2021 LPGA Season Odds and Ends

[18majors]

The more Beth, the better for LPGA!

 

 

[18majors]

Rose Zhang puts so much pressure on herself by not turning pro; she's expected to win every major amateur event she enters.  She'll face her biggest challenge this year in less than two months when she tees off at Augusta Women's Amateur Championship.

 

Golf Channel video:

Why Zhang is working to simplify her swing

 

 

Edited February 10, 2021 by 18majors

[xxio]

4 hours ago, 18majors said:

Still hoping Rose Zhang could join Atthaya Thitikul, Stefanie Kyriacou, Gabriela Ruffels, Hinako Shibuno, Erika Hara, Hae Ran Ryu, Hye Jin Cho and Hee Jeong Lim at 2021 Q-School!

The 2022 Rookie of the Year race could be a race of all ages!

 

 

+Yuka Saso

[18majors]

11 minutes ago, xxio said:

+Yuka Saso

 

 

I'm not sure.

 

No doubt, eventually Yuka will play LPGA but she might play JLPGA for another one or two years to pile up her war chest.

[HMHS]

Just now, 18majors said:

 

 

I'm not sure.

 

No doubt, eventually Yuka will play LPGA but she might play JLPGA for another one or two years to pile up her war chest.

Yuka stated her intention to go Qschool this year -- now as to whether she makes it for next year 2022, that is the question... (In a way, if Bianca doesn't get enough opportunities to play this year, she'll have to go QSchool too)...

[18majors]

The field of Kia Classic is fully loaded; almost everybody and their sister have signed up to play.  The latest addition is Michelle Wie.

 

As of today, five weeks before signing deadline, only twenty eligible players haven't entered the field.  Those twenty include permanent no shows like Paula Creamer, Suzann Pettersen and etc.

 

It's a 144 field but only 138 slots are are open; six are reserved for Monday qualifiers, invited players and holding places.  The cutoff will be Priority #150 if there're twelve no shows.

Players like Kelly Tan, Christina Kim, Matilda Castren, Andrea Lee and Bianca Pagdanganan will be out of luck.

 

Edited February 11, 2021 by 18majors

[fanofseri]

Yani is the biggest name at Kia.  I watched her struggle here a couple of times.  Sometimes I wonder if God is really a golf fan.  

Edited February 11, 2021 by fanofseri

[18majors]

Good news that Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie will be playing many tournaments this year, according to Beth Ann Nichols on Golf Channel.

 

It looks like 2021 will be the year of oldies and newbies; it would be interesting to see Paula Creamer and Yealimi Noh paired together.  They're 15 years apart but both are from East Bay of San Francisco area and they're the same height, 5'9".

Edited February 11, 2021 by 18majors

[18majors]

She'll give Bianca Pagdanganan a run for her money!

 

 

Edited February 11, 2021 by 18majors

[HMHS]

Interesting take from the siblings...

https://www.pgatour.com/news/2021/02/08/min-woo-lee-minjee-lee-siblings-golf-journey-att-pebble-beach-pro-am.html

[Argonne69]

7 hours ago, 18majors said:

She'll give Bianca Pagdanganan a run for her money!

 

 

 

I dunno about a gif, but if I had to pair a song with it I'd have to go with "Wild Thing". Well, at least until I saw the driving accuracy stats after a few tournaments. 

 

[ChronicSlicer]

10 hours ago, 18majors said:

She'll give Bianca Pagdanganan a run for her money!

 

 

I'm convinced there are a handful of players who could keep up with Bianca, I believe they choose not to go full send because accuracy is more important.

[18majors]

Thanks to Saudi Arabia, the LET is Symetra Tour Europe no more; the total purse is now on par with Korean LPGA.  

 

LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR ANNOUNCE RECORD-BREAKING 2021 SCHEDULE

 

"The Ladies European Tour announce a record-breaking 2021 schedule featuring 27 events in 19 different countries, the Solheim Cup and the Summer Olympics, with players competing for a combined prize fund of more than €19 million: an increase of €2 million on the proposed pre-COVID-19 announcement for the 2020 season and €6 million on 2019."

[Stooch]

17 hours ago, ChronicSlicer said:

I'm convinced there are a handful of players who could keep up with Bianca, I believe they choose not to go full send because accuracy is more important.

