Danielle Kang breaks through in a major way
Birdie run, clutch 18th give her first win
Golfer earns her first pro win at Women’s PGA Championship
Danielle Kang had no trouble winning big tournaments before she turned pro. She won the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2010 and 2011.
At the pro level, it was a dif- ferent story — until Sunday. Kang had made 144 starts on the LPGA tour before experiencing victory, and it came in a major championship, no less.
Kang took command of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship with a run of four birdies from holes 11 to 14, then barely hung on for the win on the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club.
That birdie binge was nice, but not enough, as it turned out. The streak ended with a par at No. 15 and then defending champion Brooke Henderson — playing in the group in front of Kang — rolled in an 18-foot birdie put at No. 17 to get within two shots. The margin could have been cut further, but Kang sal-
vaged par on No. 16 after a bad chip from the rough behind the green left her a 21-foot putt to save par.
The par-3 17th wasn’t soAkind to Kang. Her tee shot wound up in a green-side bunker and she failed to get up-and-down for par. That cut her lead to one.
Henderson made birdie on the 18th, reaching the par-5 in two shots and leaving a 30-foot eagle putt an inch short. Kang was on the tee when she heard the noise that Henderson’s near-miss created and she backed away from her tee shot to regroup.
After that, though, she showed no sign of cracking. Her tee shot was well placed in the fairway and her approach from 232 yards wound up on the green 30 feet below the hole. After leaving her eagle putt 2 feet short, Kang tapped in for the birdie that gave her the long-awaited professional victory. That was a big relief. “Without drama, it’s not a major,” said Kang, with a big smile on her face. “Of course it was stressful Every shot was stressful. Every putt was stressful. I just kept trusting in my own game and trusting in my putting. It’s all about believing in what you can do.” A 68 in the final round gave Kang a 13-under-par 271 total. Henderson was one shot back after posting a 66. Korean Chella Choi, who started the final round tied for the lead with playing partner Kang, finished third, three shots back.
Henderson hung in to the finish, and her 66 was the low score of the final round. “I felt I had a really good chance,” she said. “The putter was a a big key for
A year ago Henderson, then 18, won her title at Sahalee, in Washington, with a final-round 65. She needed a 3foot birdie putt on the first hole of a suddendeath playoff to eliminate her last challenger, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko. This time it was Kang’s turn. “Having that major champion in my résumé, I don’t know what it will do,” Kang said. “But I feel fantastic, absolutely fantastic.”
“Without drama, it’s not a major. Of course it was stressful. Every shot was stressful. Every putt was stressful.” Danielle Kang