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Post by awhson on Nov 19, 2018 2:59:18 GMT
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Post by don on Nov 19, 2018 3:20:03 GMT
Not many surprise names win the Vare.
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Post by awhson on Nov 19, 2018 3:23:08 GMT
Jin Young excelled in several categories, but the only two she won were ROY and Greens in regulation. . .
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Post by verdantgarden on Nov 19, 2018 5:13:00 GMT
Congratulations go to Lexi for one of the most dominating victories of the year. She righted the ship just in time.
When she's not concentrating on a shot, Ariya is still the happy-go-lucky person she always was. She is getting better and better at controlling her nerves when she gets closer to winning. A deserved player of the year.
On the Seoul Sister front, the year ended on a whimper. After getting fantastic results in Korea, they barely made a peep after that. Though it was nice to see So Yeon Ryu be the only player to shoot four rounds in the sixties. I'm glad Jin Young Ko got the ROY quickly. She had a terrible result here.
My ABC affiliate delayed the broadcast by four hours. At first I thought they weren't going to show it at all.
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Post by HappyFan on Nov 19, 2018 9:34:08 GMT
Thanks goodness this season is over! I have been ready for this since Japan. The secret to the Korean success is that there is usually at least one player who picks up the slack and gets wins when the rest go into a funk, and they still usually get top tens even when not winning. From 2012 - 2015, Inbee Park was the rock. But since 2016, they have had enough players playing well that there hasn't been a funk or need for a savior most of the time. So Yeon has had three wins; Inky four, Sung Hyun five, Inbee a couple, etc. The problem this year was that almost every top player struggled at some point, and when someone won, they would often disappear after that rather than stepping up their game. Example: Eun Hee Ji, In Gee Chun, SYK. Contributing to the doldrums: So Yeon Ryu has always had double digit top tens, every season since joining the tour, until this season, where her usual consistency abandoned her (I think she was injured the first half of the year, which didn't help). Inbee only played half a season (again) Sung Hyun Park won three times but missed more than twice as many cuts. Inky was injured In Gee had her worst season by far Sei Young Kim did not win at her usual rate. Add onto that the freakish play of *three* non-winners in Majors (how on Earth did SYK not beat Stanford at the Evian?) and Ariya winning every award in sight, and you have an off year for the Sisters. But, imagine if just Hyo Joo had won the Open? No Ariya winning the Annika award for starters. Might have made the POY a more interesting race as well, especially if that crushing loss had adversely affected Jutanugarn's confidence (they might have asked her about that choke as often as Inky was asked about the putt miss at ANA). Add on an Inbee win at ANA or SYK at Evian, and we would be having a very different conversation right now! There were bright spots. Jin Young Ko had a great year with tons of top tens and a win and the only post-season award they managed. Sung Hyun had three wins and was #1 for a while. Inbee also got to #1. So Yeon managed a win and the Japan Women's Open and herself was on the edge of #1 several times this year. There were times when three of the top four in the Rolex rankings were Korean! Sei Young Kim's record shattering score at the Thornberry (even sweeter -- she erased Annika from the record book!) International Crown was an oasis of awesome where all four ladies were brilliant; In Gee's win at the Hana Bank was the emotional heart of the season. Lucky Six was fantastic at Q Series. I'm not too worried. I feel like there is still plenty of reason to believe that the Koreans can come back hard in 2019. I'm not sure Inbee's at 100%, but she still nearly won the KB Star, and did win the Doosan Match Play for her first ever KLPGA victory, so she has it in her I think. Inky will also get healthier. Sung Hyun Park has so much potential to be a world beater: let's not forget that POY Ariya missed a zillion cuts only a year or two ago. So Yeon has had some health issues, but she seems to be better now. Sei Young could return to form, and I refuse to give up on In Gee. And Jin Young will be better prepared to kick butt next year with that season behind her. And we might have Lucky Six coming, too. Onward to 2019. Sisters always Hwaiting!
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Post by 18majors on Nov 19, 2018 13:31:09 GMT
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Post by 18majors on Nov 19, 2018 13:35:28 GMT
After Further Review: Lexi leads American LPGA rallyLexi Thompson delivered another title for American women by winning the CME Group Tour Championship Sunday at Tiburon Golf Club. That’s nine for the United States this year. It’s notable, because for all the grief American women have been getting the last few years, they stepped up big. They equaled the formidable Koreans for most wins on tour this year. The Americans rallied hard at year’s end. They won five of the last eight LPGA events. They’ve come a long way in two years, when Thompson and Brittany Lang each won once. Those two titles in 2016 were the fewest American wins in a single season in LPGA history. – Randall Mell
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Post by don on Nov 19, 2018 14:22:19 GMT
Player of the Year plus Vare Trophy in the same year.
Ariya Stacy Yani Lorena Webby Annika
Since 1995.
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Post by philknj on Nov 19, 2018 14:53:45 GMT
A fist pump on Sunday, but MHL also had two doubles. She clawed her way back to respectability late in the year and will have a full ride ticket for 2019. However, the stats are taking an alarming turn...in 2016 she was ranked between 34th and 47th in driving distance, driving accuracy, GIR and Putts per GIR...in 2018 she ranked between 56th and 86th.
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Post by philknj on Nov 19, 2018 15:41:18 GMT
I think it's clear that there needs to be an overhaul of LPGA coverage. If no broadcaster wants the LPGA then I would like to just keep the Golf Channel team and send it on digital platforms, extending the broadcast times. I may be wrong but I think only the US Open, British Open and Evian this year had full coverage on the final day, from first tee of the final group to the 18th green. That needs to be the same but for every tournament.
I concur 1000%...these ABC people who were allowed to swoop in on the last day and elbow out everyone but Grandma Judy were just dreadful. Just stream the whole tour in 2020 and be done with cable TV.
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Post by awhson on Nov 19, 2018 16:22:22 GMT
I think a lot of our issues would be resolved if we could just find a working link to JTBC. . . They always gave emphasis to the Korean players on the LPGA. . .
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Post by 18majors on Nov 19, 2018 17:11:01 GMT
Way to go, Nelly!
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Post by SoYeonFan on Nov 19, 2018 17:56:48 GMT
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Post by jumpcut on Nov 19, 2018 18:04:41 GMT
I think it's clear that there needs to be an overhaul of LPGA coverage. If no broadcaster wants the LPGA then I would like to just keep the Golf Channel team and send it on digital platforms, extending the broadcast times. I may be wrong but I think only the US Open, British Open and Evian this year had full coverage on the final day, from first tee of the final group to the 18th green. That needs to be the same but for every tournament.
I concur 1000%...these ABC people who were allowed to swoop in on the last day and elbow out everyone but Grandma Judy were just dreadful. Just stream the whole tour in 2020 and be done with cable TV.
I dunno. I give kudos to Curtis Strange for spending what must have been hours (for him) learning how to correctly pronounce Sung Hyun Park. Unfortunately Namdalla wasn't a factor on Sunday and he never had a chance to display his newfound skill. But that didn't stop him: At least once he referred to SYR as Sung Hyun Ryu.
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Post by 18majors on Nov 19, 2018 18:11:41 GMT
SoYeonFanJessica Korda is still very young; but Nelly Korda is always younger.
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