Girl power delivers

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) ― Except for a major that lacked drama in the final hour, rarely has the entire month of April delivered so much excitement. Some of the biggest names and brightest stars won all the tournaments, one after the other, even as one of the tour’s best players was sidelined by a back injury.At least that’s the story on the LPGA Tour.“It’s a neat time,” said Mike Whan, in his fifth year as LPGA commissioner. “It’s neat for the players, too. We’ve got a lot of big guns pl

April 30, 2014

Lydia Ko bags first win as pro

DALY CITY, California (AP) ― With the 18th pin and a championship in sight, Lydia Ko found herself in the rough again in a day filled with off-target drives. The teen told herself she just needed one more important chip with the tournament on the line.Poised and unflappable, Ko made the perfect pitch up to the green and birdied the final hole for her first LPGA Tour victory as a professional and third in all, holding off Stacy Lewis and Jenny Shin on Sunday in the inaugural Swinging Skirts LPGA

April 28, 2014

Noh doubt about it

AVONDALE, Louisiana (AP) ― As Noh Seung-yul exhaled and tilted his head back in a skyward gaze on the 18th green, his South Korean countryman and fellow PGA Tour player, Yang Yong-eun, charged toward him, spraying him with bottled beer.Noh smiled, removed his hat, held both arms out and soaked it all in.The 22-year-old overcame windy conditions and the pressure that goes with attempting to secure a maiden PGA Tour triumph, shooting a 1-under 71 on Sunday to win the Zurich Classic by two shots.He

April 28, 2014

Lewis leads at Swinging Skirts

DALY CITY, California (AP) ― Stacy Lewis matched playing partner Lydia Ko with birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 and added another on the 17th to take a one-stroke lead Saturday in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.The third-ranked Lewis and fourth-ranked Ko each shot 4-under 68 at Lake Merced. Winless since the Women’s British Open in August, Lewis had a 10-under 206 total.Ko won the Canadian Women’s Open as an amateur the last two years and took the Swinging Skirts World Ladies Masters in December in T

April 27, 2014

Noh surges into Zurich Classic lead

AVONDALE, Louisiana (AP) ― If Noh Sueng-yul can hold on to the lead in the Zurich Classic, he’ll do it front of fans who can appreciate how much bigger Noh’s mission is than simply winning his first PGA Tour event.Wearing yellow and black ribbons on his hat to honor victims of the April 16 South Korean ferry accident, Noh used a string of birdies late in his round Saturday to surge two strokes ahead of Keegan Bradley atop the leaderboard.It is Noh’s first career lead through three rounds on the

April 27, 2014

Icher impresses at Swinging Skirts

DALY CITY, California (AP) ― Karine Icher and her caddie husband, Fred, evaluated the conditions and course at challenging Lake Merced and decided on a Day 1 strategy: stay short of the pin and putt uphill.The move worked beautifully, and Icher delivered the most consistent performance on a day there weren’t many in the debut of the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.“I think it’s the key on this course,” Icher said. “It’s a tough golf course, especially with the wind and temperature. It gets so cold.

April 25, 2014

New frame of mind

DALY CITY, California (AP) ― A beaming Michelle Wie explained her oversized visor as a necessary new addition after recently discovering wrinkles at age 24, then good-naturedly defended her unique, hunched-over putting stroke because Jack Nicklaus uses it.Improved sun protection and short game aside, Wie is riding high after a comeback win in her home state of Hawaii last week. Now, she returns to familiar ground in the Bay Area looking to build on her first LPGA Tour victory in nearly four year

April 23, 2014

Kuchar chips in for RBC Heritage win

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, South Carolina (AP) ― Matt Kuchar saw his well-struck 5-iron on the 18th hole at the RBC Heritage come up way short of the target and settle in a front bunker.“Well,” he thought as he walked toward the shot, “there are a lot worse places to be.”For Kuchar, there was no better place ― and no better shot in the tournament.He followed with a stunning chip-in on Harbour Town Golf Link’s closing, lighthouse hole, to overcome a four-shot deficit for a one-stroke victory and end nea

April 21, 2014

Home sweet home

KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) ― Michelle Wie rallied from four strokes back entering the day to shoot a 5-under 67 on Saturday and win the LPGA LOTTE Championship.The 24-year-old American finished at 14-under 274 after coming into the final round trailing third-round leader Angela Stanford by four shots after Friday’s play. It was Wie’s third career victory on the LPGA Tour, and first since taking the CN Canadian Women’s Open in 2010.And, Wie did it at home.“I’m just having fun out there,” said Wie, who

