Amy Yang seizes moment to capture first major title at KPMG Women's PGA Championship

SAMMAMISH, Wash. - The pursuit of an elusive major championship title is one of the few things that has kept Amy Yang grinding away on the LPGA Tour at 34 years old. With a masterclass performance navigating the towering trees and claustrophobic fairways of Sahalee Country Club this week, Yang is finally a major champion.

Entering Sunday's final round of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship with a two-shot lead over Lauren Hartlage and Miyu Yamashita, Yang was always in control. Yang was the only player in the field without a round over par this week, earning a three-shot victory over Jin Young Ko, Lilia Vu and Miyu Yamashita for her first major triumph just over a month shy of her 35th birthday.

"I always wanted to win a major and I came close several times, and I started doubting myself if I'm ever going to win a major before I retire because I've been on tour quite a while. I am so grateful and very, very happy to win a major," Yang said.

With the wind kicking up through the trees – requiring leaf blowers at times to clear needles and seed pods from the putting surfaces between groups – Yang's precision was impeccable. Yang successfully carved her ball through the towering trees and claustrophobic fairways of Sahalee. She held a seven-shot lead at one point on the back nine and had plenty of cushion to make it into the clubhouse atop the leaderboard.

Even a tee shot into the water on the 17th hole wasn't enough to damper the spirits or slow Yang's pursuit. Yang still went for the green on the 18th hole with a 3-wood from the fairway and made par on the last to close out the victory.

"We've been through a lot and she was just very grateful that we stuck this out," caddie Jan Meierling said. "She was able to enjoy this moment with me. She was close to retiring, pretty much semi-retired a year-and-a-half ago, so she didn't expect any of these things, so she was just super grateful and thanked me for my help and being out there with her and sticking through with her."

Yang had come close to a major title multiple times before, with the 2015 U.S. Women's Open at Lancaster Country Club serving as her closest brush with victory. Yang entered the final round with a three-shot lead over Stacy Lewis, and four shots ahead of In-Gee Chun. But a 1-over par 71 from Yang, coupled with a terrific final round 66 from Chun left her a shot back in solo second place.

Yang was limited last year due to a tennis elbow injury caused by rock-climbing that made a major championship – or any championship – feel like a distant dream. But with the injury in the past by the end of last season, Yang triumphed again last November in the CME Group Tour Championship for her first victory in nearly five years. 

"Some days golf feels so easy and feels so fun; other days it feels like I want to retire very soon," Yang said with a laugh. "But I've been through this so many years now, and, yeah, I remember (I) told (Meierling) I lose motivation here and there, but that's a lie. Like I still do enjoy playing a lot.

"I couldn't play for few months out here, and I realized how much I love playing, being out here."

Added Meierling: "There’s been a few moments in the past where she’s been like ‘yeah I don’t know about this game’ and then on 18 (fairway) she’s like ‘don’t ever believe when I tell you that.'

"I know you a little bit now, Missy," he chided. "I know you still care about this game, otherwise you wouldn’t be so (expletive) nervous right from the get go."

Yang is the oldest major winner on the LPGA Tour since Angela Stanford won the 2018 Evian Championship at age 40. Anna Nordqvist had recently turned 34 when she won the Women’s British Open in 2021, but Yang will turn 35 on July 28.

Yang's form so far this season didn't indicate the elusive major was on the horizon. She had not had a top 20 finish this year and missed the cut in each of her last two starts. Yang was also dealing with a tight back throughout the week that was a nagging nuisance each day.

But the challenge of Sahalee was the right test to make Yang's skills shine.

"It’s all about getting her engaged and this course naturally does that, otherwise you’re just going to lose your (expletive) out there. It’s just the way it forces you to visualize shots, commit to those shots," Meierling said.

"The more she gets engaged and the more the situation kind of demands it of her, that’s when she kind of goes into autopilot, and she does what she does best."

An approach shot to 2-feet on the opening hole for an easy birdie set the tone for the day. A terrific chip-in birdie on the 5th hole from 67 feet, and a clinical birdie at the difficult par-4 8th helped Yang push her lead further.

She bounced back from a bogey on No. 10 with an eagle chance on the 11th that led to another tap-in birdie. Another tight approach to 4-feet on the par-3 13th for a fifth birdie of the day saw Yang reach 10-under par, six shots clear of the field.

It was every bit a performance deserving of a trophy.

