CP WOMEN'S OPEN OTTAWA, CANADA AUG 25-28

[Argonne69]

Probably 5 players with a chance for their first LPGA win. Should be an exciting final round. Tough to pick a winner with such a bunched leaderboard. 

 

[sergizmo]

Today my wife and I followed Lizette Salas, Paula Reto and Nelly Korda.

 

Lizette Salas couldn't get any putts to drop, outside of her lone birdie at 5. So many left short or missed from 5-8 feet and a 3 putt at 7 which led to a bogey. Even hitting 3-5 wood on her 2nd there was a couple par 4's where she came up just short and had to scramble for par. It just wasn't her day.

 

Paula Reto was a real surprise, never having heard of her before. On the par four 4th she hit her tee shot into the left rough (not far enough offline to be trampled) with tree branches partially obscuring her line and a bit of a sidehill lie. She hit a towering shot that missed the branches by a few feet and stopped within 8 feet from the hole, making the putt for bird. Cool to see a recovery shot work out so well from so close. The rest of her round was very solid, not putting herself in any trouble she couldn't handle and giving herself some good looks for birdie. Paula worked with her caddie a LOT, almost every shot and putt she got significant input, and they worked great as a team. 

 

Nelly had a bit of a scare on the par five 6th hole, after bogies on 4 and 5. She drove into the left rough, then hit a terrible 2nd into the right rough. After walking to the right side, a physio/trainer then started stretching her arms and shoulders and eventually "tweaking" her head while she was laying on the ground. Thankfully after this she was OK, stuffing her third and making the birdie putt and playing like she usually does.

 

Nelly and Paula hit the same distance with driver, but Paula seemed to have a heavier "hit" with her irons. Lizette was a good 40 yards behind these 2 and had to hit hybrid (5 hybrid?) on the 163 yard par 3 15th.

 

Tomorrow we are planning on following Stephanie Kyriacou, Ariya Jutanugarn and Jessica Korda and then hanging out at 18.

[Titleist_PT23]

5 hours ago, sergizmo said:

Today my wife and I followed Lizette Salas, Paula Reto and Nelly Korda.

 

Lizette Salas couldn't get any putts to drop, outside of her lone birdie at 5. So many left short or missed from 5-8 feet and a 3 putt at 7 which led to a bogey. Even hitting 3-5 wood on her 2nd there was a couple par 4's where she came up just short and had to scramble for par. It just wasn't her day.

 

Paula Reto was a real surprise, never having heard of her before. On the par four 4th she hit her tee shot into the left rough (not far enough offline to be trampled) with tree branches partially obscuring her line and a bit of a sidehill lie. She hit a towering shot that missed the branches by a few feet and stopped within 8 feet from the hole, making the putt for bird. Cool to see a recovery shot work out so well from so close. The rest of her round was very solid, not putting herself in any trouble she couldn't handle and giving herself some good looks for birdie. Paula worked with her caddie a LOT, almost every shot and putt she got significant input, and they worked great as a team. 

 

Nelly had a bit of a scare on the par five 6th hole, after bogies on 4 and 5. She drove into the left rough, then hit a terrible 2nd into the right rough. After walking to the right side, a physio/trainer then started stretching her arms and shoulders and eventually "tweaking" her head while she was laying on the ground. Thankfully after this she was OK, stuffing her third and making the birdie putt and playing like she usually does.

 

Nelly and Paula hit the same distance with driver, but Paula seemed to have a heavier "hit" with her irons. Lizette was a good 40 yards behind these 2 and had to hit hybrid (5 hybrid?) on the 163 yard par 3 15th.

 

Tomorrow we are planning on following Stephanie Kyriacou, Ariya Jutanugarn and Jessica Korda and then hanging out at 18.

Paula Reto was tied for the lead through three rounds with MJ Hur at the 2014 Yokohama Tire Classic.  MJ ended up winning with Paula shooting over par on Sunday / taking 3rd place.  Not sure if she has had any other "good chances" like this since then.

[Phreddy]

Paula is a wonderful person and a talented player.  She had been on the LPGA at one time, her game went sideways, she went down to what was then Symetra and has worked her way back.  She played in the Rio Olympics for South Africa and was set to play the Japan Olympics.  Unfortunately at Evian, the event before the last Olympics, she tested positive for COVID prior to the first round.  Japan revoked her Visa and she missed Evian....Only to later learn her test was a false positive.  If you are a WRXEer you know the game isn't linear.  It can drive you mad with its ups and downs.  The thing about Paula is that she is always upbeat, positive and anxious to put in more work.  I hope she is rewarded this weekend.

[Rapidcat]

As some folk on here will know, I'm not a fan of predictions - as fans, we're just not close enough to what's going on to have more than a general idea.

 

But it's fun to speculate, so I am predicting a win for Nelly.

 

Yeah, I know, hardly a radical prediction😁

[18majors]

 

The stake is huge! Can Nelly overcome Hye Jin, Na Rin and Paula?

