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LPGA Tour News

The LPGA schedule for the 2019 is in the home stretch with an eye on the CME Group Tour Championship, now in sight. This weekend, the tour was in Texas for the Volunteers of America Championship with a $1.3 million purse at stake.

In the first round, Stephanie Meadow paced the field with a round of 63.Scoring was excellent on Thursday as 41 players broke par. Two shots back sat Dori Carter and Amy Olson, while Moriya Jutanugarn and LPGA rookies Cheyenne Knight and Ruixin Liu all shot 66.Lurking at five shots back was Ariya Jutanugarn, still looking for her first win of the season.

On Friday, Alena Sharp got off to a blistering start, shooting five-under on the front nine. She finished with the best round of the day at 65. She was tied with Brittany Altomare and Cheyenne Knight at the top at -9.Katherine Perry. Jaye Marie Green sat just two shots back and Ariya Jutanugarn was in a five-way fie for 7^th at -6.While many did well in another fine day of scoring Nanna Koerstz Madsen fell to 32^nd with a 74 after an opening round of 66. Moriya Jutanugarn posted a 9 on the part 4 fourth and finished at 77, tied for 54^th.

The end of Saturday’s play saw another player surge to the top of the leaderboard. Jay Marie Green was on a record pace, shooing 7-under on the front nine. She finished with a 64 for the day and -14 for the tournament. She held a single shot lead over Knight and Altomare. A 67 by Sei Young Kim moved her into fifth at -9 and number three player in the world, Jeongeun Lee6 as in a four-way tied at -8. Last week’s winner, MJ Hur was a non-factor at even par, tied for 47^th.

Georgia Hall made a fast run up the leaderboard in Sunday, shooting a 66 and tied for fourth. However, she finished seven shots behind winner Cheyenne Knight, who tied Hall for the round of the day. Knight finished two shots ahead of Altomare and Green. Hur posted a two-under round score to finish tied for 24^th, while Ariya Jutanugarn again failed to put together four good round, finishing 72-73 for a 23^rd place finish.

For Knight, it was her first career victory in her rookie season on the LPGA Tour. With no event next week, the tour heads to China for the Buick LPGA Shanghai when Danielle Kang is the defending champion. The women continue their stretch in southeast Asia at the inaugural BMW Ladies Championship October 24-27 in Busan, Korea.

Symetra Tour News

The Symetra Tour concluded the 2019 campaign with the Symetra Tour Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida. Scoring was excellent throughout the event. In the first round Laura Wearn, Kendra Dalton and Daniela Iacobelli all shot 7-under 65 to lead the tournament. Five players tied at second just a shot back, including Min Seo Kawk (11^th on the money list) and Laura Coughlin (15^th on the money list). The top five on the money list entering the even had mixed results. Perrine Delacour was at -4, Leona Maguire and Ssu Chia Cheng shot three-under 69. Patty Tavatanakit and Jillian Hollis failed to break 70, shooting 71 and 72, respectively.

In the second round, Nuira Iturrioz shot a 67 to take the lead at -11. She was two shots ahead of Sierra Sims and first round leader Lauran Wearn.Moving quickly up the leader board to -8were Julieta Granada and Matilda Castren, who posted the rounds of the day at 65 and 66.They were joined by Maria Parra, Jenny Coleman, Elizabeth Nagel, Dew Weber and Sophia Popov. Despite a 76 for Iocabelli and 74 for Min Seo Kwak, the overall scoring continued to be low, which gave indications of a weekend shootout in the making.

Wearn regained a share of the lead on Saturday with Sims at -12. They were a shot a head of Min Lee, Coleman Dewi Weber and Sophia Popov. The leaderboard was bunch as five others were in double-digits under par at -10.The top five on the money list continued to be mainly a non-factor, with Delacour closest to the leaders after a 70 put her at -7, tied for 20^th. Rachel Rohanna, Kelly Tan and Amy Bouldin joined Lee for the lowest rounds of the day at 67.

Coming out of nowhere on Sunday was Janie Jackson, who shot the round of the tournament at eight-under par 64. She recorded birdies on the 14^th through 17^th and eagled the 18^th to finish at -16, tied with Jenny Coleman, a shot off the pace. Laura Wearn did enough, posting a birdie on the last after a bogey on 17 to earn a one-shot win. The victory was her first of the season and second career win to go along with 10 top-ten finishes.

Dewi Weber was in good position for a run at the title, but shot a 75 to drop to tied for 20^th. Delacour, 1^st on the money list, finished tied for 14^th at -10. Sims dropped to 6^th after a 72, and Min Lee tied for 4^th.

Cheyenne Knight: Fore Ladies Golf Featured Player of the Week

For the casual golf fan, Cheyenne Knight hasn’t been a household name. In fact, the LPGA rookie was ranked 114^th in the world and 204 in the Race to the Globe enter this week. She had missed nine cuts this season with a top finish tied for 29^th at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship June 28. However, she broke through with her first LPGA victory this week, so who is Cheyenne Knight and how did she rise to the LPGA tour?

Knight grew up in The Woodlands, Texas. While she grew up idolizing Tiger Woods and Lorena Ochoa, her dad took her to the course daily and by the age of nine she knew that she wanted to play on the LPGA Tour.

After watching the Alabama women’s golf team win the National Championship in 2012, Knight decided she wanted to be a part of that program. She played for three years for the Crimson Tide, along with Emma Talley, who also joined the LPGA Tour. Knight made an immediate impact at Alabama, earning honors as freshman of the year. She made first team All-American team all three seasons at Alabama.

In 2017, Cheyenne played well enough at the LPGA Qualifying to earn status on the Symetra Tour for 2018. In 15 starts that season, Knight earned four top-ten finishes and tied for sixth at the Symetra Tour Championship. All told, she was 32^nd on the money list and had to fight her way through the LPGA Qualifying Tournament. She eventually earned her card for the 2019 season.

This week’s -18 par total at the Volunteer’s of America Classic was not only Knight’s breakthrough victory after a rough 2019 rookie season. It was also a historic moment, as she became the first former Alabama Crimson Tide golfer to earn a victory on the LPGA Tour.