By Keely Levins
As we gear up for live golf to resume with the TaylorMade Driving Relief skins game and The Match: Champions for Charity, another star-studded charity event has been added to the calendar. Two of the top three players in the world will play against each other in a skins game to benefit the charity of their choice, Golf Channel’s Randall Mel reported. Jin Young Ko, who is currently No. 1 in the world, will play Sung Hyun Park, No. 3, in the Hyundai Card Super Match on May 24 in Incheon, South Korea.

The course, SKY72 Ocean Course, was a stop on the LPGA Tour, with the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship played there from 2008-2018.

Ko and Park will compete for a 100 million won prize, which is about $82,000. The sum will be donated to the winner’s charity of choice. There’s also the opportunity to win some extra money for charity: Each player will pick two holes before the match begins. If she wins the hole that she chose, another $8,200 will be donated.

Due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19, there will be no fans in attendance at the event.

Sung Hyun Park plays a shot during the second round of the 2017 Evian Championship. (Stuart Franklin)

Though LPGA Tour tournaments haven’t been played since February, Ko and Park’s match won’t be the first time Park plays competitively. The KLPGA is playing an event the week before the skins match. The KLPGA’s re-start could be advantageous for LPGA Tour members who are currently in South Korea, as it gives them the opportunity to compete nearly two months before the LPGA Tour is scheduled to resume on July 15 at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational.

The post Two of the top three female players in the world are playing a skins game for charity appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
It’s been a crazy week already for Yealimi Noh, a 17-year-old from California playing in her first LPGA Tour event as a professional, and it could get even crazier over the next two days at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.

With scores of 63 and 65 in the first two rounds, the 2018 U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur champion is one stroke off the lead at Thornberry Creek at Oneida outside of Green Bay, Wis., and is set to play in the final pairing in Saturday’s third round with tournament leader and World No. 1, Sung Hyun Park, who shot rounds of 65-62.

In contrast to Park, a two-time major winner who is coming off a victory at last week’s LPGA event in Arkansas, Noh is No. 558 in the World Ranking and only got into this week’s event after sharing medalist honours in a Monday qualifier.

Noh, who turned pro last February, has no status on either the LPGA or Symetra Tour. A successful summer of amateur play in 2018—she also won the Girls’ Junior PGA Championship and the Canadian Women’s Amateur—has not yet translated into the professional ranks. She’s unsuccessfully attempted other Monday qualifiers and twice competed on sponsor’s exemptions on the Symetra Tour. She also recently competed in the Korea Women’s Open, where she finished 31st.

“Beginning of the year, I was really struggling just adjusting to pro life,” Noh said. “Not having anything to play, I was like really struggling … but to come back and work hard and just finally play is really good.”

Twice Noh has competed in LPGA events as an amateur, finishing T-46 at the 2018 CP Women’s Open and T-59 at the 2018 LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship.

Only twice in LPGA history has a Monday qualifier gone on to win a tournament: Laurel Kean in 2000 at the State Farm LPGA Classic and Brooke Henderson in 2015 at the Cambia Portland LPGA Classic.

Noh finished her first two rounds at 16-under 128 while playing in the same threesome as amateur Presley Cornelius. The 20-year-old is an intriguing story herself as she is a member of the Oneida Indian nation in Wisconsin, learned golf as a junior at Thornberry Creek and received a sponsor’s exemption to become the first Oneida native to compete in the LPGA event. But playing in the professional event proved to be a challenge, as Cornelius shot 96-103, hitting just eight of 36 fairways.

“No matter who I play with and how they’re playing, anything, I just don’t want to think about anything else,” said Noh after finishing 71 strokes better Cornelius over 36 holes. “Just focus on my score and my game. I don’t want to think too much.”

That will be good advice on Saturday when paired with Park.

The post 17-year-old Monday qualifier plays her way into final group with World No. 1 Sung Hyun Park after wild opening rounds appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

OK, so the last example wasn’t quite as difficult, especially since the grass on Notre Dame’s football field is taller (in particular, for that famed 1993 game against Florida State) than the grass on the university’s golf course. But you get the point. There’s a lot to talk about.

WE’RE BUYING

Nate Lashley: After an entire weekend of hearing Jim Nantz and everyone else re-tell this guy’s heartbreaking story, I won’t waste your time with the details. On a serious note, this guy has overcome arguably more tragedy than any golfer in history so it was great to see someone who was flipping real estate a few years ago winning a $1.3 million check at a golf tournament sponsored by a mortgage company.

Michael Cohen/R&A

On a less serious note, if he and his girlfriend wind up getting married, her name would be Ashley Lashley. I wish them the best, but that’s definitely something that needs to be considered before they take the next step. And what is up with this photo?

Icon Sportswire

So artsy!

Steve Stricker: If people thought Pebble Beach played too easy for the U.S. Open, where was all the outrage over the low numbers at Notre Dame’s golf course? This wasn’t your father’s U.S. Senior Open. Regardless, the Strick Show put on a championship show that would impress even Rudy. And then he joined the Golf Digest Podcast to talk about it all. The 52-year-old opened with 62 and went wire-to-wire, breaking basically every scoring record in tournament history. I haven’t seen such abuse of seniors since Ben Stiller’s character in Happy Gilmore. The win gives Stricker a second PGA Tour Champions major in the past two months and in both instances, he won by six shots. Watch out, Bernhard Langer. There’s a new Senior Sheriff in town. And he’s, well, probably the nicest guy in golf.

The Pine Valley pro shop: Well, at least, that’s what J.R. Smith did. After checking the famed course off his bucket list, the NBA star bought a few bucket hats among other items. Lots and lots of other items:

That’s a lot of money to plunk down, but it could be a savvy investment. Smith is probably on the move this off-season and he could make new friends quickly on another team by distributing some of this stuff.

WE’RE SELLING

Condensed schedule winners: Overall, I’m still a fan of the PGA Tour’s revamped schedule. The move of the Players to March and the PGA to May created more buzz for those events and the FedEx Cup will undoubtedly benefit from moving away from football season. HOWEVAH—and I invoke Stephen A. specifically because I sympathize with his pain as a Knicks fan this week—you can’t tell me it’s created the list of winners the tour was hoping for. Since the Masters, here’s who has won individual non-major events (not including the Memorial): C.T. Pan, Max Homa, Sung Kang, Kevin Na, Rory McIlroy (OK, OK), Chez Reavie, and Nate Lashley. Yes, there have been some great human-interest stories like Lashley during that stretch, but it seems like an awful lot of big names are choosing to rest in between the biggest tournaments more than ever. I hope I’m wrong about this becoming a trend.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout’s ban: The more I read about this story, the more mad I get. This promising player received a two-year ban (later reduced to nine months) for taking beta blockers related to a stuttering problem he developed from accidentally ingesting rat poison as a toddler. How is that fair? Even worse was the timing of the penalty because it kept him from completing a longtime dream of playing for his native South Africa in the 2014 World Amateur Team Championship. “It felt like my life was over,” he recalled. Just awful. But on the bright side, five years after that unjust ruling, the 25-year-old won his first European Tour title.

Unappreciated highlights: My golf game isn’t what I’d want it to be right now (Fortunately, I still have a month before the 2019 HGGA Championship at Turning Stone), but you can’t say I don’t GRIND. During another 18-hole struggle (sadly, carrying my bag in 90-degree heat is turning into a death march), my short-game magic—they I don’t call me “Mr. 60” around the office for nothing—managed to give the fans a thrill with a sweet chip-in on No. 18 from a downhill lie in the rough. Sadly, it was for par, and even sadder was no one, not even my three playing partners saw it. What a shame. What a waste.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to Minnesota for the inaugural 3M Open at Twin Cities Golf Club, AKA that place where senior golfers have shot low scores the past two decades. Combined with last week’s new Rocket Mortgage (Instant) Classic, apparently, we’ve reached the Inaugural Swing of the tour schedule.

Random tournament fact: Nearly half of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes (weird flex, but OK) are on this Arnold Palmer design. At least, that’s what it’s going to feel like for those struggling off the tee.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

— Brooks Koepka will win the 2019 3M Open: 8-to-1 odds (Actual odds)

— Brooks Koepka will win the 2019 British Open: 7-to-1 odds (Actual odds, crazy)

— Brooks Koepka will cry less than Steve Stricker if he wins either: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Look at that wholesome family! You’ve got Steve the champ. His wife and caddie Nicki. And two daughters, Bobbi and Izzy, both promising golfers as well. Following the win, the four piled into the family truckster and drove four hours home. Perfect.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

This guy wanted to play golf so badly that he lied to his wife (not uncommon) and then brought his work clothes to convince her he wasn’t playing hooky from work (uncommon):

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzU6TEhn8dw/?utm_source=ig_embed

Now that’s dedication to the game. Not to anything else, but to the game. Respect.

