Round 4 - Wie wins first title since 2014

March 04, 2018

Michelle Wie holed a 36-foot putt from off the green on the final hole to win the Women's World Championship by one stroke on Sunday and capture her first LPGA tournament since the 2014 U.S. Women's Open.

With four players in contention to win on the last hole, Wie managed to separate herself from the pack when she drained her lengthy birdie putt on the 72nd hole at the Sentosa Golf Club for a final round of 7-under 65 to finish at 17-under 271.

The 28-year-old Wie, who led the tournament after three rounds a year ago before fading on the last day, leaped into the air and clenched her fist in celebration as the ball disappeared into the bottom of the cup.

But she still faced an anxious wait before being declared the champion.

''Winning is everything. I mean, there is no better feeling than when you think you sink that winning putt. It's a high, for sure,'' Wie said.

''You go out there, and it's this feeling that gets you going. It's this feeling that makes you practice. It's that winning putt that makes you practice for hours and hours and hours, and even the hard times, it gets you going back. You know that good feeling is on the other side.''

Third-round leader Nelly Korda parred her last 8 holes in a row. The 19-year-old, who only joined the LPGA Tour last year, hit a superb approach into the 18th to set up a birdie opportunity that would have forced a playoff but missed her 8-foot putt and settled for a final-round 71.

''I had a bunch of putts that were really close and a lot of them lipped and burned edges. It definitely hurts, but that's golf,'' Korda said.

''There's going to be another tournament. There's going to be another feeling like this. Just have to keep going forward''.

Danielle Kang, last year's Singapore winner, parred her last 14 holes and was unable to drain a longer birdie putt on the last to miss out on a playoff as she closed with a 70. Korda and Kang finished in a four-way tie for second at 16-under, alongside Jenny Shin (65) and Brooke Henderson (67).

''I couldn't capitalize on those holes, which was kind of disappointing,'' Kang said. ''But other than that, struck the ball well and I hung in there. So she (Wie) dropped the bomb on the last. I heard it from a hole back.''

Shin held the outright lead when she teed off at the last after reeling off eight birdies between the sixth and 16th holes, but she dropped back to 16-under when she made her only bogey of the day on the final hole.

''The nerves got me, maybe,'' Shin said. ''Not sure if I would have made that mistake on many other holes. Oh, well.''

Henderson birdied four of her first eight holes to move up the leaderboard but could not get another birdie putt to drop in until the final hole when it was too late for her to catch Wie.

Plagued by injuries since capturing her first major at Pinehurst, North Carolina in 2014, Wie started Sunday's final round five strokes off the pace and needing to shoot low after Sei Young Kim set the bar high, flirting with a 59 before settling for a course record of 10-under 62.

Wie made a strong start with three birdies on the front nine then added three more in her first five holes after the turn before saving her best for last when the pressure was at its most suffocating.

''It's been a tough journey since 2014. I think it's been kind of well documented. You know, I've had some injuries, had a really bad year, just lost a lot of confidence,'' Wie said.

''But I'm just really proud of myself for pulling myself out of it. I felt like I had a good year last year, a year where I built confidence, and I just want to keep building confidence from there.''

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Round 3 - Nelly Korda edges ahead of Kang in Singapore

March 03, 2018

Florida teenager Nelly Korda shot a third-round 7-under 65 Saturday to take a one-stroke lead at the LPGA Tour's Women's World Championship after Danielle Kang made her first bogeys of the tournament to slip back into second place.

Korda had eight birdies and one bogey as she finished on 15-under 201 heading into the final round at the Sentosa Golf Club.

Kang started the day leading by four strokes and finished trailing Korda by one after a 70. She dropped her first shot of the tournament on the 15th after going 50 holes without making a bogey, then made another mistake on 18.

''It actually doesn't bother me. I wasn't really thinking about whether I was going to be in the lead tomorrow or chasing, but Nelly had a really solid game today,'' Kang said. ''I didn't want to finish on a bogey ... but I gave myself a really good par chance.''

Brooke Henderson had a bogey-free 65, matching Korda for the low round of the day, to join Minjee Lee (68) in a tie for third at 11 under after an extraordinary display with the putter.

''I had nine putts on the back nine, which is really awesome,'' Henderson said. ''Just a great day and got up-and-down when I needed to and climbed the leaderboard.''

Michelle Wie birdied four of her first five holes for a 66 to finish five shots adrift on 10-under, alongside Jessica Korda (68), Jin Yong Ko (67) and Marina Alex (70), who bogeyed three of her last four holes after briefly threatening for the lead.

