The LPGA Tour is hitting the meat of its schedule with three major championships taking place in the next six weeks, starting with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which tees off Thursday at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco in Frisco, Texas.
South Korea’s Amy Yang is the defending champion.
It’s the last major championship that will be played in the U.S. this season. The Amundi Evian Championship will be played in France on July 10-13, followed by the AIG Women’s Open in Wales on July 31-Aug. 3.
Here are some of the storylines to watch in Frisco this week:
Can Nelly end her winless drought?
A year ago, world No. 1 golfer Nelly Korda had already won six times before the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, including her second major victory at the Chevron Championship. She collected seven wins in 2024 after finishing first in The Annika in November.
This season, she’s still searching for her first victory. She hasn’t played poorly, finishing in the top 10 in four of her nine starts and tying for second in last month’s U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.
“Yeah, it’s golf,” Korda said. “Every year is just so different. Last year coming into this event, I had [six] wins. I think even Hannah Green had multiple wins under her belt too coming into this event.
“It’s just golf. You kind of just have to ride the wave, and the competition is getting better and better every year. To win once, to win twice, it’s really good.”
There hasn’t been a repeat winner in 15 LPGA Tour events this season, and Japan’s Mao Siago and Sweden’s Maja Stark were first-time major champions at the Chevron Championship and U.S. Women’s Open, respectively.
Korda was in the mix in the U.S. Women’s Open until the very end, finishing 5-under 283, two strokes behind Stark. Korda led the field in strokes gained: off the tee (+1.82) and was fifth in approach (+1.67) but she was 52nd in putting (-.42).
“I think it just makes you hungrier,” Korda said. “For me, I hate making mistakes; obviously, I love winning. You don’t get to win often, but there’s nothing like being in contention, so I think that’s kind of what makes me hungrier to come back and to work harder and put myself into that position.
“At the end of the day, I did put myself into that position. I was still in contention and feeling the adrenaline rush on 18, trying to win a major championship. That’s the reason why I play this game, and I love it so much.”
Thitikul eyeing world No. 1
While Korda has yet to finish first this season, world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul has already captured victories on both the Ladies European Tour (PIF Saudi Ladies International on Feb. 15) and LPGA Tour (Mizuho Americas Open on May 11).
The 22-year-old will attempt to win her first major championship this week. If Thitikul does, she’ll inch even closer to Korda as world No. 1 golfer. Thitikul, from Thailand, was the 2022 LPGA Rookie of the Year and was briefly ranked No. 1 in the world that season.
Her best finish in a major was solo fourth at the 2022 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.
“Never thought I was going to reach No. 1 in the world when I was 19,” Thitikul said. “But now No. 2 in the world, I still feel the same how I put the work [in] because I feel like [no matter what number I am], my job is the same.”
Thitikul, who lives in the Dallas area, leads the LPGA in strokes gained: total (2.70) and is second in scoring average (69.1).
She has six top-10s in 10 starts and missed only one cut, which is a big reason why she leads the LPGA’s seasonlong points race.
“Every major I just want to make the cut, to be honest,” Thitikul said. “It would be really great to win it, and definitely I can tell that it would be like everyone’s dreams to win a major. To me, what I have now under my belt. I’m pretty happy with all I’ve achieved. If I can get it, it would be great, but if not, I don’t have anything to regret about.”
New venue for Women’s PGA Championship
It’s the first time the world’s best women’s golfers have competed at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, one of two courses at the PGA of America’s new home.
The course hosted the 2023 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in May 2023, and Steve Stricker defeated Padraig Harrington in a playoff with a winning 72-hole total of 18-under 270.
The course, designed by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, will host the Women’s PGA Championship in 2025 and 2031, and the men’s PGA Championship in 2027 and 2034.
“I feel like this kind of golf course, it’s dictated a lot by what time of the year you play,” said three-time major champion Lydia Ko. “It’s not that firm and fast yet, and I think there may be a little bit of rain in the forecast. So I think the course is probably going to play a lot longer than maybe how the senior men played it a couple years ago.”
It figures to be hot and dry after Thursday’s opening round. Weather forecasts call for highs in the low and mid-90s with southerly winds from 10-18 mph.
“I think it all plays pretty difficult depending on the wind,” Korda said. “All the par 5s are pretty much three-shot holes for me, so just dialing in. The downwind holes, I think are going to play probably the hardest just because it’s quite hard to hold the green. If you do hit it a little bit short with that fluffy Bermuda, it kind of just stays, so you can’t play for a run-up.”
Chasing down Annika
At only 28, Ko is already the youngest member of the LPGA Hall of Fame. She’s a 23-time winner on the LPGA Tour, a 38-time winner around the world and the reigning Olympic gold medalist in women’s golf.
With another victory or two, Ko could also pass 10-time major champion Annika Sorenstam in career earnings on the LPGA Tour. Sorenstam won a whopping 72 times and earned about $22.6 million before retiring after the 2008 season.
“In [a way], it’s unfair because she’s won 70-something times,” Ko said. “I’m proud of my 23, and I’m hoping to have a few more by the time I’m done. We are just playing in a very different era.”
Ko has already earned about $20.8 million since turning pro in 2013.
“I think I’ve said multiple times in women’s golf and women’s sports in general, we’re just on such a high,” Ko said. “I think it’s very fortunate in this generation to be able to ride it.
“I’m very lucky to be born in this era, so it’s kind of hard in the sense of being even compared to Annika, who has done much more than me. I think that’s why it’s our duty as players, or just the whole organization, to be able to keep growing it and give more opportunities for the future generations and the kids that are coming out here to watch us play.”
Happy for Spaun
It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks for Stark since she held off Korda and others at Erin Hills to capture the biggest victory of her career. The former Oklahoma State golfer is now ranked sixth in the world.
She took last week off to let the gravity sink in. Stark said she didn’t cry after winning, but she did shed some tears when J.J. Spaun captured his first major with a 65½-foot putt on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club outside Pittsburgh on Sunday.
“I cried after J.J. Spaun won because I was so excited for him,” Stark said. “Just like when you see the reaction and how happy he was, hearing he almost quit last year and just like him crying, finishing with two birdies and finishing in this fashion, that was just crazy.
“Seeing his kids, you know, hug him. That just makes me emotional for anyone. I’m just like a little crybaby.”
Source: espn.com