By Carey Van Lue

Portland Classic

Columbia Edgewater Country Club | Portland, Oregon| August 31- September 3, 2023

NOTABLE PLAYERS IN THE PORTLAND CLASSIC

“I would say I’m pretty confident. I feel like it’s not the best right now, so I feel like there is a lot of room for improvement. So I’m excited for that.” – Vu in 2022 following her T3 finish at the Portland Classic; she is now a three-time LPGA winner and two-time major champion

Rolex Rankings No. 1 Lilia Vu

• This is Vu’s second appearance in the Portland Classic
  • In 2022, Vu earned one of her three season-best third-place finishes at the Portland Classic
  • She shot all four rounds in the 60s, one of only three players to do so in last year’s event
    • Daniela Darquea and Ayaka Furue did the same
  • Her 54-hole score (203) tied her second-lowest number of her career
  • She held the 36- and 54-hole co-lead last year, the first time she held either in her career
    • This season, she held the 54-hole lead for the second time on Tour in her win at the AIG Women’s Open
• This is Vu’s 15th event of the 2023 season
  • Along with her three victories, she has one additional top-10 finish from the LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain (T7)
  • She’ll make her debut for the U.S. Solheim Cup Team in September
  • She enters this week ranked second in the Race to CME Globe (2,101 points), second in Official Money ($2,542,392), second in Putts per GIR (1.75), and eighth in scoring average (70.64)
  • She also is first in the standings for the Rolex Player of the Year award (154 points), and has already clinched the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award thanks in part to her two major championship titles
• This is Vu’s fourth season on the LPGA Tour
  • According to KPMG Performance Insights, Vu’s metrics from a year ago aren’t drastically season, but they have improved in several categories

*Tied for most this season with Celine Boutier

Rolex Rankings No. 2 Nelly Korda

• This is Korda’s second appearance in the Portland Classic
  • In 2022, she finished T31 after shooting 67-73-69-72
• This is Korda’s 14th event of the 2023 season

• • She started the year with six top-six results in her first seven events, including a season-best solo second at the HSBC Women’s World Championship
  • She’s coming off a T32 finish at the CPKC Women’s Open after back-to-back top-11 finishes at the Amundi Evian Championship (T9) and AIG Women’s Open (T11)
  • She currently ranks in the top 10 in scoring average (70.52, 6th) and in the Race to CME Globe (1,333 points, 9th)
  • She’ll make her third appearance in the Solheim Cup come September for the U.S.

• Korda is in the top three on Tour in par-5 scoring average for the third-straight season

• This is Korda’s seventh season on Tour
  • She has won eight times, including a major championship at the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, and last won in 2022
  • She is the reigning women’s golf Olympic Gold Medalist

Rolex Rankings No. 13 Megan Khang

“It’s huge. Funny enough, I’ve had people message me like, oh, the designer of the Shaughnessy Golf Club is the same designer Columbia Edgewater. I’m just like, oh, that’s a fun fact I didn’t know. They’re like, why not back to back? You know, I would love that, too, but it’s golf. You never know what’s going to happen. Would I love that? Of course. There are so many good players out here and just try to take it one shot at a time.” – Khang on her confidence heading into the first round at Columbia Edgewater Country Club, which was designed by A.V. Macan; he also designed Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club, where Khang won last week

• Megan Khang became the third-consecutive American winner on Tour at the CPKC Women’s Open, the first time this has happened in more than two years
  • Jessica Korda (Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions), Nelly Korda (Gainbridge LPGA) and Austin Ernst (Drive On Championship) won the first three events of the 2021 season
  • Khang was also the first American to win the CPKC Women’s Open since Brittany Lincicome in 2011
  • Khang is the sixth different American to win on Tour in 2023
• According to KPMG Performance Insights, Khang ranked in the top three in two strokes gained categories in Vancouver

• Khang became the season’s ninth Rolex First-Time Winner in her 191st career Tour start
  • Entering Sunday, Khang had 33 top-10 finishes on Tour since 2016, 11 more than any other player without a win in that span

• Heading into the week at Portland, Khang is up 26 spots this season in strokes gained approach from last year

