Call this the semi-live blogging post. I'm not going to comment on every shot, but give the highlights, do some commentary, and of course an occasional sarcastic comment or two. Would you expect anything less from a person who's given out over 1,000 knucklehead awards?
It is 11:07 as I write this and Katherine Hull has just birdied the 11th hole to pull within two of Tseng. Tseng began play today with a four-shot lead.
Tseng who played almost flawless golf yesterday, has shown a few cracks today. A bogey on 3 before the the ESPN television broadcast began. She followed this up with birdies on 4 and 6.
When Tseng teed off the 8th hole, she had a four-shot lead over Hull. Both players drove it in the fairway bunker on that hole and proceeded to make bogey, but Tseng missed a makable par putt that would have put her up by 5.
Tseng three-putted the 10th and her lead was down to three. Hull made a birdie putt of about twenty feet on 11 to pull within two.
Both players hit their tee shots long on 12, but are all right. As for the other players in field, no one has made a move. In-Kyung Kim began the round at -7 in solo third place. That is exactly where she stands through 12 holes.
11:20 update: Both Hull and Tseng hit terrible first putts on 12 but make par. Inky missed a makeable birdie putt on 13. If Tseng or Hull isn't the winner at the end of play today, I'll start watching pro wrestling. Hey Hey my first sarcastic comment of the day.
11:32 update: Yani Tseng's lead is down to one. Katherine Hull hit her approach shot on 13 to within four feet and made the birdie putt. Game's on.
This year's broadcast of the WBO is great compared to past years just because the play is on live. I rarely can get interested in tape delay broadcasts because I am prone to look at the results early on. There have been exceptions, like the 2008 WBO. I did watch the final round on tape delay but I was in the hospital at the time. Any channel that wasn't repeatedly showing Progressive Insurance or Lakeside Terrace commercials were appealing to me.
11:43 Update: Tseng and Hull both par 14. Now come three par 5s and a not very menacing par 4. The winning score has to be -13 at least.
What's the playoff format for the WBO? Is it 4 holes like the Men's Open Championship?
12:02 Update: Tseng and Hull both go for the par-5 15th in two, both come up short left, but Hull ends up in the bunker. In the end both players make par, after Tseng misses a 3-foot birdie putt.
For those unfamiliar with me, my name is Bill Jempty. The Florida Masochist was my alias when I began blogging. Most of my blogging today is done under my real name at ROK Drop and OTB Sports and in the past at blogs that are now defunct or I was kicked off of.
I will stop blogging for a short time when my wife returns home with lunch. It shouldn't be a long interruption.
12:16 Update: Hull and Tseng both make par at 16. If anyone is reading this live, please acknowledge it with a comment. Either that or bring me a cheeseburger because I'm hungry.
12:34 Update: Hold the food, I just had lunch.
The WBO has what is supposed to be live scoring but at the moment shows Tseng and Hull playing 15. Are they slow or am I in some kind of time warp?
12:36 Update: Tseng and Hull both make par at 17 though the later caused some excitement via a lip out.
The 18th hole: Hull drives it in the right rough, Tseng puts it in the fairway bunker left. Army golf, left, right....
In-Kyung Kim birdies 17 to finish tied for 3rd with Na Yeon Choi. Choi has finished 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 3rd in her last four events. Is she the hottest golfer in women's professional golf right now?
At the 2003 WBO, Annika Sorenstam and Se Ri Pak came to 18 tied. Pak drove it in a fairway bunker and lost by one shot. That was the last WBO that came down to the 18th hole, though the 2009 version had its share of Sunday drama.
12:44 Update: Hull's 2nd shot goes through the green, Tseng lays up. No clear advantage for either golfer.
12:48 Update: Tseng is just off the green with her third. It's all right, but she wanted better. Hull chips it but leaves herself with a birdie putt of over 15 feet.
12:56 Update: Tseng's putt comes up well short. Hull misses her birdie putt long. Tseng has a five footer for the championship. She makes it. Yani Tseng is the 2010 Women's British Open Champion.
1:15 Update: Hull made par at 18. Tseng got doused with champagne. I'm done blogging the 2010 Women's British Open. I'm sure TC will have his own comments to make.
3:21 Epilogue: Fixed typo in title of post. Also blogging on the WBO are Shane Bacon and Hound Dog.
Update: Brent Kelly also writes on Tseng's win and in process we learn Patty Berg was younger than Yani when they both won their third major championship. Berg wasn't quite 21 when she won the 1939 Titleholders Championship. Great find, Brent!
I'm not trying to show up the Golf record books, but help keep them correct. If golf history isn't preserved, it will be lost.
[Update x (11:41 pm): TC here. Spent half the day at the Futures Tour's final round of the week and a quarter of the day recovering (lunch with the Yuns, dinner with the folks, watching Appleby's 59 live, a few shots at the driving range to see if my back is ready for my return to golf--it is--then out for ice cream)...and, finally, the coverage of the Open! I faithfully avoided the internet and any hint of tv that would give the result away--and rudely cut off anyone who tried to talk about it with me before I watched it--so it was all fresh to me! And what a nerve-wracking finish. I like Katherine Hull, but I really wanted Ya Ni to win. For awhile there, it seemed she was cruising along as on the previous 3 days. Beating back Hull's early challenge and reestablishing her 4-shot lead seemed to give her loads of confidence. But then that 1st tiny putt missed seemed to change her entire mindset. Even with good approach shots, she'd stare them down nervously. She'd back away from putts and shots. She'd take forever to decide what club to use from right in front of 15 in 2. And even though Hull was missing many opportunities, she kept hanging around and started closing in. I never really believed Tseng was going to give this one away, but when she kept failing to take advantage of opportunities to put it away, I got really worried. I haven't been this tense watching a golf tournament in years. I have to give a lot of credit to ESPN's close-ups on the players' faces, Judy Rankin's commentary, and Tseng and Hull themselves. Great drama and compelling television. Glad to have a chance to actually see it this time around!]
1 comment:
MAN that was close ! Tseng's short game was really off today. Hull could have stolen this title except for a couple of lip outs.
I would love to see Tseng get herself together and start winning some regular tour events. She has a huge amount of talent.
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