Category: LPGA

South Korean native Grace Park shot a 7-under par 65 on Sunday to win the CJ Nine Bridges Classic by five strokes. Coming off a final-round collapse two weeks ago, Park closed this one in style, saying “I can’t describe my happiness with words.”

Park, who described her play as “really good today,” and her eight birdies in the final round helped her to repel the likes of Annika Sorenstam, who beat her two weeks ago at the Samsung. Sorenstam carded a 67 to finish in a tie for second with fellow Swede Carin Koch at 200. Defending champion Ahn Shi-hyun shared fourth place with Lorena Ochoa and Jeong Jang, six strokes off the pace.

This tournament was conducted at Jeju Island, South Korea. Stops on next year’s LPGA Tour include Mexico, Canada, and South Korea as well.

After just one season on the LPGA tour, Isabelle Beisiegel is ready to try the PGA tour. She has paid the $4,500 entry fee for the PGA Tour qualifying tournament that starts October 19th on the Greg Norman course at PGA West in La Quinta, CA.

Don’t get your hopes up, however. Isabelle tried to qualify for both the Nissan Open and the Buick Invitational this year, but didn’t even come close.

Get all the juicy stats and other details in the AP report.

Natalie Gulbis: the sexiest woman on the LPGA tour? To some. I’d take Laura Diaz any day of the week. Or Grace Park. Or… well, you get the idea. There’s something about a female golfer that just seems to appeal to us.

If you’re in the mood for female golfers in non-golf attire, visit Natalie Gulbis’ FHM Covergirls page or her own site at nataliegulbis.com. Here’s a teaser:

Annika Sorenstam captured the Samsung World Championship by three strokes over three-round leader Grace Park, who held a three-shot lead going into the final round. Sorenstam ended with a closing 67 to finish at 270 (-18) to Park’s 73 (273, -15). Lorena Ochoa finished two strokes further back at 275 (-13).

Sorenstam birdied only one hole on the front nine, but hung around long enough for Park to blow up. Following a chip-in for eagle at the 15th, Sorenstam birdied 17 to take the lead and parred 18. Park parred 14, 15, and 16 and bogeyed 13, 17, and 18 to lose the tournament.

This victory marked Sorenstam’s 54th career win and her sixth of the year. Se Ri Pak continued to suck it up, shooting a final-round 78 in the blustery conditions. This followed a third-round 80 and put her at +15 for the final score. Michelle Wie finished with a 70 and ended at -5 for the championship. Defending champion Sophie Gustafson finished with a 71 to stand alone in fourth with a 277, and Cristie Kerr, who played in the final group Sunday and who putted a ball 20 yards off the green during the round’s 11th hole, shot a 75 to finish at 278, eight strokes behind Sorenstam.

Grace Park, despite a bogey on the last hole Saturday, leads the 20-player field at the Samsung World Championship by three strokes over fan favorite Cristie Kerr and the best female player in the world Annika Sorenstam. Mexican heroine Lorena Ochoa is one further back. One behind her: defending champion Sophie Gustafson, Hall-of-Famer Juli Inkster, and Catriona Matthew, who shot a first-round 64.

Grace Park grabbed the lead in the first round at Bighorn Golf Club and set a new 18-hole tournament record at 10-under 62. She shot a 5-under 67 on the second day to set a new 36-hole record and open a four-shot gap. Her 71 (-1) in round three slimmed the gap to three but again established a new tournament record at 200, previously established at 201 by her two closest trailers, Annika Sorenstam and Cristie Kerr, in 2002.

Continue reading “Park Leads Samsung”

What do you call someone who’s played in relative obscurity for most of her professional career, only to surge to shoot a blisteringly-hot 11-under 60 in California?

Anna Acker-Macosko.

Starting the day off tied for 40th place at 2-under, Anna Acker-Macosko came out of nowhere to equal her career-best finish (T5) at the Longs Drugs Challenge in Auburn, California. Today’s finish is also only her fifth top-ten of her career, but her second this year. She was joined in fifth place by Jeong Jang, who posted an equally impressive nine-under 62.

Of greater importance, however, was the collapse of Leta Lindley (67-67-65-76), who fell from the lead to end up tied for 13th after posting a final-round 76. That left the door open for Christina Kim to leapfrog Julie Inkster‘s 68 and hold off Karrie Webb‘s final-round 64 to win the Longs Drugs Challenge, her first career win since joining the tour last year.

The Golf Blog points out that Annika won yet another tournament: her 5th LPGA victory and her 7th overall this year. What’s more incredible is that Annika’s won at least five events in each of the last five years. Sorenstam’s 53rd victory moves her to within two wins of Betsy Rawls, who sits in fourth place on the all-time wins list.

Paula Creamer, 18, is going to remain an amateur for now, says ESPN. Paula will compete as an amateur in the LPGA Q-School in order to compete in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Puerto Rico in October. By remaining an amateur, Paula also preserves the option to compete in college if she fails to get her card.

Paula Creamer finished T13 (with Wie) in the US Women’s Open and 2nd at the Shoprite LPGA Classic in June. LPGA Q-School begins September 21.

Minea Blomqvist, a Finnish 19 year old carded the lowest round ever in a major tournament, a 10-under 62 in the third round of the Women’s British Open.

Now normally, I could give two shits about anything happening in a women’s tournament, but this deserves some special attention. This is history, as only five women and 21 men have shot 63s in the majors. I shot a 62 the other day too… at my 9-hole Muni.