I've said it for years, Ariya has the best swing speed on the LPGA and if she can straighten it out, she can be deadly.  I think what causes Ariya problem is between the ears, she doesn't seem that strong mentally and gets down on herself too easily.

 

To your point on not going full send, I follow Brooke's play very closely and she has two driver swings IMO.  She has her fairway finder which goes up to about 270 yds and is deadly accurate and her free the beast swing which goes about 280-300 yds depending on conditions and this swing is very hit or miss for accuracy.  You can see this with her par 5 scoring over the last 8 or so events.  Most of her missed fairways on any given round happen on the par 5's cause she wants to get there in 2.  Because her accuracy with her full swing is kinda off right now, she hasn't been dominating par 5's like she usually does.

 

I guess that's the give and take and you gotta find that right balance to work for you.

[Stooch]

On 2/10/2021 at 7:08 PM, 18majors said:

The field of Kia Classic is fully loaded; almost everybody and their sister have signed up to play.  The latest addition is Michelle Wie.

 

As of today, five weeks before signing deadline, only twenty eligible players haven't entered the field.  Those twenty include permanent no shows like Paula Creamer, Suzann Pettersen and etc.

 

It's a 144 field but only 138 slots are are open; six are reserved for Monday qualifiers, invited players and holding places.  The cutoff will be Priority #150 if there're twelve no shows.

Players like Kelly Tan, Christina Kim, Matilda Castren, Andrea Lee and Bianca Pagdanganan will be out of luck.

 

The Kia should be full, IMO it's one of the best courses played by the LPGA.  I say this cause the rough year in and year out is punishing, I love me some punishing rough, punish the bad driver of the ball lol  Also lots of out of play scenarios to punish bad driving as well 🙂

[18majors]

7 minutes ago, Stooch said:

The Kia should be full, IMO it's one of the best courses played by the LPGA.  I say this cause the rough year in and year out is punishing, I love me some punishing rough, punish the bad driver of the ball lol  Also lots of out of play scenarios to punish bad driving as well 🙂

 

 

 

The rough last year at that September ANA could almost match roughs at 2020 US Open at Winged Foot.  

 

It's a pity two of the best ball strikers, Brooke and Nelly, gave that championship away!

 

 

[Stooch]

6 minutes ago, 18majors said:

 

 

 

The rough last year at that September ANA could almost match roughs at 2020 US Open at Winged Foot.  

 

It's a pity two of the best ball strikers, Brooke and Nelly, gave that championship away!

 

 

Yeah, the last hole in the playoff cost both but not much you could do about getting to the playoff when one player is making everything from everywhere.  Brooke blew it more IMO as she 3 putted for par, Nelly missed the fairway which put her behind the 8 ball and for me missing a fairway is a less egregious mistake than 3 putting from 40-50 feet. 

[Stooch]

I was worried for Brooke for a second with the new PING 425 series release.  Not that the clubs are bad, just that with most players there's a little drop in performance for a few months with equipment changes.  Then I was worried that the equipment page for Ping Pro's hasn't been updated cause Brooke is still using all the same equipment.  Then going through other players I see Allie Ewing (McDonald) is using some PING 425 series in her bag, she just switched all her woods except the 3 wood to the 425 series.  So I guess PING isn't pushing it on their players till they're ready to throw the in the bag, I suspect Brooke will switch to some 425 series later in the year when she's ready, which is nice.

 

@Argonne69 you happy with your current equipment or are u thinking of upgrading?

[Stooch]

19 minutes ago, Stooch said:

I was worried for Brooke for a second with the new PING 425 series release.  Not that the clubs are bad, just that with most players there's a little drop in performance for a few months with equipment changes.  Then I was worried that the equipment page for Ping Pro's hasn't been updated cause Brooke is still using all the same equipment.  Then going through other players I see Allie Ewing (McDonald) is using some PING 425 series in her bag, she just switched all her woods except the 3 wood to the 425 series.  So I guess PING isn't pushing it on their players till they're ready to throw the in the bag, I suspect Brooke will switch to some 425 series later in the year when she's ready, which is nice.