• This week is Khang’s fifth appearance in the Portland Classic, and first since 2022
  • She’s earned two top-10 finishes in the event in 2017 (T9) and 2018 (5th)
  • Her best 18-hole score at the Portland classic is a 65 (R2, 2018)
    • Of 15 completed rounds, she’s carded eight rounds in the 60s
• This is Khang’s 17th event of the 2023 season
  • Along with her victory last week, she’s earned three additional top-10 finishes, including her previous season-best T3 result at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
  • She currently ranks in the top-10 on Tour in Rounds Under Par (T8, 32 rounds) and Driving Accuracy (80.64%)
  • Her Rolex Ranking (13) is her best rank of her career
    • She is one of four Americans ranked in the top 15 in the world
• This is Khang’s eighth season on Tour
  • She now has 34 career top-10 finishes, and has over $5.4 million in official career earnings
  • She is a two-time member of the U.S. Solheim Cup team, and will make her third-consecutive appearance in Spain this September

Rolex Rankings No. 43 Andrea Lee

“I think last year I definitely learned a lot about myself coming down the stretch at Portland, being able to handle those nerves under pressure, knowing where I was on the leaderboard. You know, I feel like I’m a bit more experienced now, and, yeah, I’m going to take all of these with me to the Solheim Cup. Just learning from all those past experiences, I think are going to really help me. It’s definitely going to be I think a more intense atmosphere with all the fans and the massive crowds. But I really enjoy that honestly. Just I kind of enjoy the big crowds. I’m just really excited for more than anything.” – Lee on how her win in Portland has helped prepare her for intense moments of competition heading into the 2023 Solheim Cup

• In 2022, Andrea Lee became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the Portland Classic
  • According to KPMG Performance Insights, Lee gained a whopping 13.5 strokes on the field with her approach play in Portland, the third-most gained by any player in a single tournament in 2022 on Tour

• Lee led the field in both driving accuracy and greens in regulation on her way to victory, becoming the first player to do that the week of a win since Ryann O’Toole had at the 2021 FREED GROUP Women’s Scottish Open
• Lee also tied for the field lead in driving accuracy in her victory, and led the field in both greens in regulation and strokes gained approach per round

• This is Lee’s fourth appearance in the Portland Classic
  • Aside from the win, she finished T42 in 2022 and in a tie for 20th in 2021
  • She shot her career-low 18-hole score in the second round in 2022 at Columbia Edgewater CC (64)
• This is Lee’s 18th event of the 2023 season
  • She is coming off three-straight top-13 finishes, including season-best T9s at the FREED GROUP Women’s Scottish Open and the AIG Women’s Open
  • Her T13 finish last week at the CPKC Women’s Open secured her a spot on the 2023 U.S. Solheim Cup Team, her debut appearance

• This is Lee’s third season on Tour
  • Aside from the victory in 2022, she’s amassed nine additional top-10 finishes on Tour

ON LPGA.COM

Five Things to Know About the Portland Classic

Field Breakdown: Portland Classic

Plan to Win in Portland: Pay Attention to Last Week’s Leaderboard

Portland Classic: Featured Groups

How to Watch the Portland Classic

Players Poised for a First Win Just Might Find It in Portland

2023 Solheim Cup: Meet the United States Team

Ally Ewing, Cheyenne Knight and Angel Yin Round Out 2023 U.S. Solheim Cup Team

Nine Automatic Qualifiers Named for 2023 U.S. Solheim Cup Team

2023 Solheim Cup: U.S. Team Uniforms by Dunning

LPGA and Epson Tour Qualifying Tournament, Stage I: Leaderboard

SOCIAL SNAPSHOT

Your Portland Classic Featured Groups

Daniela Darquea’s perfect approach from the 2022 Portland Classic

Caroline Inglis’s Hole-in-One at Columbia Edgewater

The 2023 U.S. Solheim Cup Team!

U.S.A. Team Solheim Cup Uniforms Unveiled

The 2023 U.S. Solheim Cup Team: Announcement Video

Steve Stricker caddies for daughter Bobbi at LPGA Q-School Stage 

SOCIAL MEDIA: #DRIVEON

Tournament – @PortlandClassic (Twitter, Instagram)

LPGA Tour – @LPGA and @LPGAMedia (Twitter), @lpga_tour (Instagram)

TV/STREAMING TIMES

(all times EDT)

Thursday, August 31

Round 1

6:00-9:00 p.m. – NBC GOLF Channel, Peacock, International

Friday, September 1

Round 2

6:00-9:00 p.m. – NBC GOLF Channel, Peacock, International

Saturday, August 19

Round 3

6:00-9:00 p.m. – NBC GOLF Channel, Peacock, International

Sunday, August 20

Final Round

6:00-9:00 p.m. – NBC GOLF Channel, International

Live Coverage can also be found on Digital:

NBC – NBC Sports App, NBCSports.com, golfchannel.com

COURTESY LPGA TOUR COMMUNICATIONS