2021 AIG Women's British Open

[18majors]

38 minutes ago, KBong said:

You mean the same commissioner who just took over and communicated an EMPTY 100 day plan...with the 1st stage being observing and listening .....had an influence why AIG is raising their purse?????

 

 

 

In addition to AIG and  USGA raising the purses, Rich Lerner mentioned on Golf Channel today that negotiation for a new contract to replace ANA has been going very well.  

 

ANA's purse this year was a paltry $3.1 million, compared to at least $4.5 million for all other majors.  A big increase there is to be expected and is a necessity.

 

We could be looking at a combined 2022 Major purse of $29.5 million, compared to this year's $23.4 million.  An increase of $6.1 million.  This compares to an increase of $1.8 million for 2021 and very little increases for most previous years.

 

This is a healthy development.   Not only it'll start to narrow the gap with PGA Tour; more importantly it will widen the gap between LPGA and JLPGA/KLPGA.

 

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by 18majors

[ChronicSlicer]

1 hour ago, KBong said:

You mean the same commissioner who just took over and communicated an EMPTY 100 day plan...with the 1st stage being observing and listening .....had an influence why AIG is raising their purse?????

LMAO.

 

 

 

 

Of course not...it was all Nelly. Her fellow players should should all thank her for the increased purse sizes, via Instgram of course.

[Golf Dino]

AIG and being based in the United States has absolutely nothing to do with the LPGA and the "new commissioner".  She had absolutely nothing to do with AIG and the announcement.  It was referenced over a year ago when AIG took over sponsorship from the previous sponsor - Ricoh.  It was referenced by the R&A in 2019, the first year of AIG's sponsorship from Ricoh.  2019 was a stop gap year, 2020 was the year of Covid, and now they are moving forward. The R&A was the driving force behind this purse increase.  To suggest that it was the new commissioner is nothing short of ludicrous.  You've conveniently overlooked the fact that it was the R&A that pushed Muirfield into voting for women membership, lest they lose their spot on the Open rota.  The R&A put together potentially, the single largest women's golf initiative in the world with their Women In Golf Charter.  

 

AIG's business holdings in the UK are massive.  As you can see from below's image, this was in 2006-2007 Premier League Season - they paid a record price for a shirt sponsorship deal.  They have a huge percentage of the Business Insurance market which is extremely robust in the U.K.  

 

Will it put pressure on ANA and others -- of course and so it should.  Has the USGA carried the ball in terms of purse size for women -- of course.  But give some credit where credit is due.

 

EDIT: 

 

But the point about the player's being the winner in all of this is the key point -- and that should not be forgotten.  It's been players like Inbee and Soyeon Ryu who have been on tour for a decade now that have helped carry the tour and women's golf to this point until other great players could come along like Lydia, Brooke and now Nelly.    

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by Golf Dino

[18majors]

 

It's shaping up to be the regular Golf Channel crew for the broadcast.  Judy Rankin mentioned on Golf Channel today that she's originally scheduled to be here but couldn't come for personal reasons.

 

At least we've Kay Cockerill, Grant Boone and Tom Abbott; maybe some more.

[18majors]

 

Even par may win the tournament this week.

 

According to Grant Boone; he was told by the officials:

"They are setting up Carnoustie to play as tough as it always does out of respect for the caliber of the field."

[HMHS]

Is there a reason why Yuka and Lexi have been paired together for a couple of tournaments already (along with Brooke if I recall right) - eg Olympics, the Open... Can't be a coincidence right? 

Edited August 18, 2021 by HMHS

[jobin]

Surprised to see only one Chinese in the field.  And about 8 amateurs.  

[AWinfortheAges]

On 8/16/2021 at 2:58 PM, 18majors said:

@Argonne69

 

The field is standard 144 players, unlike USWO's 156.

 

 

Did the mandatory quarantine on the return keep KLPGA players out along with some JLPGA qualifiers like Momoko Ueda? I thought I read that Seon Woo Bae was in the field?