 

@Argonne69 you happy with your current equipment or are u thinking of upgrading?

 

Actually most PING LPGA pro's have at least one 425 series club in their bags this season.  The only players who don't are

Brooke Henderson

Britany Altomare

Linnea Johansson

Bianca P.

Jane Park

Pernilla Linberg

Elizabeth Szokol

Ayoka Uehara

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, Stooch said:

I was worried for Brooke for a second with the new PING 425 series release.  Not that the clubs are bad, just that with most players there's a little drop in performance for a few months with equipment changes.  Then I was worried that the equipment page for Ping Pro's hasn't been updated cause Brooke is still using all the same equipment.  Then going through other players I see Allie Ewing (McDonald) is using some PING 425 series in her bag, she just switched all her woods except the 3 wood to the 425 series.  So I guess PING isn't pushing it on their players till they're ready to throw the in the bag, I suspect Brooke will switch to some 425 series later in the year when she's ready, which is nice.

 

@Argonne69 you happy with your current equipment or are u thinking of upgrading?

 

I don't see my G400 Max driver going anywhere soon. My G410 woods and hybrid are new, and since they can be adjusted to a flat lie, I don't see an advantage with the G425s at this time. I'll likely put the new series in the bag when they're discounted. The Glide 3.0 wedges are solid. 

 

I'm considering swapping out the i200 irons. I had a fitting at PXG, and the 0311T Gen 3s were sweet. Not sure I want to spend the money though. I may put my Mizuno MP-5s back in the bag when I get back home in March. 

 

I'd be surprised if Brooke didn't move to the G425 driver. It sounds like a winner. 

 

[Stooch]

18 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

I don't see my G400 Max driver going anywhere soon. My G410 woods and hybrid are new, and since they can be adjusted to a flat lie, I don't see an advantage with the G425s at this time. I'll likely put the new series in the bag when they're discounted. The Glide 3.0 wedges are solid. 

 

I'm considering swapping out the i200 irons. I had a fitting at PXG, and the 0311T Gen 3s were sweet. Not sure I want to spend the money though. I may put my Mizuno MP-5s back in the bag when I get back home in March. 

 

I'd be surprised if Brooke didn't move to the G425 driver. It sounds like a winner. 

 

I think you're right about the G425 being a winner, after 1 event Allie Ewing is 3rd in driving distance. lol

[HMHS]

21 hours ago, Stooch said:

 

Actually most PING LPGA pro's have at least one 425 series club in their bags this season.  The only players who don't are

Brooke Henderson

Britany Altomare

Linnea Johansson

Bianca P.

Jane Park

Pernilla Linberg

Elizabeth Szokol

Ayoka Uehara

Bianca has. 100% sure 🙂

 

 

Bianca Pagdanganan is trying out a new set of PING clubs while gearing up for the resumption of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour.

 

“She said she loves the trajectory of the G425,” said Carito Villaroman, Pagdanganan’s swing coach.

Edited February 13, 2021 by HMHS

[HMHS]

6 minutes ago, Supermilo said:

Bianca has. 100% sure 🙂  (she has time to adjust with the 425s - lots of time to practice for monday qualifiers given the field list for the nxt 3 tournaments) - I’m more curious how the iron change would help her when she gets the chance -- tons of areas of improvement needed in her iron play and she clearly knows that...  I've cut and pasted selective excerpts of her trip back home -- interviews, meet ups etc LOL... 

 

 

Bianca Pagdanganan is trying out a new set of PING clubs while gearing up for the resumption of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour.

 

“She said she loves the trajectory of the G425,” said Carito Villaroman, Pagdanganan’s swing coach.

 

“Shorter blade lengths, less offset and narrow sole widths optimized to perform in all conditions give elite shotmakers unmatched precision to attack any pin with confidence. A machined tungsten screw helps provide forgiveness.”

It marks the first time Pagdanganan will use a blade-style iron which would allow her to shape her shots better and control the trajectory.

Pagdanganan ranked only 88th in greens in regulation last season, averaging 65.1 percent.

 

Edited February 13, 2021 by HMHS

[18majors]

Best of luck to Bianca, @Supermilo!

