AIG Women's Open

[Stooch]

1 minute ago, 18majors said:

@Stooch

 

Yes, can't never count out Inbee; she can birdie any hole with her hot putter.

 

On the other hand, Lydia, Minjee or Nelly aren't spring chickens; they've earned their stripes.

 

A side question, how do you handle the weekends if Brooke isn't playing.

 

 

 

Not a big deal she was ill prepared and not sharp and the course exposed her for it.  Still fun to watch lots  of great potential storylines and I'm probably cheering most for Minjee to win her Major.

[Argonne69]

38 minutes ago, Stooch said:

Lydia is continuing her good form, she has a great shot at this.  Minjee and Nelly are also in prime position to pick up a Major, poor Amy that's a tough one.  I'd be worried about Inbee though, she's gonna let the youngsters stress out with lead for the next day and a half then pass the by on the back 9, Sunday.

 

She isn't known as the Silent Assassin for nothing. 

[Argonne69]

28 minutes ago, Newinup said:

I've been rooting for Minjee AND SYK to win majors since I started watching LPGA but have been disappointed so far...  it seems they either are not lucky enough to get the breaks or i just can't explain it (Minjee and SYK miss crucial putts even if Minjee is not a poor putter like a Matsuyama, SYK made a crucial "lucky"? putt to end the season last year so i can't figure out why these 2 have been hard luck on majors ).     Since all my "bets" are gone or not playing, I'm rooting for Minjee to win this over the weekend...  (I don't even know how I can catch up on the ROY contest either LOL) ?

 

Minjee isn't a poor putter, but she has a very bad habit of missing the important putts down the stretch when it matters most. 

Edited August 21, 2020 by Argonne69

[Golf Dino]

28 minutes ago, 18majors said:

@Stooch

 

Yes, can't never count out Inbee; she can birdie any hole with her hot putter.

 

On the other hand, Lydia, Minjee or Nelly aren't spring chickens; they've earned their stripes.

 

A side question, how do you handle the weekends if Brooke isn't playing.

 

 

 

 

Lydia is 23, Nelly is 22 and Minjee is 24 ... not exactly old maids and more spring chickens in age ... definitely not experience, but age-wise, yes.  Inbee on the other hand is a decade older at 32.

[Newinup]

37 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Minjee isn't a poor putter, but she has a very bad habit of missing the important putts down the stretch when it matters most. 

I guess at their elite level, it's indeed either habit or mental focus that needs to improve (Eg sports psychologist need to get involved) - i wouldn't know as I've never reached such level in any sport ?

[18majors]

Forecast for weekend are much nicer.

 

Winds of less than 20 mph and negligible rains for Saturday; almost no rain for Sunday and winds of less than 15 mph.

 

No excuses, cream will rise to the top.

 

 

[elwhippy]

Some very defensive Golf over last two days. Tough winds but they are playing off  the members play off yellow tees. 138yards for the Par 3 fifth? Men's front tee is 180 plus. Hope the weekend fairs up and they can get the greens a bit quicker than 8 on the stimp...

[18majors]

Life of an unknown quantity; it took a while to find this lonely picture of Yealimi Noh!

 

 

[Argonne69]

Can't remember a round where so many putts were left short. Definitely hoping to see the greens speed up on the weekend. 

 

Great round by Minjee. Didn't leave her two birdie putts short. Lol. 

 

Edited August 21, 2020 by Argonne69

[18majors]

Whether Lydia wins; she did look like the best of herself!

 

"With Sean, we haven't done a lot in the technical sense. We are trying to get rid of the question marks in my head so I can swing freely. Sean has told me to dig a hole and throw all my crap in there. A big thing for me has just been able to believe in myself again."

Ko has long pledged to retire from the sport by 30 and wonders if she will stick to that vow. But now, she believes that decision will not be dependent on what happens in the meantime.

"I don't know where my career is going to go," she said. "At one point I was comparing myself to when I was world No 1, but so many things have happened that I can never be that same person. I just have to be the best I can be right now."

 

Lydia Ko

[onekday]

Inbee is on the bubble for the Korean Olympic Team.  I suspect she made the effort to fly here, risk the weather and the virus, in order win a major and assure herself an Olympic birth. 

