Notebook entry: October 29
DREAM SEASON RIGHT BACK ON TRACK
Missed cut. Missed cut.
Results that wouldn’t have caused an observer to blink an eye for many players on Tour. But Michelle Wie’s not just any golfer, and she was having easily the best year of her career at the time. Until that point, Wie had two wins – the first multi-win year of her career – and her first major championship win at the U.S. Women’s Open weeks prior. Through the first 14 events of the season, she had yet to even finish outside the top-25. In short, she was having arguably the greatest year the Tour had seen to date. That’s why the two results at the Ricoh Women’s British Open and Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning and O-I came with such surprise.
Weeks later they made sense when Wie was forced to pull out of the Meijer LPGA Classic with a stress reaction in her finger that would sideline her for two months. Looking back now, the injury was in play weeks before.
“Looking back on it, I think so. Something was definitely off at the British because I was changing around my swing because I was telling David [Leadbetter] something in my hand kind of feels uncomfortable,” Wie said. “Then at Toledo I hit this one shot out of a divot and it kind of started hurting from there. So I don’t know if it was because of my injury or not, but I definitely think it was something related to that because after that it kind of deteriorated really quickly.
“But, yeah, I think I took enough time off. Obviously looking back at it, coming back at Evian, was near impossible. I don’t know how I thought that was a good idea, but I’m glad I went through that. It taught me a lesson, told me not to play in Beijing and Malaysia.”
When she did give it enough time to fully heal, the Wie that’s returned has been the dominant one everyone saw through the first 14 events – the one that cruised at the U.S. Women’s Open had more top-10s than anyone in the game the first six months of the season. Since she’s returned at the LPGA KEB HanaBank Championship, Wie’s posted back-to-back top-five finishes.
“It’s been awesome. I think I’ve been so happy just to be back out and playing. Obviously, I wanted to win looking back on it, but I was talking to my trainer this morning and he said, ‘If you said to yourself you’d have two top five finishes, you’d have taken it,’” Wie said. “So I’m just really happy for that and can’t complain. I’m really grateful for that. I just want to finish out the year strong. I’m just very hungry because I’ve missed out on so much golf this year.”
All of the end-of-the-season awards she’d climbed into contention for – Rolex Player of the Year, the Vare Trophy, and the Race to the CME Globe – slowly got further from her grasp.
“It sucked looking at the rankings, just seeing you kind of drop steadily and there’s nothing you can really do about it. It was so defeating at times, but it definitely made me a lot hungrier,” Wie said. “I practiced with a lot of motivation and worked out really hard. I just really want to finish out the year strong.”
With the way this comeback has gone, she already has.
THE FRIENDLIEST OF RIVALRIES
When Stacy Lewis overtook Inbee Park after 59 weeks at No. 1 with a win at the ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer, Park’s response was swift, winning the very next week. Park didn’t retake No. 1 that week, but she did this week after Lewis had spent 21 weeks at No. 1. Park’s golf since the first of June has simply been spectacular – two wins, including a major championship win at the Wegmans LPGA Chamspionship, and seven top-five finishes in nine events.
It seems almost beyond comprehension to think Park’s been better in 2014 than the 2013 season when she won six times, including three major championships in a row, but Park thinks that’s the same.
“I played very consistently all season. I didn’t win as many tournaments as last year, but I think I’ve played a lot more consistent golf. Just haven’t been putting as well as last season. It feels good because it was definitely my goal to take over No. 1 again, and to reach that goal, it’s a special feeling,” Park said. “I’ve been there before and I know how it feels. So it’s not a big gap. It really matters how I play from now on and I’m going to try to stay there as long as I can.”
But Lewis wants the No. 1 ranking back. Although this is a rivalry with zero animosity and all respect, both want to beat each other and thrive on the competition that the other provides.
“We have definitely been going back and forth. Inbee has played a little better than I have at the majors over the last two years. That’s really kind of the difference I think,” Lewis said. “She’s fun to play against. I know she’s always going to be there. She knows I’m always going to be there, so I guess it’s kind of a rivalry.”
Park admires Lewis’ ball-striking and distance. Lewis covets her demeanor under pressure and ability to claw back into contention after a poor round. Both know before the week starts that when they take a look at the leaderboard, it’s all but a formality they’ll see the other.
