Se Ri Pak Retires In Style

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To many players she's the Tiger Woods of women's golf, a pioneer/all-time great and class act extraordinaire. Se Ri took one last turn around the links before calling it a career following round one of the KEB HanaBank Championship.

Beth Ann Nichols filing from Incheon, Korea with a nice Golfweek send-off handled in first rate fashion.

Generations of Se Ri Pak fans filled the grandstands as moving tributes played on the big screen and the angelic sound of a children’s choir filled the air.

It was a farewell fit for a queen.

“I must be the only athlete ever to be sent off with such a moving and beautiful retirement ceremony,” Pak said.

Pak’s first loop around the Ocean Course at the KEB HanaBank Championship was the last of her career. It had to end here on home soil, even if a nagging shoulder injury kept her from completing 72 holes. Pak cleared the stage for the next generation of “Se Ri’s” kids. She’ll hang around Sky72 the rest of the week signing autographs and making everyone – from CEOs to eager fans – feel like they matter most.

“She’s got class you can’t teach,” said Mo Martin.

An LPGA tribute video:

Deja Vu All Over Again Files: Penalty Talk Overtakes U.S. Women's Open; USGA Prez Botches Another Trophy Ceremony

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We watched late here into the night in the de-United Kingdom and it was surreal watching players notified on the fairway about Anna Nordqvist's barely discernable brushing of the sand, adding two strokes to her aggregate playoff score.

Ron Sirak on Brittany Lang's U.S. Women Open victory and the cloud hanging over the rules once again as HD cameras picked up something the naked eye could not have detected.

Sure to be second-guessed will be the fact TV was used to detect the violation and that Nordqvist was informed of the penalty after she hit her third shot into No. 18 while Lang found out before she played her third over a water hazard, timing that could have affected how boldly she played the shot.

“We got the information out to the players as soon as we could,” the USGA said in a statement.

After Johnson was told on No. 12 tee that he might be assessed a penalty for his ball moving on No. 5 the USGA said it would expedite such decisions. In that case, Dustin played the last seven holes not exactly certain if he would be penalized.

Well they expedited the notification, but isn't that the least of the issues? Thoughts and reactions?

There was also some less than speedy play, with Lydia Ko fessing up that she deserved to be put on the clock Sunday. Keely Levins reports.

And finally, there was USGA President Diana Murphy botching a second straight U.S.G.A. trophy ceremony, making everyone excited about what she'll do next at the Senior Open!

What Happened To Wie & U.S. Women's Open Storylines

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I'm heading off to the home of golf and while I would love to say I've read all of the U.S. Women's Open preview stories, I have not. But as I note in this week's Forward Press, the course should provide an entertaining setting and due to unforeseen circumstances, will get some of its best visibility ever thanks to no competing PGA Tour or European Tour event and a west coast, prime time finish.

But Ron Sirak's GolfDigest.com piece on Michelle Wie, winner at Pinehurst just two years ago is worth checking out.

But she is now winless in 50 LPGA starts since Pinehurst with 14 missed cuts and five WDs. One explanation for Wie’s inconsistency can be found in her health, where she’s had extremely bad luck. She’s had problems with her wrist, her back, her hips and her ankles. She also has multiple food allergies, which has complicated matters.

“It’s been a struggle this year,” Wie said. “But I still have half a year left and I’m just trying to get some confidence. I feel pretty good at the moment. I’m happy to come in here pain free.”

Wie remains a huge fan-favorite and is probably the woman who has moved the needle the most for women’s golf since Nancy Lopez almost 40 years ago. A winning Wie is good for golf.

Follow Ron for updates from the women's U.S. Open.

Here are a few highlights from the USGA media department's excellent table setter:

July 7-10, 2016
CordeValle, San Martin, Calif. (cordevalle.com)
 
usga.org/womensopen
 
www.twitter.com/USGA, #USWomensOpen; www.facebook.com/USGA; www.instagram.com/USGA

ABOUT THE CHAMPIONSHIP

This is the 71st U.S. Women’s Open Championship.

The first U.S. Women’s Open, played at Spokane (Wash.) Country Club in 1946, was the only one conducted at match play. The Women’s Professional Golfers Association (WPGA) conducted the inaugural championship, won by Patty Berg. The WPGA conducted the Women’s Open until 1949, when the newly formed Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) took over operation of the championship. The LPGA ran the Women’s Open for four years but in 1953 asked the United States Golf Association to conduct the championship, which it has done ever since.

The youngest winner of the U.S. Women’s Open is Inbee Park, who won the 2008 championship at the age of 19 years, 11 months and 18 days. Babe Zaharias, who won the 1954 Women’s Open at age 43 years and 6 months, is the oldest winner.

