Yealimi Noh Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Yealimi Noh’s expensive lesson: A $10,000 slow-play fine last week

Golf Digest Middle East — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 05:04:25 +0000

Icon Sportswire

By John Strege
Yealimi Noh is only 19, yet already she has made news for the right reasons and now has done so for a wrong reason. Noh, here to make her debut in the ANA Inspiration, received a $10,000 fine for slow play at the Kia Classic last week, the LPGA confirmed.

Noh, a Korean American who won the U.S. Girls Junior in 2018, had been fined for slow play in her LPGA debut at the Gainbridge LPGA last summer, and twice received a slow time in a round at Aviara last week, according to a report by Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols, before she was assessed the substantial fine for one who tied for 61st and earned only $4,247, resulting in a net loss of $5,753.

“I can’t appeal because it’s obviously my fault,” Noh told Nichols here on Tuesday. “A couple rookies got fines. Like OK, it’s a heads-up for us rookies to catch up or whatever.”

Noh, who tied for third in the Cambia Portland Classic and tied for second in the Volunteers of America Classic in 2020, is 47th in the Rolex Rankings.

The post Yealimi Noh’s expensive lesson: A $10,000 slow-play fine last week appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Teenager with chance at history is getting help from veteran caddie

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 13 Dec 2020 05:37:33 +0000

Carmen Mandato
Yealimi Noh plays her shot from the third tee during the third round of the 75th U.S. Women’s Open.

By Brian Wacker
HOUSTON—Lexi Thompson made headlines earlier this week at the U.S. Women’s Open for employing Bryson DeChameau’s caddie, Tim Tucker.

Thompson missed the cut. But there’s another PGA Tour caddie—Dave Stone, who normally loops for Bo Hoag—carrying a bag this week at Champions Golf Club, and he could be on the verge of being a part of history.

Yealimi Noh, who is playing in her first U.S. Women’s Open, enters Sunday’s final round tied for fifth and just five strokes off the lead. Should the recently turned 19-year-old California native go on to win, she would be the youngest winner in tournament history, breaking the mark of Inbee Park, who captured the 2008 title at 19 years, 11 months and 17 days.

“I didn’t know that,” she said after a 72 on Saturday. “Just hoping to play my best [Sunday] and just not have any regrets.”

Stone certainly doesn’t have any.

With the PGA Tour off until January, a fellow caddie connected Noh and Stone, who was a caddie on the LPGA from 2010-‘15. So he picked up her bag beginning at last week’s Volunteers of America Classic, where Noh shared the lead going into the final round before finishing in a tie for second. He’ll be on the bag for next week’s CME Tour Championship, too.

“So far it’s been pretty good,” Stone said. “I have zero complaints.”

The transition from a PGA Tour bag to one on the LPGA wasn’t all that difficult for Stone given his resume. He said both Hoag and Noh are similar players in that they have great golf IQs and know how to dissect a hole.

But there are some differences.

“The course is playing soft and long this week, and they’re hitting hybrids and fairway woods into holes, but the accuracy is incredible out here,” Stone said. “The guy’s game has changed. They’re trying to bomb everything.”

As for Stone’s impact on Noh?

“[He helps] my approach shots into the green, just helping me find the straightest putt on the green,” she said. “And just giving me a lot of confidence around the greens, too. I was struggling a bit before last week, but he really helped me gain more confidence in just keeping me calm on the course.”

That could certainly come in handy on Sunday, too.

The post Teenager with chance at history is getting help from veteran caddie appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

17-year-old Monday qualifier plays her way into final group with World No. 1 Sung Hyun Park after wild opening rounds

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 05:21:23 +0000

Yealimi Noh hits her second shot on the 18th hole during the first round of the 2019 Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic. (Stacy Revere)

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.

Akshay Bhatia, Yealimi Noh win the 2018 AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year awards

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 20:58:48 +0000

Courtesy of the AJGA
Akshay Bhatia

By Ryan Herrington
How do you know Akshay Bhatia is a golf nerd? Ask him the highlight of his 2018 season, and the 16-year-old from Wake Forest, N.C., doesn’t point directly to any of the obvious answers: his chip-in for eagle to become the first golfer to repeat winner at the Junior PGA Championship, his 10-stroke triumph at the Polo Golf Junior Classic or playing for in the Junior Ryder Cup in France. No, how about his 16th birthday in January, when the lefty from Wake Forest, N.C. got this present from him mom and dad.

A Trackman.

Monday’s announcement, however, might change Bhatia’s mind. Finishing the season the top-ranked junior, Bhatia sealed his standout season by being named the AJGA Rolex Boys Player of the Year.

Joining him on the dias in November to receive the honour during the AJGA’s Rolex All-America Award Banquet will be Yealimi Noh, a 17-year-old from Concord, Calif., who had a similar impressive run that culminated in being selected as the Girls’ Player of the Year. Noh, accomplishments in 2018 included five national wins, highlighted by the U.S. Girls’ Junior, Girls Junior PGA and the Canadian Women’s Amateur.

“I’m so honoured to be receiving this incredible award,” said Noh, a high school senior who plans to turn pro some time in 2019. “It truly is one of my biggest accomplishments. It comes as a bit of a surprise because in the beginning of the year, I didn’t think I would get enough points to win, or even, that I would win three tournaments. This really means a lot to me.”

Photo: Hector Rivera
Yealimi Noh

Bhatia, all 6 feet, 125 pounds of him, credits his birthday present for much of his success in 2018, the device helping him fine tune various parts of his game. But perhaps more important was the breakthrough he had in March when the lanky lefty started to hone a go-to swing off the tee with Chase Duncan, a teaching professional at Lonnie Poole Golf Course in Raliegh, N.C.

“I always struggled hitting a good cut where it starts right and then fades back to the fairway,” said Bhatia, a high school junior. “It’s always started left and went left. And [Chase] gave me this drill to do and I literally started hitting perfect cuts and my speed was going up. I just started hitting it really good. My contact was a lot better.”

Less than a month later he won the prestigious Junior Invitational at Sage Valley by a shot (despite a one-stroke penalty for mistakenly using his rangefinder in the first round).

“Once I won Sage and just started playing better in qualifiers and whatever, I have so much confidence in myself and I believe in myself that I’m the best player there and no one can beat me.”

His confidence boosted, Bhatia went on to dominate the Polo Golf Junior Classic in June then became an Internet sensation (at least in the junior golf world), when he knocked in a 45-foot eagle chip on the 18th green at Valhalla Golf Club to become the first repeat winner at the Junior PGA.

The one event Bhatia fell short was the U.S. Junior Amateur, losing in the final to his good friend, Michael Thorbjornsen. But even that finish provided good memories.

“It was definitely disappointing because you play great golf for I think more than one hundred holes and then you just fall one shot short, it’s always hard to swallow,” Bhatia said. “But it motivates me for next year. That’s the one I really want to win.”

Bhatia and Noh highlight the AJGA’s Rolex Junior All-American teams, which were also named on Monday. Here’s the rundown of the other top juniors who’ll be honored in November.

2018 Rolex Junior All-Americans

Boys – First Team
Akshay Bhatia, Wake Forest, N.C.
Ricky Castillo, Yorba Linda, Calif.
Canon Claycomb, Bowling Green, Ky.
Ryan Hall, Knoxville, Tenn.
William Moll, Houston
Shiryu (Leo) Oyo, Japan
Cameron Sisk, El Cajon, Calif.
James Song, Canada
Michael Thorbjornsen, Wellesley, Mass,
Travis Vick, Houston
Karl Vilips, Australia

Girls – First Team
Anne Chen, Australia
Sadie Englemann, Austin, Texas
Rachel Heck, Memphis, Tenn.
Lucy Li, Redwood Shores, Calif.
Michaela Morard, Huntsville, Ala.
Yealimi Noh, Concord, Calif.
Alexa Pano, Lake Worth, Fla.
Megan Schofill, Monticello, Fla.
Erica Shepherd, Greenwood, Ind.
Yujeong Son, South Korea
Lei (Angelina) Ye, China
Rose Zhang Irvine, Calif.

Boys – Second Team
Alexander Yang, Carlsbad, Calif.
Connor Creasy, Abingdon, Va.
Eugene Hong, Orlando
J. Holland Humphries, Austin, Texas
Bo Jin, China
John Keefer, San Antonio
William Mouw, Chino, Calif.
Jeewon Park, South Korea
Luke Potter, Encinitas, Calif.
Gordon Sargent, Birmingham, Ala.
Ian Siebers, Bellevue, Wash.
Jackson Van Paris, Pinehurst, N.C.
Jonathan Yaun, Minneola, Fla.

Girls – Second Team
Amari Avery, Riverside, Calif.
Irene Kim, La Palma, Calif.
Xin (Cindy) Kou, China
Alexa Melton, Covina, Calif.
Katherine Muzi, Walnut, Calif.
Bohyun Park, South Korea
Brooke Seay, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
Aneka Seumanutafa, Emmitsburg, Md.
Erika Smith, Orlando
Kornkamol Sukaree, Thailand
Christine Wang, Houston
Elizabeth Wang, San Marino, Calif.

Boys – Honourable Mention
Trey Bosco, Austin, Texas
Nicolas Cassidy, Johns Creek, Ga.
Kuangyu Chen, Australia
Aaron Chen, Fremont, Calif.
George Duangmanee, Fairfax, Va.
Chris Fosdick, Middlefield, Conn.
Peter Fountain, Raleigh, N.C.
Austin Greaser, Vandalia, Ohio
Frankie Harris, Boca Raton, Fla.
Jun Min (Jimmy) Lee, South Korea
Tyler Lipscomb, Carrollton, Ga.
Dylan Menante, Carlsbad, Calif.
Hazen Newman, Las Vegas
Jay Nimmo, Benton, Ky.
Cole Ponich, Farmington, Utah
Austyn Reily, Pottsboro, Texas
Jackson Rivera, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
Jeevan Sihota, Canada
Brian Stark, Kingsburg, Calif.
Nicklas Staub, Boynton Beach, Fla.
Will Thomson, Naples, Fla.
Brendan Valdes, Orlando
Andi Xu, China
Sampson-Yunhe Zheng, China

Girls – Honorable Mention
Ty Akabane, Danville, Calif.
Zoe Antoinette Campos, Valencia, Calif.
Briana Chacon, Whittier, Calif.
Ya Chun Chang, Taiwan
Megan Furtney, South Elgin, Ill.
Ashley Gilliam, Manchester, Tenn.
Agustina Gomez, Argentina
Savannah Grewal, Canada
Sophie Guo, China
Yoon Min Han, South Korea
Trinity King, Arlington, Texas
Anina Ku, Basking Ridge, N.J.
Rachel Kuehn, Asheville, N.C.
Yu Wen Lu, China
Ashley Menne, Surprise, Ariz.
Alyssa Montgomery, Knoxville, Tenn.
Brianna Navarrosa, San Diego
Jennie Park, Carrollton, Texas
Sarah-Eve Rheaume, Canada
Serena Sepersky, Temecula, Calif.
Latanna Stone, Riverview, Fla.
Alexandra Swayne, Maineville, Ohio
Nicole Whiston, San Diego
Katie Yoo, Orlando

The post Akshay Bhatia, Yealimi Noh win the 2018 AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year awards appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.