Wichita Eagle: Golf

Jessica Korda leads Women's Australian Open

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:57 CST

American teenager Jessica Korda moved into position for a two-sport, father-daughter Australian double, shooting an even-par 73 on Saturday to take the third-round lead in the Women's Australian Open at difficult Royal Melbourne.

Korda, the 18-year-old daughter of 1998 Australian Open tennis champion Petr Korda, had a 4-under 215 total in the LPGA Tour opener on the historic club's Composite Course, the 2011 Presidents Cup venue that is hosting a women's professional event for the first time. She opened with rounds of 72 and 70.

So Yeon Ryu, the U.S. Women's Open champion who took a one-stroke lead into the third round, was a stroke back along with fellow South Korean player Hee Kyung Seo and Australia's Nikki Campbell. Ryu shot a 76, Seo had a 75, and Campbell a 70.

Wi patiently waits his turn to win

DOUG FERGUSON — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:17 CST

Charlie Wi is pleasant by nature, so he was not likely to be insulted when someone asked him if it felt like an out-of-body experience to see his name atop the leaderboard through two rounds of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

He escaped most of the rain Friday at Pebble Beach, holed out a wedge for eagle from the 13th fairway and escaped with bogey on his final hole for a 3-under 69 that gave him a three-shot lead over Dustin Johnson.

"It's my seventh year on the PGA Tour," Wi said. "I'm doing something good to be here for that long."

Pavin grabs early lead in Boca Raton

Sports Network — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:52 CST

Corey Pavin fired an eight-under 64 Friday to grab a two-stroke lead after the opening round of the Allianz Championship.

Pavin, the 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup captain, is in his third season on the Champions Tour, but is still looking for his first tour victory.

Bernhard Langer carded a six-under 66 and was joined in second place by Peter Senior and Fred Funk.

Wi leads by 3 at Pebble Beach; Tiger falls six back

Sports Network — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:22 CST

Charlie Wi carded a three-under 69 on Friday at Pebble Beach to take a three-stroke lead after two rounds of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Wi, who was one of three first-round leaders, finished 36 holes at 12-under- par 130. Having played Monterey Peninsula and Pebble Beach in the first two rounds, Wi will move to Spyglass Hill for round three.

With the pro-am format, the entire field rotates through the three courses for the first three days, then will shift to Pebble Beach for the final round.

Corey Pavin leads Allianz Championship

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:42 CST

Corey Pavin shot an 8-under 64 on Friday to take a two-shot lead over Fred Funk, Bernhard Langer and Peter Senior after the first round of the Allianz Championship.

Pavin, winless in 34 career starts in the Champions Tour, had six birdies in a seven-hole stretch to shoot a back-nine 29 at Broken Sound Golf Club.

He won 15 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, and set the nine-hole scoring record of 8-under 26 in the 2006 U.S. Bank Championship at Brown Deer Park.

Pavin grabs early lead in Boca Raton

Sports Network — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:42 CST

Corey Pavin fired an eight-under 64 Friday to grab a two-stroke lead after the opening round of the Allianz Championship.

Pavin, the 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup captain, is in his third season on the Champions Tour, but is still looking for his first tour victory.

Bernhard Langer carded a six-under 66 and was joined in second place by Peter Senior and Fred Funk.

McIlroy, Bjorn share 2nd-round lead in Dubai

MICHAEL CASEY — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:37 CST

Rory McIlroy and Thomas Bjorn each shot 7-under 65 to share the lead Friday after the second round of the Dubai Desert Classic.

McIlroy made seven birdies, including a 25-yard chip-in on No. 8. He overtook first-round leader Rafael Cabrera-Bello with a 13-under total of 131.

"I was never really under pressure in any point of the round," said McIlroy, the 2009 champion. "This was very stress-free golf; fairways most of the time, a lot of greens, and gave myself a lot of looks."

McIlroy, Bjorn share lead in Dubai

Sports Network — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:22 CST

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy and Thomas Bjorn both fired seven-under 65s Friday to move into a share of the lead after two rounds of the Dubai Desert Classic.

The duo finished 36 holes at 13-under-par 131 and share a one-stroke lead. McIlroy won twice last season, including his first major championship title as he claimed the U.S. Open, while Bjorn picked up three victories last season.

First-round leader Rafael Cabrera-Bello posted a three-under 69 and is alone in third place at minus-12.

Korda takes lead at Women's Australian Open

Sports Network — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 02:17 CST

On a Saturday when many players near the top of the leaderboard struggled, Jessica Korda shot an even-par 73 to claim the lead after three rounds of the Women's Australian Open.

The American Korda sits at four-under-par 215, one shot in front of Nikki Campbell, Hee Kyung Seo and So Yeon Ryu.

The shuffling of the leaderboard came after another tough round at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

Sand Creek Station to host 2014 Public Links Championship

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:35 CST

Newton’s Sand Creek Station Golf Course was named host of the 2014 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, the first USGA event for the six-year-old course.

