Johnny Miller mentoring Lucy Li is very interesting. It portends that we could have a transformative female golfer in the media eventually. Or maybe even right now.
Reminds me Stacy Lewis has said several of the things I've heard in golf.
"I'm not a big fan of it. She qualified, so we can't say anything about that. You qualify for an Open, it's a great thing. But I just -- I like to see kids be successful at every level before they come out here."
Then, the top-ranked woman golfer added, "You qualify for an Open at 11, what do you do next? You know? So it's kind of -- I don't know. If it was my kid, I wouldn't let her play in the U.S. Open qualifier at 11, but that's just me."
It's not surprising that In Gee has struggled in that stat. She's averaging less than 240 yards per drive, which means she's hitting a longer club into every hole. Of course she is going to be farther from the hole than most players most of the time.
In Gee has shown she has world class talent. There are many long hitters out there who have never demonstrated that. Now, it's possible she'll never get back to her longer driving distance and is finished as a world class player. But I still think it's way too early to write her off. She still shows plenty of flashes of her old genius. She's won more recently than So Yeon, Inbee, or Jin Young Ko.
Remember, just two years ago, Ariya missed something like 10 cuts and was nowhere in the world rankings. Michelle Wie has also gone from missing cuts by a mile to winning events. I'll see where In Gee is in a couple of months before I start to throw in the towel. And really, we still don't know if she has a fundamental, hard to fix issue, or if she's making swing changes that might bear fruit later (So Yeon had some dry patches while she was rebuilding her swing, for instance). We just don't know, so let's not assume the worst.
I am more worried about So Yeon than In Gee. It seems like the one thing hurting In Gee is distance off the tee.
But starting with the last month of 2017 So Yeon has not been that great. Her greens in regulation and driving accuracy has been slowly going down. She has been making two many double bogeys and hitting too many hook shots. Can't really tell if her putting is better because of the greens missed. But her putting has kept her scores respectable.
I may be over reacting, so it is a wait and see what happens down the road.
Eleven years later in 2007, the indomitable Loren Ochoa played in 25 tournaments and didn’t miss one cut. She hoisted the winner’s trophy in eight of those events including the Women’s British Open at St. Andrews and raked in $4,364,994, the headiest single season money mark in LPGA history. Ochoa’s tally would have put her in seventh if they combined men and women on the money list, topping Jim Furyk by $200,000.
Yoon Kyung Heo, Ji Hee Kim and Da Na Kim are all returning to the KLPGA this season. I'm especially psyched to see Heo return. Will she still have her old stuff? She was a great player not so long ago before severe injuries sidelined her.
Does anyone remember this strange TV show from late 2014? Three of our faves, including Heo, go 'glamping'. At one point they shout into the distance what their hopes are for 2015. Heo says, 'I want to lead the money list!' Of course, it was In Gee who did that in 2015. Ha Neul wants to win again; she famously had multiple second place finishes in 2014 without a win, including a playoff loss to In Gee. And In Gee? She wants to win the US Women's Open. OK, just kidding, she wants to enjoy herself in 2015. I would say that her wish came true!
Beth Ann Nichols at her best; writing the human side of any players
But then she realized something: More people will listen to her when she’s at the top of the game. More importantly, they’ll open their checkbooks and give. And that’s ultimately what Jutanugarn cares about – elevating the lives of children in Thailand. Nichols: Ariya Jutanugarn won’t sidestep questions about backstopping
Is engagement to Maverick McNealy in Danielle Kang's near future now that Michelle Wie is engaged?
The McNealy mansion: You probably know by now that budding tour star Maverick McNealy is the son of billionaire Scott McNealy. But you still might be interested to see photos of the house he grew up in that comes with its own backyard golf hole and hockey rink, and can be yours for $96.8 million: