Amy Yang won her first LPGA tour event on Sunday, taking home the title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
At 34 years old, Yang is the oldest major winner in the LPGA since 2018 when Angela Stanford won the Evian Championship at age 40.
"At one point I thought, 'Will I ever win a major championship before I retire?'" Yang said after securing the victory. "And I finally did it and it's just amazing. Golf is really just like a fight against myself. I think I proved myself that I can compete and I can do this."
The South Korea national ended the tournament with an even-par 72 to finish at seven-under 281. At one point, she was at 10 under and held a seven-shot lead that no challenger was able to overcome.
It was also Yang’s 75th major start, the most before a player’s first major win since Stanford won hers in her 76th major start.
"It's been incredible all this week — everyone was rooting for me," Yang said. "I want to go sign some autographs for them."
The 2023 KMPG Women’s PGA Championship is here, teeing off Thursday and running through Sunday with $9 million in purse money up for grabs.
The tournament, which is being played at the Baltusrol Lower Course in Springfield, New Jersey, features the second-highest purse of the year, with only the U.S. Women’s Open offering more at $10 million.
Women’s PGA Championship:
Schedule and how to watch
Thurs., June 22:
- 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. — Golf Channel and Peacock
- 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. — Peacock
Friday, June 23:
- 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. — Golf Channel and Peacock
- 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. — Peacock
Saturday, June 24:
- 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. — Peacock
- 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. — NBC
Sunday, June 25:
- 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. — Peacock
- 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. — NBC
Players to watch
Rose Zhang
All eyes are on newly-minted pro Rose Zhang, who announced following the 2023 NCAA season that she would be leaving Stanford for the LPGA. She won her professional debut at the Mizuho Americas Open in early June, beating Jennifer Kupcho in a playoff. Now she’ll make her major debut as a professional.
“This year, we’ve had a lot of really good golfers,” LPGA star and world No. 2 Nelly Korda said during a pre-tournament news conference. “Rose is one-for-one, so she’s pretty good.
“… It’s amazing to see that she won her first week out as a professional. I think it’s going to be really good for women’s golf. Hopefully, we have some great battles coming down the stretch over the years.”
The No. 1-ranked amateur in the world for 141 weeks (the most of any player ever), Zhang has had a big year, winning her second individual NCAA title and the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur title. And the Women’s PGA Championship is the only major in which she has yet to compete, making it fitting that this will be her first major as a professional. But even as an amateur, she’s never finished below 60th at a major. Her career-high finish in a major came at the 2020 Chevron Championship, in which she tied for 11th place.
Nelly Korda
The No. 2 ranked player in the world, Korda has found her way back after missing significant time last season with an injury and beginning this season with a lower back injury. But that’s not a problem this week.
“I honestly wouldn’t be playing if I wasn’t 100%,” Korda said Tuesday.
She’s consistently been among the world’s best in recent years, but has won just one major: the 2021 PGA Championship. She finished last season on a high, tying for eighth at the Evian Championship, her highest-ever finish at that major. And the time away, she said, has left her “a little bit more hungry.”
Ashleigh Buhai
Buhai enters the major as one of the best players of late. She won the ShopRite tournament, placed third at the Founders Cup and tied for seventh at the Mizuho Americas Open. At last week’s Meijer Classic, she finished tied for 13th, but she has been successful in New Jersey. While she’s not been as successful at the PGA Championship, look for Buhai to capitalize on recent success.
Leona Maguire
Maguire is fresh off a win at the Meijer Classic and has put together three top-10 finishes to begin the 2023 season. If she were to win, she’d become Ireland’s first female major champion, joining the likes of Rory McIlroy and Padraig Harrington.
“Obviously to get my second win is obviously very nice, and I’ll try and give myself as best a chance as possible in the remaining majors this year,” she said. “I didn’t put any pressure on myself this week, so not going to do that for the rest of the season and just enjoy my golf as much as I can.”