Golf  

Undefeated Leona Maguire advances to LPGA Match Play semifinals.

Photo: The Canadian Press

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) — Leona Maguire won two more matches Saturday at Shadow Creek to advance to the semifinals in the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play.

The seventh-seeded Maguire, from Ireland, held off American Lindsey Weaver-Wright 3 and 2 to improve to 5-0. Maguire will face Ayaka Furue of Japan, also 5-0 after a 2-and-1 victory over third-seeded Celine Boutier of France.

In the other semifinal Sunday morning, Linn Grant of Sweden will face Pajaree Anannarukarn of Thailand. Grant beat Albane Valenzuela of Switzerland 3 and 1, and Anannarukarn edged Carlota Ciganda of Spain 3 and 2.

Maguire won the 2022 LPGA Drive On Championship in Florida for her lone LPGA Tour title. She beat Perrine Delacour 5 and 3 in the round of 16.

“Really happy to get through 36 holes today,” Maguire said. “It’s nice to be in the semifinal. Played some really solid golf today. A little scrappy maybe this afternoon, but knew it was going to be a battle out there and it was just a case of staying patient. Yeah, did enough to make it to tomorrow.”

Furue, seeded sixth, turned 23 on Saturday. She won the 2022 Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open for her lone LPGA Tour title.

“Just happy to win today,” Furue said. “It was really difficult and tough match today, two rounds."

The eighth-seeded Grant is winless on the LPGA Tour. The Swede starred at Arizona State.

“It’s stressful to play match play,” Grant said. “You get so happy when you get that win, and right now I’m just really very happy and excited for tomorrow.”

Anannarukarn, seeded 36th, won the 2021 ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland for her only LPGA Tour title.

“Just try to stay in the present moment,” Anannarukarn said. “That’s what I’ve been doing well and I’m glad that I was able to focus on that.”

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Pereira has hot finish at Trump National, leads LIV Golf DC

Photo: The Canadian Press

STERLING, Va. (AP) — Mito Pereira of Chile made five birdies over his last seven holes for a 5-under 67 on Saturday, giving him a one-shot lead over Harold Varner III at LIV Golf DC.

Pereira finished with two birdies at Trump National. He was as hot at the end of his round as Varner was cold. Varner, who had the 18-hole lead, had two bogeys with no birdies on the back nine to fall out of the lead with a 72.

Henrik Stenson had a 67 and was two shots behind, tied for third with Kevin Na (69).

Pereira signed with LIV Golf at the start of this year and will be going for his first victory on the Saudi-funded league. He has three wins on the Korn Ferry Tour and one win on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica in 2016. Pereira is best known for making double bogey on the final hole of the PGA Championship last year at Southern Hills to miss out on a playoff by one shot.

Brooks Koepka, coming off a PGA Championship victory at Oak Hill for his fifth major title, shot a 69 but remained six shots behind with one round to play.

Jason Kokrak withdrew and was replaced by Kieran Vincent of Zimbabwe, the younger brother of Scott Vincent and a winner last month at the Asian Tour International Series-Vietnam.

Phil Mickelson shot 75 and was in 43rd place in the 48-man field.

Pereira helped stake his Torque team to a three-shot lead.

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Schnek, Hall tied for Colonial lead after 3 rounds as both seek 1st PGA Tour win

Photo: The Canadian Press

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — PGA Tour rookie Harry Hall intended to slip on his Vegas Golden Knights jersey while playing Colonial's par-3 13th hole Saturday. That plan changed after falling out of the lead because of consecutive double bogeys.

It was only after finishing the third round back in a share of the lead, with Adam Schenk at 10-under 200, that the Englishman who lives in Las Vegas after playing at UNLV pulled on the jersey. His favorite NHL team was playing the local Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final.

“Being 3 over going into the (13th) hole, I didn’t think that would be the best thing to do,” said Hall, who was the solo leader after the first and second rounds. "Yeah, I’m T1 after the round, so I thought I’d wear it in the interviews.”

Hall's final putt in a round of 2-over 72 was a 10-foot par at No. 18 after he chipped from the fringe out of an awkward stance that had his heels hanging over the lip of a bunker. That followed a 10-foot birdie at the 383-yard 17th.