Go Inbee.  You are making the effort while your country mates hide at home.  You are a champion.

 

Mike

[Raving Shanker]

1 hour ago, onekday said:

Inbee is on the bubble for the Korean Olympic Team.  I suspect she made the effort to fly here, risk the weather and the virus, in order win a major and assure herself an Olympic birth. 

Go Inbee.  You are making the effort while your country mates hide at home.  You are a champion.

 

Mike

I think it has been all about the Olympics for Inbee this year. Beware someone who wants to be back-to-back Olympic champion, and has the tool to do it.

[Raving Shanker]

That was engrossing golf! It seems to me that winning on the weekend will go the player who can transition out of the defensive mind-set the best (assuming the conditions ease up).

 

Getting to the weekend was about having the humility to grind and accept pars, and even bogies. The weekend will be about knowing when to attack and when to defend.

 

Allison Whittaker is the best expert commentator in golf! One of the older male commentators seemed to have trouble completing sentences. Coverage was great, but still a mixed bag. Not one shot from in Gee Chun, who AGAIN spent the better part of two days on the leader board (slipped away a bit at the end!). And where was Jin Young Kim?!

 

Hinako Shibuno still looks a very likely prospect going forward. She is a true "player" who hits the ball with a rare abandon and freedom - probably not so suited to Troon in 50 kph winds!

 

From what I saw, Nasa was the unluckiest golfer of the first two rounds. The number of putts that were inside a a few inches but not in - so unlucky. Her tee shots were top shelf, but she then had a tendency to over hit irons into greens.

 

Go Minjee! Or Lydia. Or anyone really.

[Titleist_PT23]

Great to see the women play more of the courses on the men's rotation.  The future schedule for the Women's Open plus Pebble Beach in the U.S. in 2023 is fantastic in my view.

 

I am surprised that so few of the Koreans decided to play.  This will be especially true if they all show up in the U.S. for the ANA through the end of the year.  One can view the risk of travel as either negligible or serious, but I don't see much difference in traveling to Troon vs. moving around the U.S. the rest of the year.  Regardless, the history books won't remember or care who did/didn't play, and as others have noted there are some great potential winners in the mix here.

 

I probably like Minjee the most of those with a real shot.  However, I think Lydia winning would be great for her and the tour.  The competition is different vs. ~5 years ago but it will be interesting to see how she can stack up (over an extended period) with a clear mind / swinging freely.  I haven't watched at all but there are some comments on her ball flight being a fade again.  As stated before, I did think her path looked a bit more neutral/out-to-in again on some social media videos.  Amazing if she just went back to what feels right vs. listening to instructor after instructor.  Such a waste of prime years trying to adjust this or adjust that.  But as she says I guess you can only look forward and do the best you can from here...

[pmcuk]

The whole field are within 10 points of each other except for a single minus score. Looks very close until some of the field make a break for it and draw away. Then we should see some action. 

[Mark_Crossan]

15 hours ago, elwhippy said:

Some very defensive Golf over last two days. Tough winds but they are playing off  the members play off yellow tees. 138yards for the Par 3 fifth? Men's front tee is 180 plus. Hope the weekend fairs up and they can get the greens a bit quicker than 8 on the stimp...

The prevailing wind would play down and from the right on 5. We had it blowing hard into and from the right yesterday (so hard someone’s ball moved on the green in the group Infront of us. To get near the pin you needed to start it over the Ocean as the wind was so strong, it would have been Driver from the men’s tees (We were off the back tee in practice round) which in the wind probably wouldn’t have been reachable for the majority so maybe not worth criticising that point ??‍♂️

[Argonne69]

 

Yeah, a bit of a tough finish by In Gee, but she's still in it, along with two dozen other players. Pity we didn't get to see a single shot.

 

Lydia certainly appears to be playing a fade again. Her swing looks so good. For the past few years it looked like she had a dozen swing thoughts going through her head. Heck, she even sped up her routine on the greens. No more lining up the line on the ball. No more wiping of the hands on the towel (although I think she ditched that last year). No more marking the ball on short-ish tap ins. 

