The Korea Herald

McIlroy, Horschel tied for Tour Championship lead

ATLANTA (AP) ― Rory McIlroy made up a two-shot deficit on Billy Horschel at the Tour Championship on Saturday, setting up a $10 million showdown to end the PGA Tour season.McIlroy overcame a pair of three-putt bogeys by rolling in a 25-foot eagle putt on the 15th hole, and closing with a tough chip from thick grass behind the 18th green that allowed him to save par for a 3-under 67.Horschel led by as many as three shots during the third round at East Lake until he dropped two shots on the back n

Sept. 14, 2014

Kim Hyo-joo leads at Evian

Kim Hyo-joo competes during the Evian golf Championships on Saturday. (AFP-Yonhap)EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) ― South Korean teenager Kim Hyo-joo emerged from a third round riddled with errors by contenders to lead the Evian Championship by a stroke on Saturday and in sight of her first major.Kim hit four bogeys on the front nine before recovering for a 1-over 72. That she regained the lead was a legacy of her remarkable 61 on Thursday, the lowest score in major history, and her rivals also dro

Sept. 14, 2014

Tiger, Mickelson ‘getting older,’ McIlroy says

ATLANTA (AFP) ― World No. 1 Rory McIlroy isn’t convinced the absence of both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson from the U.S. PGA Tour Championship signals a changing of the guard in golf.But the 25-year-old reigning PGA Championship and British Open champion noted Wednesday, the eve of the season-ending event, the passing years for Mickelson, 44, and Woods, who turns 39 in December.“They are just getting older,” McIlroy said. Phil is 43 or whatever and Tiger is nearly 40. So they are just getting i

Sept. 11, 2014

McIlroy shares early lead at BMW

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colorado (AP) ― Rory McIlroy ran out of par saves late in the opening round at the BMW Championship and had to settle for a 3-under 67 on Thursday, good enough to share the lead with Jordan Spieth and Gary Woodland. Cherry Hills, one of the shortest courses on the PGA Tour when factoring in the mile-high air, held up just fine. “It’s tricky. It really is,” top-ranked McIlroy said. “The altitude, we’ve had a couple of days to adjust to that. It’s fine. But these greens have

Sept. 5, 2014

Kirk rallies to win Deutsche Bank

Chris Kirk poses with the winner’s trophy on Monday. (EPA-Yonhap)NORTON, Massachusetts (AP) ― Chris Kirk made three big putts and captured the biggest win of his career Monday in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Whether that was enough for U.S. captain Tom Watson to add him to the Ryder Cup team was the least of his concerns.Kirk won for the second time this season. He went the last 37 holes at the TPC Boston without a bogey. He played the final two rounds with Rory McIlroy and outplayed the No.

Sept. 2, 2014

Koreans fail to match milestone winning run

South Korean contenders came up short of matching a milestone winning streak on the LPGA Tour on Sunday in Oregon.Kim In-kyung lost to Austin Ernst on the first hole of their sudden death playoff at the Portland Classic at the par-72 Columbia Edgewater Country Club.Kim was trying to become the fourth consecutive South Korean winner on the LPGA Tour. Three other South Koreans, Lee Mi-rim, Park In-bee and Ryu, had taken the past three LPGA tournaments.The last time South Koreans won on the tour fo

Sept. 1, 2014

Koreans fail to match milestone winning run on LPGA Tour

South Korean contenders came up short of matching a milestone winning streak on the LPGA Tour on Sunday in Oregon.Kim In-kyung lost to Austin Ernst on the first hole of their sudden death playoff at the Portland Classic at the par-72 Columbia Edgewater Country Club.Kim was trying to become the fourth consecutive South Korean winner on the LPGA Tour. Three other South Koreans, Lee Mi-rim, Park In-bee and Ryu, had taken the past three LPGA tournaments.The last time South Koreans won on the tour fo

Sept. 1, 2014

Hur, Pettersen share lead in Portland

PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) ― Defending champion Suzann Pettersen shot her second straight 5-under 67 on Saturday for a share of the third-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s Portland Classic.Trying to match Nancy Lopez’s record with her third victory in the event, Pettersen had an eagle, four birdies and a bogey at Columbia Edgewater. The fourth-ranked Norwegian star is winless this season after winning four times last year to push her career total to 14.Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and South Korea’s Hur Mi-jun

Aug. 31, 2014

South Korea’s Kim increases Portland Classic lead

Kim In-Kyung increased her lead to three strokes in the LPGA Tour’s Portland Classic by shooting a 5-under 67 to reach 12 under after Friday’s second round.The South Korean had seven birdies and two bogeys in her morning round in cloudy, calm conditions at Columbia Edgewater.Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and South Korea’s Mi Jung Hur shot 65 to join Laura Diaz at 9 under. Diaz had a 68.South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu, the Canadian Women’s Open winner on Sunday, was 8 under along with Mina Harigae, China’s X

Aug. 30, 2014

Pettersen looks for third win

PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) ― Defending champion Suzann Pettersen looks to make tournament history as the headliner in the LPGA Portland Classic starting Thursday at Columbia-Edgewater Country Club.The 33-year-old Norwegian hopes to join Nancy Lopez as the tournament’s only three-time champion. Pettersen won the Portland tournament in 2011 and 2013. Lopez claimed her titles in 1985, 1987 and 1992.Pettersen rallied with a final-round 5-under 67 to defeat Stacy Lewis by two strokes in the 2013 Portland

