2021 US Women's Open, June 3-6

[18majors]

5 minutes ago, ChronicSlicer said:

Not exactly the "positive" way of "growing the game" of woman's golf.

 

 

As the saying goes, "All Publicity Is Good Publicity."

 

Beggars can't be choosy, we need to spin everything to our advantage; right?

Edited June 8, 2021 by 18majors

[ChronicSlicer]

1 minute ago, 18majors said:

 

 

As the saying goes, "All Publicity is good publicity."

 

Beggars can't be choosy, we need to spin everything to our advantage; right?

If you insist.

[ChronicSlicer]

6 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

It may look awkward, but it generally gets the job done. She only hit 47 out of 72 greens this week, but still managed 3 under for the tournament. She only had 9 bogies or worse with two three-putts, so her scrambling was in the 65% range. That's more than respectable.

 

I believe they said after the third round she was 75% for scrambling, or second place.

[JungleJimbo]

4 minutes ago, ChronicSlicer said:

I wouldn't expect much tv time for Hyunjoo or Sharon though 

@ChronicSlicer HyunJoo gets plenty of Korean TV time /YouTube exposure already 

 

 

 

[OrangeGravy]

8 hours ago, JaNelson38 said:

 

She's 4th on the LPGA in driving distance, hits fairways 3/4 of the time, and is 8th in GIR.

 

She should be winning 5 times a season on the LPGA.  Its hard to believe she's one just once since 2019.

 

Lexi seems to be the LPGA version of Dustin Johnson.  Until DJ seriously took getting good with a wedge and average to slightly above average with the putter, he didn't win regularly on Tour.  He's now the top ranked player in the world.  Kinda surprised with the family Lexi has that she isn't better than she is with a wedge and putter.  The putting strokes on 17 and 18 were so bad.  To leave a 12-foot downhill putt to stay in a playoff some 3 feet short....oof.

 

Its hard to win on any Tour and to close out any golf tournament, but its hard to fathom how a player of her stature seems to have so much trouble closing the deal.  She'll feel better mentally if she would get her short game up to par, because she'll win a lot more.

If she's anything like me, having a sub par putter, causes way too much anxiety to close out rounds or tournaments with any level of consistency. Its always there in the back of your mind on every approach or pitch/chip that you need to get it to tap-in range or it's a likely 2 putt. Leads to that phat chip on 11. If you can putt, you put an aggressive stroke on that chip knowing you still have a good chance to make it if you run it 6 ft by. Same with lag putting. Your brain tries to be perfect because anything less results in missing the next putt

[ChronicSlicer]

16 minutes ago, JungleJimbo said:

@ChronicSlicer HyunJoo gets plenty of Korean TV time /YouTube exposure already 

 

 

 

Yes, I'm aware thanks 🙂

[ChronicSlicer]

10 minutes ago, OrangeGravy said:

If she's anything like me, having a sub par putter, causes way too much anxiety to close out rounds or tournaments with any level of consistency. Its always there in the back of your mind on every approach or pitch/chip that you need to get it to tap-in range or it's a likely 2 putt. Leads to that phat chip on 11. If you can putt, you put an aggressive stroke on that chip knowing you still have a good chance to make it if you run it 6 ft by. Same with lag putting. Your brain tries to be perfect because anything less results in missing the next putt

I'll continue to be the black sheep here and I'll say it again, if Lexi could grab a putter and have 90% confidence with it she would have been world no.1 easily. She would likely have a 20 win career by age 30

[KBong]

41 minutes ago, agolf1 said:

I've seen her pretty indifferent towards people at the HSBC.  Don't recall if it was a specific request for an autograph or selfie but basically walking past people that were cheering for her without even acknowledging them.  Also slamming her driver into the ground on a few hooked tee shots (one into the water).  But I'll give her a pass here.  I think she was not doing so well at the time and she was paired with SYR in Inbee so it probably wasn't her favorite round or place to be.

 

Scott Thompson seems like the kind of guy that wants the airline to hold the 777 at the gate because he's running late.  I.e. lost passport and other players clubs.  May be nice but quite self-centered and lack of thinking about the consequences for others.

Interesting.

 

Maybe things have changed....I've chatted with Scott in 2012, 2013 & 2015....he's not going to be pink ribbons and cotton candy .....but he's never been stand offish to me....I'll only say hi, chat, ask a few questions including how Nicholas and Curtis are doing and then left him alone.

 

John Gulbis was criticized for being gruff....and I can see why....but I always had a good time chatting with him in Portland,,,,Barb Gulbis was always nice but she was quiet.