ARCHIVE VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Check out this old Reebok Pump commercial featuring. . . Greg Norman? Yep, Greg Norman. And listen for a nice little random dagger at Curtis Strange:

From the Greg Norman archives circa 1991. Who remembers this ad or – better yet – did anyone ever own a pair of these Reeboks? #TBT pic.twitter.com/wv3vp2qKZo

— Greg Norman (@SharkGregNorman) June 27, 2019

Who says basketball sneaker-golf shoe crossovers are a new thing?

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Yeah, I came in here with a chip on my shoulder. I talked about being ornery and maybe I need more of that.” — Is the world ready for an “ornery” Steve Stricker? Again, Bernhard better watch his back.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS

A couple of legendary quarterbacks turned heads on the golf course this week. First, Brett Favre showed off his short-game skills:

Casual one-handed chip-in from Favre pic.twitter.com/3Zx9z5eEP7

— Josh Scobee (@JoshScobee10) June 28, 2019

And then Tom Brady showed off his swing and potty mouth, forgetting his kids were in the cart:

When you forget the kids are in the cart… pic.twitter.com/6rx37j6xzO

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) June 29, 2019

LOL dad life, am I right? Just say “ear muffs” next time, Tom. But seriously, I don’t know where that shot went, but the swing is looking good. Maybe you should hang up the football cleats and do this celebrity golf thing full time. . . You’ve won enough Super Bowl rings. . . Just a thought. . .

THIS WEEK IN PHIL BEING PHIL

Mickelson got his mom in the mix for episode 2 of “Phireside with Phil”:

A special 2 candle, real fire edition of Phireside with Phil with my first ever guest, my mom Mary. #PhiresidewithPhil pic.twitter.com/5vZKbqrZeU

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) June 30, 2019

Keep ‘em coming, Phil! And congrats on being named Golf Digest/The Loop’s CONTENT KING of the PGA Tour! Check out the full ranking here.

THIS WEEK IN DUSTIN JOHNSON-PAULINA GRETZKY BROOKS KOEPKA-JENA SIMS PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

No one piles up majors and thong pics like Brooks Koepka. No one.

THIS WEEK IN OTHER TOUR PROS PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

Aspiring PGA Tour player Maverick McNealy put out this public plea to see more of girlfriend Danielle Kang during this past week’s LPGA event:

https://twitter.com/MavMcNealy/status/1145413172787994624

Awww. What a sweetie. Kang, of course, appreciated the support:

You’re so cute ? https://t.co/RzgrvNGue0

— Danielle Kang (@daniellekang) June 30, 2019

The couple that watches each other’s golf tournaments together, stays together. Or, something like that.

THIS AND THAT

Sung Hyun Park won the LPGA’s NW Arkansas Championship to move back to No. 1 in the world. On the flip side, Zach Johnson fell out of the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time since April 2004, AKA my last full month in college. Good run, Zach. I also shudder to think how much more money he’s made than me these past 15 years. . . . Michelle Wie announced she is taking the rest of the year off to rest her bad wrist. And probably, to wedding plan. Good luck with both, Michelle. . . . Tom Watson shot his age or better three of the four rounds at the U.S. Senior Open. That had only been done twice before. The guy is a freak. . . . Doc Redman Monday qualified and finished solo second at the Rocket Mortgage Classic to earn a PGA Tour special temporary membership for the rest of the season. The Clemson product won the U.S. Amateur less than two years ago and I had totally forgotten about him already. Wow, are there a lot of great golfers out there. . . . And finally, I tried Costco’s new “mini chocolate chip cookies” instead of their regular and amazing regular chocolate chip cookies. You know, for “research” purposes:

Not surprisingly, they didn’t disappoint.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Who is Brett Favre’s short-game coach?

What’s the point of being a Knicks fan?

Which cookies should I buy this weekend?

