2020 ShopRite LPGA Classic

[Stooch]

38 minutes ago, 18majors said:

When was the last time Inbee Park had 5 bogeys in a round, 13 greens and 28 putts.  This is weird.

 

Nelly Korda and Brooke Henderson are solid, if not spectacular, both at -3.

Outside both bogeying a Par 5, I'm sure both are happy with their rounds, nice under par round to start the week.

[18majors]

12 minutes ago, Newinup said:

I guess one way to be atop the leaderboard in round 1 is to play the symetra tour the week before... 

 

 

We finally has the answer to the question: "Why does LPGA players play Symetra Tour?"

[18majors]

It's a chaotic Round 1; Nasa Hataoka is the only Top-10 that's inside Top-15 official money.  Round 2 will be unusually critical this week.

 

For a low scoring tournament, that're surprising amount of bogeys and doubles; it adds to the uncertainty.

 

Seventy of a field of 120 are under par; it'll take -2 or -3 to play the weekend.

Edited October 1, 2020 by 18majors

[Argonne69]

Yeah, not your typical leaderboard, but a little for everyone. New players, old winners, vets looking for their first win. It's obviously still early, but if the weather holds it's going to be a real shootout. Tough to call at this point.

 

The junk around the greens looks brutal. A few players took their lumps. Heck, Anna looked downright human early in her round.

 

 

 

[18majors]

Korean media can't ignore Mi Hyang Lee anymore!

 

 

 

[Twism86]

11 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

The junk around the greens looks brutal. A few players took their lumps. Heck, Anna looked downright human early in her round.

 

Yea, those were a rough few holes. That green is no joke, I have done similar there. 

[Stooch]

12 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

 

The junk around the greens looks brutal. A few players took their lumps. Heck, Anna looked downright human early in her round.

 

 

 

 

That's why I said maybe fade SYK and Brooke this week earlier in the thread.  Looking at some of their scores around here they always seemed to run into multiple double bogeys.  The attacking style can get you into trouble and I think many players run into it over the course of 3 days now 4 days.  They did say conditions are much softer right now and the greens are holding much better so the carnage may not be as bad this time around.  Generally the course is very scorable but you can also leave a hole and post a crooked number on it, if not careful.

Edited October 2, 2020 by Stooch

[pmcuk]

I'm surprised to see my pick Nasa Hataoka close to the top - my picks are generally closer to the bottom! As a Brit it's nice to see Giorgia Hall playing well again. She seems to be flying the flag for us these days. Early days yet, though. 

[third-times-a-charm]

Looks like Yang is not playing - I saw her at the range yesterday. 

 

Great to see Song in the lead!

[Golf Dino]

27 minutes ago, pmcuk said:

I'm surprised to see my pick Nasa Hataoka close to the top - my picks are generally closer to the bottom! As a Brit it's nice to see Giorgia Hall playing well again. She seems to be flying the flag for us these days. Early days yet, though. 

 

 

As a Brit, I would have thought that you would know how to spell your compatriot's first name! 😂  

Ahh ... just being a biit cheeky ... all in good fun.  Personally, I have always liked Georgia's game over that of Charley Hull ... she may not be as long off of the tee as Hull, but Georgia seems to be more accurate with her irons and with her putter.

[WestTex]

Great to see a certain someone in the Top 10 after Round 1.  No, not my usual jinx victim from Korea, this one* tees off at 12:11pm.

 

*Apologies in advance to her for the most certain jinx!!

[pmcuk]

31 minutes ago, Golf Dino said:

 

 

As a Brit, I would have thought that you would know how to spell your compatriot's first name! 😂  

 

 

Yeeessss...... I did look at it a few times and thought "Is that right?". So "Georgia" was on my mind, so to speak......

 

Could be I was thinking of a past love who I was very fond of whose name was Giorgi. Really miss her.

[WestTex]

Nice round In Gee.  Good recovery at the 18 (9, I know).

[Newinup]

I'm going to start picking Mi. Lee every week -- more chances it seems with that one pick 😛... also picked the wrong Japanese so far LOL... lots of golf to go though...

[PhilWhitUK]

Has Nelly Korda changed her driver this week? Just watching tv coverage of her on 13th it didn’t look like her Callaway...

[pmcuk]

There was I as a Brit admiring Georgia Hall and up steps the enigma that is Mel Reid. Minus 7 shoots her up the leaderboard. Now we just have to wait for her to sink back again..... hey ho....

