A major victory wasn't Amy Yang's only achievement at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship on Sunday.
The 34-year-old Yang won by three strokes over Ko Jin Young, Lilia Vu and Miyu Yamashita at Sahalee Country Club to claim her sixth LPGA Tour victory and her first major title. Yang had waited 17 years to win and had come so close to an incredible victory on multiple occasions, but as her long career entered the final nine holes she began to doubt whether she would achieve this lifelong goal.
But her victory at Sahalee silenced the critics in her mind, finally silencing the voices in her head that told her she couldn't do it.
With this victory, Yang has also risen 20 places in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, moving up to fifth in the world. This also helped her move up to fifth in the Olympic Golf Rankings, earning her a spot in her second Olympic Games.
Yang was unaware that he had secured a spot at Le Golf National, only learning the news during a live interview on Golf Channel after his victory. Having represented South Korea at the 2016 Rio Olympics, finishing tied for fourth at that year's tournament, Yang is excited to once again play for his country on one of the biggest stages in sports.
“I wasn't really thinking about it because I just wanted to make the South Korean national team,” Yang said. “It was one of my biggest goals this year. I had been eliminated in the qualifying rounds for the last few tournaments and my world ranking had dropped, so I wasn't sure if I would be able to make the national team even if I won. But I made it, so I'm very grateful.”
Japan was also involved in another fierce battle for Olympic qualification. Yuka Sasao won her second U.S. Women's Open Presented by Alley at Lancaster Country Club in early June, effectively securing the No. 1 spot for the Japanese player.
Coming into the week of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, Ayaka Furue, Nasa Hataoka and Miyu Yamashita were ranked 20th, 21st and 22nd respectively in the Rolex Rankings and all needed to break away from the pack and finish highly in the third major of the year to overtake the other players in the Olympic Golf Rankings.
Hataoka, a six-time LPGA Tour winner, missed the cut at Sahali and withdrew from the tournament, leaving Furue and Yamashita to battle it out in Washington this weekend for a coveted second Olympic berth.
Furue shot a second-round 74 and a third-round 75 to give Yamashita a chance. Yamashita is 5 under after three rounds and has a chance to win her first major title on the LPGA Tour on Sunday at Sahalie.
So when Furue could only post a 2-under 70 in the final round of the KPMG Women's Professional Golf Championship, Yamashita only had to shoot 1-over 73 to finish tied for second, move up to 19th in the Rolex and Olympic Golf Rankings and secure a 60-player berth at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I'm happy to come in second in this championship,” Yamashita said after placing T2 at Sahali. “If I make it to the Olympics, I'll just do my best to represent Japan.”
With Yang's addition, South Korea and the United States will each have three players competing at Le Golf National, with South Korea's Ko Jin Young and Kim Hyo Ju also in the mix, while the US will feature Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu and Rose Chan in the Red, White and Blue team.
The U.S. came close to adding a fourth player to its roster in Paris when Allie Ewing tied for fifth in the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and emerged as an Olympic contender in the final moments of qualifying. The Mississippi native's second consecutive top-five finish in a major tournament raised her to 16th in the Rolex Rankings, one spot away from qualifying for her first Olympic Games.
The 60 athletes who will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics were announced on June 25th. The participants will be confirmed on July 9th.
60 Qualifiers #Paris2024@Olympic Golf | @Olympic pic.twitter.com/n8U5wHMFdF
— LPGA (@LPGA) June 25, 2024
