The post How to watch the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship this week appeared first on Golf.

The post How to watch the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship this week appeared first on Golf.

Nineteen of the top 20 players in the world are in the field for this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which begins on Thursday at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

They are playing for a huge chunk of cash, too, as it was announced on Tuesday that the event’s total purse was doubling from $4.5 million offered last year to $9 million this year.

“To be part of that generation of how much the tour has grown and how much it’s going to continue to grow is really cool to be a part of that,” Lydia Ko said on Wednesday. “Even if it may not be while I’m playing, but to kind of keep seeing this growth and like our founders, they made the tour for us. If we can leave the tour a little better than when we found it, I think that’s kind of the founder’s spirit that we all try and have on our back while we’re playing.”

The winner will take home $1.35 million. Last year, Nelly Korda won $675,000.

This is the third of five LPGA majors this season. Jennifer Kupcho won The Chevron Championship in April, and Minjee Lee won the U.S. Women’s Open earlier this month. Kupcho also won last week’s Meijer LPGA Classic.

Here’s how you can watch all the tournament action this week.

KPMG Women’s PGA Championship TV Schedule (ET)

Thursday, June 23: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Friday, June 24: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel)
Saturday, June 25: 1-4 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, June 26: 1-4 p.m. (NBC)

KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Streaming (ET)

You can stream all of the tournament action on the NBC Sports App or a golfchannel.com.

The post How to watch the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship this week appeared first on Golf.

The post Monday Finish: Nelly Korda’s tough love, big changes at Augusta National appeared first on Golf.

The post Monday Finish: Nelly Korda’s tough love, big changes at Augusta National appeared first on Golf.

Welcome to the Monday Finish! This is where we’ll tally the scores for the week that was and tee you up for the week to come. This Monday that means a look back at the Women’s PGA, the longest playoff ever seen and some intriguing digging going on at Augusta National.

FIRST OFF THE TEE

Getting it in the house.

It’s easy, from the comfort of one’s couch, to say patently ridiculous things in the direction of your television. You can yell at a basketball player for missing a deep three with a hand in his face, or a baseball player for whiffing on a 99 mph fastball, or at a cornerback for getting beat deep by one of the most athletic people on the planet. You can also assume stuff like, “Ah, she’s got a five-shot lead. Even I could get it in the house from there.”

I’m not discouraging you from any of the above. That’s the entire beauty of watching sports, after all. And on the last point, maybe you’re right — maybe Nelly Korda did built up such a sizable lead at the KPMG Women’s PGA that even you, dear reader, could keep the ball in play and get it in the house. But with a major championship on the line, your legacy in the air, the title of world No. 1 up for grabs and a cool $675,000 available for first prize, it might not be as easy as it looks.

So when Korda hit her tee shot in the water at No. 15 on Sunday and her lead suddenly went from five shots to three, her mind started to race.

“Yeah, I really don’t like that hole. I’m so happy that’s over,” Korda said after the round. But in the moment, the tournament suddenly felt up for grabs, and she credited one important member of her team with keeping her under control: Her caddie.

News

“Jason [McDede] helped me calm down,” she said. “I hit it into the water on 15, and I was pretty upset there, but he pretty much punched me and was like, ‘Come on, bud, why are you so down?'”

From McDede’s side, the moment was years in the making.

“The back nine got a little bit interesting on 15,” he said. “I don’t think if we had been together so long that I could talk to her like I was able to, because she’s pretty tough. She’s a fierce competitor. But I think just having the groundwork of four years together just let me kind of say what I wanted to at that moment.”

So what did he tell her?

“Just to take a deep breath. We were three shots clear. We had a lot of golf left to play. When I first went to work for her, she told me, ‘Jason, I want to play one shot at a time.’ I said, ‘Okay, I’m going to tell you what you told me. You told me you want to play one shot at a time, we play one shot at a time. We just hit the fairway, let’s hit the next shot.'”

Korda heard him. “He’s like, ‘you’re thinking 40 minutes ahead.’ He’s like, ‘You told me when you hired me, we’re taking it shot by shot.’ It’s very simple and people are like, ‘Oh, that’s boring,’ but it’s really important when you’re out there.”

Korda hit the next shot. And then the next one after that. And at No. 17, a 148-yard par-3 over water, she was tempted to hit 9-iron but hit pitching wedge instead. Pin-high, safely aboard, leaving a short putt for birdie. (Yes, a pitching wedge, from 148.)

“She hit the best shot probably of maybe her life right there just to secure that,” McDede said with pride.”

Korda got it in the house, but the entire exchange was a reminder: A lot of work goes into building a steady ship.

WINNER’S CIRCLE

Who won what?

Nelly Korda won the KPMG Women’s PGA, the title of world No. 1 and more generally the entire weekend. She became the first American major champ on the women’s side since 2018. She became the first American World No. 1 since 2014.

“Is this week even real?” she asked reporters post-round. We’re pretty sure it is.

Harris English outlasted Kramer Hickok on the eighth playoff hole to win the Travelers Championship. If you were sitting an English to-win ticket at about 33-1, you must have been sweating for the last three hours of the tournament; I can’t remember such a wild combination of lip-outs, near-misses and clutch makes down the stretch. English earned a proper rest Sunday night.

Viktor Hovland made just his second professional start on European soil just a week after a strange sand-in-the-eye WD at the U.S. Open and made the transition look effortless; he won the BMW International in Munich with two birdies in the last three holes.

Meghan MacLaren, a particularly insightful golfer-slash-blogger, won on the Symetra Tour, which is reassuring because it’s less likely she’ll take my job soon if she’s preoccupied playing the LPGA Tour. You could hear her post-win gratitude loud and clear in this thank-you speech:

Chad Ramey won inaugural Live and Work in Maine Open on the Korn Ferry Tour. Shoutout to Maine, perhaps the country’s most underrated state. And to Chad, too.

And Steve Stricker won the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship at Firestone, torching the field — and his good pal Jerry Kelly — en route to a six-shot win. On the heels of a Padraig Harrington resurgence at the PGA, it’s been a particularly strong stretch for Ryder Cup captain golf.

ALMOST-WINNER’S CIRCLE

Who came up just short?

It’s hard to imagine coming any closer to victory than Kramer Hickok did here:

Or here:

So he truly defines this category this week. Other near-missers included Bubba Watson, who was in the lead in Connecticut before playing his final five holes in six over par.

“I’m glad that I was there, had the opportunity,” Watson said. “You know, I would love to do it again next week, throw up on myself again. It would it be great.”

Lizette Salas, who took Korda to the back nine on Sunday but came up just short and did well to convey a complex, powerful whirlwind of emotions post-round:

“I was considering retirement,” she said. “I didn’t think I could get out of that deep hole, and really my team stepped it up.

“I think I’m back. It’s just a beautiful thing, and I don’t mean to cry because I’m just really happy right now.

“I think a lot of us take our mental health for granted, and me coming from a Hispanic culture, it’s very hard to talk about it. But I just hope that regardless if you’re a pro athlete or a student of any color, shape or form, mental health is important, and you’re not alone. That was the scariest part for me is I felt like I was alone, and now hearing the chants and everyone pulling for me, it was just a magical week, and I’m just really happy.”

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

What’s going on at Augusta?

The offseason intrigue from golf’s most famous course continues. The powers-that-be are always up to something once Augusta National’s playing season wraps up each May, but this offseason there seems to be much more something than usual. The intrepid adventurers at Eureka Earth have been snapping photos that give a little window into the dirt, trees and buildings being moved around, so let’s buzz through a few of their finds:

1. There seems to be some serious tree-clearing going on down the right side of No. 11. Is this in process? In final form? Will they plant a forest just to throw us off the scent? This will prove particularly intriguing:

2. No. 13 still isn’t lengthened…yet. Or is it? There’s certainly room available to move the tee further back and create a chute through the trees, beefing up that tee shot. And is the dirt in that clearing ripe for new tee construction? Or is it just dirt? Muse amongst yourselves.

One point of certainty: That new access road behind the tee (for security, logistics and emergencies, reportedly) looks awfully fresh.

Here’s an actual look at some of the good folks behind the scenes making this magic happen:

3. There appears to be a massive new member’s clubhouse under construction in the top left corner of this photo:

Which you can see even more clearly here:

4. Here’s a reminder that they absolutely tear this place apart every offseason before they carefully stitch it back to green perfection. Also, there’s plenty of musing that this could indicate a potential new back tee at No. 15 — although that would mean some air traffic control headaches at the crossroads here. There’s a lot of traffic at the intersection of 10, 11, 14 and 15.

Now that I’ve overwhelmed you with tricky angles and rampant speculation, what’s the takeaway? Specifically, that we have our eye on some potential changes to the course. More generally, the takeaway is that Augusta National’s constant reinvention is almost impossible to imagine and that the greenskeepers behind it all are absolute miracle-workers. I’m guessing there won’t be a single seam visible when we see the entire thing sewn back together next year.

One more photo for the road:

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

It’s hot. Like, extremely hot. Seattle hit 100 on Sunday and is going to blow past that on Monday, which is much too hot for a city where residents don’t have much air conditioning. The golf courses are packed. The beaches are even more packed. Seattle summer is the dream, as long as the temperature stays safely in the double digits.

Lucky me, though: I’ve escaped to Hawaii for a family reunion, where there is some air conditioning but also a giant accessible ocean. It’s my first time in the Aloha State and I’m instantly hooked. Better yet, after I press send on this column I’ll jump in the ocean and then warm up for a round of golf in what will be my 50th and final golfing state. (I got a head start a few years back.) More on that to come.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Three things to watch this week.

1. Bryson in Detroit.

After taking it to Detroit Golf Club last year (Remember “Sorry, Mr. Ross? from a year ago?) Bryson DeChambeau is back and ready to pummel his way through the Midwest yet again. There’s no reason to believe he won’t be in the mix come Sunday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

2. Jin Young Ko in Texas.

The longtime world No. 1 was unseated by Korda on Sunday, but now Jin Young Ko will be back in action at the Volunteers of America Classic in The Colony, Tex. come Thursday. Korda’s lead in the Rolex Rankings is actually pretty sizable, at 9.92 to Ko’s 8.79. But will losing the title light a fire under her?