The post Tom Brady’s on-course cursing, J.R. Smith’s clubhouse shopping spree, and golf’s new power couple shares a sweet (social media) moment appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By E. Michael Johnson
Hannah Green felt Hazeltine National G.C.’s bite as she bogeys three holes in a four-hole stretch to turn a nice cushion into a precarious one, but parred the final six holes to win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship by one shot over defending champion Sung Hyun Park.

To say Green is an unlikely champion would be an understatement. Take away two top-10 finishes in her homeland of Australia and she would have none in her other 33 starts on the LPGA tour. She has just one top-10 this year (a T-10 in her second start of the season), and missed the cut in her last event, which might have led to her win at Hazeltine.

“When I missed the cut [last week], on Saturday and Sunday, I really worked hard on my ball-striking, on the range for quite a long time,” she said after the third round.

It showed. Through 62 holes, Green only endured three bogeys on her card, courtesy of a solid tee-to-green game, which included hitting 17 of 18 greens during a third-round 70. For the week she hit 52 of 72 for a 72.22 per cent clip.

Green’s irons are Srixon’s Z 785—a forged cavity-back made from 1020 carbon steel. The set features compact-sized short irons and progressive sole widths along with extra mass behind the hitting area to promote a soft feel. The sole design also changes through the set to match the attack angles of long and short irons. Her sand wedge that she used for the winning up-and-down from the bunker on the 72nd hole is a Cleveland RTX-4.

“I’ve been getting lucky but I guess winners do get lucky,” she said. “You need to take it while you can.” And on Sunday, she did just enough to take the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Unlikely as it might have been.

What Hannah Green had in the bag at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

Ball: Srixon Z-Star

Driver: Srixon Z 785, 10.5 degrees

3-wood: Srixon Z F85, 15 degrees

Hybrid: Srixon Z H85, 19 degrees

Irons (4-PW): Srixon Z 785

Wedges: Cleveland RTX-4 (50, 54, 58 degrees)

Putter: Ping Sigma G Darby

The post Winner’s Bag: Hannah Green’s clubs at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Keely Levins
One of the LPGA’s top talents, Sung Hyun Park, admits she has had a little trouble with early-season play so far in her young career. It wasn’t until the fifth event of the year, the ANA Inspiration, that she logged her first top-20 finish in 2018. In the 2019 season, the current World No. 2 finished T-21 in her first event. But in Singapore at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, Park put an end to what looked like was becoming a trend by shooting a final-round 64 at Sentosa Golf Club to win by two over Minjee Lee. It’s the sixth LPGA win for the 25-year-old from South Korea.

“I didn’t think I would win this fast, and I’m really happy,” Park said. “I used to have a tough beginning in the last years, and this first win was so fast, I think I will play really comfortably the rest of my season.”

Park began the final round four shots back of World No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn. But Park started her round with three straight birdies, setting an early tone. Jutanugarn, meanwhile, stumbled with a double bogey at the fourth and never found her rhythm, ultimately shooting a final-round 75. Park continued her strong play, making two more birdies and her lone bogey of the day to turn with a four-under 32, before posting four birdies on her back nine to cap a 15-under 273 total for the week.

Park cited her focus as the reason for her win. She said that she held her umbrella low throughout the round not just to protect herself from the sun, but to narrow her field of vision, allowing her to concentrate on the task at hand.

Even after the win, Park remained locked in on what’s ahead in 2019: “No change on my goals this season,” Park said. “I still have four more wins to go.”

Beyond her ability to stay hyper-focused, Park also gave credit to Tiger Woods for the victory.

After a successful career on the Korean LPGA Tour, Park joined the LPGA Tour in 2017. Her popularity is obvious by the number of fans who travel from South Korea to watch her play around the world. Her fans call her by a few nicknames, one of which being Tiger—after her idol. Both Park and Woods are sponsored by TaylorMade and they met for the first time at a TaylorMade shoot in February.

“If Tiger is watching this interview,” Park said in her post-win press conference, “then I would want to say that because we met, you gave me such a good energy, that made me win this tournament.”

The post Sung Hyun Park wins sixth LPGA title, credits Tiger Woods appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Keely Levins
Maybe the pressure of the moment got to Lizette Salas, who needed a birdie on 18 to beat Sung Hyun Park and win the Indy Women in Tech Championship. It would have marked her second LPGA win, her first coming in 2014.

