2021 US Women's Open, June 3-6

[KBong]

8 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

If an 11 years old showed up and beat 155 other players I think it would be awesome. They'd have to be world class to win against the best in the game in USWO conditions.

 

Lydio Ko won the CWO twice. It's Canada's national championship. The golf world didn't come to an end. It wasn't catastrophic. It was an eye opener seeing a top young talent who'd quickly rise to #1 in the World.

 

 

I also think it would be neat if an 11 year old girl won on the LPGA....though as we both know unlikely.

 

Lydia has won the CWO 3 times....not twice...but twice back to back in 2012 & 2013.

 

I was at the 2012 CWO for 7 days....the galleries were large all week starting on Tues....so large by Sunday....I was watching Lydia putt out on the 72nd hole from 150 yards out.....I think the galleries were larger than the 2011 men's CO held at Shaughnessy.

One of the best events I have watched.

It was hilarious hearing all the Vancouver Golf Club members making fun of Lydia's loop....Brian Alexander (a VGC member an past BC Sr. Am Champ...the guy can play)...whether Lydia but Brian a Coke and hot dog at the turn.

 

Tina is so funny.....when the GM called Brian to ask if he'll loop for Lydia...Tina wasn't sure if he was capable of carrying the bag...lol.....classic Tina...making fun of someone doing something for free.

 

It was so neat watching Lydia win....I never heard anyone say the LPGA is garbage that a 15 year old Am won.

49 of the top LPGA pros were there in 2012....the only one absent was Se Ri Pak...she was injured.

Lydia demonstrated it was NO FLUKE winning in Edmonton in 2013 with a member loop again on her bag....I wish I was there....the galleries were HUGE again.

 

I did watch the 2007 CWO in Edmonton at the same course Royal Mayfair....made a trip to visit my 2 eldest grandsons and some LPGA fanboying.

 

BTW

The Korean LPGA pros LOVED playing at VGC....KoreaTown was a short par 5 left of the course.
The Korean restaurant owners were also honored and paid for their dinners if some LPGA pros came to their restaurants.

I bumped into some Korean LPGA pros and their agents at H-Mart....a Korean grocery chain store.

Edited June 10, 2021 by KBong

[KBong]

8 hours ago, MelloYello said:

1) We're closer to agreeing that not although I kind of think it's unrealistic to consider what happens in Canada to be reality. Nobody cares about Canada. 

 

2) Do you think the LPGA should in general toughen up the rough at more events?

1) You have the tours mixed up.

They use to care.....decades ago....all the PGA pros wanted to win the Cdn Open.....I'm sure Jack regrets he NEVER won a CO...he came in 2nd SEVEN times....I also think he wanted to win at Glen Abbey too...one of his early designs.

Now for a quite some time.....the CO has been a tier 2 PGA event.

BUT

The LPGA gals want to win the CWO and many many top pros attend the CWO....it generally has one of the strongest fields on an annual basis on the LPGA tour.

For quite some time...it had one of the largest LPGA purses outside of the majors.

It's also well attended by fans on an annual basis.

 

2) Yes....I would like to see the courses the LPGA plays on....lengthened and made tougher....but I also think the same for the men too....though many of their courses have no room to lengthen.

[KBong]

9 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

The biggest problem is that many tough courses won't open their doors to the LPGA, so they wind up playing on benign resort courses.

 

Wildfire was one. Thornberry Creek was another. When they play "real" courses, e.g. Wilshire, Inverness, we see higher scores without having to artificially harden the courses.

 

 

Yup.....on private courses.....many members don't want to give up their course for 2 weeks...especially if they have a short season because the course is closed for the winter.

[Shilgy]

9 hours ago, KBong said:

Yup.....on private courses.....many members don't want to give up their course for 2 weeks...especially if they have a short season because the course is closed for the winter.

And it’s really longer than two weeks a club is giving up if you want the course prepped with rough and such.  I was a member at Moon Valley in Phoenix when it held the Standard Register Ping/Turquoise Classic…they grew the rough for weeks and then the LPGA staff came in the week before the event and decided on the height to groom it back to. We played brutal rough for a month or so.  Resort courses will not do that as @Argonne69mentioned.

Imo lengthening is not the answer on the ladies tour…..they already typically play a relatively longer course than do the men based on driving average. A 6500 yard course is the equivalent of about 7525 for the men using 255 and 295 respectively.

 

Personally I like to see the pros, men and ladies, be able to show off their skills. The over the top setups like Shinnecock reward more luck than skill.  Making a +6 to +9 shoot even or over par on most courses is stupid and not a true test. Just a contrived one.

[Lobby]

Yep.

There were a lot of very good drives that landed in a narrow fairway, but rolled off into a penal rough.

Seems like there's a luck-of-the-draw variability in these very tough setups.

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, Lobby said:

Yep.

There were a lot of very good drives that landed in a narrow fairway, but rolled off into a penal rough.

Seems like there's a luck-of-the-draw variability in these very tough setups.

