Shanshan Feng won the Japan Women's Open this time last year, but of course chose to compete in the first-ever LPGA event on mainland China this year instead of trying to defend her JWO title. After a relatively slow start, she's roared back with a pair of 64s to get to -21 and build a 1-shot lead on Stacy Lewis and a 5-shot lead on Inbee Park at the Reignwood LPGA Classic. How cool would it be if she could do in her homeland what Ya Ni Tseng did in Taiwan in 2011? I'm all excited about the Player of the Year implications if Stacy were able to prevail tomorrow, but I'll definitely be rooting for Shanshan to make history instead!
[Update 1 (5:18 pm): Apologies for the short posts; work crunch and family issues coming to a head at the same time! Here's bangkokbobby's overview of round 3!]
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Japan Women's Open Saturday: Moving Backwards Day
You know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when Mika Miyazato made 4 bogeys--twice as many as she had made in the previous 2 days--and had to settle for a 73 to drop to -3 for the week.
No, wait, you know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when Mika Miyazato bogeyed 2 of her last 4 holes and went +2 over her last 7 holes on moving day and extended her lead to 5 shots.
No, no, wait, you know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when only one golfer, Erika Kikuchi, made up ground on Mika Miyazato--and she did it by firing an even-par 72 to stay at +2.
No, no, wait, wait, you know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when Shiho Oyama, who made 6 birdies yesterday, made 6 bogeys yesterday, including 3 in her last 4 holes, to fall to +4, yet didn't fall out of the top 10.
No, no, no, wait, wait, you know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when living legend Yuri Fudoh, who's won 50 times on tour and earned well north of a billion yen in her career, shot an 81 today.
No, no, no, wait, wait, wait, you know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when the top living Japanese female golfer on the planet, Ai Miyazato, shot a birdieless 80.
I'll stop there, but you get the picture, right?
Aaargh--I just can't do it! Shiho Toyonaga got a hole in one and still shot a 77. Tomoko Kusukabe got on a 6-hole bogey train on her way to 80-ville. Yukari Baba got off one stop earlier, but still found herself in 80-ville at the end of the day. Ayako Uehara finished bogey-bogey-bogey-double to secure her 80. And the list goes on!
So who besides Kikuchi is in position to benefit if Mikan falls prey tomorrow to the big-time troubles that have plagued the rest of the field? Ji-Yai Shin, Bo-Mee Lee, Soo-Yun Kang, and Asako Fujimoto are "only" 6 shots behind her, Miki Saiki joined Oyama 7 back, Sakura Yokomine, Teresa Lu, and Harukyo Nomura are 8 off the pace, and Rikako Morita, Sun-Ju Ahn, Na-Ri Lee, and Mihoko Iseri managed to stay within single digits of Miyazato.
A lot depends on which Mikan will show up tomorrow. Will it be the Mikan who gave up a 5-shot lead in 2009 or the Mikan who went wire-to-wire in 2010? Will it be the Mikan who jumped out to the lead in 2011 but finished 79-81 on the weekend? Or will it be the Mikan who put together a final-round 71 last year but just couldn't chase Shanshan Feng down?
No, wait, you know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when Mika Miyazato bogeyed 2 of her last 4 holes and went +2 over her last 7 holes on moving day and extended her lead to 5 shots.
No, no, wait, you know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when only one golfer, Erika Kikuchi, made up ground on Mika Miyazato--and she did it by firing an even-par 72 to stay at +2.
No, no, wait, wait, you know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when Shiho Oyama, who made 6 birdies yesterday, made 6 bogeys yesterday, including 3 in her last 4 holes, to fall to +4, yet didn't fall out of the top 10.
No, no, no, wait, wait, you know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when living legend Yuri Fudoh, who's won 50 times on tour and earned well north of a billion yen in her career, shot an 81 today.
No, no, no, wait, wait, wait, you know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when the top living Japanese female golfer on the planet, Ai Miyazato, shot a birdieless 80.
I'll stop there, but you get the picture, right?
Aaargh--I just can't do it! Shiho Toyonaga got a hole in one and still shot a 77. Tomoko Kusukabe got on a 6-hole bogey train on her way to 80-ville. Yukari Baba got off one stop earlier, but still found herself in 80-ville at the end of the day. Ayako Uehara finished bogey-bogey-bogey-double to secure her 80. And the list goes on!
So who besides Kikuchi is in position to benefit if Mikan falls prey tomorrow to the big-time troubles that have plagued the rest of the field? Ji-Yai Shin, Bo-Mee Lee, Soo-Yun Kang, and Asako Fujimoto are "only" 6 shots behind her, Miki Saiki joined Oyama 7 back, Sakura Yokomine, Teresa Lu, and Harukyo Nomura are 8 off the pace, and Rikako Morita, Sun-Ju Ahn, Na-Ri Lee, and Mihoko Iseri managed to stay within single digits of Miyazato.
A lot depends on which Mikan will show up tomorrow. Will it be the Mikan who gave up a 5-shot lead in 2009 or the Mikan who went wire-to-wire in 2010? Will it be the Mikan who jumped out to the lead in 2011 but finished 79-81 on the weekend? Or will it be the Mikan who put together a final-round 71 last year but just couldn't chase Shanshan Feng down?
Friday, October 4, 2013
Reignwood LPGA Classic Friday: Go Low or Go Home!