[Stooch]

4 hours ago, Supermilo said:

Bianca has. 100% sure 🙂

 

 

Bianca Pagdanganan is trying out a new set of PING clubs while gearing up for the resumption of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour.

 

“She said she loves the trajectory of the G425,” said Carito Villaroman, Pagdanganan’s swing coach.

 

I guess some players are a bit slower to confirm it will be in their bag then or in Bianca's case she seems like she might make the total switch and maybe she hasn't decide about the make up of her bag with the 425's, cause on the site in not listed in her bag.  But the majority of the PING pro's have at least switch to the Driver.  Irons can be risky to throw in your bag before you're completely ready, I remember when Brooke went to the i210's, she had some horrible iron play round which really slowed her down.  Brooke might even use it in the next event, cause she came home to Canada after the tour Finale and I'm not sure when pro's had access to it but maybe she wasn't comfortable using it in the first event.  Truthfully though, I'm not worried about drivers with Brooke, it shouldn't make much of a difference.  Now if PING developed a putter with a laser sight then I'd be over the moon for Brooke. lol

Edited February 14, 2021 by Stooch

[Yellow Jacket]

On 2/10/2021 at 12:36 PM, 18majors said:

Welcome to the party, Gabriela!

 

 

I've been a fan of Gabi for a while. Really disappointed when the US Women's Amateur was here in metro DC last summer and they didn't allow fans.

 

I assume she will have to rely on sponsors exemptions unless she has some high finishes?

Edited February 14, 2021 by Yellow Jacket

[HMHS]

14 hours ago, Stooch said:

 

I guess some players are a bit slower to confirm it will be in their bag then or in Bianca's case she seems like she might make the total switch and maybe she hasn't decide about the make up of her bag with the 425's, cause on the site in not listed in her bag.  But the majority of the PING pro's have at least switch to the Driver.  Irons can be risky to throw in your bag before you're completely ready, I remember when Brooke went to the i210's, she had some horrible iron play round which really slowed her down.  Brooke might even use it in the next event, cause she came home to Canada after the tour Finale and I'm not sure when pro's had access to it but maybe she wasn't comfortable using it in the first event.  Truthfully though, I'm not worried about drivers with Brooke, it shouldn't make much of a difference.  Now if PING developed a putter with a laser sight then I'd be over the moon for Brooke. lol

Actually, I don't know why some players are slow/fast to confirm... On Bianca, the one good thing about her iron play is that there's no where to go but up -- not going to mince words: she knows that she has to improve that aspect of her game to be able to be competitive... been an achilles heel of hers since jungolf days.  Now, I don't exactly know how long a player of their caliber takes to adjust to new clubs, but given how things are going on the tournament entry list for the next 3 events, she might as well take the time to go full blunt on equipment change since that's all she's changing -- I can tell you she's not going Ariya nor Christina Kim on the diet front 😛 

[HMHS]

18 hours ago, 18majors said:

Best of luck to Bianca, @Supermilo!

She'll need a ton of those just to be able to play in Q1/Q2 of 2021 it seems...

[18majors]

2 minutes ago, Supermilo said:

She'll need a ton of those just to be able to play in Q1/Q2 of 2021 it seems...

 

 

Are you sure?

 

She's quoted in one of the articles that she'll start 2021 at ANA Inspiration.

[Stooch]

25 minutes ago, Supermilo said:

Actually, I don't know why some players are slow/fast to confirm... On Bianca, the one good thing about her iron play is that there's no where to go but up -- not going to mince words: she knows that she has to improve that aspect of her game to be able to be competitive... been an achilles heel of hers since jungolf days.  Now, I don't exactly know how long a player of their caliber takes to adjust to new clubs, but given how things are going on the tournament entry list for the next 3 events, she might as well take the time to go full blunt on equipment change since that's all she's changing -- I can tell you she's not going Ariya nor Christina Kim on the diet front 😛 

 

I think it's just really dialing in you distance control and spin your getting with then new club vs the old when you switch irons.  If Bianca is taking more time to start the season, than yeah she'll probably have it worked out by the time she starts.  With Brooke she start right away and there were growing pains for couple months but she still won twice that year, so the pro's do figure it out.  Although, I do think it's a bigger issue if your switching club manufacture rather than model of clubs from the same manufacture.