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© Getty Pictures Sport – Sam Hodde / Stringer
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South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim began Sunday with a five-shot lead and gave nobody an opportunity, closing with a 69 for the day, to win The Ascendant LPGA at -13, with a four-shot lead. Bianca Pagdanganan, the good participant from the Philippines, closed with a 65 and tied for second with Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul, who turned in a 65 for the day to complete at -9.
“A five-shot lead looks as if a snug lead, however I did my greatest to keep up this lead till the tip,” Kim mentioned. Lexi Thompson and Australian Sarah Kemp have been closest to Kim on the ultimate lap. Kemp closed with a 69 and tied for fourth, whereas the American star carded a 70 for the day, earlier than shifting on to the PGA Tour in Las Vegas subsequent week.
Hyo Joo Kim, outcomes
Thompson completed in fifth place, six strokes behind (-7), however regardless of that, she mentioned she was happy with the progress she had made. That is her second consecutive prime 10, after a complete season with out outcomes of this kind.
The occasion was Kim’s present at Previous American Golf Membership. She traded birdies and bogeys on the entrance 9, after which she collected two birdies on the again 9, to safe the victory. She completed in thirteenth and earned $270,000, incomes her sixth profession victory on the LPGA, along with 14 titles on the LPGA in Korea.
Katherine Muzi closed out her LPGA Tour debut with a 68 as a “Monday qualifier”. She tied for seventh, eight strokes behind the chief. “Now I’ll have some more cash to spend and I can use it to construct my dream after which I hope to have the ability to play different tournaments, enhance after which take part in different LPGA tournaments,” she mentioned on the finish of The Ascendant LPGA.
The LPGA Tour champions journey from Arkansas to Texas for one closing event in the USA earlier than a four-tournament collection in Asia. A event steeped in historical past, The Ascendant LPGA, benefiting Volunteers of America, has seen most of the greatest names within the business – Inbee Park, Stacy Lewis and Angela Stanford simply to call a number of carry the Kathy Whitworth trophy.
The sphere is filled with gamers able to win, so just one factor is for certain: whoever wins this week in Texas will etch their identify in LPGA historical past. Charley Hull had only a week off after serving to Staff Europe win their third consecutive Solheim Cup, however returning to The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America after final 12 months’s victory hasn’t been straightforward for the Englishman.
Hull received the tenth occasion by one shot, making a closing birdie on the seventeenth to take residence the Kathy Whitworth trophy and a brand new pair of cowboy boots. The 27-year-old is having fun with arguably her greatest Tour season since her debut in 2015 and appears able to defend her title.
Whereas defending a title is a troublesome job, it seems Hull is the higher participant for the job and even when it would not come this week, with the best way she’s taking part in, a 3rd LPGA title will not be capable of elude her for for much longer.
Because the season attracts to a detailed, there may be rather more at stake than trophies. The Ascendant LPGA, benefiting Volunteers of America, is the penultimate full area occasion on the schedule and for a lot of will probably be the penultimate probability to get a ticket to the CME Group Tour Championship or to maintain their LPGA Tour card.
Solely the highest 60 of the Race to CME Globe standings will take part within the CME Group Tour Championship. Yuna Nishimura started Friday’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship ranked No. 81 within the Race to CME Globe, however her third-place end final week moved her as much as 61st within the rankings, giving her an incredible alternative to play at Tiburon Golf Membership.
The six-time JLPGA winner will look to maintain that momentum going this week and to search out not less than one placement that enables it to enter the highest 60. Whereas the sphere of 132 gamers boasts majors and LPGA winners, this week there shall be one determine who stands out above all others.
A longtime ambassador for The Ascendant LPGA to learn Volunteers of America, Kathy Whitworth shall be honored all through the week at Previous American Golf Membership within the occasion’s first since her passing in December 2022. Whitworth’s 88 victories are essentially the most wins ever on any skilled golf circuit, and whereas his loss shall be felt all through the sport for years to return, his absence this week shall be particularly poignant.
For eight years, Whitworth has introduced the trophy bearing her identify to the winner of The Ascendant LPGA to learn Volunteers of America, and this 12 months her signature was added
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