Photo by Zhe Ji/Getty Images)

By Keely Levins
No player carries more momentum into next week’s LPGA Tour season finale than Shanshan Feng. With a closing 70 on Saturday at Blue Bay LPGA event in her native China, the 28-year-old won for the second straight week, becoming the first player to claim back-to-back titles this season on tour.

Feng’s nine-under 279 at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Club were enough to hold off runner-up Moriya Jutanugarn by one shot. There was a moment of drama on the final hole, when Jutanugarn had a birdie opportunity to force the tournament to extra holes. But it lipped out. Feng then holed her par putt and hoisted the trophy.

“I was a little bit nervous, even shivering,” Feng said of that final putt. “And once that was in and I was the champion, I was so delighted.”

This is the 28-year-old’s ninth win on the LPGA Tour and third of 2017 (only I.K. Kim has as many victories this season). When the Rolex Rankings are calculated on Monday, Feng is also projected to become the No. 1 player in the world, the first Chinese golfer (male or female) to do so. Knowing the win that boosted her into the top spot came in her home country makes the accomplishment all the more special. When reporters told Feng she’d be in the No. 1 spot at the beginning of next week, she asked them if they were sure.

“I’m really, really excited and very proud of myself, and I think it’s special because I won this tournament to become World No. 1,” Feng said. “I finished first in China, so I actually claimed the world No. 1 in front of all the people at home. So I’m really happy about that, and I hope all the Chinese are going to be watching me and the Chinese can play golf. Hopefully there will be more Chinese getting on the tours and more world No. 1s coming up from China.”

Becoming the best player in the world makes what was already a good season a great one for Feng. Since the U.S. Women’s Open in July, Feng has six top-five finishes and eight top-10s in her last 10 starts.

“I just want 2017 to keep going,” said Feng said. “A never-ending 2017, that would be great.”

She’ll be taking this momentum of these two wins into the final event of the year next week, the CME Tour Championship in Naples, Fla., where there is a $1 million bonus on the line.

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Shanshan Feng defends Toto Japan Classic title

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 06:12:28 +0000

OMITAMA, JAPAN – NOVEMBER 05: Shanshan Feng of China hits her tee shot on the 17th hole during the final round of the TOTO Japan Classics 2017 at the Taiheiyo Club Minori Course on November 5, 2017 in Omitama, Ibaraki, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)

By Keely Levins
China’s Shanshan Feng won the Toto Japan Classic for the second year in a row, marking the first time in the 2017 season that an LPGA player defended a title.

Feng finished the tournament at 19-under 197, a score in relation to par made all the more impressive given it came in one of the tour’s few three-day tournaments. Leading up to this event, it felt like it was only a matter of time before Feng won. In her last six starts, she had had five top-10s, including two top-three finishes in the two events preceding the Toto Japan Classic.

“That was my goal, before I started the week, to defend my title,” Feng said. “My caddie told me: ‘This week, you’re going to be first. Two weeks ago, you finished third. Last week, you finished second, so you know what comes after that … first.’ I was like, OK, let’s go for it. Here I am, and I’m really happy.”

Feng, who’s the No. 4 player in the world, shot rounds of 66, 63, and 68 at the Minori Course at Taiheiyo Club to win wire-to-wire for the first time in her career. The victory is the eighth overall of career and second this season. Her first win came in May at the LPGA Volvik Championship.

“Can we just keep playing here?” Feng joked. “Can we move the CME Group Tour Championship here? Can we move the U.S. Open here?”

Feng’s 19 under bested the next competitor, Ai Suzuki, by two strokes. This was Suzuki’s eighth start in an LPGA event. The 23-year-old from Japan plays on the Japanese LPGA Tour, where she’s ranked second and has two wins this season. Anna Nordqvist, who had taken about five weeks off before coming to Asia in order to fully recover from mono, finished alone in third at 15 under.

Lexi Thompson had a mathematical chance to become the No. 1 player in the world if she had won in Japan, but she finished T-33. Though she isn’t atop that ranking, she’s still the points leader for the CME Group Tour Championship with one more tournament to play in China this next week. Any player in the top five entering the year-end championship who wins the even will automatically clinch the $1 million bonus.

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