The 19-year-old Nelly Korda joined the LPGA Tour last year and is chasing her first victory in what would be another incredible addition to her family's remarkable sporting success.

Her younger brother Sebastian won the Australian Open junior boys' singles tennis title in Melbourne in January, 20 years after their father Petr won the men's senior Grand Slam title.

Last week, sister Jessica won the LPGA Tour event in Thailand with a tournament-record total of 25-under.

''I'm definitely inspired by her win and it definitely motivated me a bunch,'' Nelly Korda said. ''It was the first tournament of the year and for her to come and crush it the way she did, it was definitely inspiring and hopefully we'll see where tomorrow takes me. She's still there. So she still has a chance. Everyone does.''

Korda made three birdies in a row from the sixth to turn in 33 then made five more on the back nine. She dropped her only shot at the par-4 12th but joined Kang in the lead when she scrambled for a par at the 14th after overshooting the green, then she took the outright lead when she birdied the 16th.

''I was hitting the correct shots. I was aggressive when I needed to be, so I'm just happy with the way it ended and really looking forward to tomorrow,'' Korda said.

Kang, who broke a tooth before her first round and almost missed her tee-off time on Saturday while lying down in the locker room, birdied the 17th to draw level with Korda at 15-under. But she gave it back when she bogeyed the last.

''Every day, it's drama. My life is a drama. I don't love drama. Drama loves me,'' she said. ''Nothing could be perfect every day, so just got to take it and run with it.''

Round 2 - Chipped tooth no hindrance for Kang

March 02, 2018

The distraction of a chipped tooth proved to be no problem for Danielle Kang as she shot an 8-under 64 to take a four-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Women's World Championship on Friday.

Kang, who won last year's Women's PGA Championship for her first major title, equaled the course record at the Sentosa Golf Club to lead the LPGA tournament at 12-under 132.

''Never too bad to tie a course record,'' Kang said. ''That's interesting to hear. I like that.''

Nelly Korda, whose sister Jessica won the LPGA Tour event in Thailand last week, had a 66 to be tied for second with fellow American Alex Marina (67) while Minjee Lee (66), Cristie Kerr (67) and Chella Choi (69) were a further stroke back at 7-under.

Kang, who discovered she had broken a tooth after falling asleep while stretching before shooting a 68 in Thursday's opening round, had eight birdies, four on the front nine and another four after rounding the turn, to post her second straight bogey-free round.

''(My) game is coming easy right now. There are lots of birdies out there. I'm more focused on being present and just hitting the shots. I'm hitting it well, rolling the putt well. So I'm not really worried about the results of how those shots come out. It feels like just a cruising day.''

Kang said her cracked tooth was not painful, but she could still feel it each time she swung the club.

''Every time I hit a shot, I'm like, it keeps scratching - it's raw here, but it's OK. I just don't chew on this side. I'll be fine,'' she said.

''My dentist told me, I've chipped another one before, and he said, 'You don't break it at that moment'. It's been broken and it just chips off. So I don't know how it broke.''

Korda birdied four of her last six holes as she bids to emulate her siblings by winning tournaments this year. Apart from Jessica winning in Thailand with a tournament-record total of 25-under last week, their brother Sebastian won the Australian Open junior boys' singles tennis title in Melbourne in January.

Their father is 1998 Australian Open tennis champion Petr Korda.

''We obviously have a little bit of a sibling rivalry, but everything is very friendly,'' Korda said. '' She (Jessica) does make me want to be a better player, and seeing her win last week after the tough off-season she's had was definitely very inspiring, and hopefully I can step my game up this week and take it home, but we'll see.''

Jessica Korda (70) reached the halfway point at 6-under, level with Austin Ernst (67), Lizette Salas (67), Charley Hull (68) and Ha Na Jang (68), while several other big names lost ground.

Top-ranked Shanshan Feng finished at 4-under after a second consecutive 70 while Michelle Wie lost ground with a 73 and overnight leader Jennifer Song stumbled with a 75, including a quadruple-bogey eight on the par-4 third.

Round 1 - Jennifer Song takes World Championship lead with 65

March 01, 2018

Jennifer Song shot an opening 7-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead at the Women's World Championship on Thursday.

The 28-year-old American reeled off seven birdies at the Sentosa Golf Club in a round that was interrupted for two hours by lightning.

Michelle Wie and Ji Eun-Hee (both 67) were tied for second while another nine players finished a further stroke back at 4 under.

Top-ranked Shanshan Feng (70) bogeyed the last hole, while No. 2 Lexi Thompson (75) struggled in making five bogeys.