3. This disc golf shot.

You’ve likely already seen it, which is a testament to the insanity of this shot. If you haven’t seen it until now and you feel like you’re walking into an alternate reality where disc golf, as it turns out, has a massive untapped following, I would like to say this: Apparently you’re correct. Time to get in before the disc golf bandwagon fills up for good.

We’ll see you next week!

The post Monday Finish: Nelly Korda’s tough love, big changes at Augusta National appeared first on Golf.

The post Winner’s Bag: The clubs Nelly Korda used to win the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship appeared first on Golf.

The post Winner’s Bag: The clubs Nelly Korda used to win the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship appeared first on Golf.

LPGA superstar Nelly Korda won her first ever major championship on Sunday at the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The Titleist staffer used a bag full of 13 Titleist clubs, a Titleist golf ball and a Ping hybrid this week in her three-stroke victory that was highlighted by her second-round 63.

Gear

Most notably in Korda’s bag is her Titleist TSi1 driver, which measures 40 grams lighter than the company’s popular TSi2 and TSi3 drivers. The driver is designed for “moderate speed” golfers to help achieve higher launch and more speed, making it an option for a wide range of handicaps.

Check out the full specs on Korda’s equipment below!

Driver: Titleist TSi1 (Graphite Design Tour AD-IZ 6S shaft), 10 degrees

3-Wood: Titleist TSi2 (Fujikura Ventus Red 70S shaft), 16.5 degrees

7-Wood: Titleist TSi2 (Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Blue 75S shaft), 21 degrees

Hybrid: Ping G425, 19 degrees

Irons: Titleist T100 (5-PW; Aerotech SteelFiber i80cw F4 shafts)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (50, 54 and 58 degrees; Aerotech SteelFiber i95cw S shafts)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Special Select Squareback 2 tour proto

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Want to overhaul your bag for 2021? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below!

The post Winner’s Bag: The clubs Nelly Korda used to win the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship appeared first on Golf.

The post Nelly Korda slams door with two eagles to win first career major appeared first on Golf.

The post Nelly Korda slams door with two eagles to win first career major appeared first on Golf.

Nelly Korda pulled hybrid off the 18th tee at Atlanta Athletic Club. She hit a tight draw that split the middle of the fairway, admired it for just a moment, twirled her club and strode forward, subtle smile on her face, towards the biggest win of her career.

Korda is a major champion.

The 22-year-old entered Sunday’s round at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship tied for the lead with Lizette Salas and five shots clear of the rest of the field. The day seemed destined for a final-round duel. Korda struck first with a birdie at No. 3 and a spectacular approach to set up a kick-in eagle at No. 5. But Salas hung tough with birdies at 5 and 6 to keep Korda’s lead within one.

News

It stayed there for a while as the two matched pars on 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. But the tournament swung on the par-5 12th. Korda took advantage of her length, reaching the green in two and setting up an eagle try. Salas, by contrast, layed up and then flew her approach into the back bunker. When she made bogey and Korda made her eagle putt for a three-shot swing, her lead grew to four.

There was still plenty of golf to play — and Korda made things interesting with a double bogey at No. 15 — but the final stretch felt like a coronation for the superstar. She played No. 18 safely, laying up, playing her approach to the back of the green and ultimately pouring in a 12-foot par putt to cap off a three-stroke victory.

The win marks her second in two weeks, her third of the season and the sixth of her LPGA career. It also jumps her from No. 3 to No. 1 in the world, the first time since 2014 that an American woman has held the top spot in the world.

Her ascent to No. 1 also potentially marks the next era in women’s professional golf. Korda is the rare golfer who can match overwhelming athleticism with the relentlessness that powered her to eight consecutive birdies from the end of Friday’s round into Saturday. There’s no reason to think this won’t be the first major championship win of many.

The post Nelly Korda slams door with two eagles to win first career major appeared first on Golf.

The post 4 things to know from Round 2 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship appeared first on Golf.

The post 4 things to know from Round 2 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship appeared first on Golf.

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Thirty-six holes down, 36 to go. We’re officially at the halfway mark of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, and plenty can happen as we head to the weekend.

The second round had loads of excitement, a healthy dose of birdies, and even a little bit of controversy. Here’s everything you need to know about Friday at Atlanta Athletic Club.

1. Wie West makes the cut

Michelle Wie West hadn’t made the cut at a major since 2018, but thanks to some inspired play on Friday, she’ll stick around for the weekend in Atlanta.

Wie West’s prospects of making the cut looked grim after an opening-round 77, but she followed the lackluster round up with a three-under 69 in Round 2 to get inside the cut line.

The key to her success? A pep talk from her husband, Johnnie West.

“I was definitely moping after my round yesterday, and I was talking to my husband, and he told me to ‘get my head out of my a–,’ so I did,” she said. “I played, got my head out of my a–, and I played some golf today.”

