By Carey Van Lue

ISPS Handa World Invitational presented by Aviv Clinics

Galgorm & Castlerock Golf Club | Antrim, Northern Ireland | August 17-20, 2023

Final-Round Notes

August 20, 2023

Alexa Pano LPGA Tour ISPS Handa World Invitational winner 8 20 2023.mp3

Course Setup: Galgorm – 36-36–72; 6,083 yards

Scoring Average: Galgorm – R1: 74.986, R2: 77.475, R3: 73.093; R4: 70.816

Castlerock Golf Club – R1: 74.517, R2: 76.780

Weather: Mostly sunny throughout the day with some cloud cover; 70 degree temperatures with winds peaking at 15-20 mph and gusts of 25 mph

Race to CME Globe Points: 500 points (winner)

Purse: $3 million; $1,500,000 for women & $1,500,000 for men (each winner’s portion is $225,000)

ALEXA PANO EARNS FIRST LPGA TOUR VICTORY AFTER THREE-HOLE PLAYOFF

Coming from a three-shot deficit at the start of the final-round, 2023 LPGA Tour Rookie Alexa Pano shot the low score of the week at the ISPS Handa World Invitational presented by Aviv Clinics, a 6-under 66 at Galgorm in Antrim, Northern Ireland. But, it still wasn’t enough for the 19-year-old to take the outright victory after 72-holes of play concluded on Sunday. Leading by one shot heading to the 18th hole, Pano’s birdie on the last put her in the clubhouse at -8, just as Esther Henseleit birdie No. 17 to move to -7.

“I didn’t really think about (the leaderboad) much until we were kind of coming up 18. Then I was like, okay, this needs to get to 8 because this is such a reachable hole today,” Pan said. “I did a little bit of scoreboard watching, but as it got towards the end I was just trying to make as many birdies as possible. I knew the lead was deep so I needed to get deeper. I didn’t know about the situation until some guy on 17 told me. He was like, shouldn’t have made bogey there. Kind of rude, but it motivated me to make two birdies back-to-back… yeah, those back-to-back birdies I knew I had to do, and luckily I did.”

Henseleit hit two solid shots on the par-5 18th to make it on the green in two, then sunk a short birdie putt to force a playoff after her long eagle opportunity passed just by the hole.  But it would not just be Henseleit and Pano. First- and third-round leader Gabriella Cowley joined the extra-hole action with a long eagle putt on the last, the highlight of her -2 round that had stayed level par until then. On the first playoff hole, No. 18 again, a rouge tee shot from Henseleit left her unable to reach the green in two as before. She was eliminated with a par on the first playoff hole when Cowley and Pano made birdie.

“I mean, probably my first missed drive of the day. I’ve been hitting my driver really well. I mean, I was only like maybe five meters from the fairway and then hit a decent shot out of the rough with my 5-wood. Then I was in a good spot, but, yeah, the lie wasn’t great. I had quite a bit of mud on my ball. Hit a decent chip and then the putt burned another edge,” Henseleit explained. “,Yeah, just burning edges all day really. I felt like I left quite a bit out there, but to birdie three of my last four, being in contention, I guess I can take a lot from that.”

Moving to the second playoff hole, again No. 18, it was Pano this time with a poor tee shot. The American went right into the trees and had to pitch out onto the fairway, losing her opportunity for a one-putt eagle. Cowley again drove the green in two while Alexa made it in three but was unable to sink her 18-foot, downhill birdie putt. Cowley, who reached the front of the green with her second shot, hit her eagle putt just 5 feet short of the hole. It looked like it was over for Pano with a par, but the pressure got to Cowley, who hit the short putt just right of the hole. Off to the 18^th tee box again, each player had a solid drive but Cowley’s second shot gave her trouble as she missed short and right of the green. Pano’s was perfect, making it all the way to the backside pin but right by about 20 feet.  On the green in three, Cowley missed her birdie putt after Pano hit her eagle chance just a few feet long. Visibly nervous but determined to seize the day, Pano made her short putt t end the tournament and give herself her first win on the LPGA Tour and “the best birthday of all-time,” she said.

“I’ve been dreaming of this for so long, even just putts on the practice green saying, this is to win an LPGA event. To finally have that putt and have that opportunity, it just exceeded my expectations and it was so much fun,” Pan said. “This was definitely a massive goal for me, so to achieve that is really special. But, yeah, I mean, just thinking of all the little things that happen now, and, I don’t know, it just hasn’t fully sunk in but it’s starting to.”

Henseleit and Cowley will share second, each earning their best finish of the year on the LPGA Tour and LET. American Ryann O’Toole, who led the field for most of the final-round, got to -9 with an eagle on the par-5 No. 10 before getting caught in the sand on No. 11 and earning a double bogey. She went bogey, birdie, bogey, birdie on 15-17 and had a good chance for eagle on No. 18 to join the playoff fun. She finished the day solo fourth with a 2-under 70. LET player Olivia Cowan finished -6 overall with a final-round 68, rounding out the top-five.

A LOOK AT THE WINNER

Rolex Rankings No. 402 Alexa Pano

• Pano hit 6 of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens with just 23 putts during the fourth round
  • Her 108 putts was the fewest of the tournament for 72 holes
  • She also had the fewest putts per GIR for 72 holes (1.67)
• Pano’s final-round 66 ties her career- and season-best individual stroke-play score, last recorded in the final-round of the 2023 ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer
  • She also recorded a 66 in the final round of the 2020 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, where she finished T41
  • The 66 also ties the lowest round of the week at the ISPS Handa World Invitational; Azahara Munoz also shot a 66 in the final round
• Pano’s first-round 76 makes it the highest start by an LPGA Tour winner this season
• Pano’s nine birdies are the most in the final round for any winner this season on the LPGA Tour
  • She ties for the season’s second-most sub-pars in a round
• Pano was four shots back of the 54-hole lead going into Sunday
  • She ties the second-largest come-from-behind victory of the season
• Pano won in the season’s seventh playoff of the 2023 season
  • This is the first playoff since the Mizuho Americas Open
• Pano is the first Tour player to win on their birthday since Ally Ewing at the 2020 LPGA Drive On Championship at Reynolds Lake Oconee
• Pano is the eighth Rolex First-Time Winner of the 2023 season, joining Lilia Vu (Honda LPGA Thailand), Ruoning Yin (DIO Implant LA Open), Grace Kim (LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei), Rose Zhang (Mizuho America’s Open), Allisen Corpuz (U.S. Women’s Open), Linn Grant (Dana Open) and Elizabeth Szokol ( Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational)
  • She is the youngest American first-time winner since Jessica Korda in 2012
• Pano is the third LPGA Tour rookie with a win this season, joining Kim and Zhang
• Pano is the sixth American to win on the LPGA Tour this season, joining Vu (Honda LPGA Thailand, The Chevron Championship, AIG Women’s Open), Zhang (Mizuho Americas Open), Corpuz (U.S. Women’s Open), Cheyenne Knight (Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational) and Szokol (Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational)
• Pano is the third America to win on the LET this season, joining Nelly Korda (Aramco Team Series Presented By PIF – London) and Vu (AIG Women’s Open)
• Pano is the first American to win the ISPS Handa World Invitational presented by Aviv Clinics
• Pano is the youngest winner on the LPGA Tour this season at 19 years old
  • The youngest winner this season was previously Zhang, who won the Mizuho America’s Open at 20 years and 11 days old
• As an amateur, Pano was the first three-time national finalist in the Drive, Chip and Putt competition
• She was the youngest player in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur
• Pano won the American Junior Golf Association’s 2019 Rolex Girls Junior Championship
• She was featured in the 2012 Netflix documentary The Short Game
• She is tied for most U.S. Kids Golf World Championships with five in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016

THINGS TO KNOW

• The T2 finish by Esther Henseleit and Gabriella Cowley are their new career-best finishes on the LPGA Tour
  • Henseleit was also in second after the second and third round
    • The German shot four rounds of par or better, one of just three players to do so along with Ryann O’Toole and Olivia Cowan
    • Henseleit has five top-20 finishes in 15 starts on the LPGA Tour this season
  • Cowley was both the first- and third-round leader
  • She went into the final day with a one stroke lead over Henseleit and O’Toole
• O’Toole’s fourth-place finish is her best result on Tour since her win at the 2021 FREED Group Women’s Scottish Open
  • This is also her first top-10 finish of the 2023 season
• Azahara Munoz tied Pano for the week’s low 18-hole score, with a final-round 66, to finish T6 after starting the day in a tie for 16th
  • Her 66 is her best 18-hole score on Tour since a second-round 66 at the 2021 ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, her last event on Tour before becoming an #LPGAMom
  • It is also her best finish on Tour since a tie for second at the 2020 FREED Group Women’s Scottish Open
• Thirty-eight players made the second cut at +4 after 54-holes
  • The second cut was made to the top-35 players and ties
  • Sixty-three players made the first cut at +5 after 36-holes
    • The first cut was made to the top-60 players and ties
    • It was the highest 36-hole cut of the season in a non-major championship
    • It tied the second-highest cut of the 2023 season along with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
      • The highest cut of the year was +6 at the U.S. Women’s Open
• KPMG Performance Insights:
  • Overall, Galgorm Castle still played difficult throughout the week – but it was significantly easier than in round two, when the field posted an average of nearly 77.5 compared to 73.09 during the third round and 70.816 in the final round
    • The final-round scoring average of 70.816 was the lowest of the week
  • There were no rounds in the 60s during the second round
    • It was the first round all season on the LPGA Tour where there was not a single round in the 60s
    • It was the first time since the third round of the 2020 LPGA Drive On Championship at Inverness that there were no rounds in the 60s
  • There were only four rounds in the 60s during round one, the fewest in any opening round this season on LPGA Tour
• The two Irish/Northern Irish women still in the field finished +2 after four rounds
  • Leona Maguire shot -2 on Sunday to finish even overall
  • Stephanie Meadow shot an even 72 on Saturday and Sunday to finish +2

QUOTABLE

“This is definitely the best birthday of all-time. I’m kind of a downer on my birthday usually, but this might change my mind.” – Alexa Pano on her birthday win

“I’m pretty happy with how my game is at the moment and how it’s been the last couple months. Yeah, I feel really good on the course. I had a lot of fun playing in contention the last two days, so, yeah, hopefully we’ll be back.” – Esther Henseleit on her recent LPGA Tour performance

“You know, for the most part I’m happy with the tournament. Going into it if someone said, hey, you would be top, whatever I ended up finishing, I would take it. The back nine really pissed me off, so I think I got to swallow that for a little bit. I had two three-putts on the back side, which is not like me. Just felt like I gave shots up. It is what it is. You live and learn and move on to the next week.” – Ryann O’Toole on her final round

NOTABLE

Final Round Highlights | 2023 ISPS Handa World Invitational

Third Round Highlights | 2023 ISPS Handa World Invitational

Second Round Highlights |2023 ISPS Handa World Invitational

First Round Highlights | 2023 ISPS Handa World Invitational

Alexa Pano Winner’s Interview | ISPS Handa World Invitational

First tour win on your birthday? What could be better!

The 2023 ISPS Handa World Invitational Champion, Alexa Pano!

TOURNAMENT SCORING RECORDS (since becoming an LPGA/LET co-sanctioned event in 2021)*

18 holes: 63, Maja Stark (fourth round, 2022)

36 holes: 132, Emma Talley (2021)

54 holes: 205, Pajaree Annanarukarn, Jennifer Kupcho & Emma Talley (2021)

72 holes: 271 (-20), Maja Stark (2022)

*Course records set at Galgorm and Massereene Golf Club

COURTESY LPGA TOUR COMMUNICATIONS