Round 4 - Kang wins first event and Major title at KPMG

July 02, 2017

Danielle Kang, sparked by a four-hole birdie streak on the back nine, charged to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Sunday at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club, becoming the eighth player in history to make the major her first professional victory.

The 24-year-old San Francisco native and two-time U.S. Amateur Champion separated herself from playing partner and 54-hole co-leader Chella Choi of the Republic of Korea with a birdie run from holes 11 to 14. Kang entered the Championship, boasting the strongest women’s field of the year, as the No. 43-ranked player in the world.

Kang joined an elite list that made the Championship their first major victory: Shanshan Feng (2012); Anna Nordqvist (2009); Yani Tseng (2008); Se Ri Pak (1998); Sherri Turner (1988); Sandra Post (1968); and Gloria Ehret (1966).

72nd hole drama

Danielle Kang today became the first player to birdie the 72nd and final hole to win this Championship by a single stroke since Meg Mallon in 1991. That year, playing in the final group at Bethesda (Md.) Country Club, Pat Bradley, Ayako Okamoto and Mallon all lined up birdie putts on the final hole of regulation. Only Mallon delivered, holing a 10-footer for victory.

Kang completes rare 1-2 punch

Danielle Kang registered her first professional victory today, winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Kang is also a two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion, having won in consecutive years: 2010 and ’11. With Kang’s win today, she became the first player to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship since Juli Inkster completed the circuit in 1999. Inkster won this Championship in both 1999 and 2000, after having previously claimed three straight U.S. Women’s Amateurs from 1980-82.

Silver lining for Brooke

Brooke Henderson became the first defending KPMG Women’s PGA Champion since Laura Davies in 1995, and fifth overall, to follow their Championship victory with a runner-up finish the next year. Davies would go on to rebound and win the Championship again in 1996. The other three to go winner/runner-up in consecutive years: Sandra Haynie (1974-75); Kathy Whitworth (1967-68); and Mickey Wright (1963-64).

Breaking 70

Champion Danielle Kang (69-66-68-68) and runner-up Brooke Henderson (68-69-69-66) were the only two players in the field to break 70 in each of their four rounds. Four other players posted three sub-70 rounds: Mi Hyang Lee, T-4 (69-67-72-67); Sei Young Kim, T-4 (69-66-72-68); Inbee Park, T-7 (73-67-69-68); and Lexi Thompson, T-7 (70-69-69-69).

Cuts and top 10s

After posting a first round 3-over-par 74, Stacy Lewis was in danger of missing her first LPGA cut since the 2015 Manulife LPGA Classic. Instead, a 67 on Friday secured a 34th straight made cut at a major championship for the 32-year-old from The Woodlands, Texas. Lewis finished 70-67 over her final two rounds and finished in a tie for 9th place, which marks her 18th career top 10 at a major and fifth career top 10 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

It's been a while

A global melting pot of talent, international players had won 15 of the previous 16 KPMG Women’s PGA Championships before Danielle Kang halted that surge today, becoming the first American to win this Championship since Cristie Kerr in 2010.

Click her for full scores & prize money.

Round 3 - Kang and Choi leading after 54 holes

July 01, 2017

American Danielle Kang (68 on Saturday) and Korean Chella Choi (67) are tied for the lead, at 10-under-par 203, after three rounds of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club. Kang and Choi are two shots clear of Jiyai Shin (64), who is alone in third place. Defending Champion Brooke Henderson (69) is lurking in fourth. Fourteen players are within five shots of the co-leaders.

A Major change

The low round of the day belonged to Jiyai Shin, whose bogey-free, 7-under-par 64 has her in contention at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The 29-year-old from the Republic of Korea entered the third round trailing the leaders by six strokes. Birdies to start and finish her round, along with a stretch of five birdies between holes 9 and 15, positioned Shin momentarily on top of the leaderboard. Shin posted the low 9-hole score of the Championship with her back-nine 30 on Saturday. She sits two strokes behind the leaders heading into Sunday’s final round.

A former World No. 1, Shin is a two-time major champion (2008 & ’12 Women’s British Open). She has three career top-five finishes at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship; although, this is her first appearance since 2013.

Brooke's back and celebrating Canada Day at Olympia Fields

With birdies on holes 1, 4, 13, 14 and 16, defending Champion Brooke Henderson (68-69-69, 206) spent most of Saturday climbing the leaderboard, but a disappointing bogey-par finish on 17 and 18 left her alone in fourth place. Henderson, who entered the weekend in a tie for 8thplace, will enter Sunday’s final round three shots off the pace. Henderson’s attempting to become just the sixth player to win this Championship in consecutive years, and the initial five are all members of the World Golf Hall of Fame: Inbee Park (2013-15), Annika Sörenstam (2003-05), Juli Inkster (1999-2000), Patti Sheehan (1983-84) and Mickey Wright (1960-61).