Still chasing her first LPGA win eight years after turning professional, Song took the outright lead when she made five birdies in an eight-hole stretch.

''At times it has been a great struggle because I know I can win out here, but I just never have been given that chance yet,'' Song said. ''But I kept believing that someday it will happen. I think that's the reason why myself and other golfers are still grinding because we believe that we can win out here.''

Wie has not won since she captured her first major at the 2014 Women's U.S. Open. She led in Singapore last year after the first and third rounds.

''I made a lot of birdies from the trees today, so that's a plus,'' Wie said.

Wie looked to be in discomfort in her final few holes, shaking her left wrist, which was already heavily bandaged, but said it was nothing unusual for her.

''It looks a lot worse than it actually is. It's really not that bad,'' she said. ''My wrist, I just have arthritis and I just try to work through that. You know, it's been a little bit of a struggle but I've got a good game plan going, more preventative more than anything. But it just looked a lot worse than it actually is.''

Ji also bogeyed her last hole but managed to stay clear of a chasing pack of nine players at 68 - Brooke Henderson, Ariya Jutanugarn, Danielle Kang, Chun In Gee, Jessica Korda, Madelene Sagstrom, Chella Choi, Su Oh and Park Sung Hyun.

Korda, who won in Thailand last week, spoiled her round with a double-bogey 5 on the seventh while Kang managed to post a bogey-free round despite a freak accident that broke her tooth before she teed off.

''I was stretching out on the floor and next thing I know, I slept 30 minutes,'' Kang said. ''I broke a tooth. Call the dentist on range. It's all good.''

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Ko focused on what she can control - Today

The 2018 HSBC Women’s World Championship marks Lydia Ko’s third event of the LPGA season. Following her T19 finish in the Bahamas and a T31 showing in Thailand, the 20-year-old Kiwi knows that there’s still plenty of time to go in the season, but that she can only control what’s right in front of her.

“Every week is a new week and when you’re out there playing, you have to play with confidence and positivity that you’re able to play alongside the best golfers and obviously this is a tournament with a great field,” said Ko, who was the runner-up in Singapore in 2015. “So you do need to have your best game to be at the top of the leaderboard.”

The last few seasons have been ones of change for Ko, who changed coaches and caddies before the 2017 and 2018 seasons. But while the former World No. 1 has not hoisted a trophy since 2016, she is confident in her decisions.

“Even if you’re the Player of the Year, there’s always something that you feel like can improve, and I think that’s a good thing -- well, the challenging thing about golf, is that there is no perfect round,” said Ko, who is in her third week with veteran caddie Jonny Scott on her bag. “Obviously there are a lot of positives, relative things to work on. I think sometimes we get carried away about, hey, someone has had a winless year or someone has done this. But if you keep putting yourself in good position and in contention, it will happen.”

2018 Goal for Ryu– Winning as World No.1

2017 was a banner year for So Yeon Ryu. Her playoff victory at the ANA Inspiration and another win at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship vaulted her to the top of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, a position she held for 19 weeks. She tied with Sung Hyun Park for Rolex Player of the Year honors, and also captured the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award, which bestowed upon the player with the season’s best major record.

“I did way more than I expected and because of that, actually it was really hard to set up the goals for 2018,” said Ryu, who now sits fourth in the Rolex Rankings. “Becoming No. 1, it’s a really, really cool thing. It’s a very unique experience. You cannot have that opportunity every time, so I feel really blessed that I was No. 1 for a while.”

But still, with all those accolades, Ryu has something she looks back at with regret. She didn’t win as World No. 1.

“I wish I won a tournament when I was No. 1,” said Ryu when asked her goals for 2018. “Hopefully in the 2018 season, I can play well and hopefully I can get back to the No. 1 position, and then if I’m able to get back to No. 1 position, I really want to win the tournament when I am No. 1.”

Steve Provence receives ZL Catlin Volunteer service award nomination in Singapore

The XL Catlin Volunteer Service Award is a new program launched in 2018 to recognize exemplary volunteers at each LPGA tournament. Steve Provence, a three-year volunteer at the HSBC Women’s World Championship was nominated by tournament representatives and will be presented with a service award plaque during tournament week. Provence regularly helps with tournament transportation, but has also volunteered in the starter tent and the scoring tent and even served as a walking marshal. Provence, who is originally from Boston, says Mo Martin is his favorite LPGA player.

In addition to his weekly honor, Provence will join other tournament volunteers nominated throughout the year for a season-ending random drawing that will award a donation of $10,000 in the winning nominee’s name to the charity of the tournament for which the volunteer serves.