2020 ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open

[18majors]

It looks like winds have picked up and scores are trending higher.

We're about noon local time; cutline is still -1 but trending higher.

Cutline may move to even or +1, if the afternoon group is blown away like the third round of Vic Open.

 

[18majors]

Maria Fassi has arrived!

A blistering -6, no bogeys, has moved her to inside Top-10 at the clubhouse.

[fanofseri]

Super golf coverage. I can't get enough. Karrie needs to pull her head out of her ass. If Lucky Sex doesn't win this tournament, Australia needs to be turned back into an island.

[fanofseri]

It should be 3 *** for Karrie & 3 for Lucky ***

[Argonne69]

Good stuff. Inbee's putter remained hot. Well, hot enough to go bogie free. Jodi had a decent round, but again, I predict she'll fade.

Ayean with another impressive round.

I picked Hye Jin for the win, but she barely made the cut. A top 10 would be quite a feat.

Nice to see Hee Young make the cut. Now she has to rocket up the leaderboard.

Watch out for Mi Hyang. She's another player who's very good in windy conditions.

Good thing I don't wager money on these events. Su and Leona both missed the cut, and I had them for top 10s. Oy.

 

[18majors]

The proverbial 15 minutes of fame

 

[Stooch]

No Shock, Inbee doing Inbee things. Jillian Hollis is having a nice event so far, but it's the "can she do it for 4 rounds" thing. Maria Fassi had a nice day but same thing as Jillian, can she do it for 4 rounds. Jodi has put herself in a great position but can she avoid the terrible putt round that pops up far too often when she's in contention? Christina Kim really blew a chance yesterday, 5 under in the first 5 holes only to give it all back, that's gotta hurt. Gotta give Inbee the best chance of getting it done and if she does she'll really regret giving away the win at the diamond event.

[DavePelz4]

Anyone care to join me at our next Jillian Hollis fan club meeting?

 

[Stooch]

I do have a soft spot for Bull Dawgs lol.

[LexHair]

Thread lock in 3.....2.....1

[shotmark]

Congratulations to Charlotte Heath from my home club Huddersfield GC in Yorkshire, England. Only amateur to make the cut in only her second LPGA competion. Good luck for the last two rounds.

[MagicClassic407]

YASSSS! As I'm also near where Jillian hails from on the south shore of Lake Erie (5 months a year at least) I'm happily in the club. Is there one also for Lindsay Weaver? Watch out, too, in future for Haylee Harford (Buckeye who did well at Augusta last year). Now, if we can just get Kathleen Ekey back in the mix.

[Raving Shanker]

Round 2: I just had a 3 hour stint I switched between the groups of Inbee/So Yeon/So Oh and Green/Ko/Rocket. I had to leave with them still having six or so to play.

Inbee and So Yeon are massive talents who both seem very motivated in this tournament. They were all business! I find Inbee's swing bizarre! Of course I have seen it on TV many times, but up close it seems more "violent", for want of a better word. But she gets it out there, and the putting is rock solid, and occasionally brilliant. She will be hard to beat from here. So Yeon seems to have a serious injection of purpose and intent. A few years ago at Kooyonga she gave the feeling that the Aus Open was a practice/warm up tournament for her. Not so here.

Lydia gives me a feeling of desperation. I hate to just repeat the same things over and over, but she seems to be adding a lot of hand action in the bottom of her swing to try and hit it further. I'd prefer she just accepted her length, and just smoothed it out there, picking her targets thoughtfully. Her chip/pitch game is still the best out there, but she is having to call on it hole after hole (after hole). Still, the pitching and putting is a thing to see.

I got to see why Hee Young Park's driving is so revered. There is something indescribably beautiful about it! Easy power, and she can get it way out there.

Now for Su Oh...Oh...OH! She rode the cut line for two days, and despite some beautiful ball striking and putting, she had a finger on that ol' self-destruct button the whole time. Her eagle on 17 (her 8th) was superb. But imagine coming to your 18th (No. 9 on the course), a par 5 needing a par to make the cut, and bogeying! Oh Su, Su Oh, what have you done? It seemed to sum up her tournament. I discover that I really like her and I am now a massive fan. I think she will have success, but will always have that enigmatic quality.

[Raving Shanker]

I think they have it worked out now. Once the morning calm is over, probably only Anne van Dam would a chance of reaching it into the wind, and maybe Hye Jin Choi if she was prodded with sharp sticks prior to hitting. In round 2 the players on the tee got the green light once the group in front was fully on the green.

[18majors]

Moving day and a departure from first two rounds; there are more birdies than bogeys.

[krisrod]

Bit cold and damp this morning, but the scoring looks okay so far. Just watched Ryann O’Toole bogey 3 with a three putt from 15 feet.

[Singapore Joe]

Let's hope @krisrod shrpened and packed his prodding sticks for the round.

[Titleist_PT23]

Inbee and Ryu definitely seem motivated this year. Whether the game has passed them by is the question. For the Olympics, they just need a hot few months, which is plenty possible. I would be surprised if either of them are willing to put in the time to be a top 10 (or so) player for the next 2 years though (or if it's even still possible given the new players).

HYP's swing has always been great. She was never really among the elite Korean players but her swing was up there. A few years ago, I think some articles claimed Lydia's camp always loved HYP's swing and wanted Lydia to swing that way too.

[18majors]

 

Both leaders at -10 are veterans who were born in 1988; chasers are young guns Jillian Hollis (1997) and Ayean Cho (2000).

There're many other veterans and young guns contending. Maria Fassi is a classical example; will she shoot -14 over the weekend to blow everyone away or will she take herself out today by shooting +6.