"It's incredible," Yang said. "I was so nervous beginning of the day, even night before. And I told Jan on the 18th fairway, this have been the longest 18 holes I ever played in my career. I was that much stressed and felt pressure out there. But I think I managed to stay well and stay positive, and of course with him as well he makes things light out there."

When Yang chipped-in for birdie on the fifth hole, Hartlage answered with a 45-foot birdie putt from off the front of the green to remain just a shot back of the lead. A beautiful bunker shot to inside five feet gave Hartlage a birdie look to match Yang at the top of the leaderboard on the sixth hole, only for the putt to do a 270-degree lip-out to stay a shot back.

The next two holes then catapulted Yang clear of the field.

Hartlage had back-to-back double bogeys to fall out of contention after a pair of errant tee shots and scruffy scrambling attempts spiraled away. Hartlage bladed a bunker shot across the green on the 7th hole and couldn't salvage the bogey. A chunked pitch on the 8th from short of the green also led to a double.

Meanwhile, Yamashita had to make a baseball swing to strike her ball resting on the edge of a bunker from the fairway after her drive on the 8th and made double bogey as well to fall behind.

Suddenly, Yang was all by herself well in front of the chasing pack.

"So impressive. Words can't describe how great that is out here, especially with the winds today," Lexi Thompson said of Yang. "… She's playing amazing golf. So many players have. I mean, anybody that was under par or around even, it's a tough golf course, you kind of take even par and you're happy and you run. But she's played some great golf. Everybody knows how talented she is."

Thompson opened the day four shots back of Yang's lead, but had four bogeys and two double bogeys in her first eight holes, but she bounced back with six birdies in her final 10 to get back to just two-over on the day and climb back into the top 10.

The victory for Yang also earned her a spot on the South Korean Olympic team, which Yang had been unaware of until being told by Golf Channel in an interview after the round.

"That was one of my biggest goal for this year," she said. "Missing cuts past few tournaments and I saw my world ranking went down, so I wasn't sure if this winning was enough to make the team. But I made it, so I'm very grateful for that."

Yang had also mentioned how she had looked up to Se-ri Pak, who is one of the most accomplished Korean players in LPGA history with 25 tour victories and five major titles, including three Women's PGA Championships. She paused looked at the trophy during her post-round press conference after spotting Pak's name on the side.

"It's amazing, yeah. I see Se-ri's name right there, 1998. Yeah, I've always dreamed it, and so honored to have it," she said.

Yang – a very popular player on tour among her peers – had a contingent of at least a dozen fellow players (many Korean counterparts) waiting to shower her in champagne after sinking the final putt. 

"I really want to thank each of them for staying for us and rooting for us. Yeah, I just can't thank them enough. They're lovely friends," Yang said.

Vu – the No. 2 ranked player in the world – had a run of three straight birdies early on her back nine to get as close as 5-under par before also falling back with bogeys on 14 and 15.

Vu, Ko and Yamashita all birdied the 18th hole to finish tied for second, a shot clear of Hartlage and Ally Ewing. The T-5 finish is still the best of Hartlage's career.

"Today was playing super tough," Vu said. "Wasn't able to access the pins as good as I did yesterday and kind of convert. It's just high stakes, high pressure, and wasn't able to do anything about it. Pretty proud of my first major back coming out of an injury."

Vu missed two months before returning with a victory last week at the Meijer LPGA Classic. Vu had an opening round 3-over 75 before shooting under par each of her final three days to grab second.

Ko struggled off the tee a bit this week, which kept her from making a stronger change through the weekend. Yamashita, an 11-time winner on the LPGA Tour of Japan, posted her best career finish in seven career starts in majors on the LPGA Tour.

Mao Saigo had the only round of the day in the 60s with a terrific 5-under par bogey-free 67 to join Hinako Shibuno at 2-under par, tied for seventh.

Vancouver resident Caroline Inglis netted her second career top ten finish, and best finish ever in a major, finishing tied for ninth at 1-under par with Thompson, Sarah Schmelzel, Linn Grant, and Hae Ran Ryu.

"It feels good," Inglis said. "I feel like this is where my game has been trending and to see results – today wasn't the best, but I feel like it's heading in the right direction, so it feels good. I think the only way you get better at being in that position is by putting yourself there, so it's exactly where you want to be.

"It was really fun. I feel really happy about where my game's at."

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