Shanshan Feng fired a 64 of her own to match Na Yeon Choi's and Jessica Korda's from yesterday at the Reignwood LPGA Classic, but a 68 by Korda kept her 2 shots ahead of Feng and recent world #1 and Women's British Open champion Stacy Lewis, 3 shots up on Choi, and 5 shots up on current world #1 Inbee Park. There are a lot of ways to identify the best golfers in the field, and while the Japan Women's Open is using degree of difficulty as a separator, this Jack Nicklaus design encourages a go low or go home mentality. Well, there's no cut this week, but you get the idea! Can't wait to see who goes low next!
Japan Women's Open Friday: And Then There Were Two
The Japan Women's Open is the most prestigious tournament on the JLPGA for a reason: it makes the U.S. Open in the pre-Mike Davis era look like a walk in the park! This tournament values gaman--the ability to endure with patience and not give up--more than any other I know of.
Case in point: Mika Miyazato and Shiho Oyama are the only golfers under par in the entire field, Mikan by shooting her 2nd-straight 3-birdie 70 to get to -4, and Oyama by throwing 6 birdies at the field to break 70 and move to -1. Ji-Yai Shin put together a 5-birdie 69 of her own to move into at tie for 3rd at -1 with Yuri Fudoh, Sakura Yokomine, Soo-Yun Kang, Harukyo Nomura, Japan Women's Amateur runner-up Yumi Matsubara, and 1st-round co-leader Mihoko Iseri. 1 shot further off the pace are money-list leader Rikako Morita, 1st-round co-leader Miki Saiki, former money-list leader Sun-Ju Ahn, and last year's runner-up on the money list Bo-Mee Lee, among several Japanese young guns, while Ji-Hee Lee, 1st-round co-leader Teresa Lu, Mamiko Higa, and Japan Women's Amateur champion Haruka Morita are still in the top 20 at +3.
But when In-Kyung Kim is +5 (along with last year's money-list leader Mi-Jeong Jeon and last week's winner Na-Ri Lee), when Ai Miyazato is +6 (she started -1 and bogey-free in her 1st 7 holes, but eneded up with a 74), and fewer than 65 players are less than double digits over par, you know there's a whole lot of gaman going on this week in Japan!
Case in point: Mika Miyazato and Shiho Oyama are the only golfers under par in the entire field, Mikan by shooting her 2nd-straight 3-birdie 70 to get to -4, and Oyama by throwing 6 birdies at the field to break 70 and move to -1. Ji-Yai Shin put together a 5-birdie 69 of her own to move into at tie for 3rd at -1 with Yuri Fudoh, Sakura Yokomine, Soo-Yun Kang, Harukyo Nomura, Japan Women's Amateur runner-up Yumi Matsubara, and 1st-round co-leader Mihoko Iseri. 1 shot further off the pace are money-list leader Rikako Morita, 1st-round co-leader Miki Saiki, former money-list leader Sun-Ju Ahn, and last year's runner-up on the money list Bo-Mee Lee, among several Japanese young guns, while Ji-Hee Lee, 1st-round co-leader Teresa Lu, Mamiko Higa, and Japan Women's Amateur champion Haruka Morita are still in the top 20 at +3.
But when In-Kyung Kim is +5 (along with last year's money-list leader Mi-Jeong Jeon and last week's winner Na-Ri Lee), when Ai Miyazato is +6 (she started -1 and bogey-free in her 1st 7 holes, but eneded up with a 74), and fewer than 65 players are less than double digits over par, you know there's a whole lot of gaman going on this week in Japan!
Thursday, October 3, 2013
And...They're Off (Again)
The 1st of the reshuffled pairings at the Reignwood LPGA Classic are about to tee off! Ya Ni Tseng, Cristie Kerr, and Sandra Gal will kick things off on the 1st tee, while Christina Kim, Jenny Shin, and Xiyu Lin have the honors heading off the back 9. They're all chasing Na Yeon Choi and Jessica Korda at -9, whom I focused on earlier today.
Over in Japan, some players have already finished 9 holes of the 2nd round of the Japan Women's Open. Among yesterday's standouts, Mika Miyazato, Yuri Fudoh, Yuki Ichinose, Erika Kikuchi, Hyun-Ju Shin, Sun-Ju Ahn, Ji-Hee Lee, and Na-Ri Lee are still near the top of the leaderboard, if not at it. Ai Miyazato is also off to a good start, but she dug a big hole for herself yesterday with all those missed short putts.
I'm heading out to Saratoga Springs for a union meeting early tomorrow morning, but I'll set my alarm even earlier than I need to so I can give a quick update on both the LPGA's and JLPGA's 2nd rounds.
Over in Japan, some players have already finished 9 holes of the 2nd round of the Japan Women's Open. Among yesterday's standouts, Mika Miyazato, Yuri Fudoh, Yuki Ichinose, Erika Kikuchi, Hyun-Ju Shin, Sun-Ju Ahn, Ji-Hee Lee, and Na-Ri Lee are still near the top of the leaderboard, if not at it. Ai Miyazato is also off to a good start, but she dug a big hole for herself yesterday with all those missed short putts.
I'm heading out to Saratoga Springs for a union meeting early tomorrow morning, but I'll set my alarm even earlier than I need to so I can give a quick update on both the LPGA's and JLPGA's 2nd rounds.
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