Teenage amateur playing like a pro
Eila Galitsky’s mindset before the first round of the Chevron Championship was simple. Keep the ball in the fairway and play your game. The 16year-old did just that, opening with a 2-under 70.
In mid-March she won the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship in Singapore. The victory earned her the fifth amateur exemption into the LPGA’s first major of the season, part of Chevron’s commitment to providing the next generation of talent with playing opportunities.
“When I heard this event was in like a month and a half after winning the Asia-Pacific, I was pretty shocked,” said Galitsky, who holds dual citizenship in Thailand and Canada. “I thought I would have more time to prepare. But I was ready to come and do this.”
Course will get new look in ’24
When golfers play at next year’s Chevron Championship, the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course will have a different look. A restoration starts May 1, and the course is expected to be reopened for members in mid-October.
Besides changes to greens, bunkers, fairways and tee boxes, a $3.5 million irrigation system will be installed. It is not a major change, more of a face-lift, for a course built in 2001.
“The consistency of the bunkers is what I’m looking forward to the most with the renovation,” said Tim Huber, director of agronomy at The Club at Carlton Woods. “For all intents, it’s really not going to change that much. The Nicklaus design guys have been on property; they think it’s one of Jack’s best.”
The Bermuda grass fairways and the greens, which will be restored to their original size, will play firmer. Maintenance personnel will strip about a half inch off the top of the fairways inside the tree line. One thing players have said this week about the Nicklaus Course is they wanted more ball roll on the fairways. With the restoration, next year will see more runoffs with the ball.
Two-time champ is staying afloat
Two-time major champion Lydia Ko had an upand-day round, finishing 1 under. It was not pretty, but she shot a respectable score without her ‘A’ game.
Ko’s scorecard read four birdies, three bogeys. She hit 11 of 18 greens in regulation.
“Even if you don’t hit it the best you can, try to shoot the best score,” Ko said. “I’m just scrambling my way around.”