 

[Titleist_PT23]

Nobody knows for sure until it happens. And on any given week anyone out there is good enough to win.

I've followed Ryu more than Inbee. For Ryu, she could definitely have a hot run like MJ Hur or IK Kim of recent times. I just think her game right now needs to be very very very sharp in a week to win. She's probably at best average distance now (when she got to #1 she had gained about 10 yards and was somewhat above average), and it's going to be hard to change that. JYK was pretty average last year so it can be done but I'm not sure the odds are favorable. Ryu's hot streak in 2017-2018 also came on the back of changing her swing, which I think was as much about more effort/practice than whether the swing was actually any better or not. She was tired of not winning and determined to make a change. But that commitment only lasted 24-36 months (burn out?). Given her life balance comments of recent times I'm not sure we'll see an extended streak of elite play from her again.

I still have some belief that Inbee's model of cutting back and still playing fairly well was a negative for Ryu. She thought the model could be copied but her margin wasn't as large as Inbee's.

And as mentioned earlier, Inbee's conversion rate in the last 24 months or so is pretty pedestrian. She has nothing to prove so people let it go pretty easily but one can only wonder if more practice hours would have changed the outcome (not that winning 2-3 more times makes for a better life, etc).

We'll see. It would be great to see either of them go on another run. I think the Olympic team is huge for Ryu -if she doesn't make it she will be one of the top players that didn't make it either year.

[Singapore Joe]

As much as I respect Inbee Park for her game, I can’t stand watching her expressionless play. Very unlikely she is going to melt away so likely she will be in the final group on Sunday. That means I will find something else to do instead of watching.

[krisrod]

If you’re an Inbee Park fan, that final putt was incredible. If you’re not, that might have knocked the stuffing out. Saw a lot of good golf today and that’s reflected in the scoring. Will be a very tight, entertaining final day.

[Singapore Joe]

That was a great putt, and so were many others. I am not denying that. Need to find a way to teleport myself to watch the Boutier-Fassi pairing.

[Fry]

For me it's a shame Erika Hara has had zero air time, I was hoping to get a glimpse.

Ayean Cho's distances seemed improved from when I saw her in the final round last week, and she was definately getting a lot of spin on the greens so her strike is right on the money. However she still threw in a few wild shots and for me that will cost her against Inbee tomorrow. Speaking of, Inbee could easily have a larger lead, I saw her burn the edge 4 times during a very impressive round of putting.

[Raving Shanker]

Day 3.

Cool, dark and windy out today. The wind was not strong enough to be totally destructive, but I would say the gals played some kind of incredible golf to get the scores they got today. I was going to follow Minjee and Georgia, but put off by the massive crowds. I say "massive", but I mean unmanageable at this course! It is the worst course for spectators ever! So I did the holes 1 & 2 loop with them, then went back to the 1st to follow Robyn Choi and my favourite golfer, Lee6.

But Lee6 is off her game right now. She struggled to strike it consistently, and when she did, missed some putts. But she scrambled bravely with 9 consecutive pars before her first birdie on the 10th. I felt she would carve out a competitive score from there (maybe get to -7 or so by the end of the day) and left the group. But in fact she went the other way, including a double bogey on 15.

Choi got an early birdie on 2, and it looked promising for her, but she then reeled off four consecutive bogeys. It looked ominous for the young Aussie/Korean. I was pleased for her to see she finished on -3, and outplayed Lee6 over the back 9.

Spoke to a crowd marshall on 13, and getting across the fairway was dependent on driving distances. In fact, only one player had reached the cross walk from the tee. Drum roll...Nelly Korda! van Dam and H.J Choi not even close!

Looped back around to catch a bit of the leaders. Ayean Choi is sure belting it! There's a pep in her swing - she is really feeling it! I hope she finishes better this week! I am sure she will.

I don't think anyone can catch Inbee, but definitely don't share Singapore Joe's negativity about her. I get the feeling she has a sly sense of humour! I also think she really enjoys being that good.

[Hankshank]

So nice to have Madde Sagström playing good on a week in week out, fellow countrygirl. Haven’t watched as much ladies golf since the Annika days. And ladies golf is so much more attractive compared to a couple of years ago.

[Hawkeye77]

Enjoying this course!

[Argonne69]

Inbee looks to be on cruise control, but she was flat in the final round a few weeks ago. I'd say the players at -10 still have a chance, but a 66 or better is a must, and they need help from the leaders.

Ayean looks to be having a blast out there, even when she hits a poor shot. She must be in the "pinch me, I'm dreaming" mode. A final grouping with Inbee for a young Korean player? Curious to see if she'll play better this upcoming round vs. last week.

'Hoping Hee Young can have a great final round and snag a top 10.

 

 

[pmcuk]

 

Colour me strange, but I've always loved Inbee's swing and I really dig watching her. So.... interesting head to head with Ayean brewing. I don't think Ayean is going to let go this time round, I think she'll be solid so I expect her to be pushing inbee all the way. There have been some low scores from the chasing pack so there could easily be an upset, but I'm just truly fascinated by the Ayean-Inbee pairing.

[Singapore Joe]

Smart of you to be born to Sweden. I decided on Finland which doesn’t give me much countryman golfers to watch. Hope you don’t mind if I borrow a few Swedes to be enthusiastic about, Sagström and Nordqvist being among them.

After years all over the world I adopted Australia so at least there are a few Aussies I can pretend to be my fellow countrymen ;) in the last winter olympics Australia got more medals than Finland. Seems like the only sport left in Finland is the loosing ice hockey finals to Sweden. At least that’s something we are pretty goid at.

Ok, back to golf.