Feng Shanshan became the first Chinese golfer to win a major by firing a bogey-free five-under 67 on Sunday to capture the LPGA Championship by two strokes.
The 22-year-old from Beijing, who began playing golf at age 10 and went to the US as a teen before joining the LPGA in 2008, took her first career LPGA triumph by finishing 72 holes at Locust Hill Country Club on six-under 282.
“I still can’t believe that I won a major. It just feels so good,” Feng said. “I’m just so excited right now. I did it.”
Photo: Reuters
Japan’s Mika Miyazato, Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, Stacy Lewis of the US and South Korean Ji Eun-hee shared second on 284.
“My goal for the year was to win on the LPGA Tour and a top 10 in a major. I did them at one time,” Feng said.
As meaningful as the shock victory was for Feng, it could resonate far more in China, which opened its first golf course in 1984, only five years before Feng was born.
Feng said she had planned to play upcoming LPGA events, but would instead celebrate her victory with a trip home. She plans to play in the US Women’s Open on July 5.
A startled Feng exclaimed: “Oh my God,” when she saw the winner’s trophy and where her name would be engraved beside that of world No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan.
“I’m still chasing her [Tseng], but maybe I got a little closer,” Feng said.
Tseng finished tied for 59th — her worst performance in the last 26 tournaments. The defending champion carded a four-over 76 in the final round for a total of 13-over 301 at the Locust Hill Country Club.
Tseng, 23, struggled to make the fairway, posting the lowest fairway hit rate of the four rounds — 28.6 percent — but her 27 putts were also the lowest in the tournament.
Taiwan’s Candie Kung shot a 70 to finish in 29th place on five-over 293, while Amy Hung carded a 77 to finish level with Tseng.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with CNA
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS