“I don’t think I was this nervous when I was going for a major championship”, said Park, who carried a thumb injury into the tournament.
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“I am feeling very happy”, Thitiphun, who claimed his breakthrough title in Bangladesh earlier this year, said in an Asian Tour statement. “But I was able to scramble, get up-and-down a couple of times that really saved my round and then finished really strong”.
Jutanugarn almost had her first victory come in a major at the ANA Inspiration earlier this year only to blow a two-shot lead over the final three holes and finish fourth while Ko celebrated.
Park has earned the 27 points needed to gain entrance into the Hall of Fame. A completed round was all that was necessary to fulfill the Hall of Fame’s bookkeeping regulations of 10 events in her 10th season. Her lone previous career title on the LPGA Tour also came in the Pacific Northwest – an eight-shot victory at the Cambia Portland Classic in 2015. More likely, though, it’s because if Park completes her round, she will have met the final criterion for induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame. The 27-year-old Park will become eligible for the LPGA Hall of Fame at the completion of the round, making her the youngest player in tour history to reach the eligibility threshold and the first since Se Ri Pak in 2007.
Park was tied for second at 2 under after rolling in a 20-foot birdie putt on the ninth. Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, who has won her past three tournaments, birdied two of her final holes to finish in a large group of players at 1 under. Vijay Singh bogeyed the par-4 18th to fall a stroke back along with Jeff Sluman, Brandt Jobe and Bart Bryant. Christina with birdies on three of her last seven holes posted her score of two under par. Lydia Ko will be going after her third straight major.
The 18-year-old Canadian recorded a hole-in-one during the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on Thursday at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington.
On No. 17, her tee shot at the 160-yard par 3 barely cleared the pond, but kicked up and rolled 3 feet past the cup.
Little wind and perfect-though-fast greens created near ideal scoring conditions at the TPC Southwind. “It’s definitely the utmost gift that I’ve had as a professional golfer”.
But a rollercoaster five-hole stretch in the middle of the back nine saw him go birdie, bogey, double bogey, birdie, birdie.
“A lot of the girls are playing good golf”.
Dustin Johnson, the 2012 champ, was in the group at 66 with Steve Stricker, Jamie Donaldson, Colt Knost, Brian Gay and Miguel Angel Carballo.
Lydia Ko follows her tee shot on the 12th hole during the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
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Since the tour added a fifth major in 2013, some skeptics have disputed the legitimacy of Park’s slam because she hasn’t won that new major, the Evian Championship.
