“These Girls Rock You to Sleep"

Peter Dixon's Women's Open post-mortem:

The crowds were not huge – 42,000 in the first three days – and they were quiet and subdued. They had little to shout about. The championship turned into a battle of attrition and birdies and eagles were few and far between.

The biggest issue, however, was the pace of play. The LPGA in the United States promotes its tour with the slogan “These Girls Rock”. More appropriately, it could read: “These Girls Rock You to Sleep”.

On the first two days, rounds were taking more than six hours and there were players still on the course when play was suspended on the first day just after 9.30pm. On the Saturday, television coverage ended with the leaders yet to finish.

Too often players were not ready to play when it was their turn. In one instance, Natalie Gulbis waited for her playing partners to hit approach shots to the green before taking a club. Then, after checking her yardages with her caddie (60 yards), she had a couple of swishes with the club before deciding to change it.

The putting, too, is painful. The average men’s professional three-ball takes about 3min 30sec to clear the green. The women, many of whom seem over-reliant on their caddies to help them, are taking five minutes on average. And that is boring.

Is This Any Way To Treat The Road Hole?

(click image to enlarge)I know that ABC used their 2005 Open aerials for Sunday's Women's Open (because there was still that ribbon of rough down the right side of the hole). But the rest of the fairway contour was the same, including two former fairway bunkers surrounded by a sea of rough.

Now, let's forget the pros and just think of the everyday golfers who play this most of the time. The hole isn't tough enough without choking off the fairway? Is taking driver out of the best player's hands really so vital that everyday golfers have to suffer year round? I guess so.

(click image to enlarge) Note in the second image how the golfer wanting to layup just right of the green (our left) to secure a pitch into the length of the surface (and those feisty back hole locations), is now told no way.

Taking away options on the Old Course. It's not right! 

Women's Open Championship Final Round Clippings

From Mike Aitken's Scotsman game story:

Coping as diligently with the rain which cascaded on the turf in the final round as she did with Saturday's gale, Ochoa was wrapped up in a black rainsuit against the elements. Although she'd wobbled under pressure at the majors in the past - two years ago in the US Women's Open at Cherry Hills she found water twice and took 8 on the last - Ochoa never looked like folding in St Andrews, even if there was a minor alarm on the Road Hole when she played sideways out of a bunker.

Disarmingly courteous - she began each press conference by saying 'Hello, everybody' - there was plenty of support for Ochoa among her peers and the media as well the galleries who lined the ancient fairways. Chatting away to her English caddie, smiling when she hit good shots and often, excitedly, breaking into darting runs from greens to tees (compared to the ditherers on the LPGA, the Mexican fairly bolts round the links), Ochoa won many friends with her generous personality.

At Golf Digest, Ron Sirak wraps up an entertaining few weeks (don't you agree Wally?) of diary-like blog entries with this from St. Andrews:

Remarkably, there was no logo-dated merchandise on sale to commemorate the first women's professional tournament at the Old Course. You'd think there would be something that said: "2007 Ricoh Women's British Open, Old Course St. Andrews." Local merchants are also disappointed at the turnout. It certainly is nowhere near the 45,000 a day that show up to watch the men in the Open Championship. In fact, the crowds are down slightly from the 17,000 a day last year at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

Golf.com features some final day photos, as does GolfChannel.com. 

Because The Guardian has been slow to post stuff, I just caught this from Lawrence Donegan, assessing Michelle Wie's game:

After a level-par first round the 17-year-old American spoke of rediscovering the form that once made her the second-most famous golfer in the world. What a difference a day, and a North Sea breeze, makes. A five at the par-four 1st, supposedly a gentle introduction to the Old Course, was bad enough for Wie but worse followed as she racked up four more bogeys and a triple-bogey over the next 14 holes to end with an 80 and missing the cut.

It was the fourth time in 13 competitive rounds this season that Wie has failed to break 80. In all she is more than 90-over par in six tournaments. No doubt her entourage will point out that she is recovering from a wrist injury but, equally, critics of those guiding the teenager's career will argue there is little to be gained in allowing her to play at the highest level when it is quite obvious she cannot compete.

And Golf For Women's lively blog included this note from Dave Allen who managed to scarf down the media tent food while jotting down Judy Rankin's thoughts on Ochoa.

Women's Open Championship Round 3 Clippings

John Huggan files the Scotsman game story on Lorena Ochoa's six stroke lead:

Round in level par 73 - more than five shots better than the average score on a day when only three competitors broke par and 26 shot in the 80s - the Mexican played the world's most famous links in just the sort of canny way that would surely have pleased the great names of the past.

And this is fun about amateur Sally Watson...

"I had, like, 41 putts out there today," she whined, in the sort of mid-Atlantic accent teenagers unfortunately tend to pick up after only a few months stateside. "The greens were, like, so slow after the rain and I had, like, so many tricky putts. In the end I like found it hard to, like, trust myself. It was just so, like, windy out there."

