Ex-UA golfer eagles final shot of LPGA season before starting maternity leave
Lindsey Weaver-Wright ended her 2023 LPGA season on a high when she holed out for eagle from the fairway on No. 18 on her home course in Texas. Now seven months pregnant, the former Arizona Wildcats golfer heads into maternity leave with a fun highlight to share with the family.
Weaver-Wright, who announced on July 4 that she’s having a boy, shot 1-under 70 and currently sits in the top 20 at the Ascendant LPGA benefitting Volunteers of America. She’s been a member of Old American Golf Club for several years now and lives in the area with her husband Zach.
Weaver-Wright said she typically brings a chair on the golf course so that she can sit down in between shots to help with back pain. This week, however, she managed to play a round without it.
“It’s been tough, to be honest,” said Weaver-Wright of playing pregnant. “I have a lot of different ailments day-to-day it seems like. But, I mean, I’ve taken the last two weeks with just the mindset that I’m just happy to be out here, lucky my body has allowed me to take it this far into pregnancy.”
Weaver-Wright said she plans to return to the tour in March. She played high school golf at Cave Creek Cactus Shadows and then after a season at Notre Dame, finished her college career at the University of Arizona.
—Beth Ann Nichols, Golfweek
PGA Tour welcomes another former Sun Devil
Chan Kim, who played two seasons for the Arizona State men’s golf team in 2008 and 2009, has earned his PGA Tour card for the 2024 season. Kim has played in 23 PGA Tour events over the years but this marks the first time he’s earned full-fledged Tour membership.
Kim, 33, won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour this season and finished second last Sunday in the KFT points list. The top 30 finishers earned 2024 PGA Tour cards. In August, he became the first golfer to win a KFT tournament without making a bogey.
Former ASU golfer falls short of Tour card
Mason Andersen improved his standing by six spots at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship but it wasn’t quite enough, as the former Sun Devil landed in the 36th spot when the dust cleared Sunday evening.
By virtue of finishing in the Nos. 31-60 spots, Andersen has earned exemptions to the Final Stage of PGA Tour Q-School, where the top five finishers and ties will earn their 2024 PGA Tour cards. The final stage is Dec. 14-17 at TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley Course as well as Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
The PGA Tour hasn’t held Q school in 12 years. Andersen, who played high school golf at Chandler Hamilton, was a grad student at ASU last year.
Ex-ASU golfer earns first professional win
Former ASU golfer David Puig, the youngest golfer on the LIV Golf League, won the Asian Tour's International Series Singapore on Sunday for his first professional victory. Puig, 21, led by nine shots after three rounds, eventually won by five and went wire-to-wire to become the youngest winner of an International Series event.
Puig hasn’t won an individual title on LIV yet but has been a part of four team wins in the circuit.
College team rankings: ASU men 6th
ASU is sixth in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin men's team collegiate rankings. Auburn is No. 1, followed by North Carolina, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Tennessee. Arizona checks in at No. 23. Grand Canyon is No. 138. In the women's rankings, Arkansas is the top team, followed by Stanford, Wake Forest, Oregon and Texas A&M. Arizona is No. 25, ASU is No. 27, GCU is No. 87 and NAU is 119.
Pair of Arizona juniors headed to Augusta
Two Arizona junior golfers will be among the 80 who earned an invitation to compete at Augusta National Golf Club in the 10th annual Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.
Parker Tang of Buckeye will compete in the Boys 7-9 division, while Zachary Schaefer of Tucson will be a part of the Boys 14-15 division. Both qualified at Desert Mountain’s Outlaw golf course in Scottsdale. The 2024 DCP will be April 7.
2023 Hall class announced
The Arizona Golf Hall of Fame has announced the four inductees for its 2023 Class: Peter Kostis, Judy McDermott, Howard Twitty and Wade Dunagan. There will be a dinner and induction ceremony on Oct. 24.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ex-UA golfer eagles final shot of LPGA season before maternity leave
