Find out what happened this week in the world of women's golf
Updated: Oct 8, 2019
1. LPGA
2. LET
3. KLPGA
4. Japan LPGA
5. Symetra Tour
6. LET Access Series
LPGA- Volunteers of America Classic.
Cheyenne Knight claimed her maiden LPGA victory on Sunday by winning the Volunteers of America Classic. She finished on -18, 2 shots clear of fellow Americans Brittany Altomare and Jaye Marie Green.
Knight, has struggled in her rookie season. She made the cut in only half of the tournaments she played in and thought she was heading back to Q School before her dramatic victory In the only LPGA event in her home state of Texas, in what she thought would be her last tournament of the year, Knight went round bogey-free Sunday and closed with a 5-under 66 to clinch victory.
After her win she said "It's so incredible. I can't put it into words,"
“This is for Brandon,” Cheyenne Knight exclaimed as she burst into tears on the 18th green. When Knight was 12 years old, she lost her brother Brandon to a tragic drunk-driving accident.
Altomare, returned to the LPGA in her first event since the Solheim Cup and continues her good form with her 4th top 10 of the year moving to 14th on the CME Race to the Globe.
Green, who had missed 5 cuts in her last 6 starts picked up her best finish of the 2019 season. The much needed result lifts her to 48th place in the rankings.
Georgia Hall closed with a final round 66 to finish in 4th, her seasons best position. This was Hall’s 2nd top 10 in a row and she seems to have improved her game since her great performance at the Solheim Cup. She finished level with American Jane Park who also picked up her best result of the year.
Jeongeun Lee6 moved up to 3rd place on the Race to the Globe with an 8th place finish and her 4th top 10 in her last 5 starts.
Next Event: Buick LPGA Shanghai (China) 17/10/19
LET- Hero Women's Indian Open
Christine Wolf gained redemption for 2018 by winning the Hero Women’s Indian Open.
Wolf, claimed her first LET title without dropping a shot all weekend, her last bogey coming at the 10th on Friday. This time last year wolf had a 3 shot lead heading into the 18th before a double bogey handed victory to Becky Morgan.
The 30-year-old Austrian showed no sign of nerves and her third shot sailed over the dangerous lake and rolled into the rear greenside bunker. She played a superb sand shot and was able to tap-in for a par to win the event by three strokes.
After her victory she said I’m very relieved. I was looking forward to coming back here. I didn’t think, in my wildest dreams, that I would actually pull through and I’m just excited right now. I just tried to stay calm and enjoy it out here and hit good shots. I am super happy, obviously, to post my first victory but also because I did it here. I love the course and I already knew that coming into this week. Everyone knew about the drama that went on last year. When I left last year, I was ready to be back, play the course and get some revenge on the 18th.”
Marianne Skarpnord’s of Norway finished 2nd, 3 shots behind Wolf. Skarpnord, is now leading on the Order of Merit heading into the last few events. Skarpnord, got off to a flying start this season and has been near the top of the Order of Merit all year. Her final round of 70 saw her into 2nd place 1 shot ahead of Meghan MacLaren and afterwards she said “I’m quite happy with my game. Christine played such good golf and hasn’t made a bogey in two days. I felt that I played steady and had a good score around this course. When you are playing with a player that doesn’t miss a fairway, doesn’t miss a green and holes a few putts; it’s very difficult to beat that. Christine has been out here for a few years and she really deserved that win today.”
Meghan MacLaen bounced back to form with a 3rd place finish after having struggled slightly in recent months. MacLaren, who had led after round 1 with a strong 67 was undone slightly by her 2nd round of 73. Hopefully, she can now finish the season strongly on the LET and in trying to qualify for the final stage of LPGA qualifying.
15-year-old amateur Anika Varma finished 5th in -3. The Indian, had a 3rd round 67 which shot her up the leaderboard in front of a very jubilant home crowd.
Next Event: Open De España, 28/11/19
KLPGA- Hana Financel Championship
In a very strong mixed International field it was local player Ha Na Jang who clinched the title and the winning prize of £255,000
Da Yeon Lee looked to have victory wrapped up with 3 holes to go but double bogeyed 16 before making bogey on the last to fall 1 shot short of Jang.
Jang, who was 3 shots clear after round 2 threw away her lead with a 3rd round 72. However, a closing round of 70 sealed her first win of the season, she now moves up to 3rd in the Order of Merit. Da Yeon Lee finished tied with fellow Korean Ji Yeong Kim2 who struggled to a closing round of 72.
World number 1 Jin Young Ko finished tied 4th on -7 with 4 other players including talented youngster Hye Jin Choi who currently leads the Order of Merit.
Among the foreign players who made a rare appearance on the KLPGA were Minjee Lee who finished 9th, Danielle Kang 11th, Alison Lee 17th and Lydia Ko 33rd. Highly rated young Thai amateur Atthaya Thitikul finished 12th.
Next Event: 20th HITE JINRO Championship 10/10/19
Japan's Womens Open Golf Championship
Nasa Hataoka returned home to win her 2nd tournament in a few weeks on the Japan LPGA. Nasa, finished on -18, 4 shots clear of 3 players with rounds of 67,67,67 and 69. Eri Okayama, So Yeon Ryu who like Nasa was taking time off the LPGA and Momoko Osato all finished 2nd.
Nasa picked up the winners cheque of over £200,000 and afterwards said “ I was so relived when my final putt went in and I could finally smile. I tried to stay calm and my caddy told me not to think too much”. This was Nasa’s 3rd win of the year after winning in April on the LPGA.