Schenk, also looking for his first win but in his 171st PGA Tour event, closed out a 67 with a 16-foot birdie putt.

“It was a lot of luck making that putt. It was a foot and a half of break and extremely fast,” he said.

The 31-year-old Indiana native was the runner-up at the Valspar Championship in mid-March, but has since missed four cuts and tied for 31st at the RBC Heritage. He hit 11 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens while recording only one bogey Saturday.

“We just did a really good job managing everything today. It was one of those days where right where we were looking was right where I actually hit it,” Scheck said. “It doesn’t happen very often, but it’s nice when it does.”

Harris English, who shot a 70 in the final group with Hall, was a stroke back at 9-under 201 after his bogey on 18, when an 8-foot par chance curled just by the cup. That was two holes after he had sole possession of the lead with a 40-foot birdie on the par-3 16th.

Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world and the Colonial runner-up last year, bogeyed three of his last five holes for a 72 after opening with consecutive 67s. He was among six players tied for 10th place at 4 under.

Defending champion Sam Burns, who overcame a seven-stroke deficit in the final round last year and beat Scheffler on the first playoff hole, had his second consecutive 70. He is tied for 16th at 3 under, again seven strokes off the lead after three rounds.

The only player to win in back-to-back years was Ben Hogan, who did it twice — 1946 and 1947, the event’s first two years, and again in 1952-53.

It is the first time since 2014 that it is a shared lead going into the final round at Colonial. There was a four-way tie after 54 holes that year, though eventual winner Adam Scott wasn't part of that quartet.

Hall’s double-bogeys came at Nos. 6 and 7, after 14 birdies and only two bogeys in his 41 holes before that.

After his tee shot at the 401-yard sixth hole went into the right rough, Hall’s approach settled behind a temporary concession stand. After several minutes with a rules official, a couple of drops on a cart and a couple of more on a washed-out area of turf, his pitch through a small gap came up short in the rough of the mounded green.

That double-bogey took him to 10 under, at the same time Emiliano Grillo missed a 6-foot par putt a hole ahead to drop to the same score — and a share of the lead, instead of having it outright.

Grillo has a double-bogey and two bogeys over his last six holes in a round of 72 that left him at 6 under and tied for fourth place with Justin Suh (66).

Hall’s approach at the 420-yard seventh flew out of bounds to the right off the green.

When he got to the 13th hole at 9 under, he was coming off a 12-foot birdie at No. 12. But that had followed a scrambling par on the 626-yard 11th hole when he was in the rough after each of his first two shots on what is the course’s longest hole by 80 yards.

“Yeah, to be T1 after today is pretty cool, especially after that front nine,” Hall said. “It goes to show how hard the course is, and I did a good job battling it back and getting those two birdies on that back nine.”

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Potty for Paddy: Bathroom break slows Harrington, who still leads Senior PGA

Photo: The Canadian Press

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Padraig Harrington was in perfect position in the 16th fairway, with a great chance to set the 54-hole scoring record for a comfortable lead at the Senior PGA Championship on Saturday.

Then the 51-year-old Irishman had to go to the bathroom.

Paddy found the port-a-potty, had trouble with the door, rushed to his next shot and ended up in a native area that led to a double-bogey.

“As we are on the Champions tour, I had the longest pee ever,” Harrington said. “And then I kind of rushed down the fairway and hit my shot. I just wasn’t focused, I wasn’t into it and I hit a bad shot in the hazard. That's my excuse. That's got to be original, I would assume.”

Well, at least he still has the lead in what will be a tight final-round matchup of opposing Ryder Cup captains from 2021.

Steve Stricker, the hottest PGA Tour Champions player by far and leader of the U.S. rout over Harrington's crew at Whistling Straits, is one shot back after matching Harrington's tournament-best, 8-under 64 from the opening round.

Harrington's lead on the back nine was briefly as big as six shots. Instead, he settled for a second consecutive 68 and was at 16-under 200, one stroke off Sam Snead's 50-year-old Senior PGA record for 54 holes.

Stricker extended his Champions-record streak of rounds of par or better to 48 in a row with four birdies on each nine. The 56-year-old hasn’t finished outside the top eight in his first eight Champions starts.

