Hae Ran Ryu becomes the fifth LPGA Tour rookie to win this season at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
LPGA Tour rookie Hae Ran Ryu has become the 11th Rolex First-Time Winner and the fifth rookie to win this season after her wire-to-wire victory at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G. The five-time KLPGA winner finally earned her first LPGA Tour victory after five previous top-10 finishes since the start of 2023.
“To be honest, I had some doubts whether I can win this year, but I trusted in my shots and kept playing, and I think that led to a good result,” She said. “In Korea it's pretty early morning. I know when I was playing it was like even earlier in the morning, but with my parents and the fan clubs I think they were cheering me on and supporting me. I think thanks to them I was able to get it done this today and this week.”
She would have to wait until mid-afternoon to get her final round at Pinnacle Country Club started. She watched as players with early tee times began to take command of the leaderboard before finally taking the stage.
On the first, she carded her first birdie of the round, keeping her momentum going from her two previous days of play. She followed that up with a bogey on two, her first bogey in 53 previous holes of competition. She added another bogey on five before making the turn and turning her game up a notch.
Ryu recorded birdies on two of the next four holes to put herself back towards the top at -15 before carding her first eagle of the tournament on 14 to lift herself into the solo lead. With four holes to go, Linnea Strom recorded an eagle of her own to put herself at -16 applying pressure to Ryu’s lead.
After a par on 15, Ryu recorded birdies on two of the last three holes, making her the first rookie to win wire-to-wire since Patty Tavatanakit did so at the 2021 Chevron Championship.
Final Round Highlights of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship
Strom had to settle for second place, three shots back whilst four players rounded out the top five in a tie for third including fellow rookie Yuna Nishimura, who recorded her first top-10 finish of her career, and Bianca Pagdanganan who carded two eagles and five birdies to propel herself up the leaderboard to earn her second top-10 finish of the season.
Fellow Korean players Sei Young Kim and Jenny Shin also finished inside the top five with Kim having shot the lowest round in this year’s playing of the event, a 63, in her second round and Shin earning her third top-10 finish of the season.
Eleven players finished inside the top-10 including Hannah Green who made her first cut at this event in her two previous starts, Lexi Thompson and Yealimi Noh who earned their first top-10 finishes this season. 2023 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational champion Elizabeth Szokol shot seven-under-par to jump her from a tie for 37th to a tie for 10th. Lilly Thomas, a graduate of Bentonville, Ark., and a member of Pinnacle Country Club, made the cut in just her second LPGA Tour event and finished T62 at four-under-par.
Next on the LPGA schedule is The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America at Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas. Last year this event was won by England's Charley Hull.
Maiden LET title for Johanna Gustavsson
After eight years of trying and in her 129th start, Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson finally became a tournament champion on the LET with a decisive victory in the Lacoste Ladies Open de France.
With a closing round of six-under-par 65, the 30-year-old from Orebro finished with a 54-hole total of 197, 16-under-par, at Golf Barrière in Deauville.
Having started the day with a one-stroke lead over her compatriot Moa Folke, it was an exciting final round battle as the pair duelled for the lead over the front nine.
However, a hole-out eagle at the par-4 13th, where Gustavsson holed her second shot from 120 yards using a pitching wedge, proved decisive and Folke bogeyed the next hole, giving Gustavsson a four-stroke advantage.
Although Folke birdied the short 17th, Gustavsson had two putts for a three-stroke victory on the 18th green. Folke also made a regulation par to finish outright second and England’s Meghan MacLaren, the runner-up last year and playing in the final group, finished a stroke further back in third.
Gustavsson, who had recorded 16 top-10s including four runner-up finishes previously on the LET, following on from two victories on the LET Access Series, said: “I feel amazing. I’ve been waiting for this one a long time and it’s just really fun.”
Speaking about her second shot on 13, which landed two metres beyond the flag and span back into the hole, she said: “I wish I could have seen the shot. I just heard the crowd go wild and realised it was in.”
Gustavsson thanked fellow LET player Emma Nilsson for acting as her caddie and couldn’t hold back the tears when asked about the support of her husband and swing coach, Alex Wrigley.
Looking into the camera, she said: “Alex: we did it! It means a lot. We worked incredibly hard and I look forward to seeing him.”
When asked how she would celebrate, she replied: “Hopefully, watch the Ryder Cup tomorrow and see Europe win.”
Second-year LET member Folke showed her class with a final round of 67.