 

Impressive two days by Lindsey Weaver. As they noted during the broadcast, having to push your clubs on a trolley and deal with the rain is no easy feat.

 

Emily Pedersen has been on a roll. Unfortunately I think her (short) putting is going to let her down again.

 

It looked like Charley couldn't wait to get off the course. Links golf just doesn't suit her game.

 

Third round scores look rough again. There are a handful of players under par, e.g. Brittany Altomare at -4 for the round after 15 holes, but there are a lot of big numbers out there. 

 

Edited August 22, 2020 by Argonne69

[Stooch]

With easier conditions today looks like there are some good scores out there to be had but still also seems tough out there if you're not hitting good shots.

[Stooch]

I was thinking, not sure about travel restrictions but I wonder if you are playing next Friday, do you gotta stay in the hotel for 2 days, if you missed the cut, to wait and catch a charter to Arkansas with everyone on Sunday, cause that would really suck lol.

[MaineMariner]

So this is the first day I've been able to catch any action, but is Lindsey Weaver not using a caddy at all? That's pretty cool. Was it just a travel issue or something?

 

Obviously I don't like the idea of anyone being out of a job, but I'd love to see the pros play some rounds relying on just their own thoughts.

[Mark_Crossan]

2 hours ago, Stooch said:

I was thinking, not sure about travel restrictions but I wonder if you are playing next Friday, do you gotta stay in the hotel for 2 days, if you missed the cut, to wait and catch a charter to Arkansas with everyone on Sunday, cause that would really suck lol.

Yes, not allowed to leave the bubble besides to go to the golf course. 

Edited August 22, 2020 by Mark_Crossan

[Stooch]

Gotta give it to Sofia, she's playing great.  I almost get a Pernilla at the ANA vibe going on.  Minjee has a great shot at her Major too, can bring that big round on Sunday at a Major.  Nelly has gotta be kicking herself, she let a really great chance pass her by today.  I give all the way to +1 to have a legitimate shot, I think you'll need to reach -3 to possibly win it.  So any +2 and beyond will have to drop something  really low to have a chance IMO.

[pmcuk]

Very hard to predict any golfer who is going to stay very steady and avoid bogeys, but the top 9 after round 3 all look fairly solid. They've all proved they can play a links course in tough conditions which is a feat in itself. Day 4 is another story in terms of testing confidence and nerves. May favour previous LPGA winners like Minjee and Suwannapura, even Lydia giving her the benefit of the doubt or indeed Masson. Ernst hasn't won since 2014. Pedersen looks good recently and seems to play a decent final round.  Popov and  Weaver and indeed Gillman are unknown quantities at this level. I don't really see Nelly or Inbee or Ariya making a sufficiently low score.  

Edited August 22, 2020 by pmcuk

[18majors]

56 minutes ago, Stooch said:

Gotta give it to Sofia, she's playing great.  I almost get a Pernilla at the ANA vibe going on.  Minjee has a great shot at her Major too, can bring that big round on Sunday at a Major.  Nelly has gotta be kicking herself, she let a really great chance pass her by today.  I give all the way to +1 to have a legitimate shot, I think you'll need to reach -3 to possibly win it.  So any +2 and beyond will have to drop something  really low to have a chance IMO.

 

 

Due to better weather and less players; the course plays to 72.783 today; about 2-1/2 lower than the first two rounds.

 

Minjee shot -2, she seized the opportunity; but Lydia and Nelly didn't.  

 

Lydia has 2 majors, it's no more than another missed opportunity; but not Nelly.

 

Nelly and Jessica combined to win 8 times; but none of them can be called big events; biggest check was $330,000.

Both were in contention last year, Nelly at KPMG and Jessica at USWO.  They'll need to wait longer.

 

The pressure is squarely on MInjee; just go and get it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2020 by 18majors

[18majors]

27 minutes ago, pmcuk said:

Very hard to predict any golfer who is going to stay very steady and avoid bogeys, but the top 9 after round 3 all look fairly solid. They've all proved they can play a links course in tough conditions which is a feat in itself. Day 4 is another story in terms of testing confidence and nerves. May favour previous LPGA winners like Minjee and Suwannapura, even Lydia giving her the benefit of the doubt or indeed Masson. Ernst hasn't won since 2014. Pedersen looks good recently and seems to play a decent final round.  Popov and  Weaver and indeed Gillman are unknown quantities at this level. I don't really see Nelly or Inbee or Ariya making a sufficiently low score.  

