AIG Women's Open

[pmcuk]

What a great boyfriend....... he may last for a while!

[Newinup]

4 minutes ago, 18majors said:

@Newinup

 

Hey, if Sophia Popov can win AIG, why not Bianca Pagdanganan winning Walmart!

Haha, yes, golf is golf... cruel game at times, great game at other times...

 

but back to the topic of this thread -- Popov was clearly playing well today/this week and deserved the win... (She had been playing well and lurking the past few weeks too eg for example, at Marathon -- she was actually in the leaderboard early on - obviously I was watching Marathon Classic and she was top 5 already in the early rounds if memory serves me right - just fizzled out a bit in round 3 if I was right - but Bianca crashed in that round)

[Stooch]

That was very impressive by Sophia, set the tone of the round early by bouncing back from the 1st hole bogey.  She was really clutch all day and took out the chasers by shooting a 68.  Great story and it's truly a life changing win for her.  Minjee's biggest problem that I've noticed on too many Sunday's when she has a chance is that Minjee is too passive, almost trying not to lose rather than trying to win.  She needed to attack the pins on the front 9 regardless of the results, she needed to put as much stress on Sophia as possible early on but it still probably wouldn't have mattered with Sophia's play.  Jasmine was quite impressive, she had the best chance at catching Sophia, she'll really regret those 2 early bogeys on the back 9, cause #17 and #18 would have had a much different feel for Sophia.

[Argonne69]

 

Congrats to Sophia. That was one heck of a display of major level golf. One early mistake, and then cruise control. She didn't appear to have a touch of nerves. Her putting was superb. Did she ever have a knee-knocking 2nd putt? If you can't make birdie, a stress free par is always welcome. Yes, she got a few good breaks, but I'm sure the other players had their share as well.

 

Impressed by Jasmine's play. She knew she needed a bunch of birdies, and she delivered them on the front. 'Just couldn't hang in there, though. 

 

Oh, Minjee. Another shot wasted. Yes, Sophia played lights out, but Minjee just doesn't seem to have that top gear. With birdies available on the front nine she played too conservative. 

 

No surprise to see Inbee make a charge. If she could only go back to Thursday for a redo.

 

Andrea has put together quite a three week stretch with a 5T, 11, and T7. 

 

So nice to see In Gee put together a solid Sunday round for her 2nd top 10 in two weeks.

 

Tough day for Lindsey, but she should keep her head up. That was an impressive week for a player hoofing her own clubs.

 

Overall I thought it was an excellent tournament. The weather was fair for all players. However, I was rather disappointing with today's weather. They kept talking about the wind, but the flags were basically limp. 

 

[ChronicSlicer]

Wow..my European prediction came true..just not expecting Sophia Popov to be the one. That was some really good stuff out there. Congrats Sophia you earned it, now please don't pull a Pernilla and fall off the face of the Earth. 

Really enjoyed watching Jasmine play, she seems pretty fearless.

[18majors]

There can't be a bigger Cinderella story than Sophia Popov!

 

Since 2015; independent of how hard she tried, she wasn't able to get a LPGA membership.

 

Now, she's a major champion.  If she decides to accept her LPGA membership, she'd also become the money leader with $675,000.

 

In one felt stroke, she wiped out Danielle Kang's months long effort to establish herself as LPGA's best.

 

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, 18majors said:

There can't be a bigger Cinderella story than Sophia Popov!

 

Since 2015; independent of how hard she tried, she wasn't able to get a LPGA membership.

 

Now, she's a major champion.  If she decides to accept her LPGA membership, she'd also become the money leader with $675,000.

 

In one felt stroke, she wiped out Danielle Kang's months long effort to establish herself as LPGA's best.

 

 

That's a bit of a stretch. Money's great, but I don't think the money list is the main data point for determining the best players over a short period of time. Two wins in a row, and two additional top 5s in five tournaments is a pretty good run.

 

[tbowles411]

I couldn't be happier that Popov won.  Straight from the mini Tour to a Major Champion and a 5 year exemption.  She played WAY over her head, but put it all together.  I certainly hope she makes the most of her new opportunity.

[MagicClassic407]

At her post-victory interview, she referred to dealing with health issues, sudden extreme weight loss, and many dr. visits seeking a diagnosis. Upon learning (finally) she was suffering  from lyme disease, I couldn't be happier for her achievement today.  Dealing with lyme symptoms is ongoing but in the end, probably aided in her ability today to get on with it and persevere. Congrats on a GREAT Sunday! You never took your eye off the prize!

[95124hacker]

Great performance. Too bad most of American fans only watched 2.5 holes of live action (NBC network coverage).

