Sports

/

ArcaMax

Amy Yang holds steady to win KPMG Women's PGA Championship

Scott Hanson, The Seattle Times on

Published in Golf

SAMMAMISH, Wash. — While those around her started flailing, South Korean Amy Yang stayed as steady as she had been all week until the final three holes Sunday at Sahalee Country Club.

Because of that, Yang extended a two-shot lead entering the final round into a seven-shot lead through her first 15 holes. It was a big enough lead to let her withstand some late missteps and win the KPMG Women's PGA Championship by three shots over Lilia Vu, Miya Yamashita and Jin Young Ko for her first major title.

Yang closed with an even-par 70 and finished at 7 under 281.

Yang birdied the eighth hole, the hardest hole all week, while playing partners Yamashita from Japan and American Lauren Hartlage made a double bogey on the hole, pushing Yang's lead from two shots to five.

That Yang would finally win her first major after being in contention so many times before was never really in doubt after that.

The lead grew to seven shots before Yang missed a three-foot par putt on the 16th hole, then made a double bogey on the par-3 seventh hole after hitting her tee shot into the water.

 

That cut the lead to three shots heading to the final hole. After putting her drive in the fairway, Yang hit her second shot into the rough. But when she hit her third shot on the green, it was all but over and she two-putted for a closing par.

Moments after the putt dropped, some of Yang's friends on the LPGA Tour doused her with Champagne.

It was well earned.

On a course that beat up almost every one in the field — at least at times — Yang made just five bogeys and nothing worse than that through 69 holes. That gave her more than enough cushion to withstand the late hiccups.

...continued

swipe to next page

(c)2024 The Seattle Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus