2018 LPGA Mediheal Championship Apr 26-29

[Argonne69]

Excited that Lydia can now go have a few frosty beverages after a win.

 

Only if she remembers to bring her ID. Doh!

[legitimategolf]

She seemed inconsistent with distance but she did outdrive Jess(ica) a couple times no?

[duffer987]

She seemed inconsistent with distance but she did outdrive Jess(ica) a couple times no?

 

Yes, when she had a tight draw going she did.

It's really not the course to judge someone's driving distance on though for all the obvious reasons.

[jmh1982]

Excited that Lydia can now go have a few frosty beverages after a win.

She's been legal drinking age in Australia for 3 years. ;)

[AKL Kiwi]

Excited to see Lydia back in contention and pull off the win. Minjee should also be happy with the way she played it's not like she folded in the playoff and played a bad shot to lose. With Lydia playing this week in Texas I think it's important that she has another good tournament to consolidate this performance. Just a top 10 should do that. If we were looking at this a couple of years ago another win this week would not be unexpected but if it were to happen it would certainly confirm her heading back to No.1. The whole scenario would kind of be déjà vu with Inbee Park at the top.

[mudge]

Excited to see Lydia back in contention and pull off the win. Minjee should also be happy with the way she played it's not like she folded in the playoff and played a bad shot to lose. With Lydia playing this week in Texas I think it's important that she has another good tournament to consolidate this performance. Just a top 10 should do that. If we were looking at this a couple of years ago another win this week would not be unexpected but if it were to happen it would certainly confirm her heading back to No.1. The whole scenario would kind of be déjà vu with Inbee Park at the top.

 

I don't see how Ko again this week would mean she's heading back to No. 1.

[4waymiss]

I am going to run to the store to get that PXG 3 wood. Wait, do they sell it at at the store ?

[Olympus]

I am going to run to the store to get that PXG 3 wood. Wait, do they sell it at at the store ?

 

The next putter on my list is actually the PXG Bat Attack that Lydia uses lol

[Yuck]

I am not sure the "in form' Lydia from 2 or three years ago could have hit that shot on 18. She could have hit a 3 wood, tight, but not from that yardage in cool weather.

[AKL Kiwi]

 

I don't see how Ko again this week would mean she's heading back to No. 1.

 

?? you don't understand how the RR works?

[8602081]

Felt bad for Jessica.. She needs to handle pressure better..

[Argonne69]

She seemed inconsistent with distance but she did outdrive Jess(ica) a couple times no?

 

I re-watched the final round coverage which started on the 7th hole. Lydia outdrove Jessica on 5 of the 10 remaining holes. One was a short par four that Jessica elected to lay back. On two holes Jessica hit it in the rough, and on one she was in the bunker. When they both hit the fairway, Jessica was outdriven by a few yards on two holes. When Jessica outdrove Lydia, it was a good 20+ yards.

 

I agree that this is not the course to really compare distances. Too many elevation changes that can affect the rollout. The wind was also a factor.

[KBong]

I really like Lydia...but I'm not sold on her ball striking...we've seen too often that she has missed the green when a GIR was a high probability.

Yes distance isn't everything...but she's still at a bit of a disadvantage over the long run.

Her scrambling helps to avoid a really bad score.

[KBong]

Does anyone remember seeing her Dad at an event as was the case today?

We started seeing dad in 2014 once she turned pro in 2014....before that it was always Tina (mom) as Lydia's chaperone.

We saw dad at Lake Merced in 2014 when Lydia won her 1st LPGA title as a LPGA member....big shot of dad on TV cheering when Lydia sank a 6 foot putt on 18 to win and beat Stacy Lewis.

 

I've seen dad at two event in 2015 & 2016....he doesn't speak English well but will smile back if you say hi to him.....Tina is fluent in English.

Sura, Lydia's sister (very cute) started to travel with the family in 2015. Sura is Lydia's IMG road manager....don't know if Tina has passed on the fruit cutting duties to Sura.

Sura went to school (HS???) in Toronto...the Ko's considered a move to Canada.

[Argonne69]

I really like Lydia...but I'm not sold on her ball striking...we've seen too often that she has missed the green when a GIR was a high probability.

Yes distance isn't everything...but she's still at a bit of a disadvantage over the long run.

Her scrambling helps to avoid a really bad score.

 

Lydia hit 72.2% of her greens, and 76.7% of her fairways this week. Her season averages are 68.5%/70.0%, so there was some improvement. Still, those numbers wouldn't put her in the top 25 in either category. She had 8 bogies with 20 missed greens, so her scrambling was the key for the week (60%). She had 18 birdies and one eagle in regulation play, so even though she missed quite a few greens, the ones she did hit were awfully good.

 

Obviously too early to see a trend, but her proximity to the hole was good, and her misses where more or less manageable.

 

Another key stat this week that we've talked about in the past is her performance on the par 5's. For the first time in a while she had no bogies on the par 5's while birding 6 of 16, along with one eagle. Oh yeah, the eagle on the playoff hole helped, too. Lol.

[Raving Shanker]

Excited that Lydia can now go have a few frosty beverages after a win.

She's been legal drinking age in Australia for 3 years. ;)

More importantly, it is 18 in New Zealand. Nothing better than smashing pints with the Ko-ster, (so they say).