After missing the fairway on 18, Salas had to hit her next shot from the thick rough. She put a wedge shot to within four feet, but the birdie putt missed the hole completely. Salas, frustrated, smiled at herself moments later – as though acknowledging her own error in allowing the gravity of the moment and a possible victory get the best of her.

So instead of hoisting the trophy, she headed into a sudden death playoff with Park, who birdied the first hole to win for the third time in 2018.

The sting of the loss was there, but after the round Salas focused on the positives that got her into the playoff.

“My confidence is there. “nd this might draw me back a little bit, but I’m going to rise to the challenge again, and I will be back, for sure,” said Salas, who started the final round with a two-shot lead over Park.

For Park, the win is the fifth of her young career. After winning co-player of the year and rookie of the year honors in 2017, Park has had a more tumultuous 2018 season. She has missed six cuts, but has won three times. With this win at the Brickyard Crossing Golf Club, the 24-year-old is predicted to regain her World No. 1 ranking.

Andy Lyons

Not atop the leaderboard but still one of the most talked-about players in Indianapolis, Lexi Thompson made her return to competitive golf after taking nearly a month off. Thompson, who was defending in Indiana, said she used the break from the tour to mentally cope with the toll 2017 took on her emotionally. She finished the event 17-under, tied for 12th. The four days were highlighted with a third-round 64 for Thompson.

The post Sung Hyun Park wins, Lizette Salas gets painfully close to second LPGA victory, and Lexi Thompson returns appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Welcome to the Dew Sweeper, your one-stop shop to catch up on the weekend action from the golf world. From the professional tours, trending news, social media headlines and upcoming events, here’s every golf-related thing you need to know for the morning of July 2.

Molinari puts on clinic at Quicken Loans National
Got to feel for the field at TPC Potomac. Temperatures in the area hovered in the mid-90s most of the weekend, with humidity making it feel like triple digits. Conditions brutal in their own right. Especially so when you’re playing for second.

That’s what the Quicken Loans National was rendered to thanks to Francesco Molinari, who lapped his competition by a whopping eight shots with a final-round 62.

Related: Alex Noren sneaks off with the French Open

“Amazing, amazing. I still haven’t realized what happened today,” Molinari said. “It was a lot easier than I thought. I played great. The start of the back nine was incredible. Really proud of what I’ve done, and I hope a lot of guys back home [in Italy] are watching tonight.”

The 35-year-old is noted as one of the best ball-strikers in the game, and it was his second-shot prowess that propelled him at Potomac with a tournament-best 9.8 strokes gained/approach figure. Coupled with keeping the big numbers at bay (just two bogeys on the week), it was smooth sailing for the 17th-ranked player in the world.

Technically it’s Molinari’s first PGA Tour victory; he captured the 2010 WGC-HSBC Champions, but it was not a tour-sanctioned event until 2013. Conversely, perhaps the display should have been expected, as Molinari had won the BMW PGA Championship and finished second at the Italian Open in the past month. Other notables included Beau Hossler, who followed a Travelers’ runner-up with a T-6, a 12th-place finish from Rickie Fowler, and a T-4 from a certain 14-time major winner…

Rob Carr

Woods gets back on track
Since stirring runs at Innisbrook and Bay Hill, Tiger Woods hadn’t been particularly formidable. There were flashes at Muirfield Village and Sawgrass, but the 42-year-old posted just one top-20 finish since the Arnold Palmer Invitational, including a missed cut at the U.S. Open. That trend looked to continue after a so-so opening round at the Quicken Loans. However, Tiger delivered an inspiring response, playing his final 54 holes 11-under par, good enough for a T-4 finish.

As that standing suggests, there were plenty of positives for Tiger. His 21 birdies tied for a tournament-best, his iron game remained steady (T-7 in greens in regulation), and he made a handful of bombs on the dance floors. In that same breath, his short game continued to frustrate, as he finished dead last in putting inside 10 feet. And though the 21 birdies were impressive, they also underlined Tiger’s inability to avoid bogeys, given Molinari, who also had 21 birds, finished 10 shots ahead.

“I’ve hit the ball well in this stretch, I just haven’t made anything,” Woods said. “I’m starting to hit some putts, I’m starting to make those putts you’re supposed to make from 10, 15 feet, but I’m also making some from outside 20.”

Nevertheless, it was a solid final tune-up before the Open. Woods has a nice track record at Carnoustie, and it’s historically a major where shaky putters can excel. In short, might want to snag those 25-1 claret jug odds while you can.

Rob Carr

Tiger’s USGA jab
Mike Davis and the USGA have taken their share of body blows for losing Shinnecock Hills, again, at this year’s U.S. Open. Judging by Woods’ roundabout jab on Sunday, those punches aren’t stopping anytime soon.

Following his fourth round, Woods was asked his thoughts on the upcoming Open Championship at Carnoustie. Tiger shared his experiences with the venerable links—he has finished 3rd and 12th at two previous Carnoustie Opens—which led to the following on commentary on the R&A, and what could be interpreted as an indictment on the USGA:

“One of the neat things about playing about the Open Championship, they don’t care what par is,” Woods said at TPC Potomac. “They let whatever Mother Nature has…if it’s in store for a wet Open, it is, if it is dry, it’s dry. They don’t try to manufacture an Open.”

When asked a follow-up if that was a shot at the USGA, Woods replied, “Come again?” and when the question was repeated, a handler escorted Woods away, saying, “I heard ya,” with a smile.

He’s not wrong, and certainly not alone in his USGA assessment. Still, bold move, considering Woods might have to rely on an exemption into the Pebble Beach field next year.

Gregory Shamus

Park snaps sophomore slump with PGA win
After sharing Player of the Year honors as an LPGA rookie, it had been a disappointing second go-around for Sung Hyun Park on tour this season, missing the cut in five of 12 events with just two top-20 finishes. But, after her Sunday performance, it’s clear that Park has snapped the dreaded sophomore slump. Park beat So Yeon Ryu and Nasa Hataoka in a playoff to win the KPMG PGA Championship for his second career major.

Park, who didn’t make a bogey over the final 30 holes, turned in a final-round 69 at Kemper Lakes to earn a spot in overtime. On the first playoff hole—the 18th, which had only been birdied once throughout the entire day—both Park and Ryu made red numbers to advance. Following a brief weather delay, the two came back on the 16th, where Park’s 10-foot birdie sealed the deal.

Fitting, as the 16th was also the site of a phenomenal up-and-down from the hazard that kept her in the running:

WOW! This is the definition of clutch at the @KPMGWomensPGA! pic.twitter.com/QyFVA1OXAc

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 1, 2018

A showing that brought the usually-stoic Park to tears.

“Even though it was a really tough year, I think I did really good play this week,” Park said, “and I think all the work I’ve done has paid off today. That’s what really made me cry.

“Actually this is my first time feeling like this kind of emotion, like being this emotional, and I was really happy.”

Robert Laberge

Toms wins U.S. Senior Open
David Toms picked a good time to break through on the Champions circuit. The 2001 Wanamaker winner closed with an even-par 70 at the Broadmoor to win the U.S. Senior Open by one over Jerry Kelly, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Tim Petrovic.

“First of all, it’s been a long time, obviously, the last time I held a trophy,” Toms said. “To do it in a USGA event is even more special. I didn’t really have the patience for U.S. Open searly in my career. I get better at it as my career went on. Never won one, but I got close. To finally have one, just means my patience is probably where it needs to be, finally.”

The tournament was up for grabs late into Sunday night, as six different competitors held the lead at one point on the final nine. Paul Goydos held the lead after a birdie at the 15th but stumbled with bogeys on the last two holes to finish two back. And it certainly wasn’t a flawless display from Toms, who hit just eight greens on the day. However, Toms’ putter saved the day, as the 51-year-old rolled in a birdie on the 16th, converted a difficult par save at the 17th and made work of a two-putt par on the closing hole for the W.

The post Tiger’s strong Open tune-up (and jab at the USGA), Molinari laps the field and Toms, Park win majors: What you missed this weekend appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Keely Levins
The problem with a dominant rookie season is that you’re expected to follow it up the next year. In chasing and achieving success, you’re left with the daunting expectations of winning again, and again, in the seasons that follow. When those wins come, it’s great. When they don’t, it’s confusing and frustrating.

For Sung Hyun Park, the 2018 season has been the latter.

In 2017, the 24-year-old from South Korea won the U.S. Women’s Open, the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open and had four other top-three finishes. She finished the season not only with Rookie of the Year honors but was named co-Player of the Year with So Yeon Ryu, just the second time a first-year player has claimed that honor.