“That’s a fun position to be in, to try to be aggressive and you really got nothing to lose, you’re trying to move your way up the leaderboard,” said Stricker, who is coming off a win in the first senior major of the season, a second consecutive Regions Tradition victory two weeks ago.

Stewart Cink aced the 191-yard 13th hole in the first event on the Fields Ranch East course at the new Texas headquarters of the PGA of America, about 35 miles north of Dallas in Frisco.

He is three shots behind Harrington as the last of only three within six shots of the lead on a par-72 layout set to host the PGA Championship in 2027 and 2034 and possibly a Ryder Cup in the late 2030s.

Robert Karlsson, Darren Clarke and Y.E. Yang were at 9 under, a stroke better than defending Senior PGA champion Steven Alker, who shot 69.

Harrington gave Cink a leaping high-five after his playing partner's 6-iron bounced about 20 feet in front of the 13th hole and rolled in. Cink kissed his wife and caddie, Lisa, and gave the signed ball to a fan.

Making his PGA Tour Champions debut days after turning 50, Cink had to drop out of a native area on the next hole at 14 but salvaged a par. Two birdies and a bogey over the final four holes left him at 67.

“I don’t know if I was ever eight back. I think I was seven,” Cink said. “She (Lisa) said, ‘Let’s just try to like kind of pick our way back into sort of like shouting distance here.’ It kind of gave me confidence to just, instead of getting it all back at once, I could just kind of pick away at it.”

Harrington, the 2008 PGA champion and a two-time British Open winner, was on the verge of a runaway through 50 holes, and even escaped what looked to be the first momentum-turning moment.

Right on the edge of a native area on the short par-4 15th, Harrington took several swings to see how the tall grass would affect the shot, then finally put the ball inside 15 feet and just missed the birdie putt.

There was no escaping the trouble at the par-4 16th.

Harrington knew immediately his approach shot wasn't good, and took several whacks at the tall grass before attempting the first shot. The ball barely moved, and the second attempt was a high-arching shot that landed about 20 feet from the cup. Harrington missed the bogey putt.

“I knew he went to the restroom because I was telling a story and he dipped in,” Cink said. “Must not have been a very good story, because he just had to go hit the restroom instead of listening to the rest of my story.”

Stricker tied Harrington with a birdie putt on the par-5 18th, but Harrington matched it to retake the lead, blasting a long bunker shot inside 10 feet.

Harrington is looking to become the first wire-to-wire winner of the event since Rocco Mediate in 2016.

“Some days ... you hit a bad shot and you get a break and you make birdies,” Harrington said. “Other days you play nice and solid and steady and then it just kind of gets in on you. I would be thrilled if I turn up tomorrow and play like I played today.”

Maybe with a little better timing on a bathroom break, though.

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Varner leads LIV event as Koepka struggles in return from 5th major victory

Photo: The Canadian Press

STERLING, Va. (AP) — Brooks Koepka returned from the high of winning his fifth major championship with a flat round of even-par 72 that left him eight shots behind Harold Varner III on Friday after the opening round of LIV Golf DC at Trump National.

Koepka still had reason to be thankful. On the first hole that he used driver, the face cracked.

“Thank God it cracked now instead of coming down the stretch last week,” Koepka said.

The drive came in handy when he hit one of his best tee shots on the reachable par-4 14th onto the fringe at Oak Hill, carried the bunkers on the 15th that set up a wedge out of the rough to 4 feet and another PGA Championship title.

It was back to LIV Golf just five days after his major victory.

Varner started his round with a bogey on the par-3 fourth hole, and that was his only mistake. He had a pair of eagles and five birdies for a 64, giving him a two-shot lead over former U.S. Amateur champion James Piot.

Andy Ogletree, getting another start as an alternate for Paul Casey and his wounded foot, was in the group at 68 that included British Open champion Cameron Smith.

Phil Mickelson had six bogeys in his round of 74.

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Tour rookie Hall up 3 despite English ace at Colonial, "Block' party over

Photo: The Canadian Press

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Harris English quipped to his caddie that no one is beating him at Colonial's par-3 eighth hole, which is true after he followed his birdie in the opening round with a hole-in-one Friday. There is only one player ahead of him on the overall leaderboard.

