With a free meal, Boba tea and a laptop on the line, Match 5 of the LPGA eTour Live Series with WGT was entertaining to say the least.
In the first semi-final match of the WGT series on Wednesday, Jessica Korda and Angel Yin went head to head for a spot in the Championship Match. GOLFTV's Henni Zuel and Golf Channel's Tom Abbott hosted the match, where golf was only a small fraction of the conversation between the four.
The two athletes played nine virtual holes from opposite ends of the nation, with Yin playing in California and Korda in Florida.
After picking up baking during this downtime, Korda joked that it's time to put down her whisk and pick up her clubs again.
"It's time to chill with the baking and start getting in shape, have to make sure my golf clothes still fit," said Korda laughing. Yin laughed while understanding where Korda was coming from. If Korda's eTour comeback of the series says anything about her golf game at the moment, she's in good shape.
Korda chose the back nine at Merion Golf Club outside Philadelphia for the match. On the first hole (No. 10 ), Yin and Korda had eerily similar approaches but Yin's ball found the green first. Korda's third shot was for birdie, but she comes up short as Yin wins the hole.
"You can't put a wedge in my hand and think it's going to be good in this game," joked Korda as she went from her drop to a greenside bunker on the second hole. Yin went 2-up.
Side bets came into play. The loser of the third hole had to buy Boba tea whenever they return on the road. The unthinkable happened on this hole when Yin's ball got virtually lost (yes, such a thing is possible). Yin ended with a double bogey but halved the hole. With the tea bet carrying over, Yin remained confident with a 2-up lead.
On hole No. 4, two things were at stake: the loser had to buy dinner and Boba tea at an upcoming tournament. Korda sunk a putt to win her first hole of the day, winning a meal and free tea. She was feeling hopeful.
Yin was 1-up while teeing off on the sixth hole of the match (No. 15). While facing one of the hardest holes, Korda and Yin enlightened Zuel and Abbott with an in-depth look into the television show, - 90 Day Fiancé. If any 90 Day Fiancé fans were following along, there might have been a few spoiler alerts. In the end, Yin falls to Korda, where they're all square heading into the 7th hole.
"I'm getting pretty nervous," said Yin after both she and Korda hit the fairway on 16. The side bets continued, but this time, instead of pursuing a meal or a free beverage, the loser had to use driver on the next hole, a par 3. After coming up short, Yin knew Korda was about to win all three side bets.
As Korda's putt dropped to go 1-up, she exclaimed, "How clutch was that?"
"What would you be if you weren't a golfer?" Zuel asked Yin. Without missing a beat, Yin responded, "A member of TMZ." Korda, Zuel and Abbott all laughed while enjoying a peek into Yin's entertaining thought process. At the same time, Yin was teeing off using driver since she lost the prior hole.
Yin caught a glimmer of hope on the 8th hole of the match as she yelled out, "Angel has a chance!" Instead of pulling ahead to tie the hole, Yin conceded the hole and moved into the final hole, 1 down.
"It's not often I outdrive you," joked Korda, after teeing off on No. 18. Yin lived in the rough on the final hole, while Korda's third shot landed on the green. As the tension grew, Korda had to two-putt to win. Korda putted close and Yin conceded leaving Jessica Korda in the Championship Match, with the (virtual) comeback of the year.
"I have to say, I am never going to choose another hard golf course again," said Korda as the match wrapped up. Now, Korda will face either Jane Park or Tiffany Joh.
On Friday, May 29, at 2:00 p.m. ET, Joh and Park will battle it out to determine who gets the final spot on the LPGA eTour Live with WGT Series. In the final match on June 3, the winner will receive a new Acer Swift 7 laptop.
The matches will stream live on the WGT Twitch, YouTube and Facebook accounts, LPGA’s Twitter, Facebook, YouTube accounts and LPGA.com, and Discovery’s GOLFTV Twitter and Facebook accounts, and will be available via VOD on Golf Channel’s YouTube and GolfChannel.com.
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