 

 

 

[ChronicSlicer]

22 hours ago, 18majors said:

 

Could Lindy Duncan, Lydia Ko's BFF, be the Cinderella story of 2022?

 

 

Kinda feel like Ashleigh Buhai deserves a nod for a "Cinderella Story" of the year.

[JungleJimbo]

29 minutes ago, ChronicSlicer said:

Kinda feel like Ashleigh Buhai deserves a nod for a "Cinderella Story" of the year.

“+1”! These “finally made it”/ maiden win stories = more appealing to me too!

[postfold]

Not going very far out on a limb to say I think Hye-Jin claims her first of many titles.

 

I'm sure it drives the players nuts but it's great to see the huge crowds following Brooke.

[kmbean]

Hell of a final round from Alison.

[ChronicSlicer]

4 hours ago, JungleJimbo said:

“+1”! These “finally made it”/ maiden win stories = more appealing to me too!

I'd be lying if I said the "finally made it" stories appeal to me all the time. 

[ChronicSlicer]

2 minutes ago, kmbean said:

Hell of a final round from Alison.

She's not having an awesome year exactly, but perhaps she is finally taking golf more seriously. The game is looking better for sure. Hopefully she grabs the bull by the horns and starts living up to her potential.

[Argonne69]

Hye Jin finally makes a birdie. 

 

Nice week for Yealimi. 

 

Didn't expect Brooke to be the 3rd best Canadian this week. A little too much pressure. 

 

Edited August 28, 2022 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

Lydia with her low round of the season. She's posted three rounds of -7 previously. 

 

[Argonne69]

Lol. I think I'm going to cash out my 401k and buy Nelly's swing. Wow. 

 

[Argonne69]

Paula's tee shot on the par 3 17ty looks like it settled down in the greenside rough. Could be a tough up and down. 

 

Going to be a nail biting finish. 

 

[kmbean]

1 minute ago, Argonne69 said:

Lol. I think I'm going to cash out my 401k and buy Nelly's swing. Wow. 

 

You don’t need to cash your 401k out.  Just be a 4th liner for the Chicago Blackhawks and you’re all set.

[Argonne69]

What a shot by Paula. Full explosion out of the thick rough. 

 

[Argonne69]

Nice roll by Nelly on the 18th, but probably not going to be. 

 

[Argonne69]

Not sure what Paula is thinking. Lay up. Wedge in. Two putt for the win. 

 

[Argonne69]

Oy, Hye Jin. Don't leave an eagle putt short with the tournament on the line. 

 

[Argonne69]

Well done, Paula. Putter was gold, but her short game sure sealed it. Always nice to see a 1st time winner, especially one who's had her ups and downs. 

 

Nice finish for Hye Jin. Picked up a few points and dollars with the birdie on the last to tie Nelly for 2nd. 

 

Lucy's game seems to be progressing. First top 10. Not sure if she has the firepower to contend, but she manages her game well. 

 

[ChronicSlicer]

Congrats to Paula, 9 years out there and her 7th top ten ever was a big one.

[Phreddy]

Well done Paula. Very happy for you.  I always told you that you would look great holding a trophy!

Edited August 28, 2022 by Phreddy
spelling

[18majors]

 

One step at a time for Yealimi Noh; she played well enough to earn meaningful "Race to CME Globe" points.

 

She is now #80 with 258.89 points.  She needs to earn another 150.00 points before the end of the season to stay inside Top-80, but she already has enough for Top-100.  

[woahnelly]

South Africa back to back wins ! Paula was def inspired by Ashleigh's performance. 

 

Lucy Li another strong finish on the big tour. I think she is going to play the season out here. 

[Cwebb]

I was most impressed by Paula's pre-shot rhythm into the shot.  It did not change at all, with any club.  She was prepared for this.  Clutch

[Stooch]

On 8/25/2022 at 8:42 PM, ChronicSlicer said:

Wait, weren't you the one who called Anna a "phenom"

Still think she is, that doesn't means she'll be beating the top pro's right now and should be playing with them every week.  Also too jaded with Lydia, she wouldn't have won those first 2 CP and been a "winning phenom" in today's LPGA no offence to those around then but it was Stacey and Inbee and then everyone else hoping they weren't near the top of the leaderboard so they could get a win.

[Stooch]

Congrats to Paula she played clutch today, I feel bad thinking she be out before the back 9.  Poor Narin An some bad decisions and bad execution on a couple of holes cost her.  Hye Jin Choi IMO missed her best chance but couldn't make a thing.  Nelly made a nice run but she needed that birdie at the end.

 

Lydia and SYk both had great round today and made themselves some money.  Tough week for Brooke, kinda gagged it up but it's a lonely game with a bad putter.

 

[ChronicSlicer]

6 minutes ago, Stooch said:

Still think she is, that doesn't means she'll be beating the top pro's right now and should be playing with them every week.  

I guess we have different definitions of "phenom", I think this is exactly what a phenom should be doing, contending for wins at the pro level. I guess, the last teenage phenom's that come to mind are Lexi, Lydia and Brooke.