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Whoa, Nelly! Korda makes it 2 straight wins for her family

Whoa, Nelly! Korda makes it 2 straight wins for her family

Nelly Korda followed in big sister's footsteps with a three-shot victory that looked easier than it felt. “Yeah, Jess' win, I was like, ‘OK, I got to get one now,’" Korda said. But it's nice to get back-to-back Korda wins now.”More than just matching her sister, Korda won for the first time on American soil. Sorenstam finished 29 shots behind Korda, who won by three over Lexi Thompson and Lydia Ko. Korda made sure of that with a steady diet of pars and picking up enough birdies when she needed them.

Nelly Korda leads LPGA as Sorenstam falls to bottom of pack

Nelly Korda leads LPGA as Sorenstam falls to bottom of pack

Sorenstam, playing for the first time in more than 12 years after retiring, had no expectations and no excuses. That put her in last place by four shots, 22 shots behind Korda. “Any time you can get ahead of the pack going into Sunday is a positive,” Korda said. Not going to lie, coming down the stretch, those putts were a little shaky.”But she made them, and she's in great position going for her first LPGA Tour victory. “Normally, I hit the ball straight, and today was everything but straight,” Sorenstam said.

Column: Back in time on LPGA for Sorenstam and Yani Tseng

Column: Back in time on LPGA for Sorenstam and Yani Tseng

The surprise decision was still fresh three weeks later when 19-year-old Yani Tseng won her first major. Sorenstam turned 50 in October and has not competed on the LPGA Tour since the final event of 2008. She also played the LPGA Tour season opener last month, although Sorenstam was part of the celebrity division. When she won the Kia Classic in March 2012 for her 15th LPGA Tour title, she was four points short of the LPGA Hall of Fame. Tseng played five times over the second half of 2020 on the Taiwan LPGA, missing one cut and failing to finish in the top 25.

PGA Tour's top 2 rules officials retiring after long careers

PGA Tour's top 2 rules officials retiring after long careers

White’s father was a stickler for the rules, and White thought he knew them well when he decided to join the PGA Tour. His most memorable ruling was among the more famous on the PGA Tour. Also, Mike Peterson, Pete Lis and Jordan Harris are moving from the Korn Ferry Tour to the PGA Tour as rules officials. The tour said that became the top-performing tweet for the PGA Tour, also surpassing the Masters graphic. Im then finished out his year by flying to Dubai for the DP World Tour Championship on the European Tour.

A Lim Kim wins US Women's Open debut with record-tying rally

A Lim Kim wins US Women's Open debut with record-tying rally

A Lim Kim, of South Korea, kisses the championship trophy after winning the U.S. Women's Open golf tournament, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, in Houston. The U.S. Women's Open, with its reputation as the toughest test, was a major she had never played. No one had ever started in a position that far back and won the U.S. Women's Open. The cold weather, the mud-splotched golf balls and the U.S. Women's Open test helped keep her mind from wandering. A two-time winner on the Korean LPGA, Kim got into the U.S. Women's Open off the world ranking when the pandemic kept the USGA from conducting open qualifying.

Shibuno passes big test and hangs on to lead in Women's Open

Shibuno passes big test and hangs on to lead in Women's Open

Hinako Shibuno, of Japan, fist bumbs fellow players after her round of golf during the third round of the U.S. Women's Open golf tournament, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)HOUSTON – Hinako Shibuno passed a big test Saturday in a classic U.S. Women's Open that put a premium on par, keeping the lead with a 3-over 74 going into a final round at Champions Golf Club that figures to be the toughest of all. Shibuno was at 4-under 209 as she bids to become only the third player to make majors their first two LPGA Tour titles. The others were In Gee Chun (2015 U.S. Women's Open and 2016 Evian Championship and Se Ri Pak, who won the LPGA Championship and U.S. Women's Open in 1998. Shibuno won the Women's British Open last year at Woburn, and declined to take up LPGA membership because she didn't think she was ready.

No longer a surprise, Shibuno leads by 3 at US Women's Open

No longer a surprise, Shibuno leads by 3 at US Women's Open

Hinako Shibuno, of Japan, smiles after putting on the 17th green during the second round of the U.S. Women's Open golf tournament in Houston, Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. That was bright as ever Friday as the Japanese star posted a 4-under 67 and opened a three-shot lead going into the weekend of the U.S. Women's Open. She looked the part of a major champion at the U.S. Women's Open, where the forecast of rain and strong wind never quite materialized. The USGA used two courses for the first time because the pandemic forced the Women's Open to be postponed six months to December with limited daylight. Kerr played bogey-free at Jackrabbit and shot 69, and the 43-year-old former Open champion says the injury at least has tempered her expectation.

Olson comes up aces and takes 1-shot lead in Women's Open

Olson comes up aces and takes 1-shot lead in Women's Open

Amy Olson watches her shot off the third tee during the first round of the U.S. Women's Open golf tournament in Houston, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. For the first time, two courses are being used for the opening rounds because of the limited daylight by postponing the premier event in women's golf to December. She figured it would be a long shot to be in the U.S. Women's Open this year when the USGA had to scrap qualifying because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And then when golf resumed, Popov earned a spot in the Women's British Open and won at Royal Troon. And now she's already in the mix at the U.S. Women's Open, along with so many others.

Sophia Popov shoots 64 to lead Pelican Women’s Championship

Sophia Popov shoots 64 to lead Pelican Women’s Championship

Haley Moore tees off on the first hole during the first round of the LPGA Pelican Women's Championship golf tournament Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020, in Belleair, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)BELLEAIR, Fla. – Women's British Open winner Sophia Popov left top-ranked playing partner Jin Young Ko and everyone else behind Thursday in the Pelican Women’s Championship. Popov shot a 6-under 64 in windy conditions to take a two-stroke lead over Ashleigh Buhai, with Ko eight shots behind after a 72 in her first LPGA Tour start of the year. Ally McDonald, playing alongside Popov and Ko in an afternoon threesome, was at 67 with Women’s PGA champion Sei Young Kim, the No. U.S. Women’s Open champion Jeongeun Lee6, also making her return to the LPGA Tour, had a double bogey and two bogeys in a 73. She last played the Women’s Australian Open in February before the tour began shutting down its Asia swing because of the pandemic.

Mel Reid hopes to keep the party going at Women's PGA

Mel Reid hopes to keep the party going at Women's PGA

Reid, a 33-year-old from England, is among the contenders to win the Women’s PGA Championship at Aronimink. This is where Gary Player won his first PGA Championship in 1962, by one shot over Bob Goalby. Reid is a six-time winner on the Ladies European Tour but she was more than overdue for an LPGA Tour title. Last year, Hannah Green used a steely performance down the stretch at Hazeltine to make the Women's PGA her first career victory. She hopes to use the lessons learned there to be able to secure a second straight major championship.

Mirim Lee wins a stunner in a playoff at the ANA Inspiration

Mirim Lee wins a stunner in a playoff at the ANA Inspiration

Chiu)RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Mirim Lee chipped in three times Sunday, the last one for eagle on the final hole that got her into a three-way playoff at the ANA Inspiration that she won on the first extra hole with a birdie. Her birdie putt missed on the left side. Lee hit 5-wood just over the back of the putting surface, chipped to 5 feet and made the winner. The Canadian took her only lead on the 12th hole when Korda made bogey, and it didn't last long. Henderson's 8-foot birdie putt curled in the left side of the cup on No.

Kang beats desert heat and shares early lead in LPGA major

Kang beats desert heat and shares early lead in LPGA major

Kang, who won two straight in Ohio when the LPGA Tour resumed after five months because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is projected to take over at No. Early tee times typically are favorable because the greens are smooth and the wind is not as strong. Her sister, Brittany, was among caddies who took advantage of a policy allowing them to drive carts because of the extreme heat. Kang drilled a 5-iron from 191 yards that landed in the middle of the green and rolled toward the pin. A woman sitting on a hill by the green screamed out, “Get in the hole!” Kang had no trouble identifying who it was.

Mission Hills familiar place in an familiar spot on schedule

Mission Hills familiar place in an familiar spot on schedule

Lewis is one of the past champions playing this week in the ANA Inspiration in California. Ko, who has played three times on the Korean LPGA this year, likely wont see an LPGA event his year. The ANA Inspiration presents an opportunity for Nelly Korda, who reached No. 2 and looking for her second majorKang has experience on Mission Hills that dates to her junior days, including one she thought she was going to win. This is her first LPGA event since November, and only her second event this year she played once on the Korean LPGA.

Danielle Kang wins at Inverness in LPGA return to golf

Danielle Kang wins at Inverness in LPGA return to golf

Danielle Kang follows through on her drive on the fourth hole during the third and final round of the LPGA Drive On Championship golf tournament Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020, at Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)TOLEDO, Ohio – Danielle Kang was away from the LPGA Tour for six months during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is not to suggest she was without competition. It paid off Sunday when Kang closed with a 2-under 70 and held on for a one-shot victory over Celine Boutier in the LPGA Drive On Championship at Inverness, the first LPGA Tour event since February. “I made sure I played golf as much as I did normally, not because I had to but because I wanted to,” Kang said. The LPGA Tour stays in northeast Ohio next week for the Marathon Classic.

LPGA returns with Kang posting 66 at Inverness for the lead

LPGA returns with Kang posting 66 at Inverness for the lead

Danielle Kang hits her tee-shot on the eighth hole during the first round of the LPGA Drive On Championship golf tournament at Inverness Golf Club in Toledo, Ohio, Friday, July 31, 2020. The LPGA Tour’s much-awaited return from the COVID-19 pandemic brought an immediate sense of its new world. The LPGA Tour remains in northeast Ohio next week before heading to Scotland. The lone Korean among the top 10 -- a rarity given the country’s strength in women’s golf -- was Hee Young Park at 70. Definitely had a really good attitude, and it was really fun to be back.”The LPGA Tour is not allowing spectators, though that wasn’t a problem for Kang.