 

One of the best dad's to chat with was Charley Hull's dad....I don't think he travels much anymore.

 

Lots of parents are very friendly.

[OrangeGravy]

7 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

It may look awkward, but it generally gets the job done. She only hit 47 out of 72 greens this week, but still managed 3 under for the tournament. She only had 9 bogies or worse with two three-putts, so her scrambling was in the 65% range. That's more than respectable.

 

But where is her scrambling historically over the last couple seasons? Seems like this tournament was an outlier for 3 rounds. I've never seen her putt better until she reverted back late. How many tournaments has she won the last 3 seasons? I know she just somewhat recently snapped her 1 win a season streak. At least it seemed like it was recent. The last 18 months has thrown my memory into a suspended state

[KBong]

6 minutes ago, OrangeGravy said:

But where is her scrambling historically over the last couple seasons? Seems like this tournament was an outlier for 3 rounds. I've never seen her putt better until she reverted back late. How many tournaments has she won the last 3 seasons? I know she just somewhat recently snapped her 1 win a season streak. At least it seemed like it was recent. The last 18 months has thrown my memory into a suspended state

Lexi gagged at the end and we have seen this in the past at some critical moments.

But I don't think she's that bad a scrambler....yes she no Lydia....and at times a bit jerky on chips and short putts....but I don't think she's that bad.

I just glanced....Lexi has been top 5 in GIR's many many years....so we don't see her scrambling much.

 

Yes....a change in technique can help....but I think her short game issues/yips are a mental issue too....I know....I can be yippy and a MENTAL MIDGET....I've lost my fair share of skins on missed short putts including 2 ft putts....I'm MENTALLY SOFT at times on the greens.

I'm a pretty good lag putter.

[OrangeGravy]

2 minutes ago, KBong said:

Lexi gagged at the end and we have seen this in the past at some critical moments.

But I don't think she's that bad a scrambler....yes she no Lydia....and at times a bit jerky on chips and short putts....but I don't think she's that bad.

I just glanced....Lexi has been top 5 in GIR's many many years....so we don't see her scrambling much.

 

Yes....a change in technique can help....but I think her short game issues/yips are a mental issue too....I know....I can be yippy and a MENTAL MIDGET....I've lost my fair share of skins on missed short putts including 2 ft putts....I'm MENTALLY SOFT at times on the greens.

I'm a pretty good lag putter.

That's just it though. GIRs are great and even bad putters can scrape out a number when they hit a bunch of greens. The real test is when 2 putting brings a bogey with it, not a par. I'd bet a decent amount that every fairway missed on the back yesterday, she was thinking great now I have to make a putt to save par. I putt like trash often. I all of a sudden look respectable when I'm hitting greens and have birdie putts vs trying to save par/bogey.....with relatively zero pressure. 

[Steele47]

Enjoyed watching Megan Khang's swing.  Great move.   Every shot she hit I couldn't help but think of Gene Sarazen.   Their follow throughs are very similar.

[Titleist_PT23]

37 minutes ago, KBong said:

Interesting.

 

Maybe things have changed....I've chatted with Scott in 2012, 2013 & 2015....he's not going to be pink ribbons and cotton candy .....but he's never been stand offish to me....I'll only say hi, chat, ask a few questions including how Nicholas and Curtis are doing and then left him alone.

 

John Gulbis was criticized for being gruff....and I can see why....but I always had a good time chatting with him in Portland,,,,Barb Gulbis was always nice but she was quiet.

 

One of the best dad's to chat with was Charley Hull's dad....I don't think he travels much anymore.

 

Lots of parents are very friendly.

I've seen her once when I was stateside and she was much more friendly.  She doesn't seem like the super chummy type among other tour players so traveling to Asia maybe wasn't her thing (pair her with Ryu and Inbee and it gets worse).  Regardless, she gets nothing but applause for how she handled herself after the 72nd hole on Sunday.

 

But I always say signing autographs, etc is part of the business.  Most of these players do it but you don't know WHY they do it.  Because they truly want to or they know it keeps the money flowing?  I think you can learn a lot about her with the 2019 Evian post.  Until her agent called and said "can you please take that down."  If one really was really not afraid to say what they think/feel, she would have left it up and said that's me.  

[KBong]

16 minutes ago, Steele47 said:

Enjoyed watching Megan Khang's swing.  Great move.   Every shot she hit I couldn't help but think of Gene Sarazen.   Their follow throughs are very similar.

