Amy Yang may have been the first person to play a perfect nine holes of golf last Sunday at the LPGA KEB-Hana Bank Championship in her home country of South Korea.

Yang made nine birdies on the back nine to establish a new LPGA mark for nine holes in relation to par and tied the LPGA mark for most consecutive birdies in a round (She shot 62). Beth Daniel set the nine-consecutive birdies mark in 1999 and Mark Calcavecchia matched that for the PGA Tour record in 2009, but both streaks carried over from one nine to the next.

Numerous players on various tours have shot 27 for nine holes – and in one case lower, Corey Pavin’s PGA Tour record 26 (8-under) – but a quick dive into the record books revealed that Yang may have been the first to make an under-par score on every hole in an established nine holes. Other players who have finished 9-under over nine holes have interspersed eagles and pars in their surges. Still more have shot 27 on nine holes with pars of less than 36.

“Oh, my gosh, I just told them, I never thought about it,” Yang said. “Never thought about it. I don’t know what just happened. I mean, if it can be a history, so honored.”

A quick look at the 9-under for 9 club:

Player	Tour	Tournament	Detail
Jose Maria Canizares	European Tour	1978 Swiss Open	1 eagle, 7 birdies
Joakim Haeggman	European Tour	1997 Alfred Dunhill	1 eagle, 7 birdies
Notah Begay III	Web.com Tour	1998 Dominion Open	2 eagles, 5 birdies
Billy Mayfair	PGA Tour	2001 Buick Open	1 eagle, 7 birdies
Robert Gamez	PGA Tour	2004 Bob Hope	1 eagle, 7 birdies
Simon Khan	European Tour	2004 Wales Open	1 eagle, 7 birdies
Brandt Snedeker	PGA Tour	2007 Buick Invitational	1 eagle, 7 birdies
Chris Riley	PGA Tour	2009 Reno-Tahoe	2 eagles, 5 birdies
Stephen Gallacher	European Tour	2014 Dubai Desert Classic	1 eagle, 7 birdies*
Ryan Palmer	PGA Tour	2015 Humana Challenge	2 eagles, 5 birdies
Amy Yang	LPGA	2015 KEB-Hana Bank	9 birdies
*-Shot 28 on par 37. Others par 36.
Note: Only Begay, Khan and Gallacher won the tournaments.

The mental side

Lydia Ko and Lexi Thompson offered a glimpse into how mental golf can be last week in South Korea. Look at their comments:

Ko on leading the Race to the CME Globe competition: “Yeah, I mean, the closer we get or if there is a switch, the media is going to talk about it. But, you know, I’m sorry, but I'm going to try and ignore you guys. I think that's the best way. Because when I’m out there, I’m just trying to hit a good shot and put myself in good position. If I thought about the rankings, the awards, it's just way too much. It’s hard enough just trying to hit the ball straight out there.”
Thompson on her improved mental outlook: “I think really just working on the mental side of the game. I’ve worked with John Denney in South Florida in January, February and took me a while to kick into my game and get used to being positive out on the golf course. It’s a huge part of it. Golf is like so mental, and I needed to realize that. He’s helped me out a lot and I think that has helped me out on the golf course in just trusting myself.”

Tseng’s resurgence

The last time Yani Tseng won a LPGA event was on March 25, 2012 at the Kia Classic, her 15th career victory. She was age 23.

Now, the 26-year-old Tseng is headed home to Taiwan for the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship, riding the momentum of recent outstanding play. She finished T2 at the Yokohama Tire Classic on Aug. 30, missed the cut at the Evian Championship and has started the Asian Swing of the LPGA schedule with a fifth at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia and a T2 at the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship.

Tseng has a win (2011), a third (2012), a T40 (2013) and a T20 (2014) in this tournament.

Two ways to win

Lexi Thompson has won twice this season in very different fashions.

At the Meijer LPGA Classic in late July, she averaged 282 yards off the tee, including 297 in the final round.

At last week’s LPGA KEB-Hana Bank Championship, she averaged 255 yards off the tee but played the par 5s in 9-under par.

Etc.

After winning just two events through mid-July, American golfers have risen up lately. Kris Tamulus, the U.S. Solheim Cup team, Jessica Korda and Lexi Thompson have won four of the last five tournaments on the LPGA schedule. …. Besides Tamulus, age 34, the other recent LPGA winners have been age 17 (Brooke Henderson), 18 (Lydia Ko twice), 22 (Korda) and 20 (Thompson). … This week’s TV (EDT): Thursday, noon-4 p.m., taped first round; Friday, midnight-4 a.m., second round; Saturday, midnight-4 a.m., third round; Sunday, midnight-4 a.m., final round.

Stats and Stuff: Yang’s 9-for-9 may be unprecedented

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