With her head back in the right place, Wie West made five birdies during the second round and vaulted up the leaderboard. If she can keep finding birdies on Saturday, she could play herself onto the fringes of contention.

Read more about Wie West’s second round here.

2. Slow-play controversy

Maria Fassi was assessed a slow-play penalty during the second round of the Women’s PGA, and it cost her dearly.  

Fassi received the penalty after getting a bad time on No. 18 while her group was on the clock. Her mind was never the same after the penalty and the 23-year-old limped home with a 39 on the front nine (her group started on No. 10).

“[It’s] pretty frustrating,” she said. “I’m not a slow player.”

When Fassi came off the course after the round, she was irate with the decision to hand down the penalty as it dropped her outside the cut line. The number waffled a bit throughout the afternoon, but ultimately the cut settled at two over and Fassi missed by one shot.

“I guess it’s a lesson learned,” Fassi said. “It won’t happen again, that’s for sure.”

Is it really a major championship if there’s not some controversy?

Read more on Fassi’s slow-play debacle here.

3. Salas stays steady

Lizette Salas was an unlikely leader after the opening round, but on Friday, she proved she belonged.

Salas shot a bogey-free 67 during the second round — her second bogey-free round in a row to open the championship — and is 10 under through two rounds, just one shot behind leader Nelly Korda.

“I’m definitely satisfied,” Salas said. “We came in with some goals, and we’re reaching them … I’ve done a lot of good things, and I think this is good momentum going into the weekend.”

The 31-year-old has four career top 10s in majors, her most recent coming in 2019 at the Women’s Open Championship but has not recorded a win on the LPGA Tour since 2014.

She will play alongside Korda tomorrow as they each chase their first major championship victory.

4. Nelly surges

“I just blacked out out there.”

Those were the words Nelly Korda used to describe her scorching nine-under round of 63 that vaulted her into the solo lead heading into the weekend and sent jolts through the grounds at Atlanta Athletic Club Friday afternoon.

Korda began her day with a bogey at the 10th, but from there on in she was nearly perfect. She carded 10 birdies over her final 17 holes — including six in a row to finish the round — to tie the 18-hole championship scoring record.

The 22-year-old heads into the weekend in search of adding to her already-impressive resume as she looks to become the first American major winner in women’s golf since Angela Stanford in 2018.

Read more about Korda’s record-setting day here.

The post 4 things to know from Round 2 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship appeared first on Golf.

The post KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: 3 things to know after Round 1 appeared first on Golf.

The post KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: 3 things to know after Round 1 appeared first on Golf.

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — We are through 18 holes at the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and there is plenty to get caught up on. It was a picturesque day at Atlanta Athletic Club with warm and humid temperatures on Thursday, and that theme should hold throughout the weekend. Expect more excitement as the tournament goes on.

Here are three things to know after the opening round.

1. Surprise leader

Lizette Salas emerged from the morning wave as the surprise leader and that score held throughout the afternoon. Salas fired a five-under 67 to open the championship, carding a bogey-free round on the Highlands Course.

“It was definitely not easy,” Salas said. “We started with pretty wet conditions this morning, but the greens are rolling extremely pure. I had a really good warmup. I was really confident coming into this week, and I think my game really suits this golf course.”

News

Salas also used her post-round availability to open up on her mental health over the past year, admitting that she was “afraid” in 2020 and struggled to get her mind right. But thanks to a strong support system, she’s on the mend and has her mind on qualifying for the Solheim Cup this fall.

“I think we’re on an upward trend, and golf is a lot more fun right now,” she said. “We’re just looking forward to that Solheim Cup in a few months.”

If Salas can put together three more rounds of solid golf in Atlanta, that goal will become much more attainable.

2. It’s a bunched leaderboard

Salas leads the field with Charley Hull one shot back after 18 holes, but behind the two front runners, the leaderboard is packed.

There are 22 players within three shots of the lead, and there is plenty of talent in that group. Among those two under or better after the first round are Nelly and Jessica Korda, Patty Tavatanakit, Ariya Jutanugarn, Maria Fassi, Gerina Piller and Jeongeun Lee6.

That group will likely thin out as the weekend goes on, but after Round 1, it’s truly a wide-open race.

3. Defending champ struggles

Sei Young Kim was unflappable at last year’s Women’s PGA Championship, however she couldn’t summon the good vibes from last fall during the opening round at Atlanta Athletic Club. Kim fired a four-over 76 in Round 1 and will have plenty of work to do tomorrow to survive the cut.

Kim’s day got off to a solid start on Thursday as she was one under through seven holes, but the middle of the course proved to be her undoing. She played the stretch of Nos. 8-13 in seven over — including back-to-back doubles on 8 and 9 — and had to birdie 14 and 17 just to get back to four over.

If Kim wants to replicate fellow countrywoman Inbee Park’s feat of a successful title defense, she’ll have to minimize the big numbers on the card tomorrow and get back on the right side of the cut line.

The post KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: 3 things to know after Round 1 appeared first on Golf.

The post How to watch the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Tee times, TV schedule, streaming appeared first on Golf.