[KBong]

10 hours ago, ChronicSlicer said:

Of course not...it was all Nelly. Her fellow players should should all thank her for the increased purse sizes, via Instgram of course.

LMAO!

Candidate for post of the year!

 

Kudos!

[KBong]

4 hours ago, AWinfortheAges said:

Did the mandatory quarantine on the return keep KLPGA players out along with some JLPGA qualifiers like Momoko Ueda? I thought I read that Seon Woo Bae was in the field?

Did Momoko and Bae really qualify?...and are now NS's.

[KBong]

5 hours ago, jobin said:

Surprised to see only one Chinese in the field.  And about 8 amateurs.  

So you think Muni He is a FAKE Chinese and doesn't qualify?🤣

 

Lily and Yu Liu are in the field.

 

Many of my friends also see me as a FAKE Chinese and banana too.

All my HS friends view me as Caucasian.

 

Did XiYu Lin not qualify because of low earnings and/or a low Rolex ranking?

[KBong]

7 hours ago, Supermilo said:

Is there a reason why Yuka and Lexi have been paired together for a couple of tournaments already (along with Brooke if I recall right) - eg Olympics, the Open... Can't be a coincidence right? 

I guess a lot of the tee time committees like to bully Lexi.

 

A more appropriate player than Brooke...unless Brooke is there to SLOW PLAY Lexi....would be to pair Lexi with Saso and So Yeon Ryu....you know...the gal who STOLE the ANA trophy from Lexi in 2017.

[Golf Dino]

15 minutes ago, KBong said:

So you think Muni He is a FAKE Chinese and doesn't qualify?🤣

 

Lily and Yu Liu are in the field.

 

Many of my friends also see me as a FAKE Chinese and banana too.

All my HS friends view me as Caucasian.

 

Did XiYu Lin not qualify because of low earnings and/or a low Rolex ranking?

 

 

Yu Liu is out.  She withdrew on Monday.  She was replaced by Annabelle Fuller

 

 

 

Notice - Yu Liu.pdf

Edited August 19, 2021 by Golf Dino

[KBong]

11 hours ago, 18majors said:

In addition to AIG and  USGA raising the purses, Rich Lerner mentioned on Golf Channel today that negotiation for a new contract to replace ANA has been going very well.  

 

Been out all day on the links so haven't watched GC.

 

Kinda surprised anyone would mouth off that ANA as a sponsor is on the chopping blocks...ANA is still on contract until 2022.

 

I know your pal, Smiley Mike, would never let a major to depart from Mission Hills....but I hope the new sponsor is a S. Korean or another Japanese company to step in.

 

There has been minimal interest with fans heading out to watch the major at Mission Hills.

Kinda like watching a Super Bowl with only 10,000 fans.

 

I hope the new commish sees the light and allows this major to move to S. Korea or Japan.

 

IMO...they deserve a major....in both countries...the women's golf tours are more popular than the men's tours.

 

We saw in 2018 how nutty the Korean fans can be and showed up in huge numbers to attend the Int'l Crown.

[KBong]

4 minutes ago, Golf Dino said:

 

 

Yu Liu is out.  She withdrew on Monday.  She was replaced by Annabelle Fuller

 

 

 

Notice - Yu Liu.pdf 76.75 kB · 0 downloads

OK

As of 11pm PST

The leaderboard pairings on lpga.com still lists Liu on the roster.

 

https://www.lpga.com/tournaments/aigwomensopen/leaderboard

[Rapidcat]

2 hours ago, KBong said:

 

I hope the new commish sees the light and allows this major to move to S. Korea or Japan.

Interesting thought but it won't happen any time soon.

[Rapidcat]

11 hours ago, 18majors said:

 

Even par may win the tournament this week.

 

According to Grant Boone; he was told by the officials:

"They are setting up Carnoustie to play as tough as it always does out of respect for the caliber of the field."

Excellent!

 

Whoever wins this then should get some extra credit kudos.

[Rapidcat]

14 hours ago, KBong said:

Charley has stated she doesn't love links golf....factor in bad weather....I suspect she'll hate it even more.

