BETHESDA, Md. – In the shadow of the nation’s capital, the LPGA’s most tortured American star suffered heartbreak once more. Lexi Thompson hadn’t won on the LPGA in her last 50 starts, and it looked like she might finally collect her second major at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship as the women competed at historic Congressional Country Club for the first time.
But once again, Thompson’s short game couldn’t withstand the pressure. She squandered a two-stroke lead with three to play and, after signing autographs, was too emotional to meet with the media and took off for the parking lot.
Meanwhile, winner In Gee Chun, the woman who made Congressional look like a cakewalk early on, leading by as many seven on the weekend, was still shaking long after it was over. Chun shot 75-75 in her last two rounds yet still managed to claim her fourth LPGA title and third major.
“I believe if I stick to my game plan, and then I believe I have a chance in the back nine,” said Chun, “so I try to hang in there. I’m so happy I made it. My body still shaking, though.”
Chun opened with a course-record 64 at the KPMG to storm out to a five-shot lead after the first round. Like Rory McIlroy at the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional, Chun found herself at 11 under par through two rounds and six clear of the field.
But that near perfect play began to unravel late Saturday and Chun slept on – only – a three-stroke lead in pursuit of her third different major title. Chun became an LPGA member after winning the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open and then recorded the lowest 72-hole score in major championship history, 21 under, at the 2016 Amundi Evian Championship. She went wire-to-wire that week as well.
KPMG: Leaderboard | Photos | Money
Shades of a runaway victory similar to McIlroy’s eight-shot romp had covered Congressional until Sunday. Suddenly there was an anything-can-happen vibe with major champions Thompson, Sei Young Kim and Minjee Lee deep in the mix.
Thompson struck fast, birdieing the first hole to cut the lead to two strokes, and it wasn’t long before the American was in command as Chun came unraveled with a front-nine 40.
“First nine holes I got a lot of pressure,” said Chun, “so to be honest, I couldn’t enjoy to play golf.”
Thompson, who last won a major title in 2014, led by two at the turn.
But the ghosts of short misses that have haunted her in pressure-packed moments came to visit on the back nine. A two-foot par putt on the 14th hole that never had a chance was the most egregious.
With Minjee Lee, the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open winner, breathing down her neck and the lead cut to one, Thompson poured in a statement birdie putt from just off the green on No. 15 to push her lead to two with three to play.
A tournament that looked like the ending had been written at the halfway mark suddenly had an endless supply of dramatic turns.
After a three-putt on the 17th from 20 feet, Lee stuffed her approach on the 18th to within 2 feet to post the clubhouse lead at 4 under.
Then Thompson made a mess of the par-5 16th, dropping four strokes with a series of miscues around the green to make bogey and fall into a tie with Chun at 5 under.
On the 18th, Thompson gave herself a 10-foot birdie chance to tie Chun at 5 under but didn’t hit a firm putt, leaving it short and right. She posted a final-round 73 to finish in a share of second with Lee.
As if that weren’t frustrating enough, Thompson was hit with a slow-play fine coming off the 18th green. The final group was put on the clock with two holes left. Thompson’s father, Scott, confirmed to Golfweek that the fine was $2,000.
Chun converted for par on the 18th to end a victory drought that dates back to 2018 and celebrated with Lee, who happens to be her neighbor in Irving, Texas, along with Sei Young Kim. Chun likes to cook dinner for the talented group; Kim is fond of her macaroni and cheese with tuna.
That home-base connection has been valuable for Chun, who has been open about her battles with depression.
After a taking a share of 15th at the Women’s Open at Pine Needles, Chun’s longtime coach Dr. Won Park, noticed the she didn’t compete with passion in her next two starts.
Last Sunday, on the drive to the airport in Michigan after the Meijer LPGA Classic, the pair stopped at a Smoothie King, where Park asked Chun if she wanted to retire.
She’d become too much of a perfectionist, he said, too caught up in swing mechanics. Perfectionists don’t succeed, he told her. It’s the ones who believe in progress and enjoy the challenge that come out on top.
“She kind of got shocked when she heard the word retire from my mouth,” Park said. “When she showed up here, she had a whole different attitude.”
Chun said she cried last week talking to her older sister, saying it was difficult to stay in the U.S. Her sister told her it was OK to quit. Those tough conversations with her inner circle helped Chun realize what she wanted – to press on.
“I’m just so happy to make win after all that happened,” she said, crying. “I just want to keep saying, like, I’m so proud of myself.
“That’s why I want to keep saying thanks to everyone who believed in me and never gave up on me.”
