Two years after earning low-amateur honours at Mission Hills Country Club, 2020/21 LPGA Tour rookie Patty Tavatankit became a major champion at the ANA Inspiration after a final-round 68 to end at eighteen-under.
Benjamin Hebert birdied the final hole late in the day to steal the first-round lead at the Magical Kenya Open presented by Johnnie Walker, the Frenchman carding a seven-under-par round of 64 to take a one-stroke advantage ahead of a packed leaderboard at Karen Country Club.
Two players have separated themselves from the field in the LPGA Drive On Championship presented by Volvik at Golden Ocala, as Austin Ernst holds a one-shot advantage over Jennifer Kupcho at thirteen-under-par overall. It all sets up for a showdown on Sunday in Marion County at Golden Ocala Golf & Equestrian Club.
When Nelly Korda’s final putt dropped at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club, the emotions took over. Tears welled in her eyes, as she realised the day’s reward. The 22-year-old had won her fourth victory on the LPGA Tour since joining in 2017 at the Gainbridge LPGA, after what she coined a “stressful” day.
Lake Nona Golf & Country Club member Lydia Ko continued to show her liking for her home course at the Gainbridge LPGA, taking the 36-hole lead on ten-under-par. In contrast to her eagle start in round one Ko opened the second day with a bogey on the 10th hole but quickly bounced back.
The stage is set for a Sunday showdown at the inaugural Aramco Saudi Ladies International Presented by PIF, with Welsh star Lydia Hall and Denmark’s Emily Kristine Pedersen locked together at ten-under-par after rounds of 69 (-3) and 71 (-1) respectively. I’m pretty happy with the result and I’m looking forward to playing with the same group tomorrow again – it’s going to be fun.”
Charley Hull has today confirmed her spot in Saudi Arabia’s ‘women’s week of golf’ – joining Major-winning Solheim Cup teammate Georgia Hall as one of the headline names competing in next month’s “unprecedented” $1.5million events. The 24-year old will head to the Middle East seeking her second win in the region, having come out on top in Abu Dhabi’s Fatima Bint Mubarak Open last year.
Trial by television was with us again at the Bay Hill Classic on Thursday. No Patrick Reed this time but rather the squeaky-clean Justin Rose. Rose had a tricky chip from the back of the 11th which he ran some 10 feet past the pin but did he move the ball at address?
Ok as nobody else seems to be doing it, I am going to come out and defend the seemingly indefensible, or at the very worst add a bit of perspective. Hank Hainey made a pretty unwise statement and was clearly mistaken in taking what might be described as ‘locker room humour’ to the airways. But, was he being ‘racist, xenophobic, and sexist’ as stated by the PGA Tour’s lawyers?
Get ready folks there is a new handicapping system on its way. For those across the pond things will not be much different but for golfers in the UK, and to a slightly lesser extent Europe, there is a fair bit changing. The new World Handicap System will be introduced in the USA and dozens of other countries in January 2020 with the changes coming to the UK, Sweden, Portugal and Italy in November.
Colin Montgomerie won the Champions Tour’s Invesco QQQ Championship last weekend, but the big story was one Billy Mayfair and the breaking of not one but two rules of golf. The story does not paint Mr Mayfair in a good light and the same must be said about the Champions Tour who seem to be trying to sweep the incidents under the carpet.
Everyone loves Beef Johnson, what’s not to like? He is a lovely chap and is nice to everyone both on and off the course and boy can he play golf. That’s why it was sad to see Beef’s loss of form and subsequently learn that this great bloke from London was struggling mentally. In this, Men’s Mental Health Month, we really enjoyed watching the video of Beef and Tubes, the Soccer AM presenter, playing a few holes and chatting about mental health and other stuff.