Megan is short and so was Gene...RIP.

 

Megan will be great at the Solheim.

Ole Ole.

[KBong]

33 minutes ago, agolf1 said:

I've seen her once when I was stateside and she was much more friendly.  She doesn't seem like the super chummy type among other tour players so traveling to Asia maybe wasn't her thing (pair her with Ryu and Inbee and it gets worse).  Regardless, she gets nothing but applause for how she handled herself after the 72nd hole on Sunday.

 

But I always say signing autographs, etc is part of the business.  Most of these players do it but you don't know WHY they do it.  Because they truly want to or they know it keeps the money flowing?  I think you can learn a lot about her with the 2019 Evian post.  Until her agent called and said "can you please take that down."  If one really was really not afraid to say what they think/feel, she would have left it up and said that's me.  

Hmmmm....now that you mention it....I remember Scott saying he didn't care for an event???....maybe in China???...where the fans had zero clue about golf and how to act as a fan on the course...Stacy should know....Beijing 2013....lol...I LUVED watching Shanshan take down Stacy.

 

I think Lexi is selective which events she'll play on the Asia Swings.

She likes Japan...or maybe just the appearance fees...lol...she's played some events on the JLPGA.

 

Yup...the smart ones know how to act to attract more endorsements......Gulbis for one.... knew where her bread was buttered.

I do feel Lexi is genuine and not phony with the fans.

 

My memory is bad....tell me about Lexi vs. Evian?

Didn't Stacy have an issue with the course?

I've always thought the Evian is a fake major...it never should have happened....I think Whan agreed to a major as they were having difficulties at the time sourcing a sponsor to place Kraft Nabisco.

 

Or maybe Lexi didn't like the Evian because this would happen to the winner.🤣🤣 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 8, 2021 by KBong

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, OrangeGravy said:

But where is her scrambling historically over the last couple seasons? Seems like this tournament was an outlier for 3 rounds. I've never seen her putt better until she reverted back late. How many tournaments has she won the last 3 seasons? I know she just somewhat recently snapped her 1 win a season streak. At least it seemed like it was recent. The last 18 months has thrown my memory into a suspended state

 

I wish I could answer that question with data, but as I've kvetched about for years, the LPGA doesn't publish scrambling stats. 

 

She's been in or very near the top 10 for years now. She's certainly not doing that with her outstanding putting. She averages roughly 75 percent of her greens, but has had a scoring average below 71 for several years. Again, if one is missing 1 out of 4 greens, but shooting under par, it points to a decent scrambling percentage. 

 

Lest one thinks her scoring average is driven by eagles, she only averaged 0.14 per round. 

 

She's currently averaging four birdies a round, and has a scoring average of just under 70. So she's roughly averaging 2 bogies a round after missing 6 greens on average. That's approximately 66 percent scrambling. She's had that pattern for years. 

 

 

[Titleist_PT23]

22 minutes ago, KBong said:

Hmmmm....now that you mention it....I remember Scott saying he didn't care for an event???....maybe in China???...where the fans had zero clue about golf and how to act as a fan on the course...Stacy should know....Beijing 2013....lol...I LUVED watching Shanshan take down Stacy.

 

I think Lexi is selective which events she'll play on the Asia Swings.

She likes Japan...or maybe just the appearance fees...lol...she's played some events on the JLPGA.

 

Yup...the smart ones know how to act to attract more endorsements......Gulbis for one.... knew where her bread was buttered.

I do feel Lexi is genuine and not phony with the fans.

 

My memory is bad....tell me about Lexi vs. Evian?

Didn't Stacy have an issue with the course?

I've always thought the Evian is a fake major...it never should have happened....I think Whan agreed to a major as they were having difficulties at the time sourcing a sponsor to place Kraft Nabisco.

 

Or maybe Lexi didn't like the Evian because this would happen to the winner.🤣🤣 

 

 

 

 

 

Lexi Thompson critical of Evian course, 'very thankful' to miss cut | Golf Channel

 

 

[Titleist_PT23]

4 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

 

I wish I could answer that question with data, but as I've kvetched about for years, the LPGA doesn't publish scrambling stats. 

 

She's been in or very near the top 10 for years now. She's certainly not doing that with her outstanding putting. She averages roughly 75 percent of her greens, but has had a scoring average below 71 for several years. Again, if one is missing 1 out of 4 greens, but shooting under par, it points to a decent scrambling percentage. 

 

Lest one thinks her scoring average is driven by eagles, she only averaged 0.14 per round. 