“Just when you think you can get ahead [for No. 1], Inbee seems to jump up there and win a tournament,” Lewis said.
Added Park: “You got to have someone to push you to get better and that’s been the case for the last couple of years for me.”
They’ll tee it up together on Thursday.
Notebook Entry: October 23, 2014
Out with the Old, In with Familiarity
Jessica Korda has decided to change swing coaches, and the one she’s chosen won’t come as a surprise to LPGA fans or anyone familiar with the world of golf instruction.
She’s been working with David Leadbetter, one of the game’s most famous instructors and the coach of Michelle Wie and Lydia Ko.
It comes with little surprise that Korda chose Leadbetter considering Wie’s one of her best friends, and she went to Leadbetter’s academy in high school.
Korda made the change despite winning twice early in the season. The impetus for the move was what she felt was an inconsistency in her results. She’s hoping that’ll change under Leadbetter.
“It’s good. Getting a little bit of experience is great, as well, because he’s been through it so many times with different players, and he’s seen different techniques,” Korda said. “It’s good to kind of feed off him a little bit and pick his brain.”
It’s working so far. Korda fired a 6-under-par 66 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead at the Blue Bay LPGA after the first round. The changes haven’t been major but more about tightening up what’s already a proven swing with three career wins at the age of 21.
“Just working through the season, trying to make the swing a little bit more compact,” Korda said. “We just went through some club changes as well. So it’s been a crazy year so far.”
She’s also dealt with a host of injuries throughout the season that have influenced her swing and game. She got another one on Thursday, jamming her wrist on a shot but was able to play through it.
“It’s fine. A little unexpected shock but I’m good. Just a little ice and some rest,” Korda said.
Lang’s Positive Gains in Asia
The smile flashes easier these days for Brittany Lang on the golf course and not just because birdies are falling more than they have all season over the last six weeks. No, the birdies are actually a byproduct of the former these days.
Three of Lang’s best four finishes this season, including her best, have come over the last four events. In the first event in Asia, Lang found herself in a position she’s gotten to know repeatedly over her nine-year career – contention. That hadn’t happened in 2014 yet, and although she finished in a tie for third, the feeling was welcomed.
“I’ve just been working on having a good attitude, but I definitely want to keep getting in contention like China because that was fun. It’s good experience. And to see how you handle things,” Lang said. “I’ve just been trying to enjoy myself. When I do, I play better.”
It’s hard not to smile where the LPGA is this week, China’s version of paradise – the Blue Bay Resort on Hainan Island. And Lang was smiling plenty around the resort’s Jian Lake course during a 5-under-par 67 on Thursday. She said it’s more relaxed and easier to play in places like this because she can always turn to the view when she doesn’t hit a shot she likes and it’s hard to be too upset.
“Just my attitude was good. I always work on that, just not talking about bad stuff. Just keep going forward,” Lang said. “And then I was just super decisive and committed. So just really clear on what I was doing, so just those things.”
Whatever Lang’s telling herself has become gold for her game. She finished T11 at the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic right before the Asian swing then followed with a T3 at the Reignwood LPGA Classic in China and a T12 the following week at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. Last week in Incheon, South Korea wasn’t the result she wanted, finishing T51 at the LPGA KEB HanaBank Championship, but it wasn’t because of the way she hit it.
“I played really good in Prattville and really good in China and Malaysia. In Korea, I hit the ball great. I just couldn’t make a putt,” she said. “Literally would hit it like ten feet after ten feet and not make anything.”
Not the case Thursday. She needed only 25 putts in the first round.
“Just put some better rolls on the ball, better pace, stayed down on them,” she said.
She may have stayed down on her putts Thursday, but no one will find Lang getting down on herself on the golf course these days. And that may just be the reason if she’s the champion come Sunday.
Notebook Entry: October 15, 2014
THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE
Based on the youth of their faces but poise of their answers, it was hard to tell if the four players sitting on the press conference stage at the LPGA KEB-HanaBank Championship were the present or the future of the game of golf.
