There are a lot of female golfers having great seasons, but Stacy Lewis is doing it on the biggest stage against the toughest competition while playing the most consistently excellent golf. She didn't have a particularly great ball-striking day by her standards yesterday to kick off the Reignwood LPGA Classic, but took only 24 putts on her way to a bogey-free 66. Today, she responded to an opening bogey with 6 birdies the rest of the way, including 3 in her last 6 holes, to move to -12 and dare the field to catch her.
So far only Brittany Lang has really responded to Lewis's challenge. Her bogey-free 66 crammed 7 birdies into her last 12 holes. It's that kind of burst that's required to keep up with the world #1 these days, and yet Lang is still 2 back at the halfway point. Speaking of bursts, Suzann Pettersen birdied 4 of her last 5 holes to post a bogey-free 66 of her own and move within 6 of Lewis after a forgettable 1st day. We'll have to see if LPGA newbies Caroline Masson (7-birdie 68) and Mirim Lee (bogey-free 68) can keep the pedal to the metal; they moved within 4 of the lead, catching Caroline Hedwall (4-birdie 71) and Belen Mozo (5-birdie 69) at -8. Meanwhile, So Yeon Ryu finally woke up, with 5 birdies in her last 13 holes and 3 in her last 4, but she's 7 off the pace, as are Inbee Park and Chella Choi, while Mi Jung Hur (-2), Ya Ni Tseng (-2), Na Yeon Choi (E), and defending champion Shanshan Feng (E) are even further behind.
So huge advantage to Lewis heading into the weekend in Beijing. She's got a big lead on the biggest names chasing her while putting the pressure on those closest to her. I don't see any reason she won't continue making at least 5 birdies a round. She hasn't missed a fairway all week, she has taken only 51 putts in 36 holes, and she's talking like she has history in her sights. A solid weekend allows her to extend her lead on the money list and in the Player of the Year race and Race to the CME Globe. The time is certainly ripe for Lewis to rack up even more Hall of Fame points. Can anyone stop her?
Showing posts with label aura of invincibility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aura of invincibility. Show all posts
Friday, October 3, 2014
Sunday, March 9, 2014
World Ladies Championship Sunday: Relentless Inbee Park Rolls over Rival Suzann Pettersen
World #1 Inbee Park made 8 birdies against playing partner and world #2 Suzann Pettersen's 2 in the final round of the World Ladies Championship to lead Team Korea to victory and take the individual title one year after Pettersen had come from behind to deny her. With 19 birdies in her last 36 holes, Park went 62-67 over the weekend to finish at -24, 5 shots ahead of her main rival, 8 shots ahead of teammate and world #5 So Yeon Ryu, 9 shots ahead of Australian amateur Minjee Lee and Thai superstar Ariya Jutanugarn, 10 ahots ahead of Taiwan's Cinderella Yi Chen Liu, and 11 shots ahead of KLPGA young guns Ha Na Jang and In Gee Chun. Even though world #7 Shanshan Feng could manage only a T12 finish, she and LPGA rookie Xi Yu Lin brought home the team silver for the host country, as France fell apart, Team USA stumbled coming home, and Thailand fell off the pace.
Back in January, I predicted that 2014 would be Pettersen's year, but after a drubbing like this, she's going to have to draw on her resilience reserves. The good news is, she's playing great golf at the start of the season and has picked right up where she left off last year. She even cut Park's lead to 1 early on the back 9. The bad news is, Park has clearly put last season's late mini-slump well in her rear-view mirror. And her putter woke up for real this weekend. That doesn't bode well for any of Park's competitors this year!
[Update 1 (1:34 pm): Very curious to see how the race for the 4th spot on Team Korea for the LPGA's International Crown plays out. With her T2 at the JLPGA's season-opener, Ji-Yai Shin should move up the Rolex Rankings, but so should Jang. Most likely In-Kyung Kim will be bumped into the #5 position and Shin will be fairly close to her. By the way, Rikako Morita also finished T2 in Okinawa, so should make up ground on Sakura Yokomine for the #3 spot on Team Japan, while Mamiko Higa will likely pass Shiho Oyama and Miki Saiki to jump into the #5 position. The big question for Team Thailand is how high Onnarin Sattayabanphot will rise in the Rolex Rankings after today's win. And for Team Australia, if Minjee Lee is eligible to play as an amateur, she'll likely move into the #4 spot after today's finish at Mission Hills.]
Back in January, I predicted that 2014 would be Pettersen's year, but after a drubbing like this, she's going to have to draw on her resilience reserves. The good news is, she's playing great golf at the start of the season and has picked right up where she left off last year. She even cut Park's lead to 1 early on the back 9. The bad news is, Park has clearly put last season's late mini-slump well in her rear-view mirror. And her putter woke up for real this weekend. That doesn't bode well for any of Park's competitors this year!
[Update 1 (1:34 pm): Very curious to see how the race for the 4th spot on Team Korea for the LPGA's International Crown plays out. With her T2 at the JLPGA's season-opener, Ji-Yai Shin should move up the Rolex Rankings, but so should Jang. Most likely In-Kyung Kim will be bumped into the #5 position and Shin will be fairly close to her. By the way, Rikako Morita also finished T2 in Okinawa, so should make up ground on Sakura Yokomine for the #3 spot on Team Japan, while Mamiko Higa will likely pass Shiho Oyama and Miki Saiki to jump into the #5 position. The big question for Team Thailand is how high Onnarin Sattayabanphot will rise in the Rolex Rankings after today's win. And for Team Australia, if Minjee Lee is eligible to play as an amateur, she'll likely move into the #4 spot after today's finish at Mission Hills.]
Friday, October 25, 2013
Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship Friday: An Aura of Invincibility
This is starting to look like Suzann Pettersen's week. With a 3-shot lead in her pocket after the 1st round of the Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship, all she did today was make a hole in 1 on the 2nd hole and follow it up with a birdie on the par-5 9th before ending her 15-hole bogey-free run on the 14th and bouncing back with a walkoff birdie for her 2nd-straight round in the 60s at the Sunrise Golf & Country Club. At -7, she has a 5-shot lead on Sun Young Yoo (who shot a fine 5-birdie 69 of her own), Carlota Ciganda (who shot a 70 despite doubling the par-5 13th), and Katherine Hull-Kirk (whose 4-birdie 70 kept her in the fray as if last week's Sunday meltdown from the final pairing had never happened). With Beatriz Recari the only other player under par through 36 holes and Caroline Hedwall, Chella Choi, Hee Kyung Seo, and Alison Walshe the only players in the field at even par, one more good round from Pettersen will probably ice this tournament.
I mean, when Ya Ni Tseng, who's won here, opens 76-78, or Na Yeon Choi, who's contended, goes 74-72, or Lexi Thompson, who's won recently in convincing fashion, starts 74-74, or Mika Miyazato, who's won a major in Japan recently, posts 75-75, you know the course is playing tough for just about everyone in the field. So it's very very unlikely that anyone is going to make a weekend charge from way back. That means Pettersen really just needs to beat the 16 golfers who are "only" single digits behind her over the weekend. It's true that only 4 of them did worse today than yesterday, but so far only Yoo has managed to even tie her in the same round. Someone has to figure out how to beat Pettersen by 5-9 shots over the next 36 holes. That's a tall order, the way she's hitting fairways and greens.
2013 is starting to remind me of Pettersen's 5-win season in 2007, when she notched 3 of them after October 1st to zoom into 2nd on the money list behind a truly dominant Lorena Ochoa. By then, Ochoa had sewn up Player of the Year, but this time around, with Stacy Lewis dominant in the early part of the season and Inbee Park in the middle, it's going to be very interesting to see if Pettersen's fall charge can make this year's races close. I still think it would be a travesty if Pettersen were to actually win POY, but it would add some drama if the LPGA's final events featured head-to-head-to-head battles between the LPGA's Big 3 of 2013. (It's not happening at Mizuno, where both Park and Pettersen are taking the week off, but wouldn't it be cool if Lewis were to successfully defend her title there?)
Maybe it's too soon for me to be wondering about this, as a lot can happen in 36 holes. But one thing I've often wondered about on the LPGA is the effect on the other players when 1 of their peers starts to project an aura of invincibility. Sometimes it seems like they start playing for 2nd. Well, unless a few more players not named Pettersen break 70 tomorrow, that's what they will be playing for!
[Update 1 (9:05 am): Check out bangkokbobby's take on Pettersen's play and all the photos he's found!]
[Update 2 (9:33 pm): Nice piece by Randall Mell on the LPGA's Big 3!]
I mean, when Ya Ni Tseng, who's won here, opens 76-78, or Na Yeon Choi, who's contended, goes 74-72, or Lexi Thompson, who's won recently in convincing fashion, starts 74-74, or Mika Miyazato, who's won a major in Japan recently, posts 75-75, you know the course is playing tough for just about everyone in the field. So it's very very unlikely that anyone is going to make a weekend charge from way back. That means Pettersen really just needs to beat the 16 golfers who are "only" single digits behind her over the weekend. It's true that only 4 of them did worse today than yesterday, but so far only Yoo has managed to even tie her in the same round. Someone has to figure out how to beat Pettersen by 5-9 shots over the next 36 holes. That's a tall order, the way she's hitting fairways and greens.
2013 is starting to remind me of Pettersen's 5-win season in 2007, when she notched 3 of them after October 1st to zoom into 2nd on the money list behind a truly dominant Lorena Ochoa. By then, Ochoa had sewn up Player of the Year, but this time around, with Stacy Lewis dominant in the early part of the season and Inbee Park in the middle, it's going to be very interesting to see if Pettersen's fall charge can make this year's races close. I still think it would be a travesty if Pettersen were to actually win POY, but it would add some drama if the LPGA's final events featured head-to-head-to-head battles between the LPGA's Big 3 of 2013. (It's not happening at Mizuno, where both Park and Pettersen are taking the week off, but wouldn't it be cool if Lewis were to successfully defend her title there?)
Maybe it's too soon for me to be wondering about this, as a lot can happen in 36 holes. But one thing I've often wondered about on the LPGA is the effect on the other players when 1 of their peers starts to project an aura of invincibility. Sometimes it seems like they start playing for 2nd. Well, unless a few more players not named Pettersen break 70 tomorrow, that's what they will be playing for!
[Update 1 (9:05 am): Check out bangkokbobby's take on Pettersen's play and all the photos he's found!]
[Update 2 (9:33 pm): Nice piece by Randall Mell on the LPGA's Big 3!]
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