 

She's currently averaging four birdies a round, and has a scoring average of just under 70. So she's roughly averaging 2 bogies a round after missing 6 greens on average. That's approximately 66 percent scrambling. She's had that pattern for years. 

 

 

Think the math is off slightly?  She should be missing about 4.5 greens per round and saving par 2.5 times (roughly speaking).

 

Her short game overall isn't horrible.  When she came out on tour she was one of the few people that could bomb it and actually had a "complete" tour level game.  She would take most ams that think they have a good short game from 50 yards and in.  Situationally, in competitive golf she hasn't been great though...

[DanoCanuck]

Ended up heading to the lake for the weekend and missed most of the last two rounds live, had to watch them on DVR. What a disappointment for Lexi! I'm bummed! 
 

i mentioned something in my last post about the ladies not being as focused as the guys with too much joking around, smiles and fun stuff during championship rounds. That changed a little Sunday but I stand by my previous comments. The girls don't seem to have the same intensity as the guys. It looks like the difference in winning vs losing. Still enjoy the girls majors but they need to step up their game from an intensity perspective. 

[18majors]

I stole this from Seoul Sisters, it gives a good idea about how Japan is celebrating Yuka's win

 

[JungleJimbo]

2 hours ago, DanoCanuck said:

i mentioned something in my last post about the ladies not being as focused as the guys with too much joking around, smiles and fun stuff during championship rounds. That changed a little Sunday but I stand by my previous comments. The girls don't seem to have the same intensity as the guys. It looks like the difference in winning vs losing. Still enjoy the girls majors but they need to step up their game from an intensity perspective. 

@DanoCanuck 

(just IMHO) May I respectfully offer an alternative opinion, ie rather than staying intense throughout the 18hole round... being able to smile & joke in-between shots =might be a good sign. 

 

My buddy calls it being “Long & Loose, and Full of Juice 🧃 “

 

I liken it to Pete Sampras shifting into “the zone” (when Sampras’ tongue 👅 starts sticking out like a Labrador & he shifts gear into his best tennis). https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/unconscious-desire-in-the-highlight-zone-1590604.html

 

For me, I find I play my best golf when I subconsciously start humming my favourite song (might be something to do with better breathing & eradicating outside thoughts ... just focusing on hitting a good ball)

Edited June 8, 2021 by JungleJimbo

[MelloYello]

3 hours ago, DanoCanuck said:

Ended up heading to the lake for the weekend and missed most of the last two rounds live, had to watch them on DVR. What a disappointment for Lexi! I'm bummed! 
 

i mentioned something in my last post about the ladies not being as focused as the guys with too much joking around, smiles and fun stuff during championship rounds. That changed a little Sunday but I stand by my previous comments. The girls don't seem to have the same intensity as the guys. It looks like the difference in winning vs losing. Still enjoy the girls majors but they need to step up their game from an intensity perspective. 

 

Yeah, I think the entire board is bummed about Lexi and you can tell by the criticism being all over the place with some down-playing her swing, others talking about her demeanor or her mental approach, etc. 

 

Sometimes majors are about the winner breaking through. You can think of Adam Scott or Sergio at the Masters and how cathartic those felt. It was clear the commentators were priming the pump for a Lexi celebration when she had that 5-shot lead. 

 

But other times it's about who loses. In the case of this Women's U.S. Open, I'm feeling more for the losers than the ultimate winner Yuka Saso who played great but didn't "deserve" the win any more than her competitors based on the fact that she made as many mistakes as anyone else during the event. 

 

Nasa has to feel absolutely gutted losing on the 3rd hole of a Play-off when all she did was make pars. This could've absolutely been her moment to step out as one of the LPGA's more elite players. 

 

Lee6 probably would've won this had she not seen so many putts from close range slide by. Nobody would accuse her of choking. It was just a terrible week for her on the greens yet she played as well as anyone and hung tough the whole time. It wasn't her first rodeo and that was clear in how she was able to grind. 

 

Lexi also has to feel completely crushed after giving away a 5-shot lead on the back-9. There's no doubt it was a collapse.

Edited June 8, 2021 by MelloYello

[MelloYello]

One thing that really disappointed me was all the talk about the rough being so penal and then seeing how inconsistent it was. Some spots were tough. Some were barely playable. But there were also very clearly spots where you could end up in the rough and still easily make par (or birdie!).