The Public Links tournament, set for July 14-19, 2014, is for the nation’s best men’s amateur golfers who play public courses and hold no private club membership.

Sand Creek Station, owned by the city of Newton and operated by KemperSports, has previously hosted collegiate tournaments and will host this spring’s NJCAA men’s tournament and this summer’s Kansas Amateur for the first time.

Johnson among leaders at Pebble Beach; Tiger five back

Sports Network — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:45 CST

Dustin Johnson, Danny Lee and Charlie Wi shot rounds of nine-under par Thursday to take the lead after one round of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods made his season debut on the PGA Tour and is tied for 15th at minus-four.

The tournament uses three courses in Pebble Beach -- Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula -- for the first three rounds.

Wi opens up 3-shot lead at Pebble

DOUG FERGUSON — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:02 CST

Charlie Wi escaped most of the rain and built a three-shot lead Friday in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Sunshine gave way to clouds and eventually a light rain on the Monterey Peninsula, which put a stop to the low scoring. Wi holed out a wedge for eagle on the 13th hole at Pebble Beach and limited the damage to a bogey on his final hole for a 3-under 69.

Dustin Johnson shot 72 at Spyglass and was three back at 9-under 135.

Ryu leads Women's Australian Open

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:05 CST

U.S. Women's Open champion So Yeon Ryu shot a 4-under 69 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead over fellow South Korean player Hee Kyung Seo in the LPGA Tour's season-opening Women's Australian Open.

Ryu, a playoff winner over Hee in July at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., had a 6-under 140 total on Royal Melbourne's Composite Course, the 2011 Presidents Cup venue that is hosting a women's professional event for the first time.

"Today, my plan was always just par," Ryu said. "This course is really tough."

Lehman looks for more wins on Champions Tour

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:55 CST

Tom Lehman looks to continue feasting on the Champions Tour when he begins the defense of his title at the Allianz Championship Friday.

His victory at last year's Allianz Championship kick-started a season in which Lehman won the Charles Schwab Cup, the money title and was named by his peers as the Champions Tour's player of the year.

That honor completed a rare trifecta. Lehman became the first golfer to be named player of the year on the Nationwide Tour (1991), PGA Tour (1996) and Champions Tour.

Symetra Tour announces 2012 slate

Sports Network — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:30 CST

The Symetra Tour announced its schedule for the 2012 season on Thursday.

The schedule for the LPGA's developmental tour will have 16 events in 12 states and one in Mexico, and includes a purse of $1.8 million.

"We see the Symetra Tour as the best pathway for up-and-coming female professionals to earn their way to the LPGA Tour," said LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan. "By offering 10 exempt spots, we are solidifying the Symetra Tour as the proving ground for the LPGA and creating what amounts to a year- long battle to see which 10 players will earn equal playing status on next year's LPGA Tour."

McIlroy, Bjorn share 2nd-round lead in Dubai

MICHAEL CASEY — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:55 CST

U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy and Thomas Bjorn each shot 7-under 65 to share the lead after the second round of the Dubai Desert Classic.

McIlroy made seven birdies on Friday - including a chip-in on No. 8. He overtook first-round leader Rafael Cabrera-Bello with a 13-under total of 131.

Bjorn ran off five birdies on the back nine.

McIlroy, Bjorn share lead in Dubai

Sports Network — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:20 CST

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy and Thomas Bjorn both fired seven-under 65s Friday to move into a share of the lead after two rounds of the Dubai Desert Classic.

First-round leader Rafael Cabrera-Bello posted a three-under 69 and is alone in third place at minus-12.

Ryu grabs lead at Women's Australian Open

Sports Network — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:25 CST

Reigning U.S. Women's Open champion So Yeon Ryu fired a four-under 69 on Friday to climb into the lead after two rounds of the Women's Australian Open, while Hee Kyung Seo used a big round to get into contention.

Ryu sits at six-under-par 140, one shot in front of Seo, whose seven-under 66 on Friday turned her chances around after she began the LPGA season-opener with a 75. Seo was last season's rookie of the year.

First-round co-leaders Stacy Lewis and Sarah Kemp both struggled Friday. Kemp shot a six-over 79 and dropped into a tie for 19th at plus-two, while Lewis persevered through an eventful back nine to post an even-par 73.

Love preparing for a Ryder Cup year

DOUG FERGUSON — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:05 CST

There is plenty of evidence that this is a Ryder Cup year.

The U.S. players are starting to earn points from regular PGA Tour events, with Kyle Stanley atop the standings based on his runner-up finish and win in consecutive weeks. Davis Love III walks onto the range and players call him "captain."

Love, however, said the race to make the team really doesn't start until late May. That's when two dozen or so players begin getting fitted for uniforms.

Harrington trying to return to the elite

DOUG FERGUSON — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:31 CST

Padraig Harrington has been coming to the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for a half-dozen years, for reasons that cause some players to stay away.

The potential for a nasty mix of wind and rain?

He's from Ireland.