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LPGA: Cheyenne Knight leads through 3 rounds at Wilshire

April 30, 2023

LOS ANGELES — For Cheyenne Knight, her back nine score of 33 in Saturday’s third round of the JM Eagle LA Open did more than give her a two-shot lead after 54-holes, it let her know that her late brother Brandon was watching over her from above.

Brandon Knight, who was tragically killed by a drunk driver, wore the number 33 as a high school football player in Texas. When Knight won her lone LPGA title, the 2019 Volunteers of America Classic, she shot 66 on the final day, posting 33 on both sides.

So, when an LPGA media representative asked Knight if Saturday’s 33 might give her some extra mojo heading into Sunday’s final round, tears filled Knight’s eyes.

“It’s always special. I have someone up there watching me always,” Knight said. “Yeah, he’s always with me, so it’s nice.”

Knight’s third round score of 4-under 67 was her third straight round in the 60s, leaving her at 9 under and two shots ahead of Hae Ran Ryu and Hannah Green who are tied for second at 7-under 206. Gemma Dryburgh is three shots back of Knight at 6 under.

Playing in the final pairing on Saturday, Knight opened her round with eight straight pars before making a birdie on nine to make the turn at 1 under. On the par-5, 15th, Knight hit the green in two shots and then rolled in a 20-foot eagle putt to vault her into the lead. A birdie on 17 gave Knight the two shot cushion she will start the final round with.

“In the morning I’ll be nervous, I know I will. If you’re not nervous, it doesn’t mean anything to you,” Knight said. “But I’m just trying to embrace the nerves. This is why I practice. I want to be in these positions. I want to give myself a chance on Sunday. I’m looking forward to it.”

If Knight needs to talk with someone about dealing with nerves that come with competing, she can turn to her boyfriend, Los Angeles Chargers backup Easton Stick. Knight and Stick met when the quarterback played in Knight’s pro-am group last year at the LPGA event in Palos Verdes and started dating shortly after.

Stick was part of Knight’s gallery at Wilshire Country Club on Saturday and he also traveled to Arizona for the LPGA event to support his girlfriend at that event. Knight said having a fellow professional athlete to share ideas and fears with is a huge help to her.

“He gets nervous before games, and I get nervous, as well. So just kind of sharing how we deal with that helps,” Knight said. “Professional sports, they’re hard. Having someone to share that with and just someone to respect how hard it is is nice. From the outside looking in, it looks like a very nice life, but a lot of work and time and travel goes into it. Just leaning on each other in that way.”

Knight said she played well all of last season. While she never played in the final group on Sunday last year, she got close a few times so she plans to call upon her experience from winning in 2019.

“I’ve done it before, but I think whatever happens tomorrow, I just want to learn from it and be the best that I can and just keep sticking to my process,” Knight said. “That’s all I can do.”

Green knows all about playing in the final group in this event, she did so last year. While she wasn’t able to chase down Nasa Hataoka, Green finished second, and that strong provided her with lots of confidence this week.

Green started Saturday at 5 under and one shot off the lead, but through the course of the first 11 holes she struggled, culminating with a double-bogey on 11 that left her at 2 under and well behind the leaders.

But from that point on, Green birdied five of her last seven holes, including birdies on 17 and 18, pushing her back toward the top of the leaderboard and in good position heading into the final round.

“Today being 3-over par through 11 holes and shooting under par, you’ve just got to hang in there,” Green said. “It’s not easy out here. The greens are bouncy and then also in the afternoon getting a little bumpy. They’re actually probably the best they have been the five years that we’ve been here, but you’ve just got to stay in it. That’s how you win golf tournaments.”

Having finished third and then second in the last two years at Wilshire, Green is hoping that the time is right for her to breakthrough and take home the title.

“I’ve put myself in a good position today,” Green said. “To hold a trophy would be amazing because it has been a while since I’ve hoisted an LPGA trophy, and the two that I did win were probably the two biggest (trophies) that we have on Tour. The new one looks really big, too, so I’d like to get my own of one of those. I’ll try and do my best tomorrow.”

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Orange County Register

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LPGA: Cheyenne Knight leads through 3 rounds at Wilshire

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