PGA Tour rookie Harry Hall from England maintained the solo lead through 36 holes at 12-under 128, making a spectacular save from the sand at that same par 3, for a three-stroke lead over English. After opening with an 8-under 62, Hall had four consecutive birdies midway through his second-round 66.

Hall's birdie streak ended with a bogey at the par-4 third, his 12th of the day, when he missed the fairway and then came up short of the green before a two-putt from 9 feet.

In the final group of the day, Hall's tee shot at No. 8 plugged into the side of the deep bunker fronting the green.

“I could only see two dimples,” he said.

After knocking the ball loose but failing to get it out of the sand on his first attempt, Hall saved par by popping it out on the next try. The ball landed at the edge of the green and rolled into the cup.

“When it went back into the bunker, it wasn’t too much of a bad, a hard shot," Hall said. “I just played it like a normal shot and tried to get it high and spin it as quick as possible, and I did just that.”

English’s ace at the 170-yard eighth was part of his bogey-free 66.

“Hard 9 ... pushed it about 4 or 5 yards right of where I was aiming, but it’s a good thing that hole got in the way,” English said. “Just one of those shots where I struck it pure, right at the flag.”

His third hole-in-one on the PGA Tour was the first at Colonial’s No. 8 hole since Jim Furyk in 2011.

English was a stroke ahead of Emiliano Grillo, who shot a round-best 65 to get to 8 under. Adam Schnek (67), Byeong Hun An (66) and Robby Shelton (67) were tied for fourth.

Scottie Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player and Colonial runner-up in a playoff last year, had his second consecutive round of 67 and was tied for seventh at 6-under 134. Justin Rose, whose 11 PGA Tour wins include Colonial five years ago, was tied for ninth at 5 under after as bogey-free 66.

Jordan Spieth, still dealing with a sore left wrist, shot 72 both days to miss the cut. The 11th-ranked player had three bogeys and a birdie over his last four holes.

Michael Block, the 46-year-old club pro from California who became a sensation for everyday golfers by tying for 15th Sunday in the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, was last in the 120-player Colonial field at 15-over 155. After his opening 81, he was seven strokes better with a 74 that included back-to-back birdies midway through the round.

It was an exhausting span for Block, who hit only 11 of 28 fairways over two rounds, but was still mingling with fans — signing autographs and taking photos — hours after his final putt before flying home.

Other than the hole-in-one, it was just a steady round for four-time PGA Tour winner English, who had a third-place finish earlier this month at the Wells Fargo Championship. He hit 11 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens.

“When I did get in trouble off the tee or around the green, I got up and down. Made a really nice par on No. 9,” English said. “I had a lot of seemed like 15 or 20-footers and didn’t make much. ... But as long as I keep that ball-striking going and keep giving myself chances, then some good things will happen this weekend.”

Coming off the hole-in-one, English drove into the right rough at No. 9 and then into a greenside bunker before blasting to 6 feet and made the par-saving putt. His only birdie on the back nine was the 12th, when he made a 17-footer off the fringe.

Grillo, the 30-year-old from Argentina, was even on the round before making the turn with a birdie from a greenside bunker at the 389-yard 10th. That was the first of five backside birdies, including long putts on both par 3s — from 19 foot at No. 13, and nearly 38 feet at the 16th — before an approach to 7 feet at No. 18.

“It’s a lot of different clubs off the tee. Got to keep it in the fairway, got to keep it on the green. I would think that’s my strong part of the game,” Grillo said. “I was lucky enough to make a few good putts on the back nine. So happy to finish with a great shot on 18, and a good putt."

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Cink contending in Champions debut, trails Harrington by 4 at Senior PGA

Photo: The Canadian Press

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Senior PGA Championship wasn't Stewart Cink's first choice for his first tournament after turning 50.

The potential prize would be a lot more than a consolation.

Cink shot a second consecutive 4-under 68 and trailed Padraig Harrington by four shots after the second round of the Senior PGA on Friday at the new Texas headquarters of the PGA of America.

Harrington followed his opening 64 with a bogey-free 68 and was at 12-under 132. Japan's Katsumasa Miyamoto was three behind Harrington in his Senior PGA debut after a 69.

Steve Stricker, who won the first senior major of the season two weeks ago at the Regions Tradition, shot 67 and was at 7 under.

