‘The World Expects Better of Me’: Hours Before KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, 2017 Champ Danielle Kang Divulges Into How Composure Is the Secret Ingredient to Victory

The 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is just about to be teed off at the historic Baltusrol Golf Club in New Jersey. The field of 156 highly celebrated female golfers will go head-to-head for the highly coveted major title and the prize money of $9 million. The field consists of many top names such as Nelly Korda, Danielle Kang, Rose Zhang, Lydia Ko, and many more!  

As the players prepare themselves for the second major of the LPGA Tour, the expectations from previous major champions and emerging Rose Zhang are skyrocketed. But do expectations always bring out the best in golfers? 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner Danielle Kang expresses her thoughts.

Danielle Kang shares the secret of golfers’ victory

In the last 6 years, a lot has changed for female golfers when it comes to the Women’s PGA Championship. One of the most significant changes that has been observed is the hike in the purse of the tournament. In 2017, when Kang emerged victorious in the championship, she won $525,000 out of the $3.5 million purse. In 2022, the prize money of the championship was doubled from $4.5 million to $9 million, making it one of the highest purses on the LPGA Tour. 

Read more: Despite Their Fierce Rivalry, Nelly Korda Graciously Crowns the Best Golfer in the World

Now, as she returns to the 2023 edition, she is all geared up and excited to probably win her second major title. During her interview with the Golf Channel, an interviewer asked her about what kind of learnings from her 2017 experience she will be using at Baltusrol this weekend. The lone major winner then discussed her being a different golfer now than she was 6 years ago.

She said that in 2017, she was the only one who was expecting from herself, but that is not the case this year. Reflecting back on 2017 and comparing it to present times, she said, “I only expect nothing from myself, except the preparations but I know that the world expects better of me.” Continuing on the thought, she said that will reach the point again where she meets her fans’ expectations, and it might not be today or tomorrow, but it will happen. 

 “Sometimes not having any expectations takes off all the pressure, but you wanna be expected, right?” While expressing her thoughts about the expectations that fans and other people have, she said that golfers thrive on such expectations. According to the LPGA star, what enthusiasts expect from golfers goes to show that they know about the potential of the golfer. 

While discussing the expectations from the players during such prestigious tournaments, Kang mentioned Rose Zhang, who is the flag bearer of all the expectations in this tournament. 

Kang discusses high hopes from Rose Zhang 

If there is one LPGA star that spectators and fans are longing to see a Batusrol more than anyone, it is arguably the 20-year-old Zhang. This is her first major tournament as a pro and all the eyes are on her after her stellar win at Liberty National earlier this month. 

Lydia Ko, the former number 1 golfer also called her a special player and appreciated her for her accolades. Zhang has been the talk of the town ever since she made her debut, the young golf prodigy deserves it all. Amid talking about expectations from the golfers,  the 30-year-old mentioned Rose Zhang and commented, she “has a lot of expectations riding on her.” 

Well, it is indeed true that the fans and golfers have alike hopes for the emerging LPGA star. What are your thoughts about Danielle Kang’s remarks about expectations for the golfers? Let us know in the comments below!

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