Saturday, July 4, 2009

Jamie Farr Classic/Se Ri Pak Shootout Saturday: Go Low or Get Out of the Way

The early pairings have shown that there are low rounds to be had for the leaders of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic. Mikaela Parmlid's amazing 10-birdie 62 lead the way--and made her the leader in the clubhouse at -12--but Sun Young Yoo (65), Jennifer Rosales (65), Shi Hyun Ahn (65), Jimin Jeong (66), Candie Kung (66), and Allison Fouch (66) showed that there are birdie opportunities galore at Highland Meadows today.

And some of the leaders have made early moves. Lorena Ochoa has birdied 4 of her 1st 6 holes and Song-Hee Kim 4 of her 1st 7 to pull within a shot of Parmlid. Jin Joo Hong got on the birdie train for 3 holes in a row early in her round to get within 2 of the lead. And there are 15 players at -9 or better right now. Back with updates after we run some errands!

[Update 1 (4:17 pm): Wow, never expected Eunjung Yi to be the one to surpass Parmlid, but with 8 birdies and an eagle on the par-4 10th, her 61 brings her to -18. Kinda makes Song-Hee Kim's 64 look, well, just good enough for 2nd right now, 4 shots back. Ochoa's 67 and Hong's 68 are downright disappointing, putting them at T11 (7 back, with Natalie Gulbis) and T13 (8 back) right now. With 21 golfers double digits under par, you know there was some great golf in the afternoon, though. Ya Ni Tseng's and Shanshan Feng's 65s pulled them even with Parmlid, Suzann Pettersen (67), and Ji-Yai Shi (68), 6 shots back. Cristie Kerr, Helen Alfredsson, Moira Dunn, and Russy Gulyanamitta all shot 66s to join the logjam at -10. Still out on the course are Seon Hwa Lee (-3 through 17) and Morgan Pressel (-4 through 17), as well as Sarah Kemp (-2 through 16) and Laura Diaz (+3 through 16).]

[Update 2 (4:26 pm): Just amazed that Kim eagled 17 for her bogey-free 64 and lost so much ground to the leader. And that Ochoa couldn't make a single birdie the rest of the way, including going 0 for 3 on the par 5s at Highland Meadows. And that Michelle Wie started so slow but fought back to a 71, which leaves her at -9 with Jee Young Lee (T22). She's going to need to go way low tomorrow to get those Solheim Cup points she so desperately needs. She's only 1-up on Jane Park right now, got passed by Nicole Castrale, Wendy Ward, Kerr, and Dunn, and lost ground to Pressel.]

[Update 3 (4:33 pm): Seon Hwa Lee extended her bogey-free run to 54 holes, but I'll bet she wishes those last 2 pars on the closing par 5s at Highland Meadows had been birdies or better. She ended up at -12. Like Ochoa and Lee, Morgan Pressel also went 0 for 3 on the par 5s today, so she stayed at -14. Kemp can join Pressel and Kim at -14 with a birdie on 18.]

[Update 4 (4:47 pm): Yi established her 9-hole scoring record with a 30, on the front, then tied it with a 31 on the back, to surpass her previous LPGA-low round by 5 shots. Back in my April Super Soph ranking, I had demoted her from her previous position at the top of the "on the bottom, looking up" group after a bad start to the season, even though at the end of last season I had noted that she

Had the best LPGA stats of this group, but a final-round 74 at Q-School dropped her to T44, ensuring that she wouldn't improve on her (high) Category 15 status. Hound Dog ranks her right next to Paula Creamer in total driving, so if she can improve on her approach shots and putting, watch out for her in '09.


Even with her bad season thus far, she still has moved up from #15 to #11 in her class.]

[Update 5 (4:50 pm): Unfortunately for Yi's #14-ranked classmate Sarah Kemp, her final-hole bogey gives her a +2 finish over her last holes, dropping her to -12. #10-ranked Jimin Jeong shot a 66 that vaulted her to -8, tied with Laura Diaz, who at least parred the hole for a birdie-less 74 (T24).]

[Update 6 (11:24 pm): Good story for the AP by Rusty Miller, although it would be nice to spell Parmlid's name right.]

[Update 7 (11:30 pm): Miller was lifting most of his player quotes from LPGA.com's notes and interviews page.]

[Update 8 (7/5/09, 12:04 am): Here are highlights from a local Toledo broadcast:



Kemp, Parmlid, Yi--who'da thunk the lowest rounds of the tournament would come from that trio?]

[Update 9 (9:54 am): If you're not reading the Toledo Blade's coverage of what may be the last Farr, you're missing out on something special.]

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