There are no prizes for guessing which word this very self-assured young lady most needs to eliminate from her vocabulary. Unless she wants to be 'like Lorena,' of course.

Ron Sirak on the GolfDigest.com blog says that it's pretty amazing Women's British Open play could not find enough daylight in the first week of August to finish the opening rounds. He also notes that Michelle Wie has lost another caddy. She has now officially run twice as many loopers as Spinal Tap went through drummers.

Women's Open Championship Round 2 Clippings

Mike Aitken reports on Scotland's Catriona Matthew moving into contention and offers this:

Twice a winner in St Andrews of the St Rule Trophy in 1993 and 1994, Matthew found the memories of those experiences flooding back. "Although it's been a while, it surprised me how quickly I remembered things about where to go and where to miss it," she said.

And on the pace of play...

Pace of play was brisker yesterday and not before time. Six players had to come back to the links at 6.30am to finish their opening rounds. Although no golfer was fined for slow play on Thursday when some took six and a half hours, the Ladies Golf Union, the organisation which runs the event, expressed concern the slowcoaches were damaging the image of the game with their dilatory approach.

With a preponderance of double greens, blind shots and breezy conditions, the Old Course is regarded as the slowest venue on the men's championship rota. Even so, Susan Simpson, the tournament director, conceded: "Six and a half hours for a game of golf is not OK, whether it's women or men, amateur or professional.

That's just not something we would wish to have. For us, anything over five hours is unacceptable."

John Huggan shares a few incredible slow play anecdotes on the Golf For Women blog. On the same site, Dave Allen reports on Michelle Wie's second round 80.

Huggan also wonders why the entry fee is less than a round of golf over the Old Course.

Women's Open Round 1 Clippings

Mike Aitken looks at Lorena Ochoa's course record 67 and notes this about the par-5 Road hole, which really speaks to how much it changes the feel of the Old Course (because I couldn't get a good shot of it off of TNT, I will spare you my rant about the conversion to a three-shotter despite the sliver of fairway offered for the lay up...pitiful):

Her drive from the 17th tee soared into the puffy clouds scattered across the St Andrews skyline on a piercing trajectory. Erring left on the conservative side in light rough, she narrowly avoided the Road Hole bunker with a 5-iron which swung away from the trap and onto the green.

Playing as a par 5 for the women, one of the strongest par 4s in golf struggled to hold its own yesterday. Like a heavyweight boxer unable to defend body punches, the Road Hole surrendered a barrage of birdies and eagles. With an average score of 4.5 against the par of 5, the 17th found itself filling the unusual role of soft touch at St Andrews.

Ron Sirak says don't expect another round like it and offers other various observations from round 1, including the British press falling hard for the Tiger-gives-Annika-his-yardage-book story and Michelle Wie's improved play.

Alena Bubniak at Golf For Women shares a nice day one list of links, while John Huggan puts the notion of women in the R&A clubhouse into perspective.

But let's get real people. The headline on this story should read, "R&A behave like normal people shock." While their gesture is to be welcomed in this, the early part of the 21st century, it is hardly earth shattering. No, they didn't have to do it; but yes, they should have done it decades ago.

Part of the reason why the R&A has been enjoying such acclaim this week is that so many people — particularly those from the United States — are unaware of the fact that the Old Course is a public facility, open to all golfers of whatever gender, colour or creed. The R&A does not therefore own golf's most famous course; it belongs to the people of St. Andrews. And the R&A is only one of many golf clubs who have the right to play over the hallowed links; another, the St. Rule club that makes its home on the right side of the 18th fairway, is, in fact, open only to women. Which makes it no better — or worse — than the R&A in my book.

Anyway, let's keep this whole clubhouse thing in perspective. While it has a certain symbolic significance, in the broad scheme of things nothing has changed. Next week women will again be barred from entering. Next week women will gain be barred from viewing the captain's balls in the trophy room. And next week, Laura Davies would be forced to change her shoes in the car park rather than choosing to do so as she is this week.

As Laura put it, "Why would I go somewhere I'm not welcome?"

Why indeed?

“Wait, No. 17 is a par 5?”

This popped up a few months ago but Golfweek's Beth Ann Baldry brings up the sore subject of the absurd and insulting decision to play the Road Hole as a par-5 for the Women's Open Championship. 

Susan Simpson, director of championships for the Ladies Golf Union, said the powers that be bantered around a bit on making the decision. Moving to a forward tee was not an option since they wanted to preserve the unique feature of driving over a building attached to the Old Course Hotel (optimum aiming target is the letter of your choice on the “Old Course Hotel” sign).

In the end, Simpson said the decision to bump it up to a par 5 was made because officials were more concerned about the degree of skill required for the second shot rather than the distance.

In other words, the women can’t handle it.

Suzann Pettersen disagrees.

“Why wouldn’t we be able to play it as a par 4?” she asks. “We’re good enough.”

Pettersen hit 4-iron into the green Wednesday but hit wedge into it downwind the day before. Even Mi Hyun Kim, one of the shortest players on tour, hit 7-wood to the back of the green.

