Spieth wins Aussie Open

SYDNEY (AP) ― Jordan Spieth played the best round of his life to shoot an 8-under 63 on Sunday and win the Australian Open by six strokes, making his first trip Down Under a successful one.Spieth’s four-round total of 13-under 271 on the tough, windy Australian Golf Club made him the first American to win the Australian Open since Brad Faxon in 1993, when the 21-year-old Spieth was four months old.Spieth birdied four holes on the front nine ― three of them in a row ― to lead by three strokes aft

Nov. 30, 2014

High expectations

NAPLES, Florida (AP) ― The biggest challenge facing Lydia Ko is how she can top a rookie season like this one.The 17-year-old from New Zealand sat next to a pair of crystal trophies Sunday evening. At her feet was a glass box that was stuffed with cash to symbolize the $1 million bonus she picked up on an historic end to the LPGA Tour season.She was an instant millionaire when she closed with a 4-under 68 to get into a three-way playoff in the CME Group Tour Championship. She already had finishe

Nov. 25, 2014

[Newsmaker] Ko wins LPGA finale, gets record haul

NAPLES, Florida ― New Zealand teenager Lydia Ko ended her rookie year on the LPGA Tour with the biggest payoff in women’s golf.Ko won the $1 million bonus from the inaugural “Race to CME Globe” on Sunday by getting into a three-way playoff. Then, the 17-year-old added an extra $500,000 when she defeated Carlota Ciganda of Spain on the fourth extra hole at Tiburon Golf Club to win the CME Group Tour Championship.Ko made par all five times she played the 18th hole on Sunday, and the last one paid

Nov. 24, 2014

Stacy Lewis sweeps 3 biggest LPGA awards

NAPLES, Florida (AP) ― Stacy Lewis became the first American in 21 years to sweep the three biggest awards on the LPGA Tour, which she considered more valuable than a $1 million bonus.Lewis closed with a 1-under 71 in the CME Group Tour Championship on Sunday, tied for ninth in the LPGA Tour finale. But it was enough for her to win LPGA Tour player of the year for the second time in three seasons. She also won the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average and the money title.The last American t

Nov. 24, 2014

Granada clings to 1-shot lead at LPGA finale

NAPLES, Florida (AP) ― Julieta Granada stayed in front of a growing pack of challengers Saturday with a 2-under 70 and a one-shot lead in the CME Globe Tour Championship, only one part of what was shaping up as a tense conclusion to the LPGA Tour season.Stacy Lewis had more reason to be rattled by the name of Lydia Ko making a run and climbing to within three shots of the lead, boosting her chances of the $1 million bonus.Only one thing was clear. Sunday was shaping up as a nail-biting end to th

Nov. 23, 2014

Lewis still in range of big prize

Korea’s Park Hee-young tees off on the ninth hole during the first round of the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida, Thursday. (AP-Yonhap)NAPLES, Florida (AP) ― Stacy Lewis was three shots out of the lead Thursday and one step closer to the largest payoff in women’s golf at the CME Group Tour Championship.Lewis overcame the kind of tension she typically feels on the weekend at majors. She held it together with her short game, made a 25-foot eagle putt late in her opening round and wou

Nov. 21, 2014

Park, Lewis in LPGA title hunt

NAPLES, Florida (AP) ― Stacy Lewis has never been closer to a $1 million payoff, in points or in person.Lewis is leading the inaugural “Race to CME Globe” that will be decided this week in the LPGA Tour’s season finale. The top three players ― Lewis, Park In-bee and Lydia Ko ― need to win the CME Group Tour Championship to capture the $1 million bonus. In a promotional stunt Wednesday, the tour asked them to pose next to a glass case neatly packed with $100 bills that amount to the richest payof

Nov. 20, 2014

Long time coming

MEXICO CITY (AP) ― Christina Kim won the Lorena Ochoa Invitational on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour title in nine years, beating Shanshan Feng in a playoff after blowing a five-stroke lead.Kim won with a tap-in par on the par-4 18th on the second extra hole.The 30-year-old American celebrated with an exuberant dance and jumped up and down on the green. Kim hugged caddie T.J. Jones, boyfriend Duncan French and friend Michelle Wie, with Wie wiping away tears after embracing the winner. French is

Nov. 17, 2014

Christina Kim leads Ochoa Invitational

MEXICO CITY (AFP) ― Christina Kim, who is seeking her first LPGA win in almost a decade, posted a 4-under 68 to take a five-shot lead into the final round of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.The 30-year-old American has one of the longest winless droughts on the tour ― her last victory came in 2005 at the Tournament of Champions.Kim, who began the day just one shot ahead of Paula Creamer, finished 54 holes at 14-under-par 202.“I’m just here to enjoy myself and really just go out and try and play so

Nov. 16, 2014

Lydia Ko becomes youngest LPGA Rookie of the Year

Lydia Ko. (AP-Yonhap)DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (AFP) ― New Zealand teen Lydia Ko was named the LPGA Rookie of the Year on Wednesday, the two-time 2014 winner becoming the youngest player to ever claim the award at 17.The South Korean-born star won the 2012 and 2013 LPGA Canadian Women’s Open titles, becoming the youngest winner of an LPGA event at age 15 and then defending that crown, although both wins came as an amateur.Ko was given a special exemption in October of last year to join the LPGA, th

Nov. 13, 2014

Lee Mi-hyang earns maiden LPGA win

South Korean Lee Mi-hyang captured her first LPGA Tour victory in a playoff in Japan on Sunday.Lee, 21, won the Mizuno Classic with a birdie on the fifth playoff hole, edging out fellow South Korean Lee Il-hee and Japanese Kotono Kozuma at the Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club in Shima, Japan. Lee Mi-hyang took home the $180,000 winner’s check.The three players all scored pars on their first two trips to the par-4 18th hole in the sudden death playoff, and then all birdied the same hole on their

Nov. 9, 2014

Presidents Cup leaders look forward to showdown

INCHEON (Yonhap) ― With a major international golf competition set to take place in South Korea in less than a year, principal figures of the event said Wednesday they’re already anticipating a big showdown.The 2015 Presidents Cup will come to Incheon, west of Seoul, from Oct. 8 to 11 next year. It is a biennial event that pits a team of Americans against a squad of non-European international players in match play for four days.Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon will be the host.The Presidents w

Nov. 5, 2014

Lee scores first Korean Tour win at Herald-KYJ

Lee Hyung-joon, a 22-year-old rookie, won the second Herald-KYJ Tour Championship. It was his first victory on the KPGA Korean Tour. He took first place with a 6-under 210 in the 300 million won ($279,000) tournament at Lotte Skyhill Country Club on the southern island of Jejudo on Monday. Hong Soon-sang, a 33-year-old Seoul native, took second with three shots behind Lee. Defending champion Hur In-hoi, 27, from Gyeonggi Province, placed third with 1-under 215. “I bogeyed two of the four holes I

Nov. 3, 2014

Top-ranked Park wins LPGA Taiwan

TAIPEI (AP) ― Park In-bee won the LPGA Taiwan Championship on Sunday for her third victory of the year and 12th career title, holding off Stacy Lewis by two strokes at Miramar.Six days after regaining the No. 1 spot in the world from Lewis, the South Korean newlywed closed with a 1-under 71 in light rain to finish at 22-under 266.Korea’s Park In-bee plays a shot at the LPGA Taiwan Championship on Sunday. (AFP-Yonhap)Park opened with rounds of 64, 62 and 69 to take a four-stroke lead over Lewis a

Nov. 2, 2014

Herald-KYJ golf tournament to kick off on Jejudo Island

The Herald-KYJ Tour Championship golf tournament will take place at the Lotte Skyhill Jeju Country Club on Jejudo Island from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2. The event is organized by the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association, cosponsored by golf wear company KYJ and The Herald Business, and aired by golf cable channel J Golf. The tournament was launched last year to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Herald Corp. About 100 players will compete for the championship title and $60,000, with total prize mone

Oct. 29, 2014