Cracking the top 10

Making her first cut in four tries at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Kim Kaufman jumped into the top 10 with a third round, 2-under-par 69. Prior to a bogey on the par-3 17th, the 25-year-old from Clark, South Dakota, enjoyed 31 consecutive holes without dropping a stroke going back to her third hole in the second round, when she double-bogeyed the par-4 12th. Kaufman’s best finish in a major championship came in the 2015 Evian Championship, when she finished in a tie for 29th place.

Kaufman is joined by nine other players, including major champions Lexi Thompson, Michelle Wie and So Yeon Ryu, in a tie for 7th, five back of the lead.

Americans hoping to make a statement

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship has been a global melting pot of talent, with international players winning 15 of the past 16 Championships. With 54 holes complete, Danielle Kang (T-1) of Las Vegas, Nevada; Michelle Wie (T-7) of Honolulu, Hawaii, Lexi Thompson (T-7) of Coral Springs; Florida; Kim Kaufman (T-7) of Clark, South Dakota; and Gerina Piller (T-7) of Flower Mound, Texas, each have a reasonable opportunity to give the United States its first KPMG Women’s PGA Champion since Cristie Kerr won in 2010.

Round 2 - Danielle Kang and Sei Young Kim leading KPMG

June 30, 2017

Danielle Kang (Women's Amateur, 2010/2011) and Sei Young Kim (Rolex Rookie of the Year, 2015) played 66 on Friday for a 7-under 135 after two rounds at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Brittany Lang, Na Yeon Choi, Stacy Lewis, Anna Nordqvist, Cristie Kerr, Shanshan Feng and Ariya Jutanugarn are among those missing the cut.

Kelly Shon matches 18-hole championship and North Course record

Kelly Shon completed a 22-hole day’s work Friday that featured an 8-under-par 63 to tie the 18-hole KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and Olympia Fields North Course competitive course records. In the process, she set a second-round Championship mark and eagled the same hole twice.

Shon bettered her personal competitive best by two strokes while matching the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship 18-hole mark by Patty Sheehan (1984, 3rd round, par-72) and Meg Mallon (1999, 3rd round, par-71). She also tied the North Course competitive record set by Vijay Singh (2003 U.S. Open) and Rickie Fowler (2007 Fighting Illini Invitational).

“I’m really honored by joining those names, especially in a major,” said Shon. “Today, I had good numbers into the greens. It was easy picking out clubs.”

The 25-year-old from Port Washington, New York, began Friday morning by completing four holes of a rain-delayed first round by holing a 90-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole.

Beginning her second round on No. 10, Shon birdied Nos. 14 and 15, before hitting a 3-wood to No. 18 and making a swinging 36-foot eagle putt. She closed out the gem of a round with birdies on 1, 3, 4 and 8. “I didn’t know that I had a chance for a record when I hit my approach to No. 9 (her final hole),” said Shon. “I had a 30-footer for birdie and it wasn’t that close.”

McDonald posts rare back-to-back eagles

Ally McDonald of Fulton, Mississippi, accomplished one of golf’s rare feats while “getting back into the hunt” in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. McDonald made back-to-back eagles on consecutive par-5s, holes 18 and 1 as she started on the 10th, which temporarily lifted her to within two strokes of the lead at 5-under-par. She cooled off after that to finish with a 70 and stand four strokes behind co-leaders Danielle Kang and Sei Young Kim.

Kang looking to complete rare 1-2 punch

Tied for the lead after 36 holes, Danielle Kang is a 2-time U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion (2010 and ’11). This weekend, she’s attempting to become the first player to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship since Juli Inkster completed the circuit in 1999. Inkster won this Championship in both 1999 and ’00; she previously won three straight U.S. Women’s Amateurs from 1980-82.

Kim's contended before and her resume is impressive

Sei Young Kim has six career wins to her credit, the latest of which came in May at the Citibanamex Lorena Ochoa Match Play presented by Aeromexico and Delta. Kim’s best finish in a major championship came in the 2015 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Westchester Country Club, where she entered the final round two shots behind Inbee Park. Kim’s closing 71 was not enough, as she finished runner-up, five shots behind her countrywoman, who captured her third consecutive KPMG Women’s Championship. Kim did win three times in 2015 to earn the LPGA’s Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year award.

Without flaw

Danielle Kang has played two rounds of bogey-free golf this week at Olympia Fields. She is the only player in the field that can stake this claim.

