At the Japan Classic, Rio Takeda won against American Marina Alex in a six-hole sudden-death play-off to secure her first LPGA tour title.
Due to the unexpected weather on the day of the competition, the play was shortened to 54 regulation holes. The 21-year-old athlete forced a play-off by birdieing the 18th hole, leaving them at 15 under.
The first play-off hole was birdied by both players, and they both found par on the following four holes. However, on the par-five 18th hole, Takeda made a birdie to seal her win and defeat Alex, who could only manage par.
Takeda has earned a tour card as a result of the play-off victory, which was one of the longest in LPGA history. With this, the athlete said: “I was planning to take Q School in December and now I can skip that and go and play next year on the LPGA tour, which is exciting for me now.”
In a social media post, Takeda also stated (translated): “It’s been a long time until the playoffs, but I think we won the championship thanks to everyone who supported us until the end 😆”
The top women’s professional golf circuit announced that American world number one Nelly Korda has secured the LPGA’s points-based player of the year award with three events remaining in the 2024 season.
This season, Korda has finished in the top 10 three times and scored six victories. Moreover, the athlete won five tournaments in a row as she secured her second major title.
Korda stated: “This season has had its highs and challenges, and I’m just really grateful for the people around me who have helped me get here… It’s been a team effort, and I’m proud to share this moment with them.”
Despite missing the autumn Asian swing because of a neck injury, Korda was a member of the winning squad at the Solheim Cup and represented the United States in the women’s golf competition at the Paris Olympics.
American golfer Matt McCarty won his first PGA Tour title at the inaugural Black Desert Championship in Utah, guaranteeing him a spot at the Masters and PGA Championship the following year.
With his three-shot victory over Stephan Jaeger of Germany, the 26-year-old left-hander athlete earned a two-year exemption. This was also McCarty’s first season on the tour.
After achieving a four-under-par 67 shot to finish on 23 under, the athlete declared: “It’s been an unbelievable last few months… It was a lot of fun (and a) pretty surreal moment.”
In a social media post, McCarty declared: “First trophy on TOUR 🏆”
The athlete secured his tour spot this year after winning three times on the development Korn Ferry Tour.
Highlights of the match
McCarty had a two-stroke lead over Jaeger, Joe Highsmith, Kevin Steelman, and Harris English as the match entered the final round. The final had been reduced to one with five holes remaining.
An eagle two on the par-four secured victory for McCarty, as he made two more birdies and a bogey before celebrating his success with his caddie and family.
With her fifth straight victory, world number one Nelly Korda set an LPGA record and won the Chevron Championship, her second major title and 13th career tour victory.
At Carlton Woods, a suburban Houston golf course, Korda endured a tense back nine but never gave up to fight off competitors over the final holes. With her dedication and exceptional plays, she won the $1.2 million top prize in the first women’s major of the season.
Korda’s season win run surpassed five championships in five starts with her two-stroke victory over Maja Stark of Sweden. This accomplishment tied the LPGA record achieved by Nancy Lopez of the United States in 1978 and Annika Sorenstam of Sweden in 2004 to 2005.
Korda declared after her win: “I can finally breathe now. That back nine felt like the longest back nine of my entire life… It was a little bit of a grind on the back nine but happy to get the win.”
Korda’s season performance
After 72 holes, Korda shot a final round three-under par 69 to finish at 13-under 275. Stark finished second on 277. American Lauren Coughlin and Canadian Brooke Henderson shared third place on 278. Ryu Hae-ran, a South Korean, finished fifth on 279 after closing with 74.
The daughter of former Czech tennis player Petr Korda, Korda won the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics and the 2021 Women’s PGA Championship, her only other major victory. Additionally, Korda also won the LPGA Match Play earlier this month, the Ford and Seri Pak titles from the month before, and the Drive On Championship in January.
“There’s a key in the simplicity that I have. I honestly take it a shot at a time…It has been working so far. I feel like sometimes golf can get overcomplicated,” Korda admitted.
In celebration of her victory, Korda posted on her Instagram account: “I don’t even know where to begin, but I’ll start out with thanking my TEAM & FAMILY I wouldn’t be who I am without each and every one of you and I am SO grateful for y’all.
“Thank you to all the fans that came out, all the volunteers and everyone involved behind the scenes.”
Alex Eala, a rising Filipino tennis player, defeated Lesia Tsurenko, currently ranked 41st in the world, in what may have been one of her greatest professional victories in her entire tennis career, winning with a record of 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the Mutua Madrid Open’s next round of competitions.
In the opening set, Tsurenko demonstrated her dominance over the 18-year-old. Despite the strong start, Eala exhibited determination in the second set. Following losses of 0–2 and 2-4 due to a mistake by Eala, the 34-year-old Ukrainian tied the set at 4-all.
Eala won two games
The match was tied at one after the Eala won the following two games. Tsurenko took a 4-3 lead in the third set when the bronze medallist from the Asian Games made a mistake.
To advance to the next round of the tournament, Eala fought hard and won the next three games, which were highlighted by a mistake made by her opponent.
In the round of 64, Eala—who is presently ranked 170th in the world—will go up against Sorana Cirstea. Cirstea is presently ranked 31st in the world for women’s tennis. The winner of the round of 62 will take on either World No. 52 Xiyu Wang or World No.1 Iga Swiatek.
In her Instagram post, Eala posted: “Third times the charm… A first round win here in @mutuamadridopen!! First WTA1000 main draw win hehe… Vamoss! Pumped to go back for round.”
On the last hole of the 2024 Amundi Evian Championship in France, Japan’s Ayaka Furue made a spectacular, clutch putt for eagle to win by one stroke.
Furue, Stephanie Kyriacou of Australia, and Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand were tied at -17 going into the last hole. The Japanese athlete’s second attempt found the green, but she needed to remain composed to complete the task at hand. Furue finished the round at six under par, one shot ahead of Kyriacou, who birdied the last hole, after rolling in the eagle with composure. Furue finished the tournament at 19 under. Once her ball hit the bottom of the cup, the 24-year-old triumphantly raised her right arm in celebration.
With her win, Furue said: “I just kept trusting myself… It is breathtaking.” She won the tournament with an eagle on the last five holes, finishing five under par. Indeed, she definitely deserved the prize.
On being the fourth Japanese golfer to win a major title
Furue is the fourth different golfer from Japan to win a major tournament. She was preceded by Yuka Saso, who won the 2024 US Women’s Open last month, Chako Huguchi (1977) and Hinako Shibuno (2019), The athlete later described being a member of the Japanese major-winning team as an “incredible” honour.
Furue won the 2022 Women’s Scottish Open, making this her second career triumph on the LPGA Tour.