April 20, 2014

Stanford takes 1-shot lead over Wie at LPGA Lotte

KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) ― Angela Stanford adeptly handled the windy conditions to shoot an 8-under 64 on Thursday and take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the LPGA Lotte Championship. Stanford took the lead early with five birdies in a row on the front nine and finished the day with eight birdies. The best round of the tournament so far left the five-time LPGA Tour winner at 8-under 136. “Finally I got comfortable on these greens and it felt great,” Stanford said. “To see the ball go in

April 18, 2014

Pak among 3 tied for early lead in LPGA Lotte tournament

KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) ― South Korea’s Pak Se-ri, Kim Hyo-joo and Ryu So-yeon each shot a 4-under 68 on Wednesday for a three-way tie atop the leaderboard after a breezy first round of the LPGA Lotte Championship.Winless in 2013, Pak played the back nine in 2-under 34 in her afternoon round. She had birdies on the par-5 13th and par-4 17th, to go along with an eagle on the par-5 5th.Kim, the 2012 China Ladies Open champion, had five birdies. She had her only bogey on her final hole of the day on t

April 17, 2014

Park resumes quest for first win of 2014

South Korea’s Park In-bee hopes to celebrate a year atop the women’s golf world rankings with her first victory of 2014 in the LPGA Lotte Championship this week.“Obviously the time has gone really fast,” Park said. “This was the week I took over the No. 1 spot last year, and a lot of things happened since this week last year.“I’ve had a lot of wins, and I’ve experienced a lot of things. “A lot of things going well for me in my career. I feel like I’m probably a lot more mature player than I was

April 16, 2014

Double Bubba

AUGUSTA, Georgia (AP) ― Bubba Watson’s second Masters title was nothing like the green jacket he won two years ago.The only daring shot Watson hit was one he really didn’t need. The wild swing in momentum came on the front nine, not the back nine of Augusta National. And the sweetest difference of all Sunday was seeing his 2-year-old son walk toward him on the edge of the 18th green after his three-shot victory over Jordan Spieth.Watson turned in another masterpiece and joined an elusive group a

April 14, 2014

Haas surges to early Masters lead

AUGUSTA, Georgia (AP) ― No nerves. No worries. Adam Scott never knew the opening round at Augusta National could be so enjoyable.With his green jacket upstairs in the locker room for Masters champions, Scott made only one bad swing that cost him two shots in a round of 3-under 69. It was the lowest opening score by a defending champion in 13 years, and it left Scott one shot behind leader Bill Haas on an otherwise demanding day.“It was really how you hope to come out and play at any major, and e

April 11, 2014

Without Tiger, a wide-open field

AUGUSTA, Georgia (AP) ― One after another, some of the world’s best players and favorites to win the Masters trudged up the hill on the opening hole to start their practice rounds.Phil Mickelson. Rory McIlroy. Adam Scott.It was typical of any Tuesday at Augusta National, except for the scoreboard to the right of where they were walking. The board has the names of all 97 players in the field, with blank boxes to put their scores when the tournament begins. On the far right side of the board is a

April 9, 2014

Learning on the fly

AUGUSTA, Georgia (AFP) ― Korea’s Lee Chang-woo, the Asia-Pacific amateur champion bolstered by an Augusta practice round with countryman Choi Kyung-ju, is confident of making the cut at this week’s Masters.The 20-year-old, appearing in his first Masters, has already won a title on the Korean tour and finished second to Rory McIlroy in the Korean Open.After touring Augusta National with Choi, who is playing this year on his last invitation from winning the 2011 Players Championship, and studying

April 8, 2014

Down to the wire

RANCHO MIRAGE, California (AP) ― Michelle Wie and Lexi Thompson topped the Kraft Nabisco leaderboard, setting up a possible final-round showdown the LPGA Tour has been waiting for.The 24-year-old Wie shot a bogey-free 4-under 68 on Saturday to match Thompson at 10-under 206 at Mission Hills in the first major championship of the year.“I think Lexi is a really entertaining golfer,” Wie said. “I like to think I’m somewhat entertaining as well. So, I think the both of us paired together is great. I

April 6, 2014