Last week: Yuna Nishimura wins her first LPGA title
Some wins are a long time coming. Yuna Nishimura has six wins on the Japan LPGA Tour, but until Sunday in Arkansas she'd never won on the LPGA. She fixed that in style.
She started the final round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship five shots clear, and the front nine got a little nervy. She played it in even par while Aki Iwai made six birdies in seven holes to close the gap. Nishimura's answer was about as good as it gets. She eagled the par-5 14th and came home in a bogey-free 30 to win by five at 21-under.
It's a good reminder that holding a lead isn't about never being under pressure. It's about what you do when the pressure shows up. She didn't play safe and hope. She went and made birdies.
Saturday's other highlight
Lauren Coughlin opened her third round with nine straight birdies, an LPGA record, on her way to a 61. She didn't win (she finished tied 12th), but nine birdies to start a round is something most of us would take in a lifetime. Yealimi Noh and Mao Saigo also made the first holes-in-one of their careers during the week.
This week: the LOTTE Championship, Hawaii (Thursday to Sunday)
The tour heads to Hoakalei Country Club near Honolulu, an Ernie Els design with wide fairways that can fool you. There are more than 110 bunkers and water on 13 holes, and the Paspalum greens punish any approach that misses on the wrong side.
Players to watch:
- Jeeno Thitikul, world No. 2 and the headliner.
- Hyo Joo Kim, who lost to defending champion Youmin Hwang by one shot last year and will want this one back.
- Youmin Hwang, back to defend the title that was her first LPGA win.
- Miyu Yamashita, Hannah Green and Lydia Ko, all in the world's top 12.
The event also moves to a normal Thursday-to-Sunday schedule this year, after years of finishing on Saturday for Korean TV.
For a weekend golfer, there's a lesson in how these players handle that course. Wide fairways tempt you to swing out of your shoes, but the scoring is in the approach shot and picking the right side of the green to miss on. The same is true at your home course.