The 28-year-old from Saby said: “I played really well. I’m happy, I did what I had planned. I stuck to my routine and I hit a lot of really good shots out there. I’m proud of myself. It wasn’t enough today.
“I know Johanna’s been close and finished second so many times, so I’m happy for her to finally get the win. I felt like until hole number 12, when I was just one behind, I was really close and I could get her, but then she holed out and you know, I couldn’t do anything about that. It was fun and I’m really happy for her.”
After closing with a 67, third placed MacLaren said: “I’m pretty happy with my day, to be honest. You always want to win if you’re that close, but Johanna was just too good for us. She had a one-shot lead and shot six-under, so there’s not a lot that you can do. I’m pleased that I had a good day and was up there in contention again.
“I feel like I’ve been playing well for a month or so and it’s nice to see it in some scores. I want to thank my coach Martin Park for all the help he’s given me this year. It’s been a big turning point the last few weeks.”
Sweden’s Sara Kjellker charged up the leaderboard with a 66 to finish in a tie for fourth alongside Laura Fuenfstueck of Germany on nine-under-par.
England’s Gabriella Cowley was a stroke back in sixth, while Finland’s Ursula Wikstrom ended along in seventh on seven under par and Czechia’s Jana Melichova and England’s Hannah Burke tied for eighth.
World no.5 Céline Boutier, a household name in France since her home major victory at the Amundi Evian Championship, closed with a two-under-par 69 to share 10th place with Rosie Davies, Marta Sanz Barrio and Emma Spitz.
Boutier said: “It was a little bit frustrating with my golf game in general. I didn’t have my long game on point and missed a few putts today.
“Overall, I’m not too happy with my game and I wish I had done better, especially with all the fans around, you want to play well, but I gave it my best shot and can only hope for a better game next year.
“It was fun and definitely nice to see so many people out supporting the tournament. The interest that people have in women’s golf is only going to grow so it’s nice to be a part of it.”
Boutier continues to lead the LET’s 2023 Race to Costa del Sol, but, with 500 points for her win, Gustavsson has moved up into second and is only 254.08 points behind heading into this week’s Aramco Team Series – Hong Kong.
First Epson Tour victory for Isabella Fierro
The final tournament before the 2023 Epson Tour Championship has officially come to a close. The Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic came down to the wire, with a few players grabbing a share of the lead throughout the day, and over 20 players within three-shots of the lead at one point.
Isabella Fierro pulled away late in the round to pick up her first career Epson Tour victory and the $30,000 pay cheque heading into tour championship week.
Fierro started her day off fast, rolling in back-to-back birdies to start her round. She would make two more birdies on the front nine, before making a double bogey on nine and falling out of a share of the lead. The double bogey did not faze the eventual champion, who bounced back with a birdie on 11 to get her within a shot of the lead. Fierro teed off on 17 one-shot back but would roll in a long birdie to tie the lead as she made her way to the 18th tee box. A mistake by Laura Wearn in the group in front of Fierro would give her a two-shot lead as she hit her approach into the green and that was all the breathing room she needed to claim her first professional victory.
"I think I am still shaking right now," said Fierro. "I was shaking like the entire day today; I had some much fun out there and I think it was just an amazing day in general. I hit it really good and had a really positive mindset, so it was great. I love making birdies, as a golfer I think everybody does, but I think the shaking was because I was excited, not because I was worried. I stayed in the present today and that really helped.”
With the win in Tuscaloosa, Fierro moved to eighth in the Race for the Card and has done so with a special stretch of golf. During the whole month of September, Fierro’s worst finish was tied eighth at the Black Desert Resort Championship. Her next two finishes were tied third and tied fourth before the eventual win at the Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic, collecting nearly two thirds of her total money in the last four weeks. Fierro felt like it was just a matter of time before her first professional victory, and she was right.
Laura Wearn was the runner-up finisher and ended her day two-shots behind the champion. Whilst Kristen Gillman had one of the rounds of the day, which led to her finishing in a tie for third at 10-under-par. The University of Alabama grad was back at her home course this week, finally finding her footing during the final round. Gillman posted a bogey-free 7-under 65 to jump up the leaderboard and into the top 3. A birdie at the last hole was met with thunderous applause, as the Crimson Tide faithful welcomed Gillman back after her stellar performance.
This week is the final event of the season the Epson Tour Championship which will take place at LPGA International, Jones Course in Daytona Beach, Florida.