 

I don't think that was the intent of the setup at all. And it wasn't just certain players being strong enough to play it. We saw Yuka Saso get several good breaks in which she was able to make great contact. Meanwhile, Lexi definitely got some terrible breaks on her closing stretch. She did get that amazing break early though with the ball that landed short and rolled up to tap-in range for birdie. That's all just way too much variation though. 

 

I think the USGA has to be a bit disappointed with the inconsistency. The rough is supposed to be consistently penal. You don't want there to be places where it's "okay to miss." That's not the intent. 

Edited June 8, 2021 by MelloYello

[stingerfade]

13 hours ago, ChronicSlicer said:

I wouldn't expect much tv time for Hyunjoo or Sharon though 

I beg to differ. 🤪

[stingerfade]

1 hour ago, MelloYello said:

 

Yeah, I think the entire board is bummed about Lexi and you can tell by the criticism being all over the place with some down-playing her swing, others talking about her demeanor or her mental approach, etc. 

 

Sometimes majors are about the winner breaking through. You can think of Adam Scott or Sergio at the Masters and how cathartic those felt. It was clear the commentators were priming the pump for a Lexi celebration when she had that 5-shot lead. 

 

But other times it's about who loses. In the case of this Women's U.S. Open, I'm feeling more for the losers than the ultimate winner Yuka Saso who played great but didn't "deserve" the win any more than her competitors based on the fact that she made as many mistakes as anyone else during the event. 

 

Nasa has to feel absolutely gutted losing on the 3rd hole of a Play-off when all she did was make pars. This could've absolutely been her moment to step out as one of the LPGA's more elite players. 

 

Lee6 probably would've won this had she not seen so many putts from close range slide by. Nobody would accuse her of choking. It was just a terrible week for her on the greens yet she played as well as anyone and hung tough the whole time. It wasn't her first rodeo and that was clear in how she was able to grind. 

 

Lexi also has to feel completely crushed after giving away a 5-shot lead on the back-9. There's no doubt it was a collapse.

I give credit to Yuka for hanging in there after a pretty rough start. 

[Cwebb]

6 hours ago, DanoCanuck said:

Ended up heading to the lake for the weekend and missed most of the last two rounds live, had to watch them on DVR. What a disappointment for Lexi! I'm bummed! 
 

i mentioned something in my last post about the ladies not being as focused as the guys with too much joking around, smiles and fun stuff during championship rounds. That changed a little Sunday but I stand by my previous comments. The girls don't seem to have the same intensity as the guys. It looks like the difference in winning vs losing. Still enjoy the girls majors but they need to step up their game from an intensity perspective. 

Agreed.  Also the thing where some of them don't want to know where they are on the scoreboard.  Not a good idea.  In just about any other sport/game, you always know where you stand on the scoreboard...and you learn to play with it and use strategy accordingly.

 

The very best players through history have always wanted to know where they stand on the board

[KBong]

3 hours ago, MelloYello said:

 

Lee6 probably would've won this had she not seen so many putts from close range slide by. Nobody would accuse her of choking. It was just a terrible week for her on the greens yet she played as well as anyone and hung tough the whole time. It wasn't her first rodeo and that was clear in how she was able to grind. 

 

 

I also was a bit shocked watching Lucky6 miss putts ALL weekend....it kinda ended her really good USWO playing streak

[MelloYello]

1 minute ago, KBong said:

I also was a bit shocked watching Lucky6 miss putts ALL weekend....it kinda ended her really good USWO playing streak

 

Yeah, she was my favorite once she got into contention. She of course won her US Open here in SC so I figured I'd pull for her. Hated to see her miss all weekend. I feel like she finally sort of gave up towards the end. Looks like she ended at +2. Such a shame. 

[mhdena]

3 hours ago, MelloYello said:

 

But other times it's about who loses. In the case of this Women's U.S. Open, I'm feeling more for the losers than the ultimate winner Yuka Saso who played great but didn't "deserve" the win any more than her competitors based on the fact that she made as many mistakes as anyone else during the event. 

Saso deserved every bit of this win, she's the one who persevered. Depends when the mistakes are made usually, as you say everyone makes them.

 

To think any other way is a delusional opinion

[KBong]

2 hours ago, MelloYello said:

I think the USGA has to be a bit disappointed with the inconsistency. The rough is supposed to be consistently penal. You don't want there to be places where it's "okay to miss." That's not the intent. 

Unless they truly pour a TON of money, staff and resources at any course to get all the rough consistent.....I'll call it rub of the green....it comes with playing golf.....some good luck some bad luck.....no different than landing in a divot.

 

Hit it in the fairway and one need not worry about the variables in the rough.