Ryu shoots course-record 61 at NW Arkansas Championship

ROGERS, Arkansas -- A few weeks off was all Ryu So-yeon needed to kick-start what is shaping up to be possibly the best year of her LPGA Tour career.　 The third-ranked South Korean star shot a course-record 10-under 61 on Saturday in the NW Arkansas Championship to take a five-stroke lead into the final round, putting in in great position to become the first repeat winner this year.　 The ANA Inspiration winner in April for her second major title, she reached 16 under to break the tournament 36-h

June 25, 2017

Chun In-gee loses in playoff for 4th runner-up finish of '17

South Korean Chun In-gee has posted her fourth runner-up finish of the 2017 LPGA season, as her search for her first win of the year continues.Chun lost in the first playoff hole to Ariya Jutanugarn at the Manulife LPGA Classic in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, on Sunday (local time). Lexi Thompson was another player involved in the sudden-death affair, and Jutanugarn beat both with a long birdie putt.(Yonhap)The three players finished the regulation tied at 17-under 271 at the par-72 Whistle Bear

June 12, 2017

Kim Meen-whee finishes career-best 2nd on PGA Tour

South Korean Kim Meen-whee has set a new career high on the PGA Tour with a runner-up finish.Kim tied for second with Charl Schwartzel at the FedEx St. Jude Classic at the par-70 TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, on Sunday (local time). At nine-under 271, the two finished one stroke back of the champion, Daniel Berger.(Yonhap)Kim, who has been playing on the tour since 2015, previously had a pair of third-place finishes that year. For 2017, he had just one top-10 finish -- a tie for fifth at

June 12, 2017

Kim In-kyung earns 5th LPGA victory

South Korean Kim In-kyung has won for the fifth time in her LPGA career.Kim beat Anna Nordqvist by two strokes to win the ShopRite LPGA Classic at Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club's Bay Course in Galloway, New Jersey, on Sunday (local time).Kim fired a two-under 69 in the final round for a three-round total of 11-under 202 in her first victory of 2017, and cashed in $225,000 in the winner's check. Nordqvist, two-time defending champion, also carded a two-under 69.Kim In-kyung of South Korea

June 5, 2017

Korean rookie re-enters top 10 in women's golf rankings

On the strength of her best finish of the season, South Korean rookie Park Sung-hyun has re-entered the top 10 in the latest women's world golf rankings.Park rose three spots to No. 8 in the latest rankings Tuesday. In this Associated Press photo, Park Sung-hyun of South Korea reacts after a missed birdie attempt on the 17th green during the final round of the LPGA Volvik Championship at Travis Pointe Country Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on May 28, 2017. (Yonhap)She finished tied for second at t

May 30, 2017

Hot-shot Korean rookie posts best finish of LPGA season

Hot-shot South Korean rookie Park Sung-hyun has posted her best finish of the LPGA Tour season.Park finished tied for second at the LPGA Volvik Championship at Travis Pointe Country Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Sunday (local time). After a bogey-free final round of six-under 66, Park ended her four-round play at 18-under 270, one stroke behind the champion, Feng Shanshan. (Yonhap)This was Park's fourth top-10 finish in nine starts this year.The 23-year-old has yet to miss a cut in 2017.Park h

May 29, 2017

LPGA major Evian Championship to hold open tryout for Koreans

The main corporate sponsor of an LPGA major championship announced Wednesday it will hold an open tryout for South Korean players this summer, with the winner earning an opportunity to compete with the best in women's golf.Evian, the French water brand and the title sponsor of the Evian Championship, said the two preliminary stroke-play rounds of the Evian Challenge will take place at 360°Country Club in Yeoju, some 100 kilometers south of Seoul, on June 26 and again on July 31. (Yonhap)The top

May 24, 2017

World No. 10 Jang Ha-na leaves LPGA Tour to be with family

On the surface, Jang Ha-na was carving out a successful career on the LPGA Tour at age 25, with four wins in the last two seasons and the No. 10 position in world rankings.But all that glitters is clearly not gold, as far as she is concerned, which is why Jang has decided to rescind her LPGA membership and return to play on home soil starting this summer. In this Associated Press photo taken on March 4, 2017, Jang Ha-na reacts after a shot at the first hole during the third round of the HSBC Wom

May 23, 2017

Four-time LPGA champion Jang Ha-na to return to Korean tour full-time

Four-time LPGA Tour winner Jang Ha-na will return to the South Korean competition full-time this summer, her agency announced Monday.Seoul-based Sportizen said Jang will rescind her LPGA Tour membership and will begin competing instead on the Korea LPGA Tour starting in June.South Korean golfer Jang Ha-na celebrates her victory at the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open at the Royal Adelaide Golf Club in Adelaide, Australia, on Feb. 19, 2017. (EPA-Yonhap)Sportizen said Jang will hold a press conf

