When the LPGA Big Apple Classic ends Sunday, many of the players will be heading to Europe where the tour's next two tournaments will be played.
Suzy Whaley will only have a 90-minute drive to the tournament of her lifetime, the Greater Hartford Open.
The 36-year-old club pro from Avon, Connecticut, qualified for the PGA Tour event last September, and she will be using the Big Apple Classic, which starts today at Wykagyl Country Club, as a final tuneup.
"This week is about playing the best competitive golf I can against the best female golfers in the world, and next week I'll take on the challenge of the best men in the world," Whaley said Wednesday.
The mother of two young daughters hasn't had many opportunities against LPGA players. This is her fourth tournament of the year on the tour, and she has missed two cuts and tied for 50th at the Giant Eagle Classic last month.
Still, Whaley, who is playing here on a sponsor's exemption, exudes confidence as her date with the men approaches.
"I played in a Futures event last week and had the lowest nine of my career, a 30. This is the best my game has been since last September," she said. "For me, this week is all about remaining composed on each shot, staying in my preshot routine. I'm really working hard this week on my concentration.''
When Annika Sorenstam played in the Colonial on the PGA Tour in May, she didn't have much to fall back on as she was the first woman to play in a PGA event in 58 years. Whaley joins that exclusive club about 58 days after Sorenstam missed the cut.
"What I would take the most from her experience is how she handled herself. She looked calm. She didn't look rushed," said Whaley, who played on the tour for two years in the early 1990s. "I can learn a lot from her demeanor, her charisma. She looked like she was enjoying herself and I hope to do the same."
The LPGA field Whaley faces this week isn't star-studded because of many players are getting ready for the Evian Masters in France next week and then the Women's British Open, the last of the tour's four majors.
Sorenstam, a two-time champion here and the tour's leading money-winner, is skipping this week. Three of the top 10 players on the earnings list are in the field: Grace Park (2nd), Angela Stanford (8th) and Rachel Teske (10th).
Beth Daniel, No. 11 on the money list and fresh off last week's historic win at the Canadian Women's Open, is second to Whaley in drawing pre-tournament attention.
Daniel's victory in Vancouver, British Columbia, was her first on tour in eight years and it made her the oldest LPGA champion ever. Daniel, 46, won the Big Apple in 1994, one of 33 victories in her Hall of Fame career.
Last year's Big Apple was a special win for Gloria Park. She beat fellow South Korea native Hee-Won Han on the first playoff hole for her second career win. This year has been a struggle for the 23-year-old. Her best finish was a tie for 14th and she has missed the cut the last three weeks.
"Last year, I didn't want to come to this tournament and then I won," she said. "I changed my caddie earlier this year and since then I have lost my confidence. I feel because I won last year, I feel more confident and hopefully I'll play a little better this week."
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two