The ladies of the LPGA Tour and Ladies LPGA European Tour teed it up at the ISPS HANDA World Invitational presented by Modest! Golf. This inaugural event was unique because men and women competed at the same time for the same prize money. The 72-hole event was sanctioned by three tours and took place on two courses. The first was the par 73 Galgorm Castle, and the other was the par 72 Massereene Golf Club. There was much at stake with a purse of $1.5 million and 500 points towards the Race to the CME Globe for the winner.
First Round
Chella Choi bolted out to a seven-under par round that included a five-under par stretch over four holes. She was tied at the top with Jennifer Kupcho and Gemma Dryburgh, all of whom played at Galgrom. Emma Talley was just a shot back after a five-under par start to her front nine. Just two shots off the pace was a group of four led by Min Seo Kwak, who played at Massereene. PornanongPhatlun, Su Oh, Bronte Law, and Ssu-Chia Cheng were within striking distance at four-under par. Among six at three-under par were Mina Harigae and Sarah Kemp. A logjam of 18 players were at two-under par and 49 players broke par on a day when scoring conditions were excellent. Notables that struggled included Ryann O’Toole, Yealimi Noh, Lizette Salas and Jeongeun Lee6 at one-over, Yu Liu at three-over, and Angel Yin at five-over.
Second Round
Emma Talley took over the lead at the midway point with a round of 65 at Massereene, which include four consecutive birdies. At 13-under par, she had a three-shot cushion over Chella Choi and Jennifer Kupcho, who both shot 69. Charley Hull and first-round co-leader Gemma Dryburgh were four shots back. A round of 70 by Min Seo Kwak at Galgrom put her alone in sixth at eight-under par. AtthayaThitikul and Mina Harigae remained in the mix at seven-under par, while Pernilla Linberg’s 66 was in a group of three at six-under. Fourteen more players including the likes of Ryann O’Tooler, Su Oh, Georgia Hall and Sarah Kemp sat at five and four-under par. Among those who missed the two-day cut were Angel Yin and Jeonguen Lee6.
Third Round
PajareeAnannarakurn shot seven-under par on her final 10 holes at Galgrom, good for a round of 66 and tied at the top at 13-under par. She was joined by Jennifer Kupcho and Emma Talley, who shot a round of 73, including a double bogey 7 on the 9th. Chella Choi was just a shot off the pace and AtthayaThitikul and Wichanee Meechai were at ten-under and nine-under, respectively. Liz Nagel posted her best round of the tournament with a 67 and was one of five players at eight-under par. Yealimi Noh’s 68 was the top score of the group of four sitting at seven-under. A large group of nine players were bunched at six-under par, including Paula Reto, who shot a nifty round of 67. The scoring was so good that the third-round cut was at four-under. Notables missing the final round were Lizette Salas and Bronte Law.
Final Round
Despite typical difficult final round pin positions, several players made the course look easy. Pernilla Linberg shot the round of the day with a 66, vaulting her from 34th to tie for 8th at 11-under par. She was joined by Sarah Kemp and Winachee Meechai. Australia’s Sydnee Michaels birdied the last three holes to get into a tie for 5th with Mina Harigae and Chella Choi. Alone in fourth was AtthayaThitikul of Thailand, who finished at 13-under. Jennifer Kupcho failed to make a move, posting a relatively mediocre 71 and finished third at 14-under par.
The battle for the title came down to Emma Talley and PajareeAnannarukarn. A triple bogey on the par 4 seventh put Anannarukarn in hole. Talley had a one-shot lead after a birdie at the 13th put her at 17-under par. Anannarukarn recovered, while Tally had two bogeys coming in. Both finished at 16-under par, forcing a playoff. After both players shot par on the first hole of sudden death, Anannarukarn came out on top in the second hole, earning her first LPGA Tour win.
Of the notables, Yu Liu finished 25th after her second straight round of 68. Georgia Hall and Yealimi Noh finished at nine-under, while Charley Hull was one of eight at eight-under.
Coming Up
The top female players from around the world take part in the Tokyo Olympics August 3 – 6. The LPGA Tour returns to action August 12-15 at Fife, Scotland for the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open. This 72-hole event takes place at the 6453-yard, par 71 Dumbarnie Links. Stacy Lewis won last year’s event after draining a long birdie putt in the first playoff hole. The purse is $1.5 million with 500 points towards the CME Race to the Globe for the winner.