 

 

I wouldn't call Kristen Gillman an unknown quantity.

 

She came in second in 2019 Rookie of the Year race, after Jeong Eun Lee6 who won US Women's Open.  As an amateur, she won both 2018 and 2014 US Women's Amateur.

[Argonne69]

Not quite the leaderboard I was expecting, but as noted, Sophia played great. Can she repeat tomorrow? There are still a number of players in this depending on how she plays. As we saw today with Dani, dropping shots is definitely possible for the leader. That said, an even par round might just do it given that four under has been rare this week. The chasers are definitely going to have to be more aggressive, and stop leaving putts short.

 

Minjee would seem to have the edge, but again we saw her miss quite a few birdie putts today. She needs to get that putter warm.

 

Lindsey winning would be a heck of a (looping Cinderella) story.

 

I wouldn't rule out Jasmine. She looked solid out there. Caroline has a history of fading on Sundays.

 

[grm24]

5 hours ago, MaineMariner said:

So this is the first day I've been able to catch any action, but is Lindsey Weaver not using a caddy at all? That's pretty cool. Was it just a travel issue or something?

 

Obviously I don't like the idea of anyone being out of a job, but I'd love to see the pros play some rounds relying on just their own thoughts.

 

Since the return of the LPGA Tour caddies are optional for the rest of the season.

 

https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/golf/2020/08/21/womens-british-open-lindsey-weaver-contending-without-caddie/3412727001/

 

When the LPGA returned to competition after a 166-day break due to the coronavirus, caddies became optional for the remainder of the year. Weaver didn’t have a steady caddie before the break, mostly using locals. Since locals aren’t allowed this year, she decided to go solo.

[18majors]

The saying of "on any given day" and "on any given week" has a special meaning to Sophia Popov.

 

Sophia has been a Symetra Tour member since 2015, she has a career earning of $182,780 and she's never advanced to LPGA.

 

By a stroke of luck she's invited to play 2020 Marathon Classic because LPGA planned a big field of 156 but couldn't fill it.  She did well at Marathon and was invited to play AIG and the rest will become history.

 

Sophia spent a lot of her time at the Cactus Tour.  She'll earn enough money to finance the entire Cactus Tour for a year or two if she wins tomorrow.  Incidentally, LPGA rookie Haley Moore is a much better player at the Cautus Tout but she missed the cut this week.

 

 

[Newinup]

17 minutes ago, 18majors said:

The saying of "on any given day" and "on any given week" has a special meaning to Sophia Popov.

 

Sophia has been a Symetra Tour member since 2015, she has a career earning of $182,780 and she's never advanced to LPGA.

 

By a stroke of luck she's invited to play 2020 Marathon Classic because LPGA planned a big field of 156 but couldn't fill it.  She did well at Marathon and was invited to play AIG and the rest will become history.

 

Sophia spent a lot of her time at the Cactus Tour.  She'll earn enough money to finance the entire Cactus Tour for a year or two if she wins tomorrow.  Incidentally, LPGA rookie Haley Moore is a much better player at the Cautus Tout but she missed the cut this week.

 

 

If Popov wins, the past 2 years' winners of the BO will be relative "unknowns"... though Georgia Hall was not an unknown, she's also less heralded vs Hull/Ewart Shadoff then... seems like that's the story of the Women's BO winners past few years... 3 stroke lead isn't nothing, pressure is indeed on Minjee as she's the "veteran non major winner"... the lead is not immaterial, but Minjee needs to show that she's going after it like Paul Casey did in the PGA, despite him not winning it eventually, otherwise, it'll be another "data point" in my "Minjee can't close and I don't know why file" LOL...

[18majors]

Korean media finally shifted their attention from Inbee Park to Minjee Lee

 

Minjee Lee

 

Edited August 22, 2020 by 18majors