The post How to watch the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Tee times, TV schedule, streaming appeared first on Golf.

A thrilling golf major season continues this week with the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club, the third women’s major of the year. Here’s everything you need to know to watch the tournament.

KPMG Women’s PGA Championship preview

Great storylines abound heading into this year’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which is back in its normal spot on the schedule after the Covid-19 pandemic forced the 2020 event to move to October. Last year’s champion Sei Young Kim is back and prepared to add another major to her resume after her breakthrough.

News

Many fans will be following World No. 2 Nelly Korda this week. Korda, who captured her fifth LPGA win at last week’s Meijer LPGA Classic, is on a hot streak and is more ready than ever to cement her place with a major triumph.

Korda and Kim will have to fight off two former major champions who are playing well and hungry for another chance at major glory: Lydia Ko and Lexi Thompson. Thompson looked like she would win the U.S. Women’s Open at Olympic last month, but a difficult final round left her just short of the winner’s circle. Ko, on the other hand, shot the lowest score in major championship history in the final round of this year’s ANA Inspiration, but it was too little too late.

You can find complete information about streaming the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship online or watching the action on TV below, along with full first round tee times.

KPMG Women’s PGA Championship Basics

What: 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
Where: Atlanta Athletic Club, Johns Creek, Ga.
When: Thursday-Sunday, June 24-27
Winner’s share: $4.5 million
Last year’s champion: Sei Young Kim

How to watch KPMG Women’s PGA on TV

All four rounds of the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship are available to watch on TV. Golf Channel will will air the first two rounds, and then NBC takes over the coverage on the weekend for the third and final rounds. Check out the full TV schedule below.

Thursday, June 24: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Friday, June 25: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Saturday, June 26: 1-4 p.m. ET (NBC)
Sunday, June 27: 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC)

How to watch KPMG Women’s PGA online, streaming

Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, will provide exclusive streaming coverage each day. You can also stream the Golf Channel TV coverage on Peacock. The NBC and Golf Channel broadcasts can also be streamed at NBCSports.com/live by logging in with your cable credentials. Check out the full streaming schedule below:

THURSDAY, JUNE 24
Golf Channel Round 1 TV coverage: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. ET (Peacock, NBCSports.com)
Exclusive Peacock Round 1 Coverage: 5-7 p.m. ET (Peacock)

FRIDAY, JUNE 25
Golf Channel Round 2 TV coverage: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. ET (Peacock, NBCSports.com)
Exclusive Peacock Round 2 Coverage: 5-7 p.m. ET (Peacock)

SATURDAY, JUNE 26
Exclusive Peacock Round 3 coverage: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET (Peacock)
NBC Round 3 Coverage: 1-4 p.m. ET (NBCSports.com)

SUNDAY, JUNE 27
Exclusive Peacock Round 4 coverage: 12-3 p.m. ET (Peacock)
NBC Round 4 Coverage: 3-6 p.m. ET (NBCSports.com)