[munichop]

Really great win for Popov. Whatever she worked on during the last 4 months it stuck. She played composed and demonstrated a complete game this week in conditions that were bordering on the absurd. Especially today when the wind laid down and everyone knew they had to make birdies she dissected the course.  Going forward if her health stays well she should know she is capable of some really good golf. Minjee looked liked she was between clubs a lot today but the par on the postage stamp was an all timer. Hopefully she gets her major soon.

[Titleist_PT23]

Great win for Sophia!  Thought many people were going to have a shot after the bogey on #1 but she bounced back and left no doubt.

 

Minjee wasn't going to win today but as others say was hoping for more of a push here.  Still waiting for her to take the next step up.  With a weak field and lesser names near the top through 54 holes this was a really good chance.  Kind of amazing that she opened with 40 on her first 9 on Thurs and was still around in the end (weather obviously very different).

 

Still great to see the women play these historic courses.

[Raving Shanker]

All you folks down on Minjee - I thought she played pretty well! If you start 3 shots behind you are relying on some stutters from the leader, and they just didn't happen and never looked like happening (oh, maybe after 1). So well done Sophia I say!

[Titleist_PT23]

25 minutes ago, Raving Shanker said:

All you folks down on Minjee - I thought she played pretty well! If you start 3 shots behind you are relying on some stutters from the leader, and they just didn't happen and never looked like happening (oh, maybe after 1). So well done Sophia I say!

I'm not down on Minjee.  She's probably my favorite player outside of SYR (not sure how much SYR has left at this point - probably a tier below Minjee at this stage).  As you note, she started the day 3 back and most likely wasn't going to win with the round Sophia played.

 

Part of the comments are likely due to the fact that she's close a lot more than she actually wins.  For as well as she hits it, I kind of think she should have 10 wins and 1 or 2 majors (easy to say from home...).  She was also likely the favorite among internet pundits last night, so people can shift the blame for their incorrect prediction to somewhere else.  I know my prediction record isn't as good as I think it should be either.  Hahaha.

 

I really hope Minjee has a strong run over 12-24 months where she plays like the best player in the world and makes a dent in the history books.  But at this point it's basically a coin flip for me, and unfortunately I'm not sure her window is all that long.  Such a great swing and personality.  Just hoping for more big wins...

[Argonne69]

3 hours ago, 95124hacker said:

Great performance. Too bad most of American fans only watched 2.5 holes of live action (NBC network coverage).

 

Am I dreaming, or did we just see two days of sub 4 hour rounds? Love me some golf that isn't glacial.

 

[18majors]

@Argonne69

 

There seems to be more posts and views since we switched back to the old App; is there a correlation?

[Raving Shanker]

1 hour ago, agolf1 said:

I'm not down on Minjee.  She's probably my favorite player outside of SYR (not sure how much SYR has left at this point - probably a tier below Minjee at this stage).  As you note, she started the day 3 back and most likely wasn't going to win with the round Sophia played.

 

Part of the comments are likely due to the fact that she's close a lot more than she actually wins.  For as well as she hits it, I kind of think she should have 10 wins and 1 or 2 majors (easy to say from home...).  She was also likely the favorite among internet pundits last night, so people can shift the blame for their incorrect prediction to somewhere else.  I know my prediction record isn't as good as I think it should be either.  Hahaha.

 

I really hope Minjee has a strong run over 12-24 months where she plays like the best player in the world and makes a dent in the history books.  But at this point it's basically a coin flip for me, and unfortunately I'm not sure her window is all that long.  Such a great swing and personality.  Just hoping for more big wins...

 

I watched SYR win in Korea recently and it was VERY impressive.

You might be surprised by her when she returns.  I think she is over that "work-life balance" thing she went through.

 

Regarding Minjee, I know what you mean. But has she just been unlucky? or do you make your own luck? How would Sophia have played if Minjee birdied the first while she bogied it? We'll never know.

[grm24]

7 hours ago, 18majors said:

If she decides to accept her LPGA membership, she'd also become the money leader with $675,000.

 

Unfortunately she will not be the money leader. Accepting LPGA membership will not change that. She also is not in the ANA Inspiration and US Open fields. Article linked has some good information in it. Same situation happened to Brooke Henderson in 2015 when she won her first LPGA event. Her official LPGA earnings in 2015 were just a bit more than 100k yet she won more than 560k in unofficial money. 

 

https://www.lpga.com/players/brooke-henderson/98267/results?filters=2015&archive=

 

https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2020/08/23/sophia-popov-womens-british-open-win-lpga-majors/

 

But because Popov, 28, isn’t an LPGA member (she missed out on her card by a single shot last fall at Q-Series), her $675,000 earnings won’t count as official money.