In 1967, Catherine Lacoste, daughter of French tennis player Rene Lacoste and 1927 British Ladies Amateur champion Simone Thion de la Chaume, became the only amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open. Six other amateurs, most recently Brittany Lang and Morgan Pressel in 2005, have had runner-up or co-runner-up finishes.

WHO’S HERE

Among the 156 golfers in the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open, there are:

U.S. Women’s Open champions (9)
Na Yeon Choi (2012), In Gee Chun (2015), Paula Creamer (2010), Eun-Hee Ji (2009), Cristie Kerr (2007), Se Ri Pak (1998), So Yeon Ryu (2011), Karrie Webb (2000, 2001), Michelle Wie (2014)

U.S. Women’s Open runners-up (10)
Na Yeon Choi (2010), Cristie Kerr (2000), I.K. Kim (2013), Candie Kung (2009), Brittany Lang (2005), Stacy Lewis (2014), Se Ri Pak (2001), Suzann Pettersen (2010), Morgan Pressel (2005), Angela Stanford (2003), Amy Yang (2012, 2015)

U.S. Women’s Amateur champions (7)
Danielle Kang (2010, 2011), Lydia Ko (2012), Hannah O’Sullivan (2015), Jane Park (2004), Morgan Pressel (2005), Jennifer Song (2009), Mariajo Uribe (2007)

U.S. Women’s Amateur runners-up (7)
Sierra Brooks (2015), Jaye Marie Green (2012), Brooke Henderson (2014), Moriya Jutanugarn (2011), Jessica Korda (2010), Azahara Munoz (2008), Jane Park (2003)

U.S. Girls’ Junior champions (7)
Amy Anderson (2009), Julieta Granada (2004), Ariya Jutanugarn (2011), I.K. Kim (2005), Minjee Lee (2012), Jenny Shin (2006), Lexi Thompson (2008)

And...


NCAA Division I champions (3)
Austin Ernst (2011, Louisiana State University), Stacy Lewis (2007, University of Arkansas), Azahara Munoz (2008, Arizona State University)

PLAYERS WITH MOST WOMEN’S OPEN APPEARANCES (2016 included)
Cristie Kerr (21), Karrie Webb (21), Catriona Matthew (20), Se Ri Pak (19), Angela Stanford (17), Candie Kung (15), Paula Creamer (14), Christina Kim (14), Maria McBride (14), Suzann Pettersen (14), Morgan Pressel (14), Brittany Lincicome (13), Michelle Wie (13), Karine Icher (12), Brittany Lang (12), Jane Park (12), I.K. Kim (11), Yani Tseng (11)

ACTIVE CONSECUTIVE U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN APPEARANCES (2016 included)
Karrie Webb (21, 1996-2016), Cristie Kerr (19, 1998-2016), Angela Stanford (17, 2000-16), Paula Creamer (14, 2003-16), Candie Kung (14, 2003-16), Suzann Pettersen (14, 2003-16), Brittany Lincicome (13, 2004-16), Morgan Pressel (12, 2005-16), Brittany Lang (12, 2005-16), I.K. Kim (11, 2006-16)

FIRST-TIME U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN COMPETITORS (44)
Sandra Angulo Minarro, Sierra Brooks, Hannah Burke, Liv Cheng, Chih-Min Chen, Ssu-Chia Cheng, Pei-Yun Chien, Yoon Ji Cho, Hye-Jin Choi, Allisen Corpuz, Olivia Cowan, Valentine Derrey, Julia Engstrom, Anna Hack, Erina Hara, Spencer Heller, Kotone Hori, Yu Sang Hou, Caroline Inglis, Taylor Kim, Naomi Ko, Jennifer Kupcho, Nicole Broch Larsen, Camilla Lennarth, Mika Liu, Yan Liu, Leona Maguire, Sung Hyun Park, Kasey Petty, Sophia Popov, Pamela Pretswell, Robynn Ree, Haeran Ryu, Madelene Sagstrom, Karah Sanford, Emi Sato, Chika Sawada, Jade Schaeffer, Erica Shepherd, Lauren Stephenson, Albane Valenzuela, Jing Yan, Julie Yang, Yunjie Zhang

COUNTRIES REPRESENTED IN THE FIELD (24)
Australia, Brazil, Canada, the People’s Republic of China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United States of America

SPECIAL EXEMPTION FOR PAK
Se Ri Pak, of the Republic of Korea, received a special exemption into the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open. In March, Pak, 38, announced her intention to retire following the 2016 professional season. She plans to return to Korea and serve as an ambassador for the game of golf.

Pak’s 1998 U.S. Women’s Open victory at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wis., revolutionized women’s golf and sparked a cultural phenomenon. When Pak won the 1998 U.S. Women’s Open, she was the only Korean player on the LPGA Tour. Since then, countrywomen Birdie Kim (2005), Inbee Park (2008, 2013), Eun-Hee Ji (2009), So Yeon Ryu (2011), Na Yeon Choi (2012) and In Gee Chun (2015) have joined Pak as U.S. Women’s Open champions and more than two dozen players from Korea compete regularly on the LPGA Tour.

CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
The USGA accepted 1,855 entries for the 71st U.S. Women’s Open. This marks the second consecutive year the U.S. Women’s Open has received more than 1,800 entries. The 2015 championship at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club holds the entry record with 1,873.

The 156-player field includes 93 fully exempt golfers and nine past Women’s Open champions. Sectional qualifying, conducted over 36 holes, was held at 25 sites between May 9 and June 3, four international (China, England, Japan, Korea) and 21 in the United States.

KPMG: Brooke, Lydia & Ariya Combine For 0 Final Round Bogeys

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Ron Sirak reports from Washington where there of the best in women's golf made spirited--bogey free!--runs at the KPMG LPGA before Brooke Henderson prevailed in a playoff over Lydia Ko.

Sirak says:

Holy Pine Trees, Bat Man, a spectacular Sahalee CC threw everything it had at the best gals in golf and they handled it with grace and grit. And no one was more brilliant than Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko and Ariya Jutanugarn, who engaged in a game of “can you top this” in Sunday’s final round.

This just astounds...

That trio combined to make a grand total of ZERO bogeys under the stress and strain of final-round play in a major.

Alex Myers notes that the great sportsmanship continued after the playoff when Henderson took to social media.

The final round highlights:

Topgolf "Strategic Alliance" With PGA Tour And LPGA Tour: Five Ways This Could Be Fun

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A newly announced PGA Tour/LPGA Tour/Topgolf "strategic alliance" was announced yesterday and while LPGA Commish Mike Whan appeared to have thought about the possibilities, Commissioner Ben Carson was alarmingly disengaged about possible fun ideas.

Therefore, my suggestions for the alliance at GolfDigest.com for scaling, leveraging, baking and of course, platforming the fast-growing Topgolf brand on the C-level. (That's C as in championship level).

The full press release from the groups.

Video: Black Swans & Na-Yeon Choi's 18th Green Recovery

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I'm a little slow to have seen Na Yeon-Choi's 18th hole impressive recovery in Saturday's Lotte Championship final round (won by Minjee Lee).

Not only does she go left-handed from a lake bank, but then there is the uncredentialed audience watching her ball go toward the hole. Tom Abbott and Karen Stupples on the call from Hawaii:

You've gotta see this! @nychoi87's "trick shot" to save par on 18 at the #lottechampionship

A video posted by @lpga_tour on Apr 15, 2016 at 6:09am PDT

 

Lydia Birdies 18 To Win; Needs Reps To Improve Her Pond Leap

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Randall Mell at GolfChannel.com reports on the amazing Lydia Ko's second major win in the ANA Inspiration, her 17th professional win coming after a birdie on the 18th.

Mell writes:

She’s still only 18, but Ko’s already leaving us wondering if there’s anything she won’t be able to do in the women’s game before she’s finished.

With her clutch wedge to a foot for a closing birdie that proved to be the decisive stroke, Ko claimed her second consecutive major championship. Six months after winning the Evian Championship and becoming the youngest major championship winner in the history of women’s golf, she’s now the youngest to win two of them.

At 18 years, 11 months and 10 days old, Ko is an old soul in golf. She has already won 17 professional events around the world, 12 of them LPGA titles. That’s three worldwide this year, with back-to-back titles now on the LPGA tour.

The Ko highlights including the third shot on 18:

Now, about the jump into Poppie's Pond. Are we covering the mouth? Oh, that needs work:

Transitioning: Caitlyn Jenner Plays ANA Inspiration Pro-Am

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The one big negative of Caitlyn Jenner playing the ANA Inspiration (aka Dinah Shore) Pro-Am Wednesday?

A reminder that the LPGA Tour's first major that kicks off Thursday, and arguably its most historic and important event of the year, has a pro-am.

ESPNW.com's Melissa Issacson reports on Jenner's "first tournament since her transition" including a hole-out for eagle on her first hole.

Also, Jenner says her home club, Sherwood, has been very supportive.

A single-digit handicapper before her transition, Jenner said she is treated "better" as a woman at her home course, Sherwood Country Club near Thousand Oaks.

"They changed everything [for me]," the former Olympic decathlon gold medalist said. "A locker room change. They went right to my handicap from the ladies tees. There was a tournament they said I couldn't play because it was a men's tournament. They're all in there, so they've been great. And next week they have a ladies tournament and all the ladies want me to play."

There is one issue. Jenner seems to be admitting to anchoring to pro-am partner Danielle Kang.

"She told me she putts better now because her boobs anchor her," Kang said.

"Yes, I do," Jenner agreed.

Jenner teeing off in the pro-am, courtesy of Beth Ann Nichols, who also filed this report.