RIANNE Malixi turned in the day’s most dominant performance in ousting seventh seed Jasmine Koo, 6 and 5, in the round of 64 of the US Women’s Amateur Championship Thursday (US Time).
Malixi, who was battling to make the cut during stroke play, settled down and lived up to the hype as one of the favorites in this event which she won in 2024.
She immediately took charge right on the first hole, making one of her three birdies for the day to go 1-up, and never looked back although Koo managed to tie the match with a birdie on the second hole.
But from there, it was the 19-year-old Malixi all the way. She won six more holes and did not drop a shot in the contest which ended on the 13th hole.
Malixi had flirted with the cut after posting a 77 during the first round of stroke play but bounced back with a 1-under-par 71 in the second round. She was 4 over and barely made it with the cut pegged at 5 over.
Malixi’s next opponent is China’s Yujie Liu, who defeated Elsie MacLeery in a match that reached the 18th hole, 2 up.
Also advancing are top seed Anna Iwanaga of Japan, who beat Addison Klonowski, 2 and 1 and third seed Asterisk Talley of the United States, a 4 and 3 winner over Makayla Grubb.
But getting the upset ax were No. 2 seed Hailey Kim, beaten by Taipei’s Hsin Tsu Liao, 1 up, and No. 4 seed Anna Davis who lost, 1 up, to No. 61 Rachel Heck. Mary Miller, No. 5, was also eliminated, 2 and 1, by No. 60 Annie Fang.
LIV Golf NY: Tabuena outscores many stars
On a day when some of the stars were struggling, Miguel Tabuena took advantage, firing a 2-over-par 73 in the first round of LIV Golf New York that was good for a tie for 29th place.
Tabuena, 31, had not had good starts during the season, but on the opening round Thursday (US Time) at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, he relatively had a better round against some of the best in the league.
Bryson DeChambeau shot a 76 and was tied for 49th place, Cameron Smith scored a 75 (tied 43rd), Charles Schwartzel also shot a 75, Martin Kaymer had a 73 like Tyrrell Hatton, and John Rahm was 1 over par.
Tabuena had five birdies and five bogeys but also had a double bogey. He started on the 12th hole in the shotgun-style format, and begun a streak of three straight bogeys.
He managed to right the ship with two birdies on his last four holes.
Joaquin Nieman took the first round lead with a bogey-free 7-under-par 64, two strokes better than Ian Poulter who had seen his game improve over the past few months.
Poulter had a 66, the same score posted by Lucas Herbert. A stroke farther were Thomas Peters and Brandon Steele, each with a 68.
LIV Golf is currently in the throes of dissolution after the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia announced early this year that it was cutting funding for the rebel league.
But there’s been recent good news after it was disclosed last week that there was an investor who was willing to put up money so LIV can continue for the next few years.
The name of the investor and the amount he was willing to invest were not disclosed. But it was gathered that the players will have a share of ownership of the league.
PGA Tour: Hoey shares 24th place after 66 at Wyndham
Rico Hoey, hoping against an almost hopeless bid to make it to the FedEx Cup playoffs, shot a 4-under-par 66 in the first round of the Wyndham Championship, the last regular event of the PGA Tour season.
Hoey had two eagles in his round but he is still five shots behind opening-day leader Beau Hossler who shot a 61.
That put Hoey in a tie for 24th place with many players in the field battling hard to get into the playoffs which begins next week.
The top 70 in the FedEx standings gets into the postseason. Hoey currently is in 112th place and could get into the playoffs if he wins.
Also hoping for a win to get into the playoffs is Hossler who is at No. 122. He improved his chances by starting hot early with four straight birdies early in his round at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina.
He scored an eagle and two birdies on the back nine to get the solo lead after Ben James had a bogey-birdie-bogey finish that dropped him into a tie for first to a share of second with Sahith Theegala, both at 8 under after 62s.
In fourth spot is Eric Cole who shot a 63 while six players were at 64, five of them outside the top 70 in the FedExCup.
Brooks Koepka, who also needs a strong finish to join the playoffs, shot a 67, which is near the projected cutline.
The course appears to play easy for most of the players with 36 rounds of 66 or lower, one of them posted by Hoey.
Pauline del Rosario fires 66, shares 7th in Epson Tour
Pauline del Rosario was the best-placed Philippine bet in the Epson Tour’s Smoky Mountain Championship after shooting 4-under-par 68 that gave her a tie for seventh place.
Dottie Ardina and Tomita Arejola were a stroke back after 69 in a tie for 19th place, while Bianca Pagdanganan shot a 2-under-par 70 and was in a tie for 32nd.
All four players were well within the cutline projected at 1 under.
Not so certain to make the weekend were Clariss Guce who shot 77 and was tied at 136th, and Samantha Bruce who had a 79 which put her at 141st spot.
Mexico’s Lauren Olivares shot an 8-under-par 64 for a two-shot lead at the Green Meadow Country Club.
Tied for second were Rachel Kuehn and Liqi Sheng, both firing bogey-free 6-under-par 66s.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