Making his PGA Tour Champions debut four days after his 50th birthday, Cink committed late to the event about 35 miles north of Dallas.

An eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, including the 2009 British Open, Cink wanted to make sure he wasn't in the field at Colonial in Fort Worth, about 60 miles from PGA Frisco's Fields Ranch East course.

He didn't figure he would get into the Charles Schwab Challenge, and he's more than happy competing against players he used to see all the time on the regular tour.

“When I didn’t get into Colonial, I was not too upset,” Cink said. “I was looking forward to playing here as a backup. So it’s been a fun week. It’s at least lived up to my expectations and probably more.”

Cink still wants to play on the regular tour, specifically try to keep himself in the running for the lucrative events with elevated purses that were a response to LIV Golf.

“I’m going to have to have a heck of a summer to get in those, but I want to try to get in those, give myself a chance,” said Cink, whose second round was much less eventful with five birdies and a bogey after an eagle, five birdies and three bogeys in his Champions debut.

“I think if I just converted to this tour right away and played the rest of the summer right away, and just didn’t give myself any chance to get into those big tournaments, I think I would look back and say, ‘Why didn’t I at least give it a shot?’” Cink said.

Stricker holed out for eagle from 88 yards on the par-5 14th and surged into the top 10, where he has finished in all eight Champions starts this year with two victories. The 56-year-old has a Champions-record 47 consecutive rounds of par or better.

“I expect to play well. I don’t know wherever that leads me, it will lead me,” said Stricker, who almost holed his approach at the par-5 18th as well. “But I expect to get up there and play well and I have confidence in my game and what I’ve been doing lately.”

Cink and his wife, Lisa, a cancer survivor who is caddying for her husband, both turned 50 recently. They celebrated her milestone in Las Vegas and Zion National Park in Utah before going to the Bahamas for more partying.

“We’ve been doing a lot of celebrating and having fun and just kind of kicking back,” Cink said. “Sort of remembrance mode. We’ve been thinking back about how, just feels like it’s been like this (snaps fingers) that we just got started on the PGA Tour and now here we are getting started on a new tour at 50.”

Darren Clarke, the 2011 British Open champion, and South Korea's Y.E. Yang, a Dallas resident who won the 2009 PGA Championship, both opened with consecutive 69s. They are at 6 under with Alex Cejka (70) and Adilson da Silva.

“Yesterday, I didn’t play great and then finished off really strongly,” Clarke said. “Today I played nicely all day. Kept giving myself chances on the back nine there. Then made a poor swing into 16. Completely misjudged the shot into 17. So you make two late bogeys like that, that’s a bit of a sour taste in your mouth.”

A Brazilian raised in South Africa who is playing in the U.S. for the first time, da Silva reached 8 under before consecutive bogeys on the way to 71.

Defending champion Steven Alker is another shot back at 5 under after a 69.

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'Block' party over at Colonial for PGA Championship sensation club pro

Photo: The Canadian Press

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Michael Block walked out after signing his scorecard at Colonial on Friday afternoon with his cap turned backward, his shirt untucked and still with a smile on his face after a grueling 36 holes and being at the bottom of the 120-player field.

A week after the club pro from California became a sensation for everyday golfers by finishing tied for 15th in the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, Block was looking forward to finally getting home and playing with his black Labrador in the backyard. Only then, he said, would he be able to fully exhale and reflect on how much his life has changed in the past week.

“I'm not trying to do anything, period. I'm just playing golf," the 46-year-old Block said. “That's what I know to do.”

After a week of intense attention with countless media interviews, thousands of texts and messages that included one from Michael Jordan, and a late sponsor's exemption to play in the Charles Schwab Challenge, the exhausted Block never got his game going at Colonial — “I have no legs,” he said. He still felt good with his irons, short game and putter, but hit only 11 of 28 fairways over two rounds.

“Even when I hit it good, it would land over the bunker and then bounce back in the left of the bunker when it shouldn’t," he said. “I think I felt the wrath of the golf gods this week, which I get it. I completely get it, and I don’t blame them for it because they gave me a lot of positive things last week.”

His 4-over 74 on Friday was seven strokes better than his opening 81 that began with three consecutive bogeys, included a par after an approach off a cart bridge and ended with three double-bogeys the last four holes.