Yet heading into Thursday’s first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the third major on the LPGA calendar, Park had played 12 events in 2018 and missed the cut in five of them. She’d won once, the Texas Volunteers of America Shootout, which was abbreviated to 36 holes. Besides that win, she’d finished in the top 20 only one other time. The player who looked as if she would dominate the LPGA was doing the opposite.

By Sunday evening, however, that changed: Park is now the proud winner of a second major championship title.

After opening with a six-under 66 at Kemper Lakes Golf Club outside of Chicago, Park closed with a three-under 69, tying her with So Yeon Ryu and Nasa Hataoka at 10 under. The three women walked to the 18th tee for their first playoff hole. No. 18 had given up just one birdie all day, but in less than 20 minutes, two more were made. Park and Ryu moved on, as Hataoka, who had won in Arkansas the week before and shot a closing 64, then waited nearly two hours to see if it would be good enough, was eliminated with a par.

Park and Ryu both had birdie putts on the second playoff hole, when officials had to stop play for a brief weather delay (the forecasted storms that caused tee times to be moved up on Sunday arriving). When the two women came back out roughly 20 minutes later, Ryu missed her birdie putt from 15 feet, while Park knocked hers in from nine to clinch the win.

For Ryu, the loss meant a missed opportunity to get one step closer to the career Grand Slam. She already has won the U.S. Women’s Open and the ANA Inspiration and had carried a three-stroke lead into the final round at Kemper Lakes before closing with a 73 that included a gut-wrenching double-bogey 5 on the par-3 17th in regulation.

For Park, it was a moment of redemption. Just seconds after her birdie putt fell, the usually stoic Park broke down in tears.

“It’s been a tough year for me since there was five times of missed cuts,” said Park, through a translator. “And even though it was a really tough year, I think I did really good play this week, and I think all the work I’ve done has paid off today. That’s what really made me cry.”

Park didn’t make a single bogey over the last 30 holes of the tournament, and averaged 286 yards off the tee in the final round, impressive stuff when you’ve got a title on the line. But the moment that most demonstrated her game is major-championship caliber came at the 16th hole in regulation. Park’s approach came up short and settled in the high grass on the edge of the pond. She talked the shot over at length with her caddie, who got in the hazard with her to take a good look at the lie, and decided it was good enough to play. The ball came flying out and settled a few feet from the hole. Shortly after she finished off an amazing up and down.

Even if she hadn’t won the tournament, her shot at the 16th would’ve been talked about as the best shot of the championship.

WOW! This is the definition of clutch at the @KPMGWomensPGA! pic.twitter.com/QyFVA1OXAc

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) July 1, 2018

Winning the title is obviously the real victory here for Park, but being able to convert a shot that difficult, under that much pressure, is as strong of a sign as any that Park, though not without her struggles in 2018, is plenty capable of still being the tour’s next dominant player.

The amount of emotion that the notoriously emotionless player showed at the end of the event was proof that any questions she may have been asking herself about her ability were finally answered.

“Actually this is my first time feeling like this kind of emotion, like being this emotional,” Park explained after the round, “and I was really happy.”

The post In a season of searching, Sung Hyun Park finds her game and wins the KPMG Women’s PGA appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

USGA officials had to cancel Tuesday’s practice rounds out of concerns for the safety of players and spectators. There was some solace when the range did open in the afternoon to allow players to practice. On Wednesday, the course and media centre were closed all morning (I’m writing this piece from the friendly confines of my hotel room), less than 20 hours before the first players are scheduled to tee off in the 70th playing of the national championship.

Since Sunday, 4.4 inches of rain has fallen on the golf course, and rain is expected to continue until Wednesday evening.

There are a lot of questions left unanswered right now. Will the event start as scheduled? Will the course be playable in time? When the women do play, will it be lift, clean, and place? Is this event going to extend into next week? If so, how far? And do I have to change my flight home?

While tournament organizers are faced with the Herculean task of solving all of these problems (OK, maybe not my flight; I’ll handle that one), players are left to figure out how to prepare and how to fill all of the downtimes.