2021 KPMG Women’s PGA tee times: Round 1 (ET)

7:10 AM (TEE #1) – Aditi Ashok, Mariah Stackhouse, Sandra Changkija

7:15 AM (TEE #10) – Haeji Kang, Esther Henseleit, Dani Holmqvist

7:21 AM (TEE #1) – Su Oh, Tiffany Chan, Dana Finkelstein

7:26 AM (TEE #10) – Samantha Morrell, Kelly Tan, Na Yeon Choi

7:32 AM (TEE #1) – Lindy Duncan, Klara Spilkova, Jennifer Song

7:37 AM (TEE #10) – Marissa Steen, Ruixin Liu, Elizabeth Szokol

7:43 AM (TEE #1) – Nicole Broch Larsen, Christina Kim, Sarah Kemp

7:48 AM (TEE #10) – Yu Liu, Ryann O’Toole, Nanna Koerstz Madsen

7:54 AM (TEE #1) – Kristen Gillman, Brittany Altomare, Yealimi Noh

7:59 AM (TEE #10) – Chella Choi, Jaye Marie Green, Wichanee Meechai

8:05 AM (TEE #1) – Lydia Ko, Nelly Korda, Georgia Hall

8:10 AM (TEE #10) – Xiyu Lin, Jenny Shin, Jenny Coleman

8:16 AM (TEE #1) – Sophia Popov, Nasa Hataoka, Bronte Law

8:21 AM (TEE #10) – Annie Park, Jing Yan, Sarah Schmelzel

8:27 AM (TEE #1) – Brittany Lincicome, Jennifer Kupcho, Bianca Pagdanganan

8:32 AM (TEE #10) – Lizette Salas, Ashleigh Buhai, Albane Valenzuela

8:38 AM (TEE #1) – Inbee Park, Yuka Saso, Lexi Thompson

8:43 AM (TEE #10) – Mi Hyang Lee, Jasmine Suwannapura, Marina Alex

8:49 AM (TEE #1) – Leona Maguire, A Lim Kim, Moriya Jutanugarn

8:54 AM (TEE #10) – Kristy McPherson, Cydney Clanton, Mina Harigae

9:00 AM (TEE #1) – Alena Sharp, Ashley Grier, Jane Park

9:05 AM (TEE #10) – Giulia Molinaro, Esther Lee, Ssu-Chia Cheng

9:11 AM (TEE #1) – Celine Herbin, Brianna Do, Stephanie Connelly Eiswerth

9:16 AM (TEE #10) – Ana Belac, Sarah Burnham, Muni He

9:22 AM (TEE #1) – Luna Sobron Galmes, Paula Reto, Lauren Kim

9:27 AM (TEE #10) – Alisa Rodriguez, Dottie Ardina, Jeongeun Lee

12:27 p.m. (TEE #10) – Lindsey Weaver, Ally Ewing, Andrea Lee

12:32 p.m. (TEE #1) – Janie Jackson, Cheyenne Knight, Perrine Delacour

12:38 p.m. (TEE #10) – Pornanong Phatlum, Pajaree Anannarukarn, Gerina Piller

12:43 p.m. (TEE #1) – Stephanie Meadow, Katherine Kirk, Eun-Hee Ji

12:49 p.m. (TEE #10) – Matilda Castren, Caroline Inglis, Joanna Coe

12:54 p.m. (TEE #1) – In Kyung Kim, Laura Davies, Megan Khang

1:00 p.m. (TEE #10) – Anne van Dam, Sung Hyun Park, Shanshan Feng

1:05 p.m. (TEE #1) – Amy Olson, Hee Young Park, Azahara Munoz

1:11 p.m. (TEE #10) – Michelle Wie West, Brooke M. Henderson, Anna Nordqvist

1:16 p.m. (TEE #1) – Ayako Uehara, Maria Fassi, In Gee Chun

1:22 p.m. (TEE #10) – Charley Hull, So Yeon Ryu, Jessica Korda

1:27 p.m. (TEE #1) – Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Madelene Sagstrom, Wei-Ling Hsu

1:33 p.m. (TEE #10) – Jin Young Ko, Sei Young Kim, Austin Ernst

1:38 p.m. (TEE #1) – Gaby Lopez, Minjee Lee, Brittany Lang

1:44 p.m. (TEE #10) – Mel Reid, Danielle Kang, Stacy Lewis

1:49 p.m. (TEE #1) – Mi Jung Hur, Amy Yang, Jennifer Chang

1:55 p.m. (TEE #10) – Ariya Jutanugarn, Cristie Kerr, Hinako Shibuno

2:00 p.m. (TEE #1) – Patty Tavatanakit, Yani Tseng, Celine Boutier

2:06 p.m. (TEE #10) – Hannah Green, Angela Stanford, Jeongeun Lee6

2:11 p.m. (TEE #1) – Carlota Ciganda, Lauren Stephenson, Caroline Hedwall

2:17 p.m. (TEE #10) – Gabriela Ruffels, Pernilla Lindberg, Mirim Lee

2:22 p.m. (TEE #1) – Caroline Masson, Angel Yin, Hyo Joo Kim

2:28 p.m. (TEE #10) – Emily Kristine Pedersen, Linnea Strom, Alison Lee

2:33 p.m. (TEE #1) – Mo Martin, Min Lee, Lauren Coughlin

2:39 p.m. (TEE #10) – Moira Dunn-Bohls, Haley Moore, Jiwon Jeon

2:44 p.m. (TEE #1) – Min Seo Kwak, Allie Knight, Maria Torres

2021 KPMG Women’s PGA tee times: Round 2 (ET)

The post How to watch the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Tee times, TV schedule, streaming appeared first on Golf.

The post This mental trick fueled Sei Young Kim’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship win appeared first on Golf.

The post This mental trick fueled Sei Young Kim’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship win appeared first on Golf.

Even if you’ve never held the 54-hole lead at a major championship, you can understand the position Sei Young Kim found herself Sunday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Kim, a 10-time LPGA Tour winner, was the unquestioned favorite heading into the final round at Aronimink Golf Club. With a two-stroke lead and a bevy of major championship experience, a win on Sunday should’ve been a foregone conclusion. But Kim had been in the same position before often enough to know that on major championship Sundays, nothing is a foregone conclusion.

Heading into Sunday at the KPMG Women’s PGA, Kim had done just about everything but win a major championship. The 27-year-old held an astonishing six top-5 finishes and 18 top-25s in majors, but hadn’t grabbed a single victory. To make matters worse, Inbee Park was hot on Kim’s trail, looking for a repeat to the 2015 KPMG Women’s PGA when Park leapfrogged Kim atop the weekend leaderboard en route to victory.

News

In short, Sei Young Kim’s Sunday goal at Aronimink was one big feeling every golfer has felt at some point in their life: just don’t screw it up.

“I feel the pressure every week, but especially in a major championship,” she said. “I’ve felt pressure every time I’ve played in one, and I feel it in the players’ eyes when I come to a major championship, everybody is really eager to win this one.”

But for Kim, pressure had caused a nasty habit: overaggression. Her desire not to lose majors had actually begun contributing to her inability to win.