Lucky number 13

Defending KPMG Women’s PGA Champion Brooke Henderson continued her impressive streak of made cuts at major championships. This weekend, the 19-year-old Canadian will improve to a perfect 13-for-13. Henderson sits two strokes back of the lead after starting the Championship, 68-69.

Weather the storm

2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship runner-up Lydia Ko made a charge up the leaderboard early in her second round. Birdies at holes 3, 4, 6 and 7 brought the 20-year-old’s Championship score to 4-under-par, but three bogeys over her four next holes wiped out the strong start. Ko finished with birdies on holes 16 and 18 to post a second-round, 3-under-par 68 and reach 4-under-par 138 for the Championship. The No. 3 ranked player in the world trails the leaders by three strokes.

PGA/LPGA Club professionals

Wendy Doolan of Lakeland, Florida, turned in rounds of 77 and 73 to head a group of nine PGA and LPGA Club Professional finishers. Doolan was followed by Lisa Grimes, Alexandria, Minnesota (76-75); Jessica Carafiello, Stamford, Connecticut (77-78); Alison Curdt, Woodland Hills, California (76-79); Hillery Sence, Maryland Heights, Missouri (80-76); Karen Paolozzi, Atlanta, Georgia (80-78); Jean Bartholomew, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (81-79); Kristin Walla, Newport Beach, California (82-81); and Amanda McCurdy, Arlington, Texas (81-82).

Stop-and-Go

Round 2 was suspended at 2:09 p.m. for a total of 33 minutes on Friday due to dangerous weather conditions. Players were brought to shelter before returning to their positions on the course.

Round 1 - Play suspended, Choi and Yang leading

June 29, 2017

First round play of the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship was suspended at 7:01 p.m. and will resume at 7:45 a.m. on Friday at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club. Thirty players did not complete their first round and will be in position and ready to resume play at 7:45 a.m.

All second round starting times will begin on time Friday beginning at 7:30 a.m. off of Tee #1 and Tee #10.

Leader in the clubhouse

A strong finish by the Republic of Korea’s Chella Choi put her atop the leaderboard (alongside Amy Yang, who is also at 5-under-par but did not complete her first round due to weather) on Thursday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The No. 56 ranked player in the world birdied four of her final six holes to card a 5-under-par 66. Choi’s lone career win came at the 2015 Marathon Classic presented by Owens Corning and O-I. She comes into the Championship having played quite well over the past month, with a T10 and two T11s.

“This is the biggest tournament, so I want to play well,” said the 26-year-old Choi. “I hit really good tee shots today. I had a lot of chances in the fairway. My putting was there today, so I made a lot of birdies.”

Choi’s best finish in a major came in 2013 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, formerly the LPGA Championship, when she finished in a tie for fifth. Last year, she finished in a tie for eighth when the Championship was contested at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington.

Changing of the guard

To commemorate So Yeon Ryu’s status as the new Rolex World No. 1, the LPGA Tour hosted a brief ceremony on the 10th tee before her starting time on Thursday, June 29, 2017. In honor of the new ranking, Ryu's caddie will don a green bib in place of the white bib at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. This marks Ryu's first time competing as the Rolex World No. 1.

Henderson and Wie at 3-under

Defending Champion Brooke Henderson and Michelle Wie headline a group of four players at 3-under, 68 (two other players are at 3-under, but did not complete their opening rounds). Henderson, who is attempting to become the first LPGA member to win the same major championship in consecutive years since Inbee Park won this Championship three straight years from 2013-15, closed strong by carding bidies on three of her final six holes. Meanwhile, Wie’s 31 on Olympia Fields’ back nine was the best 9-hole mark posted on Thursday. Her top finish in this Championship was a runner-up in 2005.

Altomare playing well in another PGA of America event

Brittany Altomare played well in the morning wave, posting a 4-under-par 67 to match her second-lowest round of 2017 (she carded a 66 in the second round of the LOTTE Championship Presented by HERSHEY in April). Altomare’s 67 today included five birdies and just a single bogey (on No. 3), and she hit 12 of 14 fairways and recorded nine 1-putts.

Altomare is a former Junior PGA Champion, having won in 2006 at Westfield Group Country Club in Westfield Center, Ohio. Other Girls Junior PGA Champions in the field at Olympia Fields this week are Ariya Jutanugarn (2011, ’12), Cristie Kerr (1995), Inbee Park (2001, ’02) and Lexi Thompson (2007, ’09). Altomare was also was a member of the 2006 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup Team, which halved its match, 6 to 6, with Europe at Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales.

Internationals on stage at Olympia Fields

The 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship features 96 players representing the following 29 countries, or 61.5 percent of the field: Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Republic of Korea, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand and Wales.

Scores