Thursday, June 28, 2007

Round 1 Roundup: It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

Due to bad weather, the first round of the U.S. Women's Open will conclude early morning Friday. So relax, check out the leaderboard, the headlines, and the interviews, read up on a little tournament history, and consider what a Dickensian first day it was.

Best: Rookie of the Year race leader Angela Park leads the U.S. Women's Open after firing a 3-under par 68. This is not new territory for her--what would be is holding the lead going into the last 9. Fellow rookie In-Bee Park, who's been having a disappointing season thus far, was only 1 shot behind her, with the extremely challenging 17th and 18th left to play.

Worst: Hall of Famer Karrie Webb, who ran away with the 2001 Open at Pine Needles, opened with an 83. Even favorites can have disastrous days. Tell it to Suzann Pettersen, winner of 2007's previous major, who followed up narrowly averted one by finishing with a 33 on the front with after starting her day with 5 bogeys and a double on her first 6 holes. Still, her 76 puts her in a tie for 109th. Not good.

Best: KLPGA superstar Ji Yai Shin opened with a 70, good enough for a tie for 5th place, despite having only a "so-so" putting day, as she put it.

Worst: JLPGA superstar Mi-Jeong Jeon opened with a 76, bogeying 5 of her last 8 holes just after she had battled back to E with birdies on 9 and 10.

Best: Many early favorites did what they needed to do today--keep themselves in the hunt--including those tied for 12th at E like Lorena Ochoa (who followed up an eagle on 14 with a double on 17), Morgan Pressel (who struggled early but held it together), and Brittany Lincicome (who had 5 birdies and 5 bogeys). Mi Hyun Kim was -1 through 13 with some easier holes on the front ahead of her when play was called, while Jee Young Lee was -2 through 12, but has the toughest 6-hole stretch on the course left to play. At +1 with 5 holes on the front left to play, Paula Creamer and Shiho Oyama could still finish strong, as well.

Worst: Other pre-tournament favorites have dug themselves into some holes, including Nicole Castrale (75, T90), Se Ri Pak and Pat Hurst (74, T70), and Ai Miyazato (73, T45). It's too soon to tell what will become of Juli Inkster, Jeong Jang, Maria Hjorth, and Laura Diaz, who are all +2 with 6 or fewer holes left to play, but it's not looking good for them, as those holes are on the back 9. (The same goes for Seon Hwa Lee, who's +1 through 10, and Laura Davies, who's +1 through 14.) All of these players will have to worry as much about missing the cut as scrambling back into contention tomorrow.

Best: Several players who have either been slumping or not playing up to their expectations had good days today, including Julieta Granada (70), Shi Hyun Ahn (70), and Cristie Kerr (71). When play was suspended, Annika Sorenstam was E through 13 and Meena Lee was E through 11, although with the tough back 9 behind her Lee may end up with the better score when their first rounds are completed.

Worst: Several players who have been struggling with injuries--or just plain struggling--continued to struggle, including Natalie Gulbis (74), Stacy Prammanasudh (75), Sarah Lee (79), and Michelle Wie (82). Meaghan Francella was +5 through 13 and Grace Park was +3 through 11, although both have some easier holes on the front ahead of them. The same can't be said for Brittany Lang, who was +6 through 10 with the toughest holes on the back still ahead of her. With Granada perhaps starting to recapture her form from the end of last season and the beginning of this one, Lang looks to be the only Super Soph succumbing to the sophomore jinx.

Both: My friend Moira Dunn shot one of the best rounds of the day on the back 9 (her first)--a 34--but proceeded to bogey 3 of her first 5 holes on the easier front to fall back to a tie for 25th at +1. JLPGA star Sakura Yokomine had some awful chips and great putts on her way to a 72, but she could still be the low Japanese player of round 1 if Oyama stumbles down the stretch on Friday morning.

I got to watch a few holes on Japanese tv early this morning. Ochoa looked very loose and confident, so her errant 7-wood on 17 that went OB was quite a shock. Obviously the coverage focused on Miyazato and Yokomine, who looked to be swinging the club fairly well. Ai-chan made a nice birdie on 15 and Sakura made a great one on 18, so hopefully they'll take some momentum into their late afternoon Friday round and be able to finish it before darkness falls. Too bad I'll probably miss the coverage, as I'll be giving a talk Saturday morning at the Japan-America Society of Fukuoka. Speaking of which, back to work!

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