2018 LPGA Meijer Classic Jun 14-17

[Argonne69]

Four of the five par 3's were measured at 155, 178, 170, and 171 yards to the middle. I think a 115 yard hole is fine.

[Raving Shanker]

Alison Lee on the range on Saturday. She was out there for over an hour.

 

Wedges (Vicky in the foreground): https://dl.dropboxus...0616_134501.mp4 https://dl.dropboxus...0616_134710.mp4

 

Mid-irons: https://dl.dropboxus...0616_135249.mp4

 

Driver: https://dl.dropboxus...0616_143731.mp4

 

Oh man, and this is someone in disastrous form!

 

I think one of the reasons we want to watch the best is the hope that a little bit of this rubs off onto us.

[pd367]

I don't want Anna to win, but don't see others chasing her down.

Looks like my jinx on Anna worked.

 

Congrats to SYR on the win and her donating some money to Simply Giving...as per her post rd interview.

It's really shocking that as a LPGA member from 2012 to current (7 years) that SYR has only won 5 times.

 

They showed SYR's mom so many times today....maybe SYR will be dedicating this Father's Day win to her mom....I wonder if her relationship with dad is strained.

 

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2017/07/05/0200000000AEN20170705008000315.htmlThe LPGA must stop setting up these stupid short par 3's...we had one 115 yards today.

 

115 is the same tee they use all week on 12 at Blythefield CC. It’s a short hole.

[Argonne69]

I'll start posting some pics this evening. It was certainly a nail-biting finish with 6 or 7 players having legitimate chances of winning. It was nice to finally get a full tournament finished without weather delays. Let's hope we can get a few more strung together.

 

I had a very good time at the event on Friday and Saturday afternoon. I got a chance to say hi to many players, take a lot of pics, and chat with a few family members. For the most part the players are very accommodating given that they're primarily there to do a job. The family members are quite thankful for our support.

 

I can't say I enjoyed the layout. On the positive side, the rough was thick enough to prove penal. On Friday it was very wet, too. There were a handful of trees that came into play if a player wasn't positioned correctly off the tee. My biggest beef was with the greens. There were to many that were simply extensions of the fairway, with little protection, e.g. #2, and #18. Players could easily run the ball up. 'Not a bad thing for a links course in windy conditions, but this is a parkland layout. Way too little bunkering in the fairways and around the greens. It seems that only the par 5 8th had a tough landing area, with a narrow fairway and a good sized bunker. Otherwise it was wide open. The greens were flat and boring for the most part. Three putts seemed very rare. The par 3's were meh. Four of them were playing at basically the same distance, and again, little danger around the green.

 

I don't have a big issue with the length. This type of tournament is looking for birdies to entertain the viewers, and it doesn't disappoint. Four of the five par 5's were reachable by most players. However, if you're going to have easily reachable par 5's, there has to be some risk, and the greens just weren't protected.

 

It was nice that there was a grandstand on #17 and #18 for general admission ticket holders. 'Nice to grab a seat for a few minutes. That said, I watched a number of groups finish on the 18th on Saturday, and it's just no way to watch golf. I found it extremely boring to watch players in the distance hit their approach shots, and then see them for 5 minutes as they putted out. You really don't get a sense of the player's game watching half of one hole. Maybe sitting near the green of a par 3 might be better. I definitely prefer to walk with a group for 18 holes, or at least nine holes. You can get a real sense of how they approach the game. Their tempo. Their course management. Their superb ballstriking and short games. The conversations with their caddies. Yes, you don't get a sense of what's happening on the rest of the course, but that's why you DVR the broadcast, and watch it later.

 

Walking the course was OK. There were a handful of holes where the spectators weren't allowed to go back to the teebox. 'Don't care for that. There were a few choke points where the spectators were held while the players went through, which meant that you had to race to catch up. Lol. If you haven't walked with a group, you'd be amazed at how quickly they get to their balls.

 

I was really disappointed with the merchandise available. Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see a merchandise tent. This is the first event I attended where I didn't pick up a polo shirt, as they had very little available in the pro shop. I also didn't see programs available. $10 for general admission was a bargain.

 

The shuttle buses from the local high school parking lot were excellent. Instead of the usual school buses, they had full coach buses with leather seats and excellent AC. There was no waiting to board when I arrived/departed.

[Argonne69]

Alison Lee on the range on Saturday. She was out there for over an hour.

 

Wedges (Vicky in the foreground): https://dl.dropboxus...0616_134501.mp4 https://dl.dropboxus...0616_134710.mp4

 

Mid-irons: https://dl.dropboxus...0616_135249.mp4

 

Driver: https://dl.dropboxus...0616_143731.mp4

I say Alison's still injured....she doesn't look like she has a lot of driver club head speed vs. a few years ago...just look at some stats...yup 150th in driving distance.

What a shame.....she could have been an LPGA 'it' pro if she could win a lot.

 

I don't see Vicky's mom on her bag...I think her mom can be quite tough on Vicky from what I have seen and from what others have told me.

In 2016....I saw Vicky walk off the range in frustration...leaving mom and some old guy just hanging there.

 

Keep in mind that Alison was on the range for an hour or more. One can't be swinging at 100% ball after ball. In fact, the vast majority of LPGA pros never seem to swing 100%. I'm guessing she was focusing on mechanics, and less on distance. Heck, she's ranked practically dead last in accuracy, so no sense in getting too excited about hitting the ball far.