Based off the season’s last major, the Evian Championship, the answer is they’re one in the same. Lydia Ko (17), Minjee Lee (18), Hyo Joo Kim (19) and Ha-Na Jang (22) all finished in the top 16 at the Evian Championship and have to be four of the favorites this week in South Korea.
Leaderboards with those four names could become commonplace on the LPGA Tour next season. Ko’s already one of the LPGA’s best players but the three girls she grew up competing against could all be on Tour next season too. Kim accepted LPGA Tour membership after winning at Evian, Lee is already into the final stage of Q-School in December and Ha-Na Jang is considering joining the party in the final stage to ensure she plays more than a couple LPGA Tour events a year.
The goal for Lee and Jang, though, is simple: Earn LPGA Tour status in style like their friend Kim.
“I told everybody that I’m considering Q-School and I hope that I can win at this competition so I don’t have to go to Q-School,” Jang said. “That would be nice.”
Jang almost got that at the Evian Championship. Heading to the 18th tee at 10-under-par with the leaders 30 minutes behind her, Jang didn’t finish how she wanted making a bogey to finish at 9-under-par. Her friend Kim arrived at the same place at 10-under-par 30 minutes later and hit a drive down the middle, an approach to 15 feet and nailed the putt for birdie to secure her first major championship and first LPGA win.
“I was comfortable, and at the same time I felt a bit of pressure as well. Because it was a major, I really wanted to win, but I made a small mistake,” Jang said. “That experience was invaluable. I think that it can be a foundation for me to grow more as a player.
For Kim, it was the crown jewel of a sparkling career to this point and the kind of game that’s become an expectation from Kim among her peers. Ko considers Kim a good friend and says she always walks away learning something from her fellow teen phenom when they play together.
“She’s proven it in Korea and also globally. I always feel kind of lucky when I play alongside her because I seem to learn something every day, and she’s so composed,” Ko said. “She goes out there with a straight face and makes a lot of birdies. I haven’t seen her play an average round of golf. She’s always a couple under or right there. And putting, I would say she’s a great putter. She’s overall a fantastic player, so hopefully she’ll be able to play on the LPGA and I’ll get more opportunities to play alongside her.”
Kim knows there’s an adjustment that will come with playing on the LPGA Tour every week. She says the courses are longer and the win at Evian has put even more expectations on her despite only being a teen. It’s the blessing and the curse that comes from the winner’s circle, and Kim’s not trying to pile on herself, even if she could join Ko as one of only four players in history to win more than once on the LPGA Tour as a non-LPGA member.
“I’m trying not to think about because my focus on that, I tend to put a lot more pressure on myself and I get unnecessarily more nervous,” Kim said. “I’m trying not to think about that.”
BACK IN ACTION
It’s been a summer of hand and wrist ailments for a couple of the LPGA’s biggest stars – Michelle Wie, Cristie Kerr, Mo Martin and Lydia Ko. They’ve resulted in missed time for Wie, Martin, and Kerr and lingering frustration in Ko’s case.
For Wie and Martin, the injuries came at the absolute worst possible time – the stretch when both were playing the best golf of their careers coming off major championship wins.
But both are back this week in Incheon, South Korea at the KEB-HanaBank Championship.
Wie hasn’t played a full round in a tournament since the Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning and O-I. She was forced to withdraw at the Meijer LPGA Classic with a stress reaction in a bone in her index finger and tried to rush back to play in the Evian Championship, the season’s final major, but had to withdraw again mid round on Thursday. Now, however, the bone is fully healed and the rest came with an unintended side effect.
“The injury was unexpected. At first I didn’t think it was that serious but then I went to Michigan and I was not able to play for three months and was frustrated because I had momentum,” Wie said. “But fortunately we were able to find the injury early on and so it didn’t have to be a season-ending injury. And while it may have been wiser to end the season then and prepare for next year, I think in the long run, it helped me because I had a bad knee and was resting for the three months and I was able to rest both my wrist and my knee. So I’m a lot better, and I have five events left.”
Wie said she’s now completely pain free and has been working on getting her strength and distance back in her swing. No word yet, though, on whether the kinesio tape she’s worn through much of the season to maintain stability in her knee is a thing of the past or not.
