LEE6 NARROWLY MISSES OUT ON HISTORY
Just one week after winning her maiden LPGA title at the U.S. Women’s Open, Jeongeun Lee6 (-11) found herself in contention to hoist a trophy yet again. Lee6 started the day with a one-shot lead and had her mind set on becoming just the fifth player in LPGA Tour history to win the U.S. Women’s Open and the tournament after it.
A stretch of three bogeys in a row on holes 13-15, left Lee6 needing an eagle to tie Lexi Thompson on 18. While her over 50-footer for eagle was a bit off-line, Lee6 came away proud of how she handled the pressure playing for the first time as a major champion.
“Winning the U.S. Open, I mean, it's one of the biggest tournaments to win, and so yeah, I'm pretty satisfied with it,” Lee6 said. “But yeah, this week I'm playing the ShopRite tournament, and it's amazing, and I'm pretty satisfied with finishing in second place.”
Despite the whirlwind of the past two weeks, there’s no rest in sight for Lee6 as she raced out of the scoring tent and off to the airport to head to the Meijer LPGA Classic in Grand Rapids. Now that she’s tasted success, Lee6 has her eyes set on another win, perhaps at the season’s third major in two weeks at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
“Yeah, I mean, all my shots are pretty good, my short game is pretty good and consistent,” said Lee6. For the KPMG I just have to focus on my condition, make sure to be stable and be good.”
MCDONALD RESILIENT DOWN TO THE WIRE
While Ally McDonald (-9) did not come away with her first LPGA victory on Sunday at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, she did pick up a career-best solo-third place finish and a ton of confidence for the rest of the 2019 season.
“I was very resilient. I mean, a 1- under score doesn't maybe say resilience, but just the conditions as a whole, I think you could ask everybody who played today, the wind was brutal,” said McDonald.
Despite 30 mile an hour wind gusts on Sunday, McDonald was one of just 14 players to post under-par scores with a 1-under par 71. “I knew looking at the forecast coming in, with the wind being up, it was going to be a grind. So I think I was mentally prepared for it. I wish I could have rolled that putt in on 17 and then hit a better drive on 18, but Lexi made a great putt for eagle,” said McDonald. “Everything happens for a reason. I'm just happy that I was able to be in contention. It felt great, and I'm really proud of myself.”
RACE TO CME GLOBE
With her win, Thompson earns 500 points and is projected to move from 14th to fourth in the Race to CME Globe with 1,395 points
MONEY
With her win, Thompson earns $262,500; she has earned $1,002,175 this season and $9,519,473 for her career
PLAYER NOTES
Rolex Rankings No. 5 Lexi Thompson (64-70-67)
- She hit 11 of 18 greens and 10 of 14 fairways, with 28 putts
- Thompson is the 13th different winner of the 2019 LPGA season
- Thompson joins Nelly Korda (ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open) as American winners during the 2019 LPGA season
- With her win she extends her winning streak to seven years (2013-2019); the longest active win streak on the LPGA
- Thompson moves from 19th to 18th on the LPGA Career Money List with $9,519,473
- Thompson’s 2019 LPGA season in a nutshell: 10 events played, eight cuts made, $1,002,175, one victory, four additional top-10 finishes including a runner-up finish at the U.S. Women’s Open
- Leads the U.S. Solheim Cup points standings, and is looking for a fourth appearance at the 2019 Solheim Cup in Gleneagles in September
- Thompson is in her eighth season on the LPGA Tour; she is a 11-time LPGA Tour winner, including a major title at the 2014 ANA Inspiration
- This was Thompson’s seventh start at the ShopRite LPGA Classic; her previous best finish was T5 in 2012; she made her professional debut at this event in 2010
CME GROUP CARES CHALLENGE – SCORE 1 FOR ST. JUDE
The CME Group Cares Challenge is a season-long charitable giving program that turns aces into donations. CME Group will donate $20,000 for each hole-in-one made on the LPGA Tour in 2019, with a minimum guaranteed donation of $500,000 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Brianna Do recorded an ace during round two of the ShopRite LPGA Classic this week, using an 8-iron from 164-yards at the par-3 No. 11. Do’s ace was the 11th of the 2019 LPGA Tour season, raising the year’s total donation to $220,000. This is enough to cover more than half of the treatment for a pediatric patient battling lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer.
LEADERS TOP 10 COMPETITION
The LEADERS Top 10 competition awards a $100,000 bonus to the LPGA player with the most top-10 finishes through the completion of the event held immediately prior to the CME Group Tour Championship. In the event of a tie in total top-10 finishes, the award will go to the player with the most official wins, followed by most second-place finishes, third-place finishes, etc., until the tie is broken.
With top-10 finishes at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, Lexi Thompson (1), Jeongeun Lee6 (2) and Yu Liu (T5) move up into a tie for fifth place with five top-10 finishes this season. Brooke Henderson, Jin Young Ko, Nelly Korda and Azahara Munoz continue to lead the competition with six top-10 finishes this season.
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