May 22, 2017

LPGA legend Pak Se-ri to begin new career as TV commentator

Retired golf legend Pak Se-ri will soon begin her new career as a television commentator.SBS Golf, a local golf-only cable channel, said Tuesday that Pak will make her first appearance of the season on June 15 in the first round of the Kia Motors Korea Women's Open Golf Championship, a major tournament on the Korea LPGA Tour.Former LPGA Tour star Pak Se-ri smiles during a corporate event in Seoul on April 28, 2017. (Yonhap)An official with SBS Golf said Pak will handle several other KLPGA tourna

May 16, 2017

Korean Kim Si-woo wins Players Championship

South Korean Kim Si-woo has rallied to capture The Players Championship, one of the biggest tournaments on the PGA Tour.Kim fired a bogey-free final round of three-under 69 to snatch the title at 10-under 278 at TPC at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on Sunday (local time).At 21, Kim is the youngest player to win The Players Championship in its 44-year history. He was the only player who didn't commit a bogey in the final round.This was Kim's second career PGA Tour win after the Wyndham

May 15, 2017

S. Korean Kim Sei-young wins LPGA match play event

South Korean Kim Sei-young has collected her sixth career LPGA victory at a match play event in Mexico.Kim defeated Ariya Jutanugarn 1-up to take the Citibanamex Lorena Ochoa Match Play in Mexico City on Sunday (local time).It was Kim's first win of 2017. The 24-year-old won three times as a rookie in 2015 and added two more wins in 2016. She took home a winner's check of $205,000.Kim Sei-young of South Korea poses with the champion's trophy after winning the Citibanamex Lorena Ochoa Match Play

May 8, 2017

Ex-PGA champion Yang Yong-eun eyeing return to US tour

Former PGA Championship winner Yang Yong-eun said Thursday he'd like to regain his full-time status on the PGA Tour in the near future.Yang, who famously held off then-world No. 1 Tiger Woods to capture the 2009 PGA Championship, lost his PGA privileges in 2014.He has spent the majority of the ensuing seasons in Europe and Asia, while appearing in US events only occasionally.Yang Yong-eun (right) hands a club to his celebrity caddie, singer Lee Seung-chul, at the second hole during the first rou

May 4, 2017

Park In-bee to play local event for the 1st time since Olympics

South Korean golfer Park In-bee will compete in her home country for the first time since winning the gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, officials here said Monday. Park, 28, will take part in the Doosan Match Play Championship on the Korean LPGA Tour that will be staged in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, from May 17 to 21, the event organizers said. It will be the first time for Park to join such a match play event at home. (Yonhap)"Park will return to South Korea on May 9 after playing th

May 1, 2017

Jeju Island to host Korea 1st PGA Tour event in Oct.

JEJU, South Korea -- The southern resort island of Jeju will host South Korea's first PGA Tour event this fall, officials said Wednesday.The Jeju provincial government said it will sign an agreement with the PGA Tour and CJ Group, the title sponsor of the tournament named the CJ Cup@Nine Bridges, at a ceremony on Thursday. Sohn Kyung-shik, chairman of CJ Group (left), and Jay Monahan, then deputy commissioner of the PGA Tour, pose with their agreements in Seoul after CJ signed on to host the CJ

April 12, 2017

Korean Ryu So-yeon captures 2nd career LPGA major

South Korean golfer Ryu So-yeon has captured her second career LPGA major championship.Ryu defeated Lexi Thompson with a birdie on the first playoff hole to win the ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills Country Club's Dinah Shore Tournament Course in Rancho Mirage, California, on Sunday (local time). In this Associated Press photo, Ryu So-yeon of South Korea watches her putt during the final round of the ANA Inspiration tournament on the LPGA Tour in Rancho Mirage, California, on April 2, 2017. (Yonh

April 3, 2017

Korean Lee Mi-rim earns third career LPGA win

South Korean Lee Mi-rim has picked up her third career LPGA Tour title in California.Lee cruised to a six-shot victory at Kia Classic at par-72 Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California, on Sunday (local time). In this Associated Press photo, South Korean Lee Mi-rim watches her tee shot on the second hole during the final round of Kia Classic on the LPGA Tour on March 26, 2017, in Carlsbad, California. (Yonhap)She began the final round nursing a one-stroke lead over fellow South Korean Hur Mi-jun

March 27, 2017

Chun In-gee rises in world rankings after runner-up finish on LPGA Tour

South Korean Chun In-gee has moved up a spot in the women's world golf rankings thanks to a runner-up finish on the LPGA tour.Chun reached No. 3 in the latest rankings announced Monday, behind Lydia Ko of New Zealand and Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand. In this Associated Press photo, South Korea's Chun In-gee tees off on the eighth hole during the final round of the Bank of Hope Founders Cup tournament on the LPGA Tour on March 19, 2017, in Phoenix, Arizona. (Yonhap)Feng Shanshan of China slipped

March 20, 2017