There were consecutive birdies in the second round, a 19-foot putt at No. 18 before making his turn with a 4-footer at the par-5 first. But there were also two more double-bogeys, though Block doffed his cap to a receptive crowd and more shouts of “Block Party!” after walking onto the No. 9 green to finish his final hole.

Block had a flight scheduled Friday evening to go home to California, seven days after originally planning to return from the PGA Championship in New York.

“So if that gives you any confidence on how much I had of making the cut at the PGA Championship. My whole family, everybody, everyone that even came out to watch me last weekend was scheduled to go out on Saturday,” Block said. “For me to finish 15th and make the cut and be there on Sunday and for whatever happened happened is insane because we were all going home Saturday morning. ... Life changed a little bit since then, and I’ve enjoyed every single moment.”

From the moment he showed up at Colonial, Block shook hands and greeted volunteers, jumped into selfies and signed autographs for fans young and old. More than two hours after his final putt Friday, he was still near the clubhouse mingling with fans.

“I thought I was just going to hit a chord with like 40-year-olds— with the dad bods, which I think I did,” he said. “But I think I hit a chord with all the other ones too, which is really, really cool. I met a lot of young people and old people and middle-aged people and whatever else. It’s my appreciation to them all. I just want to say thank you.”

After some time at home playing with Messi, the black lab, and reuniting with members and friends at Arroyo Trabuco in Mission Viejo, California, where he is the head pro, Block will get another chance on the PGA Tour. He has a sponsor's exemption to play at the RBC Canadian Open in two weeks.

“I can’t wait for Canada,” he said. “I cannot wait to get to Toronto.”

The Block party isn't completely over yet.

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Rose Zhang leaves dominant amateur career to turn pro

Photo: The Canadian Press

Rose Zhang dominated amateur golf like no other female in the modern game. Now the Stanford star is ready to take on the best.

Zhang announced Friday she is turning pro, ending an amateur career in which the 20-year-old sophomore set the Stanford record with 12 wins — one more than Tiger Woods — in only 20 tournaments.

She won the Augusta National Women's Amateur, followed that with her second straight NCAA titles and was No. 1 in the amateur world ranking for 141 weeks, another record.

“Wow ... it's finally happening," Zhang announced on Instagram. “The endless love, support and inspiration from so many people brought me to this point of my golf career.”

She will have no shortage of opportunities — the remaining four majors, including the U.S. Women's Open and the Women's British Open — have given her special exemptions.

The Women's Open is at Pebble Beach, the most iconic of U.S. Open venues, for the first time. While no longer an amateur, Zhang is the first player to get a special invitation to the U.S. Women’s Open without having LPGA status since Michelle Wie West.

“This is a big moment for our sport, and I’m very appreciative of the USGA for the opportunity to be part of it,” Zhang said.

Even rarer is getting an invitation to the Women's British.

“Rose Zhang is an incredibly talented golfer who has already written her name into the history books as an amateur golfer,” said Martin Slumbers, the CEO of the R&A. “It is very rare that we grant a special exemption for the AIG Women’s Open but we believe that Rose’s exceptional achievements to date warrant her inclusion in the field at Walton Heath.”

Zhang will make her debut next week in the Mizuho Americas Open, a new tournament hosted by Michelle Wie West at Liberty National in New Jersey.

“Rose is one of the greatest amateur golfers in the history of the sport – male or female – and we are thrilled to welcome her into our field," said Jerry Rizzieri, the president and CEO of Mizuho Securities USA.

It was an example of the hype that Zhang brings with her to the professional game. But then, she has been facing expectations ever since she won the U.S. Women's Amateur and the U.S. Girls Junior. She was the eighth player to win both, but the first to win the Women's Amateur (at age 17) before the Junior.

Along with the two NCAA titles — Stanford won the team title last year — the final piece of an incomparable career was the Augusta National Women's Amateur, already among the elite amateur events because it is held at the home of the Masters.

She also will player the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati, an event run by Excel Sports, the management agency with whom she signed.

Zhang already has NIL deals at Stanford, and given her mixture of prodigious talent and remarkable grace and humility, likely will be among the highest-paid in women's golf through corporate endorsements. Such announcements are expected next week.

