Rookie Ingrid Lindblad holds off the field and world No. 1 Nelly Korda to earn big payday
Top ranked LPGA golfer Nelly Korda drew a huge crowd this past weekend to El Cabarello Country Club for the JM Eagle LA Championship, but it was the 2025 JM Eagle LA Champion, Ingrid Lindblad, painting her scorecard with birdies from rolled in putts, canvassing with her fareway finder drives, and sealing her first Pro victory after 3 starts to getting paid one of the biggest payout for a maiden tournament.
It seem to not matter to Lindblad playing against the world No. 1 Korda as her most formidable opponent in this tournament was fellow rookie, Akie Iwai, whom had a final chance to extend their matchup into a playoff if she could have saved par on the 18th.
“I think from this week, I was trying to play pretty aggressive out there. I only hit drivers. I did not hit a single other club off the tee,” Lindblad said. “This week I was just trying to stay more down on the putts…And I felt very confident on the greens, very confident reading the greens; with the
pace on the greens, too.”
Lindblad played consistent with a poise, confident demeanor even as she awaited for a potential playoff that was perhaps the difference maker between Iwai and her as Iwai admitted to being nervous. “Really it was fun, so especially this week I feel-getting nervous on the back nine,” Iwai explained. “Actually, it was a good experience because under the pressure, yeah, my ball goes right so I did notice that this week.”
In addition, Iwai shared that out of her multiple pairings this tournament, “Ingrid” was her favorite. A mutual sentiment Lindblad shared post round three after playing with her in round two. In their final round, the two would play in different groups, successively. Lindblad’s pairing was a group ahead as she started the front nine with a birdie on the first hole, followed by “taking one hole at a time” approach that she mentioned to maintain a three stroke lead on the leaderboard into the back nine.
“I was just telling myself, just keep hitting good golf shots,” Lindblad continued. “Felt like I could have made a couple more birdies on the back nine but nothing really wanted to drop.” Lindblad shot a 68 to finish the final round and for the tournament, 21-under for 277. Despite having two bogeys on the front nine and a “barkie” on hole 13, she leveled it out with six birdies and parring her last seven holes.
CEO of JM Eagle and his wife, Walter and Shirley Wang, lauded Lindblad’s top performance as she passed them at the 15th hole, while taking notice of the extremely low scores from the tournament’s top leaders. “Looking at the leaderboard, there are four rookies at the top, obviously they are competitive and they skillful,” co-founder of JM Eagle LA Championship Walter Wang said. “I wish I could play like 10 percent of what they play but I’ll keep my day job.”
His wife, Shirley, added, “It’s amazing they play so well, especially when I refer to stats that within 150 yards the women play better than the men, and I hear so much nicer too in Pro Am.” “I didn’t say that,” Mr. Wang chimed.
Mr. Wang and his wife did say with their money talking for them by increasing their tournament’s purse and hosting community partnerships with 61 golf academy and First Tee Los Angeles to promote the sport, particularly to girls and minorities.
“When new people come to check out a golf course or golf tournament, they usually are lost and don’t know how to watch or navigate,” Dominic Gutierrez of 61 golf academy said. “So through our program, for our kids we give them a scavenger hunt to find places and people like the starter, the pro Shop to force them to have to meet volunteers as well as staff.”
61 golf Academy ‘s founder is Larry Shackelford, a high school sports standout from the Culver City community who found inspiration from the ban lifted in 1961 of non-white players in professional golf.
Since 1961, which was also in that same year the first international player to win the Masters Tournament, gradual progress has been made, as a former LSU player from Sweden, breaks the JM Eagle tournament scoring record, earns a little over half a million dollars and connects with many fans from diverse walks of life, such as fellow LSU alum and Hall of Fame Shaquille O’ Neal to an amateur golfer and 61golf academy instructor.
“Ms. Ingrid just killed it, she just put the ball 3 foot from the pin and now she’s at 21- under, next person I think is 18, Gutierrez said. “I personally enjoy watching the ladies play more than I can watch dudes play cause it’s more relatable.”