Mo Martin’s back this week as well for the first time since the Wegmans LPGA Championship. Martin was on a roll like any other before in her life, winning the Ricoh Women’s British Open and finishing T7 at the Marathon Classic Presented by O-I and Owens Corning and T17 at the Wegmans LPGA Championship, when the first injury of her career struck – a befuddling thumb injury that received three different diagnosis by doctors before finally settling on cartilage damage in her left thumb. After physical therapy and two months on the shelf, Martin’s back.
While Wie and Martin’s injuries were ones that developed from years of use, Cristie Kerr’s bone bruise contusion that forced her out of the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia was simply poor luck. Three weeks ago while hosting Birdies for Breast Cancer at the Liberty National Golf Club just outside of New York City, Kerr was hit with an errant tee shot.
“Right after I hit the first shot of the day, the ball from another tee came and ricocheted and hit me right on the wrist,” Kerr said. “I tried to play to be ready to go last week in Malaysia and just had too much pain and uncertainty with what was going to happen.”
While all three are back after missing time, world No. 3 Lydia Ko hasn’t missed any time but has had a frustrating ordeal with a lingering cyst in her wrist. Ko could have had surgery to have the cyst removed after the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, which would have sidelined her for a couple months, but chose instead to seek alternative treatment and play through the remainder of the season.
“I think my wrist is really good right now. I know I got a couple of different treatments on it and it felt good last week,” Ko said. “So yeah I feel so much better and it’s one less thing I need to think about.”
WHO’S GOING TO WIN?
A Korean media member closed the Tuesday press conference in style Tuesday, getting straight to the point with their final question of the day for Lydia Ko, Hyo Joo Kim, Ha Na Jang and Minjee Lee: “If you had a million dollars to bet on who would win, who would you pick this week and why?”
All initially dodged the question before finally fessing up with a name and their answers were enlightening and different. Ha-Na Jang got the party kicked off with a politically correct opener before issuing her prediction.
“I think we all are in contention, so it’s very difficult to pinpoint somebody, but since that’s the question, I would have to say I would pick Hyo Joo Kim and Shanshan Feng, she has been playing very well and is accurate with iron shots,” Jang said. “I think it would be extremely awkward if I didn’t pick myself, so I pick myself as well.”
Lydia Ko: “All the players out here are trying to get that trophy at the end on Sunday, so it’s obviously hard, but If I would say someone, maybe Inbee Park, she’s been playing pretty awesome the last couple of weeks.”
Then it was Hyo Joo Kim’s turn, and she turned the answer back to her friend.
“I don’t think I can guess who could win. I’m not going to place my bet,” she said with a laugh. “Since she’s badgering me to, I might select Ha-Na.”
And finally the microphone was passed to the newly minted professional, Minjee Lee, who has only been a pro for a month and half but has a great deal of experience at the professional level.
“Like they said, it’s quite early to pick a certain player who is going to win but since that’s the question, I think Suzann Pettersen, she’s a really strong player and she’s done really well in this tournament.”
Notebook entry: October 8, 2014
AN UNLIKELY SUNDAY
An LPGA season full of dramatic Sunday twists might have none more surprising than Stacy Lewis losing her third-round lead with a 2-over-par 75 on Sunday at the Reignwood LPGA Classic to finish in a tie for 6th.
Twelve times over the course of Lewis’ career she’s owned at least a share of the lead entering the final round like she did on Sunday. Eight times she’s closed it out with a victory.
In 2014, she’s held at least a share of the lead five times entering the final round and was able to close with a victory in three of those.
But she couldn’t in her fifth attempt on Sunday on a course she had dominated early in the week with opening rounds of 7-under 66 and 5-under 68.
The 75 was the second highest round of the season for Lewis and a complete aberration from the way she’d been hitting it.
But entering one of her favorite courses on the schedule – Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club – Lewis isn’t concerned by an anomaly round.
“I feel good with where my game is. I really just didn’t putt well. Mirim, she made everything she looked at on Sunday. I just got the feeling it was meant to be pretty early on for her,” Lewis said. “I like where my game is at.”
“I’ve been playing good golf all year. You know, it just comes down to making a few key putts in the final round. I didn’t quite do that last week, but the game is where it needs to be.”
She’s played historically well in Kuala Lumpur without a finish outside the top-20 and is surely the front runner to win this week. Lewis’ past four finishes in Malaysia include: T6 (2013), T19 (2012), T5 (2011) and T12 (2010).
NO. 1 AT 17?
It’s the question every week that Lydia Ko can’t avoid – Is becoming the world’s No. 1 player on your mind?
The curiosity is only natural as Ko has the opportunity to become the youngest player – male or female – to ever become No. 1 in the world at the age of 17. Seemingly, since her win at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in April, Ko has had at least a shot at No. 1 the following week. It hasn’t happened yet, but the possibility’s been there and it’s there again this week. With a win and Stacy Lewis finishing in a tie for 12th or worse, Ko would move to No. 1.
Unsurprisingly, she was asked again about No. 1 this week, and her answer remained much the same it has since the question first started five months prior.
“I’m just going to play a day and a tournament at a time. Golf is not just all about me,” Ko said. “There are always other players playing well.”
World No. 1 Stacy Lewis, though, was sitting beside Ko during her answer and laughed, taking the opportunity to play reporter to a question she gets a different variation of each week.
“Just say it. You want to be No. 1 in the world,” said Lewis, laughing. “Say it. Come on. Come on.”
Ko laughed but wasn’t taking the bait.
“No, all the players, they’re playing at their best. We’re all going out there and trying to win. I mean, everybody has the same goal. I’m just going to go out there and just try my best, and if it goes my way, great,” Ko said.
“But it’s been fun and it’s been a really interesting rookie year. I’ve been learning lots on Tour. Having other great players like Stacy for me to look up to and learning not only about golf but how she does things outside the golf course, there is a lot of things for me to learn right.”
Sage words from a rookie who could soon have Lewis looking up at her in the world rankings.
THOMPSON’S WALK
Lexi Thompson tapped the putt, watched the five footer for par on the 18th hole curl in the left side of the hole. She unleashed a fist pump she’d wait two years to unleash before making time to wave to the Malaysian fans that had cheered her on all week in only her second career victory.
That indelible memory is one that’s impossible to forget this week, returning to the site of that 2013 victory – a win that unleashed perhaps the best seven months of her golfing life, winning the 2013 Lorena Ochoa Invitational and the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship in the months that followed.
“I think my favorite memory was just walking up to the 18th green and embracing all the fans. The fans were amazing last year. In between every hole they were always cheering me on,” Thompson said. “Waving to the fans and walking off the green and hugging my dad, it was just a moment I’ll never forget.”
Even if she can’t quite remember what it took to win here a year ago to have a reference point this week.
“I don’t even remember what I shot last year. I don’t have a specific score in mind. Like I said earlier, golf is such a challenging sport. You have to stay in the moment and focus on doing your routine on every shot,” Thompson said. “I am going to go and do my best and see what happens.”
Notebook Entry: October 2, 2014
Lewis’ Redemption
When Stacy Lewis birdied four of her last five Thursday to post a first-round 7-under-par 66 and take the lead at the Reignwood LPGA Classic, she had to be having a bit of déjà vu. The moment that had to come to mind had happened two weeks prior a little over 7,000 miles from Beijing in Prattville, Ala., where Lewis had shot an 8-under-par 64 to open the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic with birdies on, you guessed it, four of her last five holes.
But after blowing that lead with two sub-par, by her standard, rounds of 71 and 70 in rounds two and three in Alabama for her fifth runner-up finish of the season, Lewis is hoping for another case of déjà vu here in Beijing; albeit, this variety comes on the 18th hole at Reignwood Pine Valley Golf Club, where she’s hoping to stand on the tee of the 495-yard par-5 with a lead just like she did a year prior at this tournament. She’s just hoping by the 18th green she’s not feeling another case of it.
“I want to be in the lead. That’s where I want to be. I want to be in the lead coming up the 18th on Sunday as well,” Lewis said. “It’s a good start, but we have a long ways to go.”
That 495-yards proved to be a long way to go for her a year ago. Usually, a reachable par-5, Lewis played safe and laid up. Shanshan Feng made her pay for it, making eagle and Lewis couldn’t force a playoff when her 18-foot birdie missed.
“I think looking back on last year, this was one of the tournaments I felt like it just got away from me a little bit. You know, Shanshan hit a great shot, but I also could have birdied that hole and gotten into a playoff,” Lewis said. “I had my opportunities and just didn’t take advantage of it on 17 and 18. Just felt like it was a tournament that kind of got away from me. I was looking forward to coming back just because the golf course just fits my game and my eye. I felt like I could play low here again.”
The Caroline of Old
The golf Caroline Hedwall brought to the 2011 and 2013 Solheim Cups – the birdie barrages, towering drives, and clutch putting – was the same variety prevalent through much of the 2013 season, finishing 14th on the money list and in the top-10 six times. It was her third season on Tour and seemed to be her arrival among the game’s elite.
In 2014, it’s been a tale of two seasons, though, as Hedwall’s fourth season on Tour has found her 75th on the money list without a top-10 to her credit. Although her driving has been more sporadic in 2014, she’s still hitting a ton of greens (72%), but her putter’s really where the blame lies. She’s 155th on the Tour with an average of 31.74 putts per round, up from 30.13 a year ago. To put it in perspective, that’s 6.44 shots per tournament.
She’d particularly struggled recently missing the cut in three of her last five tournaments after missing only three cuts in the 38 prior.
But the 2013 Caroline was back Thursday in Beijing, firing a 6-under-par 67 to open at the Reignwood LPGA Classic and needing only 27 putts to do so. Starting on the back nine, Hedwall started pouring in the kind of birdies the United States team became all too familiar with over the last two Solheim Cups.
“I’m really happy with my game today. I started off with two birdies and felt like I was on a roll there,” she said. “I had quite a few birdie opportunities on the back nine and kept playing well. It was nice to finish off with a birdie as well.”
Her strategy Thursday was pretty simple: Hit driver everywhere and leave the approaches underneath the hole.
“Being on the wrong side of the pin here, you’re going to have a trick putt,” she said of Reignwood Pine Valley Golf Club.
This week – and the next couple – could end up being huge for Hedwall. Of the six-week Asian stretch, she’s only in the field for this week and the Blue Bay LPGA Classic, and a big week here or there could help punch her entry into the field at the CME Tour Championship to end the season. Hedwall enjoyed a massive push to end the season last year, playing four consecutive weeks and finishing in the top-20 in each of those four events, starting with a tie for 10th a year ago at Reignwood and concluding with a solo 3rd at the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship.
“I think for me, I just gain confidence playing a lot. That’s what I did coming over here last year. Got a good start here in China and had a great finish in Taiwan last year,” she said. “So just when I start playing well, I usually keep playing well. So I think that’s the key.”
That’s proven true in 2014, too. The only stretch of the season that Hedwall’s played three weeks in a row was at the beginning of the season when she placed in the top-20 for three consecutive weeks in Australia, Thailand and Singapore. That T15, T19, and T16 in consecutive weeks are her three best weeks of the season.
She won’t be able to play consecutive weeks this fall in Asia because of her disappointing start to the season, but just as it has in the last two trips, this Asian swing could change her season.
Career Year, Big Change
It’s been a career year on the golf course for Belen Mozo, both in earnings, money list standing, and top-10s in 2014. But if Mozo’s assertions are correct, this is just the tip of the iceberg. See, Mozo, in her fourth full season on Tour, has been working on a swing change all season long.
“It’s not quite there yet,” Mozo said.
It looked there on Thursday, firing an opening 4-under-par 69 at Reignwood Pine Valley Golf Club in Beijing to put her just three back of world No. 1 Stacy Lewis in a tie for fifth. The change wasn’t expected to be immediate, but Mozo’s been pleased that she’s managed to still play well through them.
“It’s been a long process since January. It was something so drastic that it couldn’t be made one day to another,” she said. “We’re finally getting there.”
The swing change didn’t come about from a change in coaches; her coach, Marcelo Prieto, has remained constant since she was six. However, to reach the goals for the season that Mozo set, they felt changes had to be made to the only swing Mozo had ever known.
“Impact, my hands were coming too weak and open, and I was hooking the ball too much,” she explained. “I’m learning to get to impact with more square hands.”
)
)
)
)