Edited October 2, 2020 by pmcuk

[18majors]

Less than 60 plyers missed the cut, but it included:

 

Brittany Lincicome

Charley Hull

Inbee Park

Mirim Lee

Angela Stanford

Ariya Jutanugarn

 

More than two weeks later, it's more clear that Mirim Lee's three chip in's to win ANA was ordained by God.

Edited October 2, 2020 by 18majors

[Titleist_PT23]

I just noticed Lydia and Danielle Kang are not playing this week ahead of the KPMG.  Despite a week off last week, I think this is actually good.  Many of these people have been playing a lot since the restart.  The sub-25 people are probably largely OK from a physical standpoint, but it does take a lot of mental capacity.  And the off the course time may not be as relaxing as it was in prior years.  Not sure if the difference in course setup between this week and next also played a factor?

 

Muni He's Q-Series is looking like a lucky card scratch and win.  Missed 4 of 5 cuts this year, and statistically looks to be hitting it worse (not sure on the course sample this year vs. last though).

[18majors]

This is the shortest LPGA course of the year, 6,190 yards, and the leaderboard reflects it.

 

The leaderboard will be very different next week; it's be a much longer course.

 

 

[18majors]

29 minutes ago, agolf1 said:

I just noticed Lydia and Danielle Kang are not playing this week ahead of the KPMG.  Despite a week off last week, I think this is actually good.  Many of these people have been playing a lot since the restart.  The sub-25 people are probably largely OK from a physical standpoint, but it does take a lot of mental capacity.  And the off the course time may not be as relaxing as it was in prior years.  Not sure if the difference in course setup between this week and next also played a factor?

 

Muni He's Q-Series is looking like a lucky card scratch and win.  Missed 4 of 5 cuts this year, and statistically looks to be hitting it worse (not sure on the course sample this year vs. last though).

 

 

Yes, courses are very different between this and next week.  The leaderboard will be very different.

 

Fatigue is a factor for Minjee; who hasn't contended two of the last three tournaments.  She's also outside Top-10 today after two rounds.

 

Both Lydia and Danielle played Cambia two weeks ago.  They deserve to have two weeks off before one of the two real majors.

Lydia spent off weeks mainly with Sean Foley; they have been sharpening her short games which suffered this year.

 

Yealimi Noh, 19, is playing her seventh consecutive tournament; she's made her last six cuts. 

 

You're right, the book on Muni He is closed at this point.  However, it's not because she isn't talented, but because her mind isn't on golf anymore.

Muni qualified for AIG because she made the cut at Ladies Scottish; but she withdrew to spend time with Alex Albon.  Alex is Muni's boyfriend, a Thai F1 race car driver.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by 18majors

[OrangeGravy]

On 9/28/2020 at 11:36 AM, 18majors said:

Another example of miscues by LPGA.com

 

The Tournament Overview still lists the purse at $2,000,000; even though recent updates in articles have indicated a purse of $1,300,000.

I'd be very disappointed if I signed up to play tor $2,000,000 and ended up played for $1,300,000.

Why would you be upset? It's not like you would be passing up a different tournament that had a purse of $1,750,000. The purse is the purse. There is no choice on any tour like that. The closest thing is when the PGA tour has opposite field events and there still isn't a choice. You only play the oppo event if you can't get in the big event. 

[Newinup]

1 hour ago, 18majors said:

 

 

Yes, courses are very different between this and next week.  The leaderboard will be very different.

 

Fatigue is a factor for Minjee; who hasn't contended two of the last three tournaments.  She's also outside Top-10 today after two rounds.

 

Both Lydia and Danielle played Cambia two weeks ago.  They deserve to have two weeks off before one of the two real majors.

Lydia spent off weeks mainly with Sean Foley; they have been sharpening her short games which suffered this year.

 

Yealimi Noh, 19, is playing her seventh consecutive tournament; she's made her last six cuts. 

 

You're right, the book on Muni He is closed at this point.  However, it's not because she isn't talented, but because her mind isn't on golf anymore.

Muni qualified for AIG because she made the cut at Ladies Scottish; but she withdrew to spend time with Alex Albon.  Alex is Muni's boyfriend, a Thai F1 race car driver.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whoa? Muni w/drew from AIG despite making the field? I mean yeah love is blind, but girl, you're a professional golfer... Alex Albon, at the rate he is driving, is poised to lose his ride next year, podium finish aside from 2+ wks ago... He will have all the time to spend with Muni in 2021 since she'll retain her status...

[Argonne69]

 

Does Mel. Amy, Jennifer, Anne, Ally, or Yu pick up their first win? Or, does the usual crowd hang tight? Big moving day tomorrow. The big bunch at -5 and -4 need to get it in gear.