 

One thing that I've yet to figure out is why so few pros, men and women, play a single shot shape off the tee. Yeah, I get that the game is hard, and mastering a single swing is tough enough, but there are many holes that want you to play a draw or fade. We saw plenty of "good" drive hit the sloping fairways and roll into the rough. Being able to work the ball both ways is not difficult, and some of the best players often do. 

 

[Stooch]

1 minute ago, Argonne69 said:

 

One thing that I've yet to figure out is why so few pros, men and women, play a single shot shape off the tee. Yeah, I get that the game is hard, and mastering a single swing is tough enough, but there are many holes that want you to play a draw or fade. We saw plenty of "good" drive hit the sloping fairways and roll into the rough. Being able to work the ball both ways is not difficult, and some of the best players often do. 

 

 

Ask Brooke, she did and it worked great for 3 rounds and very terribly for 1 round, but I kinda put 55%-60% of how bad the 2nd round went on Brittany.  Week in and week out Brooke normally hits a draw off the tee, this week I imagine by design she was hitting them straight as an arrow.  Brooke was striping her driver during round 2, she missed 3 fairways outright, 1 on 18 basically where Nasa did in the playoff and 2 others that were basically 5-8 yards off the fairway.  And something I noticed you were better off missing the fairway big cause the first 15-20 yards of rough before the rope was manicured, fluffed and nasty, outside the rope and assuming you weren't behind a tree, you could get better lies cause of the fans walking around.  But every other one of Brooke's drives was hit pretty pure and hit the fairway they were either one or two bounce that would end up in the primary or secondary rough, her angles or lines were the problem all day and not so much erratic driving.

 Brooke went a stretch of 4 bogeys early in her round and I imagine inside her head was running wild and I think under pressure most people revert back to was comfortable and what's repeated, while the individual doing it won't even notice.  I think this was a failure by Brit, I don't think the caddie has many jobs to do that effect the outcome but IMO this is one, especially when you're the primary caddie and basically defacto coach during covid.  Brit should have notice early in the round that this was happening and even if they didn't wanna mess with the alignment during the round, she could have told Brooke to move you aim point just a little bit to compensate, they didn't and the drive were landing too close to the edge of the fairway and bouncing into the rough, live and learn I guess lol

[Titleist_PT23]

6 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

One thing that I've yet to figure out is why so few pros, men and women, play a single shot shape off the tee. Yeah, I get that the game is hard, and mastering a single swing is tough enough, but there are many holes that want you to play a draw or fade. We saw plenty of "good" drive hit the sloping fairways and roll into the rough. Being able to work the ball both ways is not difficult, and some of the best players often do. 

 

Don't disagree but I think it's harder than you think.  I'd bet more than half the people on tour (both) are uncomfortable moving it one way (both off the tee and with irons).  Can they do it?  Yes.  Can they do it consistently?  Not so sure.  I think many of the modern courses don't require it and it's probably why few practice it these days.  Olympic was odd with a combination of dogleg, reverse camber, and trees guarding (some of) the corners.  That being said, I think if you could not turn it (into the slope) on some of these holes your chance of staying in the fairway was so low you might as well try.  Unless you are so uncomfortable doing it you fear being 20 yards into the trees.

 

I guess you can say go practice.  I.e. DJ was primarily a draw off the tee but switched to a fade.  Maybe Rory is trying the same thing.  I don't think Lexi is near as comfortable moving it left to right.  Part of the reason why she likes Mission Hills so much.  Aim up the right and turn it over...

[18majors]

11 minutes ago, agolf1 said:

Part of the reason why she likes Mission Hills so much.  Aim up the right and turn it over...

 

 

We've found out this year that Patty Tavatanakit loved it as much as Lexi, maybe even more.

 

Unless something changes, it's hard to see anybody beating Patty at Mission Hills.

 

 

[Shilgy]

1 hour ago, 18majors said:

 

 

We've found out this year that Patty Tavatanakit loved it as much as Lexi, maybe even more.

 

Unless something changes, it's hard to see anybody beating Patty at Mission Hills.

 

 

When she’s on. She has rarely displayed the same form since.

 

As far as shoot shaping off the tee…. I think today it’s a lost art but also overrated. Except for someone like Bubba(and I cannot think of an equivalent woman) the ball moves so little.

[KBong]

1 hour ago, 18majors said:

Unless something changes, it's hard to see anybody beating Patty at Mission Hills.

 

LOL.....in the last 15 years there has been only 1 multiple winner....Bam Bam.

 

Before that ......HOF Webb, Pepper and one of the GOAT'S....Sorenstam....all when the LPGA wasn't quite as deep.

[18majors]

 

We finally can put this thread to bed Friday after the Sunday when the tournament completed.

 

There may not be any more posts, but the views should grow to exceed 45,000 when it's all said and done.

[HMHS]

had to delete this post since i was supposed to post it on mediheal (eg about su oh double bogey this is why i had to sign out already -- too many threads open while working, watching it on GC, etc etc LOL... 😈

Edited June 11, 2021 by HMHS
deleting, wrong thread!