Hee Kyung Bae form Korea ended up 5th after having led for much of the event. Women’s British Open winner Hinako Shibuno had another strong finish ending up 7th.
Former world number 1 Jiyai Shin from Korea still leads the Mercadies Ranking with a few tournaments left in the year. Fellow Korean Min-Young Lee is currently 2nd while Hinako Shibuno is 3rd.
Next Event: Stanley Ladies Golf Tournament, 11/10/19
Symetra Tour Championship
Laura Wearn claimed victory as she won the Symetra Tour Championship in the final event of the season. She finished with a birdie on the 18th to card a final round -5 (67) to win by 1 shot from fellow Americans Janie Jackson and Jenny Coleman.
Wearn, got off to a quick start with an opening round of 65 and carried on with rounds of 70 and 69 to hover around the top of the leaderboard all week. After her win she said “This is unbelievable, this was a tough year for me. I thought maybe if I finish first or second I would have a chance at Q-Series, but didn’t think it would happen. I played some really solid golf this week, had the best host family and was relaxed. The final putt kind of reminded me of the last win I had in Atlanta, a two-putt on 18 and a par-5. Just tried to keep my emotions in check and got the job done.”
With the victory, Wearn collects a winner’s check of $37,500 and leaps to No. 22 in the final Volvik Race for the Card standings to book her ticket to the second annual LPGA Q-Series later this month. Those from Nos. 11-35 earn automatic exemption into the final stop in the qualifying tournament.
By finishing tied for 14th in the Symetra Tour Championship Perrine Delacour from France won $3,861 and added Player of the Year honors to her impressive 2019 resume.
The result was Delacour’s 12th top-15 in 20 starts and helped end her season with $125,042 total earnings. the 25-year-old, won twice as she claimed her first pro title at the Four Winds Invitational and then at the Prasco Charity Championship. Afterwards she said “I am really happy about earning the Player of the Year title, especially after last year in Q-Series and missing out on my card there, I learned a lot about myself this season and built confidence for when I’m back on the LPGA Tour. Patty [Tavatanakit] also had a great rookie campaign and made me work until the very last putt on No. 18 today. Now I can celebrate and start planning for 2020.”
The final results of the Symetra Tour are below with all 10 players earning their 2020 LPGA Tour Card. Watch out for Patty Tavatanakit, she could be another Thai player to take the LPGA by storm next year.
1. Perrine Delacour (Paris, France) - $125,042 2. Patty Tavatanakit (Bangkok, Thailand) - $117,518 3. Jenny Coleman (Rolling Hills Estates, California) - $104,840 4. Ssu-Chia Cheng (Taipei, Chinese Taipei) - $99,232 5. Jillian Hollis (Rocky River, Ohio) - $98,044 6. Julieta Granada (Asuncion, Paraguay) - $94,343 7. Leona Maguire (County Cavan, Ireland) - $92,517 8. Robynn Ree (Redondo Beach, California) - $90,518 9. Esther Lee (Los Alamitos, California) - $87,360 10. Mind Muangkhumsakul (Banphai, Thailand) - $81,046
Road to La Largue LET Access Final
Niina Liias from Finland claimed victory at the final event of the 2019 LET Access Series. Liias, won the Road to La Lague in France by defeating Magdalena Simmermacher from Argentina in a playoff.
Both players had finished on -6 with the Argentinean shooting a final round -7 to shoot her way up the leaderboard and into the playoff.
The ninth hole was used to separate the pair, with Liias ultimately securing a maiden professional victory with a birdie on the 365-yard par four thanks to a superb eight iron approach leaving the Finn with a short putt for the win – a first LET Access tournament victory.
And talking about the playoff she said “I just tried to play like I played the last hole again. How I played the second shot was the best that I hit the whole week! It was a great finish – pretty amazing to finish with the win.”
England’s Hayley Davis had already secured the Order of Merit title finishing ahead of Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen and Italy’s Lucrezia Colombotto Rozzo for the LET Access Series’ top prize. The top-5 players after the season-long Road to LaLargue progress onto the Ladies European Tour for 2020 whilst the event also saw the fifteen further players earn a spot at the final stage of the LET’s Tour School.
Hayley follows in the footsteps of Sweden’s Emma Nilsson and Megan MacLaren who won the Order of Merit in 2018 and 2017 respectively.
Hayley, said after finishing her last event “this has been the best golfing year for me yet, a big thanks to the LET Access series for a great year and it’s been nice having so many events and have the chance to meet so many new people an places. Big Thanks to my friends and family for always supporting me”.
Along with Hayley, Lucrezia Colombotto Rosso , Laura Murray, Laura Gomez Ruiz and Chloe Williams all earned their 2020 LET card. Sanna Nuutinen who finished 2nd on the Order of Merit had already guaranteed her playing rights on the Ladies European Tour
This weeks Rolex Rankings update
Cheyenne Knight 🇺🇸 moves up 186 places to 84th after winning the @voaclassic on the LPGA . Christine Wolf 🇦🇹 rises 73 spots to 236th after winning the @womensindianopen on the LET Ha Na Jang 🇰🇷 goes up 24 places to 53rd after winning on the @klpga Nasa Hataoka 🇯🇵 rises 3 places to 3rd after winning on the @lpgaofjapan_official . Niina Liias 🇫🇮 goes up 201 places to 606th place after winning the @road2lalargue on the @letaccess Laura Wearn 🇺🇸 went up 192 places to 449th after victory on the @road2lpga . Yu Ling Hsieh rose 110 places to 439th after winning on the @tlpga . This weeks biggest riser was Tsubasa Kajitani 🇯🇵 who went up 345 places To 588th after finishing 9th on the @lpgaofjapan_official .