Golf

Women’s PGA Championship second round -6 S Schmelzel (US), A Yang (Kor); -4 JY Ko (Kor), H Shibuno (Jpn), L Thompson (US); -3 L Maguire (Ire), HR Ryu (Kor), M Yamashita (Jpn) Selected others: -1 C Hull (Eng); +2 G Hall (Eng); +6 N Korda (US); +11 Meadow (NI) Full leaderboard Nelly Korda missed the cut at the Women’s PGA Championship as Sarah Schmelzel and Amy Yang moved into the joint lead after the second round in Seattle. World number one Korda shot a nine-over par second-round 81 which included a double bogey, eight bogeys – four of which came on the first four holes – and one birdie. The 25-year-old American, who won the first major of the season and was aiming for her seventh victory of the year, finished on six over par. “No words for how I’m playing right now,” said Korda, who was one shot off the lead in joint second following the first round. “I’m just going to go home and try to reset. “A lot went my way at the beginning part of the year, and just giving it back.” American Schmelzel carded a 67 and South Korea’s Yang a 68 in the second round at the Sahalee Country Club to move top of the leaderboard on six under par. Overnight leader Lexi Thompson is in joint third on four under after a 72, while Ireland’s Leona Maguire (71) is one shot further back. England’s Charley Hull carded a 73 and is on one under while compatriot Georgia Hall, on two over, was the only other Briton to make the cut with Northern Ireland’s Stephanie Meadow exiting on 11 over. Schmelzel, who has never won an LPGA event, hit the last of Friday’s six birdies on the last hole. “I kind of caught a glimpse of leaderboard on 17 and saw I was right around the lead,” she said. “It was just nice to be able to finish that well, too, knowing I was around the lead in a major.”

Final leaderboard -7 A Yang (Kor); -4 L Vu (US), J-Y Ko (Kor), M Yamashita (Jpn); -3 A Ewing (US), L Hartlage (US), -2 H Shibuno (Jpn), M Saigo (Jpn). Selected others: -1 L Thompson (US); +1 C Hull (Eng), +4 L Maguire (Ire), +10 G Hall (Eng) South Korea’s Amy Yang won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship to claim her first major title. The 34-year-old led by two shots going into the final round at Sahalee Country Club in Seattle and was seven clear after 15 holes. Despite a bogey at the 16th and a double bogey at the 17th, she carded a level-par 72 to finish on seven under, three strokes clear of compatriot Jin Young Ko, American Lilia Vu and Japan’s Miyu Yamashita. Yang was competing in her 75th major, the longest wait for a maiden victory since Angela Stanford won the 2018 Evian Championship in her 76th. “I’m lost for words right now,” said Yang, who was runner-up at the US Women’s Open in 2012 and 2015. “I started doubting myself if I was ever going to win a major before I retire and I’m so grateful and very, very happy to win one. “All four rounds were tough out there, but I just trusted what I prepared and I did my best all week.” Yang made a strong start to her final round with a birdie at the first and two more before the turn. Although she bogeyed the 10th, birdies at the 11th and 13th allowed her to pull clear. England’s Charley Hull tied for 16th following a closing 74, with Ireland’s Leona Maguire 24th after rounds of 75 and 76 over the weekend.

Women’s PGA Championship third round -7 A Yang (Kor); -5 L Hartlage (US), M Yamashita (Jpn); -4 S Schmelzel (US); -3 C Inglis (US), JY Ko (Kor), H Shibuno (Jpn), L Thompson (US), L Vu (US) Selected others: -1 C Hull (Eng); E L Maguire (Ire); +3 G Hall (Eng) Full leaderboard Amy Yang moved into a two-shot lead of the Women’s PGA Championship by carding a third round of 71. The 34-year-old South Korean hit three birdies and a bogey to go to seven under par, with Lauren Hartlage (69) and Miyu Yamashita (70) on five under. Sarah Schmelzel was in the joint overnight lead with Yang but shot a 74 and is on four under par at the Sahalee Country Club in Washington. England’s Charley Hull was within reach of the leaders before she found the water and hit a triple bogey on the par-three 17th. She finished with a par round of 72, which also included five birdies and two bogeys, and is six shots off the lead on one under par. “My mate yesterday goes, ‘what happened to you on 17 yesterday? You nearly hit it in the water’,” said Hull. “So I got to the tee box and I’m thinking to myself, I never nearly hit in the water. Then I’m thinking about the water and just fatted it into the water. It’s human. “It wasn’t like me. I played so well out there and didn’t do one thing wrong and got up and down when I needed to. “But I’m still positive going into the final round. Anything can happen.” Yang has five wins on the LPGA Tour but will be chasing her first victory at a major on Sunday. “It’ll mean a lot, but we still got 18 more holes out there and that’s a lot of golf left for major championship,” she said. “I’m just going to embrace the moment and not going to expect the result. Just see what’s going to happen.” The third round included Pajaree Anannarukarn of Thailand hitting a hole in one – the first at the event since 2018 – with her effort on the 153-yard par-three 13th.