 

The course played a stroke tougher, but it sure seemed like more. I guess the receptive greens helped keep things in check. 

[Golf Dino]

1 hour ago, Newinup said:

Whoa? Muni w/drew from AIG despite making the field? I mean yeah love is blind, but girl, you're a professional golfer... Alex Albon, at the rate he is driving, is poised to lose his ride next year, podium finish aside from 2+ wks ago... He will have all the time to spend with Muni in 2021 since she'll retain her status...

 

He made his first podium last week ... and besides, RedBull have been mediocre this year .. he is still a young talent.  He will most likely land a seat with someone else (when's his contract up?)   Besides, he seems to have a good disposition and can work with Max ...which is a really big thing because max is probably the hardest driver to get along with.   But, your point about Muni is correct ... she is giving up too much time and playing opportunities.  Sponsors will start to notice and she needs to strike while the proverbial iron is still hot or in this case, warm,

[Titleist_PT23]

25 minutes ago, Golf Dino said:

 

He made his first podium last week ... and besides, RedBull have been mediocre this year .. he is still a young talent.  He will most likely land a seat with someone else (when's his contract up?)   Besides, he seems to have a good disposition and can work with Max ...which is a really big thing because max is probably the hardest driver to get along with.   But, your point about Muni is correct ... she is giving up too much time and playing opportunities.  Sponsors will start to notice and she needs to strike while the proverbial iron is still hot or in this case, warm,

I don't follow her closely but looking back to the beginning of the year also provides some clues as to where her head is/was at.  Last year, she had the challenge most rookies face of a low Q-Series ranking = can't play all of the time.  This year, she had a good ranking and but decided not to travel to the U.S. or Australia, which were presumably easier fields.  JYK taking this route OK.  But for a second year player that needs to accumulate $$$ on the money list I'm not sure it was the best decision.

 

Luckily, I believe she gets another crack at it next year (I'm not sure exactly how the status carries over and/or is merged with this year's results).

[Newinup]

51 minutes ago, Golf Dino said:

 

He made his first podium last week ... and besides, RedBull have been mediocre this year .. he is still a young talent.  He will most likely land a seat with someone else (when's his contract up?)   Besides, he seems to have a good disposition and can work with Max ...which is a really big thing because max is probably the hardest driver to get along with.   But, your point about Muni is correct ... she is giving up too much time and playing opportunities.  Sponsors will start to notice and she needs to strike while the proverbial iron is still hot or in this case, warm,

2wks+ ago was his podium, he finished 10th last wkend :). But at this pt., It's all up to his performance till the end of the year. It'll be tough for him to secure a ride with other teams with so many already signed up (maybe the lower rung ones, if at all...). With Honda pulling out starting 2022, this makes it tougher, in my view, esp as an Asian driver. We shall see I guess...

I still can't understand Muni though, but was never trying to unlike I was trying to do with Albon lol... At least Albon's head is right on the tracks! Lol.

[Newinup]

28 minutes ago, agolf1 said:

I don't follow her closely but looking back to the beginning of the year also provides some clues as to where her head is/was at.  Last year, she had the challenge most rookies face of a low Q-Series ranking = can't play all of the time.  This year, she had a good ranking and but decided not to travel to the U.S. or Australia, which were presumably easier fields.  JYK taking this route OK.  But for a second year player that needs to accumulate $$$ on the money list I'm not sure it was the best decision.

 

Luckily, I believe she gets another crack at it next year (I'm not sure exactly how the status carries over and/or is merged with this year's results).i

Accdg to @18majors, everyone's priority status is frozen so yes, that could be the reason why Muni decided not to take this year "seriously". 

[Titleist_PT23]

2 hours ago, Newinup said:

Accdg to @18majors, everyone's priority status is frozen so yes, that could be the reason why Muni decided not to take this year "seriously". 

My comments were pre-COVID though.  As a second year player with better status, I would have been playing.  Further, even if this year is a "throw-away," I can't name many players that wouldn't want to play in a major when they were already willing to travel / in the country.

 

Regardless, she can do whatever she wants (just like anyone else).  But strictly from the golf perspective, it seems hard to take a golfer that does this too seriously.

[18majors]

She's the darling of Korea once more!

 

"It feels like a shot comes out as you think"

 

[Argonne69]

 

Hmmm, In Gee may still be carrying a Ping bag, but it appears she's no longer playing Ping clubs exclusively. She looks like she's now playing Vokey wedges, and a TaylorMade SIM driver. Her irons and woods/hybrids look like they're still Ping.

 

 

Edited October 3, 2020 by Argonne69