OK, so here's how golf tournaments work in the first two days. On Thursday, half the field plays in the morning, and the other half plays in the afternoon. On Friday, the half that played in the morning on Thursday plays in the afternoon, and vice versa. We note these facts because we noticed that on Thursday, the players who faced the CordeValle Golf Club in the morning did better than those who played in the afternoon. And the same thing happened on Friday. For example, Lydia Ko -- the best player in the world -- shot a 73 on Thursday afternoon, followed by a 66 on Friday morning. Brooke Henderson -- the world number two -- had a 76 on Thursday afternoon, and a 71 on Friday morning. On the other hand, Cristie Kerr shot a 67 on Thursday morning, then staggered to a 75 on Friday afternoon. Mirim Lee shot a 64 on Thursday morning to take a three-shot lead, and then shot a 74 on Friday afternoon. So things have evened out now.
Many of the golfers we were interested in are out of it. Emma Talley didn't make the field at all. Lexi Thompson made the cut, but is 11 shots behind at 3 over par. Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel are tied at 4 over par. Michelle Wie (the 2014 champ) missed the cut, as did Se Ri Pak (the 1998 champ), Na Yeon Choi (the 2012 champ), and In Gee Chun (the defending champ). Inbee Park -- a seven time major champion, and the winner of this tournament in 2008 and 2013 -- missed the tournament entirely due to an injury.
So we are not faced with an event that is all that friendly for the casual fan. Our current leader is Sung Hyun Park, a 22-year-old who has never before played in the U.S. Women's Open. On the other hand, Lydia Ko is only three shots back, so she is in a very strong position to pick up her second major of the year. And Eun-Hee Ji (the 2009 champ) is only one shot behind Ko.
Here is the leaderboard:
1. S.H. Park (KOR): -8 (70+66=136)
T2. A. Yang (KOR): -6 (67+71=138)
T2. M. Lee (KOR): -6 (64+74=138)
T4. L. Ko (NZL): -5 (73+66=139)
T4. H. Nomura (JPN): -5 (70+69=139)
T6. D. Kang: -4 (71+69=140)
T6. E.H. Ji (KOR): -4 (69+71=140)
T6. J. Korda: -4 (70+70=140)
T6. K. Tan (MAS): -4 (68+72=140)
T10. M. LeBlanc (CAN): -3 (72+69=141)
T10. S. Michaels: -3 (69+72=141)
T10. A. Stanford: -3 (71+70=141)
T10. M. Martin: -3 (71+70=141)
T10. J. Shadoff (ENG): -3 (70+71=141)
According to the USGA's web page, this was Se Ri Pak's last appearance in the U.S. Women's Open. The five-time major winner is retiring from golf, and will not play another competitive tournament in the United States. She was the first South Korean golfer ever to win a women's major tournament, and thus will go down in history as the founder of a trend that dominates women's golf today, and will do so for the foreseeable future.
ReplyDeleteWhen I watching that 1970 NASCAR race last week, Jim McKay was promoting ABC's coverage of this tournament that year. I don't remember ever seeing it on when I was a kid, but I guess ABC covered it every year.
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