[Argonne69]

Pre-round on Friday. The range is very small compared to the other courses I've visited. As such, only a handful of players are out at any given time. With 6 players teeing off every 11 minutes, you don't see as many as, say, the Volvik Championship.

 

Hee Young, Anna, and Michelle

 

 

 

 

 

Su Oh and Annie

 

[Argonne69]

Pre-round on Friday (con't)

 

Lydia and Michelle

 

 

Jin Young on the 10th tee adjacent to the range

 

 

Lydia

 

[Argonne69]

Nelly, Lydia, and Annie

 

 

 

 

 

The "Shadow"

 

[Argonne69]

1st Tee.

 

Anna

 

 

Aditi

 

[Argonne69]

1st Tee

 

Hee Young

 

 

2nd Hole

 

 

5th hole and 7th green

 

[Argonne69]

After the round.

 

Michelle and Sarah Burnham

 

 

Ariya (w/ In Gee's bag), and Hee Young's bag

 

[4waymiss]

Pre-round on Friday (con't)

 

Lydia and Michelle

 

 

Goodness, what happened to the kid wonder? she looks like a bobblehead doll. I guess Brooks Koepka biceps is next in stall for her.

 

[Argonne69]

Pre-round on Friday (con't)

 

Lydia and Michelle

 

 

Goodness, what happened to the kid wonder? she looks like a bobblehead doll. I guess Brooks Koepka biceps is next in stall for her.

 

I was sitting in the grandstand behind the 18th on Saturday when Lydia's group arrived at the green. I heard a voice ~20 ft away say, "Look, Lydia has sure lost her baby fat". They say that cameras add 10 lbs. She really has slimmed down. On a positive note, she's averaging 2 yards more off the tee this season, so it hasn't drastically affected her play.

[Argonne69]

10th Tee.

 

In Gee, Ariya, and Lexi

 

 

 

[Argonne69]

11th hole

 

 

13th tee

 

[Argonne69]

1st tee

 

 

[Argonne69]

In Gee on the 6th

 

[Argonne69]

So Yeon on the 8th green

 

 

 

Ugh. Backlighting.

[Argonne69]

In Gee, Lexi, and Ariya coming off their final hole (9th)

 

[Argonne69]

So Yeon on the range conducting a post round interview.

 

 

Cheyenne on the practice green

 

[KBong]

Pre-round on Friday (con't)

 

Lydia and Michelle

 

 

Goodness, what happened to the kid wonder? she looks like a bobblehead doll. I guess Brooks Koepka biceps is next in stall for her.

 

I was sitting in the grandstand behind the 18th on Saturday when Lydia's group arrived at the green. I heard a voice ~20 ft away say, "Look, Lydia has sure lost her baby fat". They say that cameras add 10 lbs. She really has slimmed down. On a positive note, she's averaging 2 yards more off the tee this season, so it hasn't drastically affected her play.

Lydia is a bag of bones now.

Tina and Mike Whan are in Seoul in meetings with Kyochon Chicken.

Tina is there to sign up an endorsement for Lydia with unlimited visits to their restaurants.

Mike to sign up a sponsorship for the LPGA's 6th major.

 

[KBong]

1) The family members are quite thankful for our support.

 

2) That said, I watched a number of groups finish on the 18th on Saturday, and it's just no way to watch golf. I found it extremely boring to watch players in the distance hit their approach shots, and then see them for 5 minutes as they putted out.

 

3) I was really disappointed with the merchandise available. Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see a merchandise tent. This is the first event I attended where I didn't pick up a polo shirt, as they had very little available in the pro shop. I also didn't see programs available.

1) Yes, chatting with family members is a good way to find out more info on a player

 

2) Yes, sitting in a grandstand is a boring way to watch golf...I'll follow numerous groups throughout the day......if I get tired I tend to just hang around an area where several tees and greens meet up to minimize walking and watch several groups.

 

3) I've been to 8 different LPGA locations for tournaments and have yet to see a LPGA merchandise tent....even the KPMG in Seattle didn't have a tent...merchandise was sold in the pro shop.

[Argonne69]

The Volvik in Ann Arbor had a tent last year, and the International Crown in Chicago in 2016 also had a store.

[KBong]

The Volvik in Ann Arbor had a tent last year, and the International Crown in Chicago in 2016 also had a store.

I guess the Merit Club and Travis Pointe didn't want the Flying Dumbo's and Attack Girls to bother the pro shop staff asking them if they carried any fan club merchandise.

[Argonne69]

Saturday's round

 

Nelly and Bronte walk off the 11th tee, and Wei-Ling Hsu near the 10th green

 

 

Lydia heading to the 10th tee, and teeing off

 

 

Hyo Joo, and Morgan

 

[Argonne69]

MJ and Cheyenne

 

 

Nasa and Anna

 

[LexHair]

Pre-round on Friday (con't)

 

Lydia and Michelle

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lydia

 

 

Good thing she didn't turn sideways. You'd have wound up with a picture of the landscape.

[Argonne69]

Alison

 

 

MJ and Su

 

[Argonne69]

So Yeon on the 9th green, and heading to the 10th tee

 

 

[Argonne69]

Sakura and Sandra

 

 

So Yeon on the 10th tee

 

 

Jin Young and Sydnee