Charley doesn't have the game for links golf - it requires more than attempting to bomb it off the tee and going for every pin - unless you have an amazing recovery game ala Seve.

 

Whilst great fun to watch, Charley's course management costs her winning potential on just about any course.

 

Maybe she's not too bothered - she's got her shopping and spa trip with her friend Georgia in place for after this event. I suspect she enjoys her life...the female Rickie Fowler?

[Raving Shanker]

17 hours ago, 18majors said:

 

 

They should, but they won’t.  Size of the purse is clearly not an issue for them, otherwise they would be in the field already.

 

I’m at a loss about Jin Young’s priority at the moment!  Why’d she give up the opportunity to reclaim World #1?

 

 

 

 

Injury, form?

 

Perhaps she only wants to play when she feels she can dominate.

[jubilee_links]

On-site report - my club are marshaling the 14th hole - par five with the spectacles bunkers 50 yards short of the green.

 

Setup - course is in spectacular condition - fairways have been narrowed with 2 sections of 'rough'. The rough isnt too nasty - kind of whispy so not a lot of lost balls/gouge out but enough to reduce spin control. As I said though - the short grass is pretty narrow in places.

Course setup guy was interviewed by John Huggan and the idea is to show the womens game at its best - so accuracy will be rewarded by good lies on the fairway. Practice days the greens were running at a decent links pace - weather unfortunately will be a bit rainy so green wont be fast and the players will be playing a few longer clubs in.

Weather - was really sunny last few days with reasonable breeze - looks like it will be colder,rain and bit overcast for tournament. There were enough players struggling on what we call a warm day here so a few have lost the tournament already if they moan about the weather.

Working the afternoon shift so can report back later

[ChronicSlicer]

12 hours ago, Supermilo said:

Is there a reason why Yuka and Lexi have been paired together for a couple of tournaments already (along with Brooke if I recall right) - eg Olympics, the Open... Can't be a coincidence right? 

Maybe Lexi and Brooke admire her putting abilities and begged to be paired with her hoping to get a few tips. I doubt this is the case, but it couldn't hurt lol.

[iBanesto]

Atthaya Thitikul threatening again!

 

She is bound to win if her putter works as it should.

[Argonne69]

Weird, but it looks like NBC has dumped the two hours of coverage on CNBC on Saturday. We'll get seven hours on Golf Channel. Sunday's coverage has five hours on GC, and then switches to NBC for the final two hours. Make sure you set your DVR to record Golf Channel at 2 pm ET in case there's a playoff, and NBC switches it back. They've done that before.

 

[Argonne69]

Course looks like it's playing tough. 17 players currently under par, but a number of those have just started their rounds. Only one player who completed their round finished under par.

 

Me likes.

 

Atthaya, Ryann, Esther, and Emily are near the top of the leaderboard. Looks like that week's warmup is paying off.

 

Edited August 19, 2021 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Hee Young is teeing it up on the KLPGA this week. 'Looks like she's paired with her sister, the Mini Rocket.

 

 

[Raziren]

if you're outside the UK and have access to a VPN, you may be able to watch the women's open on the 'Sky Sports Golf' youtube channel. Just search for Sky Sports womens open.

I changed my vpn to the US and it didnt appear so looks like you need to be in the UK (or use a VPN to appear to be in the UK)

it's the same as TV coverage, 2 minutes behind, and is free.

[ChronicSlicer]

6 hours ago, KBong said:

Did XiYu Lin not qualify because of low earnings and/or a low Rolex ranking?

I don't have an answer for this, but she sits in a better position in both earnings and Rolex ranking than many who are in the field.

[Rapidcat]

Great coverage - plenty of variety and not a conveyor belt of meaningless 4 ft putts shown.

 

Enjoying the insights from the commentary, too.

 

This is how to cover golf imho.

[OgeecheeMac1]

Picking Nelly Korda to do well is insane. She won’t hit enough fairways and she gets frustrated. She doesn’t have the discipline of Lydia Ko. She’s been my favorite player for a while.

[Naptime]

Curious why women' majors have corporate title sponsors and the mens majors don't.