World No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan closed with an eagle to fire a five-under-par 66 and grab a share of the lead after Friday’s first round of the 54-hole LPGA Northwest Arkansas Championship.
Defending champion Tseng, seeking her eighth worldwide triumph of the year and 10th career LPGA victory in the US$2 million event, was level atop the field with local heroine Stacy Lewis, who birdied three of the final four holes.
“I just focus on every shot,” Tseng said. “I don’t feel like I need to win this because I won last year. Every year is different. All the great players improve from the last year, so you never know. All you can do is do your best, have a good attitude and then enjoy.”
Photo: AFP
At 22, Tseng became the youngest golfer, man or woman, to win a fifth career major title by capturing last month’s Women’s British Open. She leads the LPGA money list, Player of Year race and owns the LPGA’s lowest average score for the season.
Tseng’s round free of bogies at Pinnacle Country Club included birdies at the par-five seventh and par-four eighth, as well as another birdie at the par-five 14th.
Lewis, who attended the nearby University of Arkansas, birdied the par-three sixth and began the back nine with another. She birdied the par-threee 15th and 17th holes and closed with a birdie at the par-five 18th to match Tseng at the top.
Britain’s Karen Stupples, South Korean Pak Jin-Young and Taylor Leon, seeking her first LPGA triumph, shared third on 67.
Stupples, whose two career titles came in 2004, birdied the par-five second and seventh holes around a birdie at the par-four fourth and she added a birdie at the par-three 15th to grab a share of second.
Leon’s bogey-free round began with back-to-back birdies. She added another birdie at the par-four 12th hole and her last at the 14th hole to finish on 67.
Leon posted the best finish of her four-year LPGA career at this event two years ago with a share of sixth. She has missed the cut in four of her eight events this season and cracked the top 60 only once.
Pak, who began on the back nine, took a bogey at the par-three 11th hole, but birdied the par-three 17th. After another bogey at the par-three third she birdied the next five holes and closed with a par to stand one stroke adrift of the leaders.
After letting another big lead slip with an error-strewn performance at the French Open on Wednesday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka felt like getting as far away from the courts as possible. “Just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka said after wasting a lead of a set and two breaks in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss to Diana Shnaider in the women’s singles quarter-finals. “We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.” Sabalenka’s wait for a first French Open title continues despite the four-time major winner leading 4-1 in the second set and being two points from victory while
BIG NAMES GONE: Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title, reaching semi-finals for the fifth time in six years and finishing second on three occasions Alexander Zverev on Tuesday breezed past Rafael Jodar to stay on course for an elusive Grand Slam title at the French Open, while Jakub Mensik halted Joao Fonseca’s scintillating run in the quarter-finals. Zverev, the highest-ranked player left in the men’s draw, put an end to Spanish teenager Jodar’s impressive Roland Garros debut, easing into the semi-finals with a 7-6, (7/3), 6-1, 6-3 win. The 29-year-old Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title. He has finished runner-up on three occasions, including at the 2024 French Open. “I want to win the matches that are ahead of
Liverpool are in advanced talks with former AFC Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola as they seek a replacement for Arne Slot, reports said on Tuesday. Iraola has emerged as Liverpool’s top target to replace Slot, who was sacked on Saturday last week after a turbulent second season in charge. Liverpool have reportedly agreed a deal in principle to bring the Spaniard, who left Bournemouth at the end of this season, to Anfield. Sporting director Richard Hughes was heavily involved in hiring Iraola during his time at Bournemouth and is again spearheading the recruitment of the highly rated coach. The Reds are
US President Donald Trump said he would attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday at Madison Square Garden, but said he does not have much sympathy for ordinary basketball fans who cannot afford sky-high ticket prices to do the same. “They can watch it on television,” Trump said aboard Air Force One on Friday as he flew to Wisconsin for an event with farmers, after he was asked about tickets that have climbed as high as US$8,000 each when the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs square off in Manhattan for the first time in the series. “It’s sorta
RSS