Aug. 28, 2014

Ryu captures Canadian Open

LONDON, Ontario (AP) ― Ryu So-yeon missed out on the LPGA Tour’s 72-hole scoring record. She got the champagne shower she was longing for on the final green- reversing roles with Park In-bee.“I’ve been waiting so long for the champagne,” Ryu said Sunday after winning the Canadian Women’s Open for her third LPGA Tour victory. “I was ready to get champagne. I put champagne on Inbee maybe more than five times. Finally, she gave it to me.”While Ryu fell short of Sorenstam’s tour record of 27 under,

Aug. 25, 2014

Ryu So-yeon earns LPGA victory in Canada

So Yeon Ryu of South Korea imitates a `selfie` as she celebrates her two stroke victory during the fourth round of the LPGA Canadian Pacific Women`s Open at the London Hunt and Country Club on Sunday in London, Ontario, Canada. (AFP)South Korean golfer Ryu So-yeon picked up her first LPGA Tour victory in two years on Sunday at the Canadian Pacific Women's Open.At the London Hunt and Country Club in London, Ontario, Ryu shot a 3-under 69 in the final round for a four-round total of 23-under, a to

Aug. 25, 2014

Ryu So-yeon earns LPGA victory in Canada

Ryu still in lead at Canadian Pacific

LONDON, Ontario (AP) ― After dunking her ball in the water, Azahara Munoz later rebounded to shoot a 9-under 63 Saturday to vault into contention at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open.She’s tied with Choi Na-yeon in second place, four strokes behind Ryu So-yeon, who leads at 20 under going into the final round.“The key of my round was on (hole No.) 4, I was going for it in two with a 4-iron and I hit in the water,” Munoz said. “But I kept it calm, I knew I could still make up and down for par, so

Aug. 24, 2014

Ryu grabs LPGA lead in Canada

LONDON, Canada (AFP) ― South Korea’s Ryu So-yeon fired a bogey-free opening round of nine-under par 63 Thursday to seize a one-stroke lead over compatriot Choi Na-yeon at the LPGA Canadian Women’s Open.Ryu, the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open champion, hit all 14 fairways and needed only 25 putts, reaching 16 of 18 greens in regulation and chipping in with a sand save to stand atop the leaderboard.“I really feel great about that, especially because before I was going to tee off my warming up shots were r

Aug. 22, 2014

Ko seeks three-peat in Canada

LONDON, Canada (AFP) ― New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, a 17-year-old seeking her third consecutive LPGA Canadian Women’s Open title, tees off Thursday trying to join Meg Mallon and Pat Bradley as three-time winners.The South Korean-born prodigy was an amateur when she won in 2012 at age 15 and last year when she took the title in Edmonton.But world No. 3 Ko has already won twice this year on the LPGA Tour in her first professional season, taking the Swinging Skirts Classic and Marathon Classic.“The firs

Aug. 21, 2014

Grit of a champion

PITTSFORD, New York (AP) ― Park In-bee successfully defended her title in the LPGA Championship, beating Brittany Lincicome with a par on the first hole of a playoff Sunday to end the United States’ major streak at three.On the playoff hole on Monroe Golf Club’s par-4 18th, Park hit her second into the rough behind the hole. Lincicome hit her approach to the left fringe, nearly identical to her position on the final hole of regulation when she made a bogey to fall in the playoff.Lincicome chippe

Aug. 18, 2014

Park In-bee captures LPGA Championship in playoff

South Korean golfer Park In-bee captured the Wegmans LPGA Championship in a playoff on Sunday in New York, coming from behind to take her fifth career major title.Park edged out Brittany Lincicome with a par on the first hole of their sudden death playoff at Monroe Golf Club in Pittsford, New York.This was Park's fifth career major, which ties her with Pak Se-ri for most LPGA majors won by a South Korean golfer.Park, former world No. 1 and currently ranked third, won three majors last year. Her

Aug. 18, 2014

Lincicome in lead

PITTSFORD, New York (AP) ― Brittany Lincicome beamed. She had fought off the jitters while leading an LPGA Tour major and it felt oh-so-good.Lincicome, who hadn’t held a second-round lead since 2009 and never in a major, shot a 1-under 71 on Saturday at the LPGA Championship to finish the third round at 10-under 206. That was one shot better than Suzann Pettersen (67) of Norway and defending champion Park In-bee (69) of South Korea.

Aug. 17, 2014

Tiger pulls out of Ryder Cup consideration

Tiger Woods removed himself from consideration for the Ryder Cup team Wednesday evening with a clear message that he is not healthy enough to play.One day after U.S. captain Tom Watson said he trusted Woods to give him the “straight skinny” on the condition of his back injury and his game, Woods said he called the 64-year-old captain to say he would not be available.The decision spares Watson from having to leave Woods off the team, and it eliminates a distraction over the next three weeks befor

Aug. 14, 2014

Pak Se-ri to have own tournament in Korea

Hall of Fame golfer Pak Se-ri will have a women’s tournament bearing her name open on her native soil this fall, officials announced Tuesday.The 36-year-old will be the host of the “Se Ri Pak Invitational” on the Korean LPGA Tour from Oct. 3-5 at Solmoro Country Club in Yeoju, about 100 kilometers south of Seoul. The tournament will be sponsored by OK Savings Bank.Pak Se-ri (File photo)Pak and the tournament organizers signed off on the naming agreement Tuesday. Pak joins the PGA Tour veteran Ch

Aug. 12, 2014

Pak Se-ri to have own tournament in Korea