Edited August 24, 2020 by grm24

[Argonne69]

23 minutes ago, Raving Shanker said:

 

I watched SYR win in Korea recently and it was VERY impressive.

You might be surprised by her when she returns.  I think she is over that "work-life balance" thing she went through.

 

Regarding Minjee, I know what you mean. But has she just been unlucky? or do you make your own luck? How would Sophia have played if Minjee birdied the first while she bogied it? We'll never know.

 

No, Minjee hasn't been unlucky in the majors. If a player as one or two near misses when another player has an exceptional week , then one can say that luck is a factor. However, she's played in 30 majors, and has had more missed cuts (5) than top 10s (4). She's only had two top 5s. 

 

By comparison, in the same timeframe ('14 - '20) Lydia has missed 3 cuts, and has 10 top 10s, including two wins.

 

 

[tbowles411]

[Tailgater]

5 hours ago, 18majors said:

@Argonne69

 

There seems to be more posts and views since we switched back to the old App; is there a correlation?

I don’t think so. I think this is just the post major uptick. 

[Divot License]

Amazing win for Popov, didn't get to watch it all live as was caddie my daughter in a competition. 

 

I'm sure they mentioned on the commentary that she doesn't even have full playing rights on the Euro Tour. Seems the last two years of the AIG have produced unexpected champions.

[grm24]

14 minutes ago, Jedaigeki said:

Amazing win for Popov, didn't get to watch it all live as was caddie my daughter in a competition. 

 

I'm sure they mentioned on the commentary that she doesn't even have full playing rights on the Euro Tour. Seems the last two years of the AIG have produced unexpected champions.

 

Popov after her win on Sunday has 5 years of full time playing privileges on the LPGA Tour. Likely has multiple years of exempt status on the LET after her win as well. She won't be a caddie for anybody for a long time. Amazing story. Hopefully she is able to capitalize on it going forward.

[Divot License]

She definitely looks to have a very solid game. 

 

Goes to show the depth of talent currently in womens golf. 

[iBanesto]

Great to see a European woman win a major.

 

It is very tough competing against the American, Asian and Australasian players.

 

[postfold]

Great tournament, very enjoyable to watch.  Popov was just rock solid on Sunday, so impressive. 

[Argonne69]

Sophia shot 67-68 on the weekend. Momoko shot 68-67, tying her for low combined score on the weekend. Of course Momoko would like to have a redo on her pair of opening 75's.

 

Another solid top 10 for Jennifer Song. 'Quite the two weeks in Scotland. 

 

I was expecting more from Lydia and Nelly on Sunday. Both are playing very good golf, but not quite great golf. 

 

Alison Lee sighting. News at 11.

 

[18majors]

22 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Sophia shot 67-68 on the weekend. Momoko shot 68-67, tying her for low combined score on the weekend. Of course Momoko would like to have a redo on her pair of opening 75's.

 

Another solid top 10 for Jennifer Song. 'Quite the two weeks in Scotland. 

 

I was expecting more from Lydia and Nelly on Sunday. Both are playing very good golf, but not quite great golf. 

 

Alison Lee sighting. News at 11.

 

 

 

Links courses are total different animal from what LPGA plays day in and day out.  It favors precise (may be short) players who putt well on slow greens.

 

I'd bet the results this week will be quite a bit different from the last two weeks.

 

 

 

[Stooch]

18 minutes ago, 18majors said:

 

 

Links courses are total different animal from what LPGA plays day in and day out.  It favors precise (may be short) players who putt well on slow greens.

 

I'd bet the results this week will be quite a bit different from the last two weeks.

 

 

 

For some they'll go back to normal,  Brooke on the other hand I'm just hoping she makes the cut this week lol.  I'm thinking Brooke took some "Me Time" over the break which is fine but her game is a mess right now.  I'm just hoping see she can dial it in by the time the next Majors roll around.

[18majors]

13 minutes ago, Stooch said:

For some they'll go back to normal,  Brooke on the other hand I'm just hoping she makes the cut this week lol.  I'm thinking Brooke took some "Me Time" over the break which is fine but her game is a mess right now.  I'm just hoping see she can dial it in by the time the next Majors roll around.

 

@Stooch

 

I know you're understandingly concerned; but we're talking about Brooke Henderson, the Girl Wonder.

 

Brooke may miss cut once in a blue moon; but she hasn't missed two consecutive weeks, ever.

 

I can't confidently say she'll contend, but I wouldn't be surprised if she does.

Edited August 24, 2020 by 18majors