In stopping short of calling it a retirement, Michelle Wie West said that she no longer will compete regularly on the LPGA Tour after this week’s U.S. Women’s Open.
In an interview with Golfweek's Beth Ann Nichols, Wie West said that she intends to play in the 2023 U.S. Women's Open at Pebble Beach.
Wie West, a junior phenom, debuted on the LPGA as a 13-year-old and played a PGA Tour event at age 14. She won five times on the LPGA – twice while a student at Stanford – highlighted by the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open title at Pinehurst.
Wie West, 32, has been plagued by injuries throughout her career. She and husband Jonnie West, an executive with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, have a daughter who will be 2 next month.
American Nelly Korda, who has not competed on the LPGA Tour since early February because of surgery to remove a blood clot in her left arm, intends to return at the USWO. Korda, 23, a seven-time winner on the LPGA, is No. 2 in the Rolex Rankings. She recently released a video clip of her swing, featuring a protective sleeve on her left arm, via Instagram.
South Korea’s Inbee Park, whose seven major championships include the 2008 and 2013 U.S. Women’s Open titles, withdrew from this week’s event. Her manager told Golfweek that she will be taking a few weeks off to work on her game.
NBC Sports will televise more than 25 hours of this week’s U.S. Women’s Open from Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina, the network announced. The programming will be part of 150-plus hours of live coverage of USGA events this season (READ MORE).
The surge in NIL deals – that’s name, image and likeness – among amateur athletes has begun to take hold in golf, as well. And they’re not limited to the top players in the college ranks.
Xavier “Xeve” Perez, a 12-year-old from Evans, Georgia, became the first golfer under contract with Cobra Puma Golf. Perez, who reportedly has won more than 250 tournaments in nine years of junior golf and goes by “X Man,” will wear Puma apparel and play a full bag of Cobra clubs.
In a statement, Cobra Puma lauded Perez’s “personality, talent and love for the game,” adding that he is “a fantastic talent and role model.”
Though the deal with Perez is Cobra Puma’s first NIL signing, it’s hardly new territory for Perez. He also represents OnCore golf balls, JumboMax grips and EasyPost shipping.
TAP-INS
Stanford’s Rose Zhang was named winner of the Annika Award as the top player in women’s college golf on Tuesday, her 19th birthday. One day earlier, Zhang, a freshman from Irvine, California, won the NCAA individual title to lead her Cardinal team into the eight-team match-play finals of the NCAA Tournament, which they eventually won, at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. Zhang, the No. 1-ranked female amateur in the world, won the 2021 U.S. Girls’ Junior and the 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur titles and will be a returning member of the U.S. Curtis Cup team next month (READ MORE).
National Golf Links of America will host the 2030 Curtis Cup Match, the U.S. Golf Association announced. National Golf Links, a 1909 Charles Blair Macdonald design in Southampton, New York, was the site of the 1922 and 2013 Walker Cups. The news comes two weeks before Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, will host the top female amateurs from the U.S. against those from Great Britain and Ireland in the 42nd Curtis Cup on June 10-12 (READ MORE).
If you were thinking about picking Bubba Watson for your U.S. Open pool based on his encouraging play in the PGA Championship, think again. Watson tweeted after his T30 finish at the PGA, sparked by a second-round 63, that he will be out 4-6 weeks with a torn meniscus, though he did not disclose in which knee.
The Barracuda Championship will be the first PGA Tour event to accept cryptocurrency in payment for tickets and concessions, officials announced. The tournament will be played July 14-17 at Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood course in Truckee, California (READ MORE).
The Asian Tour will return to Taiwan for the first time in three years. As part of a two-week swing in Taipei, the Mercuries Taiwan Masters will be played Sept. 22-25 at Linkou International, followed by the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship on Sept. 29-Oct. 2 at Taiwan Golf and Country Club as part of the tour’s 2022-23 season. Because of the COVID pandemic, the Asian Tour had not visited Taiwan since 2019 (READ MORE).
This year’s Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific will be played Nov. 3-6 at Siam Country Club’s Waterside Course in Thailand, the R&A and Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation announced. The winner will earn spots in three LPGA Tour major championships in 2023 – AIG Women’s Open, Amundi Evian Championship and the Chevron Championship – plus the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and the KLPGA’s Hana Financial Group Championship (READ MORE).
Scott Vincent, Anthony Quayle, Brad Kennedy and Justin De Los Santos – the top four, in order, at the recent Mizuno Open – qualified for the Open Championship this summer at St. Andrews’ Old Course. The Mizuno Open, part of the Japan Golf Tour, is part of the Open Qualifying Series, which will offer a minimum of 46 spots into the 150th Open (READ MORE).
Staff and Wire Reports