Defending champ Sung Hyun Park was spotted hitting balls at the Topgolf Birmingham. Others in the field, including Michelle Wie and Jessica Korda, have posted pictures and video on social media of indoor putting practice. Several golfers have taken to Twitter in their off-time.

Tiffany Joh made a funny video pointing out that this is the fourth event this year where the LPGA Tour has had to deal with the really bad weather.

“So how’s the season going?” Me: “we been in every kind o’ rain there is…” pic.twitter.com/olaAnpStJm

— Tiffany Joh (@tiffjoh) May 30, 2018

And Paula Creamer ventured that this U.S. Women’s Open could be the wildest one yet.

The Women’s Open is always an interesting week…. I think this might be the craziest one yet and it’s only Wednesday..???‍??‍?

— Paula Creamer (@ThePCreamer) May 30, 2018

Yes, the current situation in Birmingham is pretty bad, and the players’ pre-tournament preparation schedules have been completely shattered. But things could be worse. Actually, things at a U.S. Women’s Open have been worse. I give you: The 1986 U.S. Women’s Open in Dayton, Ohio.

Dayton sees Birmingham’s heavy rain, lightning and unplayable course, and raises it an overturned railroad tanker, which released poisonous clouds of smoke into the town; an earthquake; and flesh-eating flies.

The most impressive part of all of this? The tournament finished all four rounds by Sunday. Sure, it was a tie, and Jane Geddes had returned to the course for an 18-hole Monday playoff against Sally Little and win the title. But still, all of those cartoon-worthy disasters occurred and the players and the organizers were able to get it done basically on-schedule.

In 1986, Geddes survived a harrowing championship week at NCR Country Club outside of Dayton, Ohio, winning the U.S. Women’s Open title in a Monday playoff over Sally Little. (Bettmann)

To get an idea of what it was like playing three decades ago in what I’m willing to call the most peculiar U.S. Women’s Open of all time (tweet at me if you know of a better one), I called two of my most trusted sources: Mom and Dad.

My Mom, Mary Anne Widman, played on the LPGA in the 1980s and my Dad, Jim Levins, would occasionally ditch his day job to come out and caddie for her. Mom was playing and Dad was on the bag at NCR C.C. in 1986.

“I missed the cut, so I missed the flesh-eating flies,” Mom remembers. “I don’t remember being able to practice a lot. We were just kind of holed up. If you can’t prepare, that’s the worst feeling. Nobody ever wants to enter a U.S. Open feeling unprepared.”

Once the players did get out on the course, the play was interrupted by weather delays and groups were packed onto the course more tightly than normal to try and get the rounds in on time. One par 3 was so backed up, there were three groups waiting on the tee together.

“As a player, you’re constantly trying to keep yourself in a position to go back into the mode you were in,” Mom said. “You’re not really absorbing what’s going on behind the scenes, what the organizers are doing, what decisions are being made. I was just trying to always keep my momentum up. Stopping was so hard for me. Even though you’re out of sync when things start to change, you’re just trying to focus.”

The course itself was soaked.

“I saw some of the biggest divots I’ve ever seen taken at that course. Two inches deep, a foot long … the course was so wet, irons were just diving into the ground,” Dad remembers.

Nelly and Jessica Korda played Shoal Creek on Monday, getting in some practice before heavier rains forced USGA officials to close the course all day Tuesday and through lunch on Wednesday. (Copyright USGA/Darren Carroll)

For a novice caddie, all of the calamity around the NCR was a lot to take in. “I remember wondering, When are we going to get out? When are we going to see the course? When are you going to be able to practice on the course or even just hit balls? It was all shaken up. Nothing was according to plan. With so many things going wrong, I remember thinking, ‘OK, what’s going to happen next?’ ”

Ultimately, the players and caddies at the 1986 U.S. Women’s Open, my parents included, came to the same conclusion that the players will be forced to come to here at Shoal Creek: There’s nothing a player or caddie can do except fill the downtime and try to stay focused.

Though it’s not a position any athlete wants to be in before one of the biggest events of their year, it’s far more enviable than what the grounds crew and event organizers have ahead of them. There are still four rounds to play on a very wet golf course.

As I finish this piece, an email from the USGA alerts me that practice rounds will begin at 1 p.m. today. Maybe this week won’t be so calamitous after all.

The post The U.S. Women’s Open is off to a tough start, but it could be worse. Ask anyone who played in 1986 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.