“Looking back recalling those tournaments, I think I was really playing aggressively trying to win,” she said. “This week I tried to stay composed, and focus on my game.”

Science gives a name to Kim’s old habit, “ironic process theory.” The theory argues that the more we focus on not doing something, the more likely we are to do that very thing. In Kim’s case, the more she focused on not losing to the people around her, the less she focused on winning the tournament herself.

On Sunday at the KPMG Women’s PGA, Kim decided to employ a different strategy.

“I did not look at the scoreboard once,” she said. “I knew that Inbee [Park] was going to play great, but I had to just focus on my game, one shot at a time.”

Rather than keeping her attention on the players around her, Kim got back to basics. Sure, it may have been a major championship with a crowded leaderboard, but ultimately it was just another round of golf. She could only control her score, and so her score would be the center of her focus.

“I stuck to my game plan,” Kim said. “Just focused one shot at a time. I didn’t want to play like this was my final round but just stick to my momentum that I’ve played all week.”

The results were staggering. Kim’s final round 63 was the low round of the day, tied for the lowest final-round score in KPMG Women’s PGA history. When the dust settled, she’d bested Park by a country mile (five strokes) en route to her first-ever major win.

In the end, the key to Kim’s victory was simple, but the outcome was overwhelming.

“She was just really untouchable, and she played really, really good golf today,” Park said. “I’d like to congratulate her. She had a great day. That’s how a champion plays a final round.”

The post This mental trick fueled Sei Young Kim’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship win appeared first on Golf.

The post At KPMG Women’s PGA, Laura Davies shows she’s still smashing appeared first on Golf.

The post At KPMG Women’s PGA, Laura Davies shows she’s still smashing appeared first on Golf.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Laura Davies was in the last group on the last day, just as she often was, in her long heyday. But now she’s 57 and the only reason she’s bringing up the rear is because she had one of the highest 54-hole scores and the tee times were organized to accommodate the programming needs of NBC Sports. That’s OK. Somebody has to pay the bills around here.

Davies had a four-putt double-bogey on 8 and a three-putt par on 9. As she walked to the 10th tee, she looked like she was ready to break something.

There was a wait there. Dame Laura — that’s a real thing, like Sir Nick — lifted her sand wedge by its flange half from her bag and smashed it back in place. One of her young playing partners, Xi Yu Lin, backed up a foot or two.

LD played third and last from the 10th tee, a short, downhill par-4. She smashed another drive, just as she had smashed a few dozen others over the course of her week, here at Aronimink, where the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship concluded on Sunday. She lofted a wedge in could-make range. This time, she two-putted.

“You hit it so good,” somebody said to Davies as she waited on the 11th tee.

News

Even though the event had no spectators, there were still a couple hundred people on site, a hilly Donald Ross design that is one of the best courses in greater Philadelphia, which makes it one of the best courses in the world. Its greens are vast and loaded with slope.

“If I could putt I’d be dangerous,” Davies said.

She opened an ice chest. There were bananas and apples and water, plus some good stuff. Dame Laura went for the good stuff: an orange Gatorade and a Twix bar. She and Lin — 24, from China — started chatting casually. The young golfer was playing with a legend and taking advantage of it.

Davies won the 1987 U.S. Open, the 1994 and ’96 PGA Championships, and scores of other times across the world. She was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015, alongside the long-dead A.W. Tillinghast. Tillinghast would have loved her. The famous course architect lived large, too, and fiddled some with the course Davies and Co. were playing. The men’s PGA Championship will be played at Aronimink in 2026.

Thirteen could play as a drivable par-4 for Bryson DeChambeau by then, if BDC is in the field and still packing heat. Davies brought a pitching wedge and a driver to the tee. She hammered the leading edge of the wedge into the turf, to create a tiny green hillock. She handed her wedge back to her caddie, a gent named Paul out of the Aronimink caddie yard, and placed her yellow ball on the top of her green mound. (She likes yellow because she can see the back of it in early-morning and late-afternoon light.) She then smashed a fade drive that went low and ran forever and left her an itty-bitty sand iron second shot. The drive had to be close to 300 yards. Lin was almost laughing as she asked Davies about the grass tee as they walked down the fairway.

On 15, a driving-distance-measuring hole, the volunteer doing the measuring, a retired engineer named John Dzurko, marked Davies down for a 280-yard poke. Only about 10 players were longer.

“And she’s the only one,” Dzurko said, “who acknowledged me every day. Just a tip of the cap.”

News

A tip of the visor, if you want to be technical about it. Davies has always been a visor lady. Her hair still spills out of it, as it always has, but now it’s a mélange of silver, gray, blonde and white. She was dressed in black and white. She uses a claw putting grip.

“Does it help?” somebody asked.

“Not really,” Davies said.

Noot rall-ee.

God bless the English. Nothing sounds ordinary, when they’re doing the talking.

As a Hall of Famer, Davies has a lifetime exemption on the LPGA Tour, as long as she plays 10 events a year. She does that every year, even though her putting game is, and let’s be polite here, not good, not really. Georgia Hall, the young English golfer, told Davies the other day that her putter head comes up too quickly after impact, but Davies reminded her that it’s easy to keep your head, and the putter head down, when you’re making putts and waiting for the sound of a falling golf ball.

Laura Davies last won an LPGA event in 2001. She won the U.S. Senior Open in 2018 by 10 shots. She made the cut at Aronimink, by a shot, by shooting 75-70, for 5-over. In the past five years, Davies has played in 15 majors and made two cuts. Her rounds at this PGA Championship were 75, 70, 75, 75. That adds up to 15-over. The winner, Sei Young Kim, was 14-under.

This won’t be Dame Laura’s final major. Whether it’s the final time she makes a cut in one only a swami can say.

The English golf legend went to the parking lot after signing her card and handed her American caddie a thick stack of U.S. notes. Cash is king. Every caddie knows that. A caddie with an English accent, a friend of Laura’s, ambled over. She’s always had a great rapport with the caddies. John Daly did, too. Davies and Daly won the 1999 JCPenney team event, in the last year it was played.

News

“He’s kind of crazy,” Davies said, good-naturedly, of Daly. She was taking off her soiled white FootJoys and throwing them in the back of her SUV. She put on black flats. “I enjoy things to excess, like he does, but maybe not to that degree. But if he wasn’t the free spirit he is, he probably would never have won. He’s struggling a bit now, but he had fun. I love him.”

She spoke to a reporter about her passing anger on the course. “I was extremely angry, to say the least,” she said. “Anger is a useful emotion, if you can control it. If your golf doesn’t mean anything, you’ll never do any good. You might make a check, but you’ll never win.”

Davies said she’ll continue to play her 10 tournaments a year, to keep her LPGA status. “If I start making putts, I’ll play 30 a year,” she said.

“The trouble with me is that my game is not as good as my mind,” she said. “In my mind, I still feel like I can compete.” But the game requires putting. Too much of golf is about putting. That’s just a fact.

This week, Davies figured, she spent about $8,000 and made $8,295 in prize money.

“Plus your yellow ball,” Davies’ caddie friend said. If you were as famous as Laura Davies, somebody would pay you to play a yellow ball, too. “Your pension.”

“Don’t mind him,” Dame Laura said. “He’s very rude.”

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael_Bamberger@GOLF.com

The post At KPMG Women’s PGA, Laura Davies shows she’s still smashing appeared first on Golf.

The post Sei Young Kim breaks through at KPMG Women’s PGA, wins first major championship appeared first on Golf.

The post Sei Young Kim breaks through at KPMG Women’s PGA, wins first major championship appeared first on Golf.

Sei Young Kim’s professional golf resume was already impressive, but after a clinical Sunday performance at Aronimink Golf Club she can finally add the most important bullet point of all — major champion.

Kim fired a flawless final-round  63 on a cool and cloudy day in the Philadelphia suburbs to claim the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, ultimately finishing five shots ahead of seven-time major champion Inbee Park. Kim’s final round was bogey-free as she navigated the testy Donald Ross routing with fearless aggression, carding seven birdies on the day to finish 14 under for the championship.

“This course is really challenging for all the players,” Kim said. “It’s really tough. Sometimes I’m shaking my head, or my legs are shaking. But I just tried to keep the focus on (winning).”

The closing 18 for Kim featured a potent mix of unflinching ball striking and timely putting as she kept mistakes at bay and capitalized on opportunities when they were presented. Her front nine featured birdies on Nos. 3, 6 and 9 and when she turned to the back nine, she punched the gas even more. Four back-nine birdies were highlighted by back-to-back circles on 16 and 17 to extend her lead to five over Park.

“I reached my big goal, so I’m very happy with that,” she said. “It means a lot … It’s very emotional. I’m very happy to win my first major tournament”

Park’s day was equally impressive as she posted 65 in pursuit of yet another major championship, but with Kim matching her blow for blow, there was never much opportunity to catch the 27-year-old. The solo-second finish is her 32nd top 10 in a major as she adds yet another chapter to her storied career.

“It was a great day out there — I couldn’t ask for a better day,” Park said. “Sei Young was just really untouchable … I’d like to congratulate her; she had a great day. That’s how a champion plays a final round.”

News

With the win, Kim takes home the largest winner’s check in Women’s PGA Championship history of $645,000 and pushes her career LPGA Tour earnings over $9 million. She also earns a five-year LPGA exemption and moves to fourth in the Race to the CME Globe.

Nasa Hataoka and Carlota Ciganda also had stellar Sundays as they posted 64 and 65 to finish T3 at seven under, while Anna Nordqvist and Brooke Henderson struggled in the final grouping alongside Kim, both firing over-par rounds to finish in fifth and sixth, respectively. The long-bombing Bianca Pagdanganan struggled on the final day, but she was able to post even par for the championship to finish T9 in her first career major.

Next up on the LPGA Tour docket is the Drive On Championship in two weeks, while the final major of 2020 looms in December at the U.S. Women’s Open at Houston’s Champions Golf Club.

The post Sei Young Kim breaks through at KPMG Women’s PGA, wins first major championship appeared first on Golf.