Travelers Championship final round -22 S Scheffler (US), T Kim (Kor); -20 SJ Im (Kor), T Hoge (US); -18 J Thomas (US), P Cantlay (US), T Finau (US), A Bhatia (US) Selected others: -17 S Lowry (Ire); -14 T Fleetwood (Eng), R MacIntyre (Sco); -12 S Power (Ire); -9 M Fitzpatrick (Eng) Full leaderboard World number one Scottie Scheffler beat Tom Kim in a play-off at the Travelers Championship to claim his sixth PGA Tour win of the season. The conclusion of the final round was interrupted when a group of six climate protestors ran on to the 18th green as the last group were reading their putts. They let off smoke bombs that sprayed powder on the putting surface and some wore t-shirts with “No golf on a dead planet” printed on them. They were detained by police and the crowd chanted ‘USA, USA, USA’ as they were led off the TPC River Highlands course in Cromwell, Connecticut. When play resumed about five minutes later, Scheffler narrowly missed a birdie putt that would have clinched victory and South Korea’s Kim converted his birdie attempt to force a play-off. The extra holes were scheduled to start on the 18th so organisers moved the hole location on the green while the powder was cleared up. Scheffler won on the first play-off hole with a par – with Kim unable to get up and down from a plugged lie in a greenside bunker – to become the first player since Arnold Palmer in 1962 to win six times before July. “It’s pretty special,” said Scheffler. “It’s been a great season, I’ve been fortunate to come away with some wins and it’s been a lot of fun. “Tom played his heart out. He’s a great player, a great champion and it was fun battling with him.” Scheffler and Kim finished tied on 22 under par – two clear of Tom Hoge and Sung-Jae Im – after closing rounds of 65 and 66 respectively. Extinction Rebellion protestors charged Extinction Rebellion later claimed responsibility for the protest in a post on social media. The protestors have been charged, external with first degree criminal mischief, first degree criminal trespass, and breach of peace. They were released on a bond and are due in court on 1 July. American Akshay Bhatia, who was in the final group, said: “I was scared for my life. I didn’t even really know what was happening. All of a sudden, four, five people come out running on the green. “It was kind of weird. But thankfully the cops were there and kept us safe.” Scheffler added: “When something like that happens, you don’t really know what’s happening, so it can kind of rattle you a little bit, because there’s people running around the green and there’s police officers running around and you don’t know if they’re peaceful, so it can be a bit stressful.”

LIV Golf Nashville final round -19 T Hatton (Eng); -13 S Horsfield (Eng); -12 DeChambeau (US), Rahm (Spa), Niemann (Chi), Westwood (Eng). Selected others: -10 P Casey (Eng), R Bland (Eng), C Smith (Aus); -9 L Oosthuizen (SA). England’s Tyrrell Hatton cruised to his first LIV Golf title thanks to a six-under-par final round in Nashville. The 32-year-old birdied three of his last five holes to finish on 19 under after 54 holes and beat compatriot Sam Horsfield by six strokes. It was his first title since the Abu Dhabi Championship in January 2021 and earned him $4m (£3.2m) in prize money. Newly crowned US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, Spain’s Jon Rahm, Englishman Lee Westwood and Joaquin Niemann of Chile shared third place on 12 under. Hatton took the lead in Saturday’s second round with a strong performance on the back nine and built on that on Sunday with eight birdies and two bogeys. “It was nice to play the last few holes and it not be super tight,” he said. “I guess having not won for three-and-a-half years, you wonder if you’d be able to do it again in some way. So I was happy I proved that to myself.” In the team competition, Hatton and Rahm led Legion XIII to victory on 40 under, defeating Crushers by five strokes, although DeChambeau’s team remain top of the overall standings. Hatton joined Rahm’s team last winter when both switched allegiances from the US-based PGA Tour to Saudi Arabian-funded LIV Golf. “Very proud of everybody, and of course, Tyrrell,” said the Spaniard. “What a week to get his first win in a few years and win by six in an absolutely dominant performance the way he did. It’s absolutely incredible, so I couldn’t be happier for him.”