[AKL Kiwi]

I really like Lydia...but I'm not sold on her ball striking...we've seen too often that she has missed the green when a GIR was a high probability.

Yes distance isn't everything...but she's still at a bit of a disadvantage over the long run.

Her scrambling helps to avoid a really bad score.

 

Lydia hit 72.2% of her greens, and 76.7% of her fairways this week. Her season averages are 68.5%/70.0%, so there was some improvement. Still, those numbers wouldn't put her in the top 25 in either category. She had 8 bogies with 20 missed greens, so her scrambling was the key for the week (60%). She had 18 birdies and one eagle in regulation play, so even though she missed quite a few greens, the ones she did hit were awfully good.

 

Obviously too early to see a trend, but her proximity to the hole was good, and her misses where more or less manageable.

 

Another key stat this week that we've talked about in the past is her performance on the par 5's. For the first time in a while she had no bogies on the par 5's while birding 6 of 16, along with one eagle. Oh yeah, the eagle on the playoff hole helped, too. Lol.

 

From the stats you can tell she is still a way off her best but she still managed the win here. Looking at last year she had 11 top 10 finishes, including three runner-ups, and won $1,177,450 in prize money. Ok she did not win but hardly a disaster of a year and that with all the changes. Started out this year with more changes but if she is now settled with coach, caddy and is on the improve again, going by her career stats, we could very well see her dominate the LPGA once again.

[jmvargas]

.....am very happy for Lydia for her win but have some doubts if she could ever dominate like she did when she was no.1..

 

her putting is still not up to her previous standards and her long game is still not consistent..

 

her short game,however, appears to be top notch and that could be the key for her to become as successful as she used to be..

 

she seems to also have finally gotten her equipment problems sorted out but the main factor giving me doubts is the level of competition she has now..

 

i see so many good players coming up and with no repeat winner so far in the lpga tour this just proves it..

 

i hope she can prove me wrong though..

[jmh1982]

Excited that Lydia can now go have a few frosty beverages after a win.

She's been legal drinking age in Australia for 3 years. ;)

More importantly, it is 18 in New Zealand. Nothing better than smashing pints with the Ko-ster, (so they say).

Always get the accents and flags confused between those two countries...

[Argonne69]

Does anybody know what type of putter Jess Korda is using this week? They showed one close up, slow/mo of one of her putts, but I could not make out the symbol on the heel. It looks like some kind of SC, but there are no circles in the back of the blade or anything.

 

Scoured Google images, but no clear photo. It looks rather nondescript. It might be a SC or Odyssey, but I'm thinking other.

 

Exactly, it does seem pretty nondescript, I tried doing the same thing with Google and different searches to no avail. Maybe if she wins, we will get an updated what's in the bag for her. For one reason or another, I'm just curious about this.

 

I'm beginning to think that it's an Odyssey Toulon Design, either a San Diego or Columbus model. Note the green logo on the heel section, the angle on the toe, and the shape of the heel.

 

 

 

[mudge]

I don't see how Ko again this week would mean she's heading back to No. 1.

 

?? you don't understand how the RR works?

 

She has a ways to go to get back to No. 1.

[ClairefromClare]

So--what's the shot of the year, Lydia's 3 wood on the playoff hole or Inbee's amazing chip last week?

[Seamus_McDuff]

So--what's the shot of the year, Lydia's 3 wood on the playoff hole or Inbee's amazing chip last week?

 

Lindberg’s putt(s)

[jmh1982]

So--what's the shot of the year, Lydia's 3 wood on the playoff hole or Inbee's amazing chip last week?

Lydia’s 3 wood. Just a spectacular shot.

[Argonne69]

So--what's the shot of the year, Lydia's 3 wood on the playoff hole or Inbee's amazing chip last week?

Lydia’s 3 wood. Just a spectacular shot.

 

I have to agree. The stakes on Pernilla's putt were higher, i.e. win your first tournament/major, but we see long putts drained every week. Like Mo's 3 wood on the final hole of the 2014 Women's British Open, knocking one stiff for an easy eagle is rare. On top of that, Lydia averaged less that 250 yards off the tee for the week, but somehow managed to bomb a fairway wood 235 yards over a tree.

[cagecitizen]

Lydia's approach shot in the playoff was sweet, but I doubt it ends up being the shot of the year. There's 4 more majors left to contest. Let's see how it all plays out.

[Dazgore]

Excited that Lydia can now go have a few frosty beverages after a win.

She's been legal drinking age in Australia for 3 years. ;)

More importantly, it is 18 in New Zealand. Nothing better than smashing pints with the Ko-ster, (so they say).

 

Lyds and Sura also make a pretty mean boat race drinking team!

[Dazgore]

Excited that Lydia can now go have a few frosty beverages after a win.

She's been legal drinking age in Australia for 3 years. ;)

More importantly, it is 18 in New Zealand. Nothing better than smashing pints with the Ko-ster, (so they say).

Always get the accents and flags confused between those two countries...

 

New Zealand, 4 stars, and they are red.

Australia, 6 stars, white.

 

I was going to say some xenophobic comment about Australians, but can't do it.. especially as I live here now. Lol