USGA playing mind games
EDINA, Minn. - It was a big hit with players at the US Open two weeks ago at Torrey Pines, and US Golf Association officials brought that same philosophy to this week's US Women's Open at Interlachen Country Club. That is, a course setup that is flexible and diverse.
For example, the par-5 second hole, a sharp left-to-right adventure that was advertised as a 473-yarder.
When Round 1 arrived, officials pushed up the tee markers, so it played perhaps 450 yards. But more than shortening the hole, the different tees brought a different sight line into play and suddenly it was easy to drive the ball through the fairway. While it caught some players by surprise (Se Ri Pak drove it through the fairway and made bogey), most adjusted to the more benign setup as there were seven eagles, 54 birdies, and a field average of 4.647.
In Friday's second round, officials moved the tee markers back to 473, so while it again played as the easiest hole (4.615), there were only three eagles.
For yesterday's third round, the tee markers were again moved forward, so the hole played 458.
The par-4 17th is another hole that can be altered. The women took it on at 441 yards Thursday, played it at 405 Friday, but if you're thinking shorter made it easier, think again. There were 10 birdies and a field average of 4.449 in Round 1, but the numbers were 4 and 4.551 Friday.
How can that be? Well, it delivers what is at the heart of the new USGA thinking - make the players think.
At 441 yards, the women don't consider trying to drive over bunkers down the left side of the fairway, so they play to the right, where they know they can't reach another bunker. But at 405, many players try to take it over the bunker on the left, to give themselves shorter clubs into a tough green.
The only thing is, since officials yielded on a softer tee, they compensated by going with a tough hole location.
"Tucked way back there on the left," said Annika Sorenstam, who bogeyed it each of the first two days. "If you are not way out to the right [of the fairway], you don't have a good angle in."
For Round 3, officials pushed the tees back to 441 yards, and elsewhere some alterations were made. The par-3 fourth, for instance, was 190 yards Friday, but 166 yesterday. The par-3 eighth was pushed back to 218 yards, where it had played 201 Friday. The par-5 10th that played to its advertised 528 yards in Round 3, had been shortened by 25 yards Friday, but no, the shorter trip didn't mean more birdies.
That's because players were thwarted by a fairway bunker that had been unreachable the day before, or undone by wide second shots in a bid to reach in two, a temptation they had been able to ignore the day before.
Amateur bout
For a second straight day, Alison Walshe's round ended in disappointment at the par-4 ninth. But unlike Friday's double bogey that knocked her off the leaderboard, the bogey in Round 3 didn't spoil a good day at the office. The pride of Westford, Mass., Walshe, 23, shot par 73 and at 1-over 220 she's tied for 24th. It will take a special effort today to finish as low amateur (Colombia's Maria Jose Uribe is at 215, tied for seventh), but other goals will motivate Walshe. She's vying for a spot on Team USA for the World Amateur Team Championship in Australia later this year and if she finishes in the top 20, she'd receive an exemption into next year's Open . . . With the tee pushed forward so that it played just 248 yards, the par-4 seventh yielded 18 birdies and a field average of 3.945 . . . There were two eagles in the round - Marcy Hart at the par-4 first and Rachel Hetherington at the par-5 third. It was Hetherington's second eagle of the championship . . . Brittany Lincicome made the only birdie at the par-5 fifth. Morgan Pressel and Meg Mallon made the only birdies at the par-4 17th.
Missing out on the fun
After 32 players returned on a soggy morning yesterday to complete the second round, the cut fell at 4-over 150, with 74 players making it into weekend play. The list of those who fell short included some notable names:
Laura Davies, who had opened with a 70 to sit three off the lead, but followed it with an 81 -151. She has missed the cut in six of the last eight Opens.
Hilary Lunke, the 2003 US Women's Open champion here playing in her hometown, was 4-over 40 in her final nine holes to miss the cut by two strokes.
After an opening 73, Natalie Gulbis followed with an 80 and missed the cut by three as her indifferent play continued. In 14 starts this season, Gulbis has no top 10s and only two finishes inside the top 20.
Look of a winner
You know you're not at the men's US Open when a player in contention looks out at a group of reporters and says, "I'm upset, because I forgot to put on my makeup today. I didn't think I was going to play that well. I should be looking nice for the media." That was Minea Blomqvist of Finland Friday, but she was laughing when she said it . . . Blomqvist also offered a suggestion as to why so many Swedes have done well in this sport. "In golf, you need empty mind, and there's nothing going on in their heads, so that's why they play good." She was having some fun, of course.
Lucky seven
From an original list of 26, there were seven amateurs who made the cut, including Walshe. The others were UCLA sophomore Uribe of Colombia, the reigning US Women's Amateur champion; Paolo Moreno, who is also from Colombia, and plays at Southern Cal; Sydnee Michaels, a junior at UCLA; Tiffany Lua, an AJGA standout from Rowland Heights, Calif.; Amanda Blumenherst of Duke, arguably the premier collegiate player in the country; and Jessica Korda, a 15-year-old from the Czech Republic via the Leadbetter Academy in Florida . . . The three teenagers from Hawaii - Michelle Wie, 18; Kimberly Kim, 16; and Cyd Okino, 14 - all missed the cut at 10-over 156. Wie had to return to finish her 18th hole, the par-4 ninth, which is where she made a quintuple bogey Thursday. Wie handled the hole this time, making a par to complete her round of 75.