Kim dropped a few balls on the road and experimented hitting different shots. Her caddie said the locals suggest using a hybrid or a putter. Kim tried to metal wood but preferred her wedge.

Plenty of players will be looking to find the front right portion of the green, clear of any danger and hope for a two-putt. Others will try and go long left – anything past the pot bunker – if the pin is toward that side of the green (which it will be on several days).

Why mess with over the green like Tom Watson in 1984, who hit 2-iron and and landed against the stone wall? (Former LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw hit one off the wall in today’s pro-am round and nearly made it on the green.) Why risk dumping it into to the Road Hole bunker like David Duval in 2000 and walking off with an eight?

Lorena Ochoa plans to play it safe, hitting 3-wood off the tee and then aiming front right. Her caddie, Dave Brooker, feels the hole loses some of its drama as a par 5. He joked with Ochoa that every time she makes a five on the 17th she’s really making bogey. Count him as a traditionalist.

Annika Sorenstam’s caddie, Terry McNamara, feels the same way.

“I think par 73 doesn’t sound right,” McNamara said. “Let it be 72 and whatever you get (on No. 17) you get.”

Women's Open Championshp Photo Caption Fun, Vol. 1

Let's keep these G rated. Well, okay, PG-13 maybe. From the Golf For Women blog, Paula Creamer at St. Andrews:

 

Blogging The Women's Open Championship

Thanks to The Golf Chick for catching John Huggan's post from St. Andrews on the Golf For Women blog, which has really become a lively and interesting spot in the blogosphere since the last time I looked. (And a very readable look too.)

Ron Sirak is also filing posts on the Local Knowledge blog and he has some early reaction from players who are in awe of the place. No Scott Hoch's in this bunch.

"The bunkers are going to be right in play for us, much more than they seem to be for the men these days."

An unbylined (John Huggan?) Scotsman piece talks to Catriona Matthew about what the players will be facing and she has plenty of interesting things to say:

Matthew took the opportunity to reacquaint herself with the sorts of shots you just don't see on the LPGA Tour, where 'hit and stick' is generally the order of the day. Things will be very different on the Old Course.

"A lot depends on the weather, but the hardest thing for the Americans will probably be adapting to the idea of putting from so far away from the flag," she smiles. "All the little chips and pitches will be strange for them, too. Those shots are tough to practise in the States. The game is played far more on the ground in Scotland; over there, almost every shot is flown most of the way. So I suppose I have a slight advantage in that I will 'see' those types of shots more readily than someone who hasn't played in Scotland before."

It quickly became apparent that Matthew and her fellow professionals are going to be, as former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy recently pointed out, "playing the course like we are supposed to." Where the leading men are able to either blow their drives way over the fearsome bunkers, or lay up well short of them, the shorter-hitting ladies will be forced to hit their drivers from most tees and thread their way between the hazards.

"The Old Course is going to be a fascinating test for us all," agrees Matthew. "The bunkers are going to be right in play for us, much more than they seem to be for the men these days. They seem to whack right over them. In contrast, we'll have to 'take them on' and try to manoeuvre our drives between the bunkers. Which is what it is all about around here. It is better to be hitting a wood to the green than be 50 yards farther on and in the sand."

A perfect example of this dilemma came at the 16th hole. Taking her driver, Matthew hit the perfect shot between the Principal's Nose and the out-of-bounds fence on the right. The ball, however, finished no more than five yards from the sand. So it was a risky shot. Her alternative was to lay up short and left of the bunker, leaving a longer second and less friendly angle of approach. That scenario will be fine downwind, but into the breeze, Matthew and many of her competitors will be forced to hit the longest club in the bag from the tee. It will be fascinating to watch and, inevitably, some disasters will occur.

"It's a course where you can never play enough practice rounds and I'm so delighted I made the trip over."

Elspeth Burnside talks to Paula Creamer about a pre-Open practice round at St. Andrews.

Not many players pop across the Atlantic for a practice round. But Paula Creamer proved she is deadly serious about the Ricoh Women's British Open when she paid a flying visit to St Andrews earlier this year as part of her preparations.

It was further proof of the 'special' tag that every one of the world's best players is attaching to the historic first staging of a women's professional tournament at the Old Course. My goodness, they are even allowing the competitors into the male-only sanctuary of the members' locker room.

For Creamer, a typical all-American girl, victory at St Andrews would be as sweet as apple pie. It would be a first major title and a further step towards her belief that she can become the world No.1. Victory on Sunday, August 5 would also be the perfect way to celebrate her 21st birthday.

She already has good vibes about the famous links having packed three practice rounds into her April sojourn from her new home in Florida. "It was an invaluable visit," she reflected. "The course was very different from the way it looks on television.

"There are a lot of blind tee shots and the greens are a lot bigger than I imagined. Every day, the wind was blowing from a completely different direction, so that was also a great learning experience. It's a course where you can never play enough practice rounds and I'm so delighted I made the trip over."