Zhang grew up in Irvine, California, and spent two years at Stanford. Her 12 career titles — the last won was the NCAA — broke the record previously held by Tiger Woods, Patrick Rodgers and Maverick McNealy. She tied the Pac-12 record set by Lorena Ochoa at Arizona.

Zhang first reached No. 1 in the women's amateur ranking in September 2020. She broke Lydia Ko's record of 130 consecutive weeks at No. 1, and overall record (141 weeks) that was set by Leona Maguire.

Along with the two Opens, the KPMG Women's PGA at Baltusrol and the Amundi Evian Championship in France, Zhang has accepted invitations to play the Dana Open near Toledo, Ohio, and the Canadian Women's Open. She could qualify for other LPGA events by finishing in the top 10.

While turning pro, Zhang said she would finish her degree at Stanford.

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Nordqvist goes distance again, Valenzuela topples Vu in LPGA Match Play

Photo: The Canadian Press

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) — Anna Nordqvist was among 11 players who won matches for the second straight day, only the three-time major champion from Sweden had to work the longest at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play.

Nordqvist had her second match go all 18 holes Thursday before she held on for a 1-up victory over Lauren Coughlin. Nordqvist never trailed, but she watched a 4-up lead after eight holes shrink to 1 up after the 13th.

They halved the last five holes, leaving Nordqvist in good position — but still not safe — to win her group and advance to the knockout stage on the weekend at Shadow Creek.

The second day of round-robin group play was all about staying alive, and 16 players from the field of 64 already are mathematically eliminated. Xiyu “Janet” Lin was the only top seed in her group to get eliminated, losing another match, this time to Pajaree Anannarukarn.

The tournament attracted only two of the top 10 players in the women's world ranking, and both suffered setbacks in the second round.

Albane Valenzuela, a runner-up in the U.S. Women's Amateur four years ago, won four holes in a five-hole stretch around the turn to knock off Lilia Vu, the top seed and winner of the LPGA's first major this year at the Chevron Championship.

Valenzuela (2-0) faces Lauren Hartlage on Friday for a chance to advance. Hartlage is the lowest-ranked player in the tournament who has lost both matches before they reached the 17th hole.

“Very happy to walk away with a win,” Valenzuela said. “I knew this was going to be a very tough match. Lilia is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world and made me work for the points. She definitely left some putts out there, and I did as well, so we kind of fought ’til the end.”

Brooke Henderson won three straight holes to build a 1-up lead at the turn, only for the Canadian to make five bogeys the rest of the way and lose, 1 up, to Sophia Schubert. Henderson had an 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th to halve the match, and the putt missed right of the hole by several inches.

The top player from each of the 16 groups advance to the weekend.

Maja Stark of Sweden built a big lead for the second straight match and then had to hang on to beat Yu Liu to raise her record to 2-0. Another young Swedish star, Linn Grant, went 18 holes for the second straight day. She halved her match on Wednesday, and then had a wild match against Matilda Castren.

Grant was 3 down after four holes. She rallied to win three straight holes before the turn. None of the final six holes was halved, and Grant did enough to win 2 up.

“I just had a mindset that it is a tough golf course, so anything can happen on any hole,” Grant said. “You just have to keep hitting fairways and trying to hit those greens. A lot of times you win a hole on par because it is tough.”

Angel Yin pulled off an unlikely win. She was 1 down to Esther Henseleit of Germany playing the par-3 17th. Yin hit over the green on a rough-filled bank, about 10 feet beyond the putting surface. Henseleit had 12 feet for birdie. Yin used her putter to punch the ball along the thick grass, onto the green to about 5 feet. Henseleit missed her birdie and Yin stayed in the match.

On the 18th, Yin hammered a drive along the firm fairway and hit a wedge to 10 feet, making the birdie putt to earn a tie. She will play Ally Ewing, who has won two matches without having to play the 17th hole either day.

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Kiwi golfer Michael Hendry receiving treatment for leukemia

Photo: The Canadian Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand golfer Michael Hendry will miss this year’s British Open while receiving treatment for leukemia.

Hendry, who has won tournaments on the Australian and Japan tours and most recently won the Vic Open in Australia in February, was diagnosed with leukemia in April.

He has undergone one course of chemotherapy and is in remission. The 43-year-old said he has a “90%” chance of a full recovery.

Hendry expects to have three more cycles of chemotherapy and will be back in Auckland Hospital from Monday.

“The last six weeks have seen me in hospital undergoing treatment to try and rid myself of the disease,” he said in a social media post. “I have a long battle ahead of me.

“This is the fight of my life, a fight for my life, but one I am determined to win.”

Hendry had qualified for the British Open and was due to play the tournament for the third time. But he said while his prognosis is good, he likely would relapse if he stopped his treatment.

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Harrington shoots 8-under 64 for 1st-round lead at Senior PGA Championship

Photo: The Canadian Press

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Padraig Harrington didn't intend for the PGA Championship to be a tuneup for the senior version a week later.

It could be turning out that way.

Harrington shot 8-under 64 on Thursday in the first competitive round at the new Texas headquarters of the PGA of America for a two-shot lead at the Senior PGA Championship.

The 51-year-old Irishman finished 7 over at Oak Hill with an 8-over 43 on the front nine Saturday. Par instead on that wayward nine would have meant a top-20 finish, but Harrington didn't see it that way.

“I was at least a week short in preparation,” Harrington said. “I felt I was getting into it last week, but I wasn’t there. I need to do a better job when I’m away from tournaments. So, last week it definitely helped me get where I am today, no doubt about it.”

Japan's Katsumasa Miyamoto shot 66 and Brazilian Adilson da Silva had a 67 in the Senior PGA debut for both. Phillip Price also shot 67 at PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch East course, about 35 miles north of Dallas.

Stewart Cink was in a large group another shot back in his first PGA Tour Champions start four days after turning 50. Miguel Angel Jimenez, Robert Karlsson, Thomas Bjorn, Alex Cejka, Charlie Wi and Richard Green joined Cink with 68s.

Steve Stricker, who won the season's first PGA Tour Champions major two weeks ago with his second consecutive Regions Tradition title, and defending champion Steven Alker shot 70.

Justin Leonard, seeking his first Champions title not far from where the 50-year-old grew up in Dallas, shot 71.

Harrington made a long birdie putt on the par-4 second hole and chipped in for another birdie at 10. He hit his approach to about two feet on the par-4 16th and got up and down from the fringe behind the green for birdie at the par-5 18th.

Playing partner Rocco Mediate, who was thrilled with his 69, said Harrington “dismantled” a course set to host the PGA Championship in 2027 and 2034, and possibly a Ryder Cup sometime in the late 2030s.

Harrington appreciated how Mediate was chatty during the round, the same he was with reporters afterward. ("So get to the 64 guy," Mediate said as he was finishing in the player interview tent with Harrington watching off to the side.)

“In some ways the reason it was an easy 64 is because when you’re playing with somebody like Rocco, there’s always a bit of chat and there’s always a bit of fun going on, so you’re quite relaxed,” Harrington said. “There was just plenty of conversation. And you end up shooting 64 and you go, ‘Oh, what, you know,’ you’d nearly forgotten about your score.”

Harrington won four times in his Champions debut last year, including the U.S. Senior Open and the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship. He has four top 10s in five starts this season.

Starting on the back nine, Miyamoto opened with a 32 that included a bogey before getting two birdies on his back nine.

“I started with the birdie, birdie, birdie, so nice rhythm,” Miyamoto said. “First tee shot very nervous, but make a birdie, so kind of relax. This course is really tough. The rough is tough.”

There were two aces among the early finishers. Dave McNabb recorded his on the 161-yard eighth hole on the way to a 78 for the Pennsylvania club pro.

Corey Pavin had one at the 183-yard No. 4 when his shot bounced on the front edge of the green and rolled about 40 feet into the cup. The 1995 U.S. Open champion shot 71.

Cink eagled the par-5 first, his 10th hole of the day, with a second shot that settled inside five feet. His round included five birdies and three bogeys.

The 2009 British Open champ said he stays in touch with his contemporaries who had already moved on to the Champions circuit, but rarely gets to see them. Until now.

“I can see why guys really enjoy playing on the PGA Tour Champions. It's fun,” Cink said. “And after you’ve been in the grind for a long time — it’s a grind out here, too, the guys play great. But it’s just, out here, it’s like grinding with a smile.”

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