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Post by jlpgafan on Aug 30, 2016 4:35:20 GMT
Shout out to Ayako Uehara for those two aces which helped her capture her first top ten of the season. This is her third top 20 - her first two coming in the past two tournaments. Quite a turnaround for her. She started the season missing eight out of her first nine cuts. Ayako Uehara is a 3 time winner on the JapanLPGA over a 8year period with around Y3.5M in winnings. She placed 3rd in the US LPGA qualifying in 2012 has been on US tour since 2013 with over $700K in earnings. her results have seen improvement in 2016, her stroke ave is 71.8 for this year. She recieves very little media attention on the LPGA although she does speak english, overshadowed by the other japanese players, Nomura, Miyazato's and Yokomine. Her two hole in ones this week tied an LPGA record but very little media coverage, with no interviews. Her first hole in one was recorded on GC.
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Post by HappyFan on Aug 30, 2016 6:03:13 GMT
Given the strength of the youth movement we're currently seeing on the LPGA it's hard to imagine another Annika like career which takes off at 26, nothing is impossible though. As you say, golf is a strange game! Actually it is not inconceivable to develop into a #1 after 25, IF you go through the college path. Annika and Stacy both played college golf and both started to blossom after turning 25. But for someone like SYR, who has already been a pro for 8 years, I just don't see how she could just turn on the turbo charge now. I'll admit I'm not holding my breath, but a few things to keep in mind: Inbee Park had one US Women's Open win in her first five seasons on tour; and that was it, just that one win. She started to rev up in 2012, then exploded in 2013. She was 24 and in her 6th season on tour. Just four years later, she's a Hall of Famer with 7 Majors and a gold medal. So Yeon is already more successful in her first five seasons than Inbee was, and far more consistent. So Yeon split much of her first three - four years as a pro between KLPGA/LPGA and college. She has been out of school a few years, but essentially she was not focused on golf until she graduated. I still think it's possible that So Yeon could become a far more successful golfer than she has been, because I feel the ingredients are all there and she just needs to find the way to make them click. She's fantastic tee to green. She's long enough off the tee. She has been a great putter at times. She has shown she can win big events under big pressure. She just needs a way to make it all come together. It may never happen. But it certainly could.
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Post by HappyFan on Aug 30, 2016 6:13:15 GMT
Wow, Lydia has one weak event and this is how you react? Classy. lol You delete the other half of the comment to make me look bad? That's super classy HF.. Yes, he said that Ariya was beating the brains out of Lydia. I guess your argument is that two wrongs make a right?
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Post by HappyFan on Aug 30, 2016 6:21:09 GMT
Round 4 Congratulations to Ariya. She was just unstoppable this week; it feels like she made about two mistakes the final three rounds. I pretty much decided that if In Gee wasn't able to catch her in the first three holes that she wasn't going to win, so once that didn't happen, I mainly focused on how In Gee was playing rather than the trophy. I thought she was getting close to her start of season form, which was exciting to see! She managed four rounds in the 60s this week (so did Sei Young), but just was going against a player who was on a course she felt supremely comfortable on. In Gee really didn't make too many mistakes. I think she had one bogey all weekend. On Sunday she hit 17 greens. Her putting was a little off on Sunday compared to her first three days, but at least part of that might have been due to hitting so many greens. It also felt like she was not hitting the ball as close as Jutanugarn most of the time, but it might have felt that way because it was more imperative for In Gee to make birdies in order to catch up. In any event, In Gee would have needed a 64 to tie Ariya, which is a big ask for a final round. Still, she was pretty good, she made no big mistakes, she just didn't have the explosiveness she would have needed to take this. All in all a great week for her! Keep smiling, kid! Sei Young did outplay Ariya on Sunday, but was too far back to have any real chance to catch her. But Kim managed a few scintillating shots, including that one early on that landed about fifteen feet right of the flag and snapped back to about a foot. How did she do that? She had at least one other stiff iron that I recall. As for the rest, good week for Chella. Mirim and Amy were just off a top ten, and Mi Hyang Lee made a nice move to get to 14th. Ha Na Jang alas shot a 75, which cost her a top ten, but still not a bad week for her in her comeback. Sisters Hwaiting! I'd be lying to say anybody but Ariya winning would be the same but I do have a soft spot for In-Gee and Sei-Young. Very impressed with how SYK played. She could be one of those special players when all is said and done. And I think In-Gee has the potential to be the next name to follow: Se Ri then Grace then Jiyai then Inbee then In-Gee... As much as I love In Gee and wanted her to win, it would have been a bit of a steal if she had managed to grab this title after trailing the entire week (I would have taken it, of course! But it wouldn't have been quite as satisfying). What's encouraging to me as her fan was that she seems to be locking back into her top form after a few fallow months. Hopefully that bodes well in weeks to come.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2016 7:57:44 GMT
lol You delete the other half of the comment to make me look bad? That's super classy HF.. Yes, he said that Ariya was beating the brains out of Lydia. I guess your argument is that two wrongs make a right? My comment was a simple retort to his dig at LK and given his handle In Gee was fair game, rightly or wrongly. It wasn't what you made it out to be in the slightest..
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2016 9:46:40 GMT
Actually it is not inconceivable to develop into a #1 after 25, IF you go through the college path. Annika and Stacy both played college golf and both started to blossom after turning 25. But for someone like SYR, who has already been a pro for 8 years, I just don't see how she could just turn on the turbo charge now. Is the college path relevant anymore? There's 7 of the Top 10 in the world 24 and under who never went that path. I'm not sure any aspiring Pro these days will wait, there will be plenty that take college whilst playing, like SYR or LK, but I doubt there will be many that choose the college path and make it. For one thing is college golf of a high enough standard to get you ready for the LPGA anyway? Let alone waiting 4+ years to actually earn any money..
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Post by bangkokbobby on Aug 30, 2016 13:48:40 GMT
As a diehard Wie fan, I have tried consciously to not come down on her family...but when I see BJ looping for her, I feel sad...and worried. BKB Stop right there...you have a blog....you are now losing creditability. Go attend a LPGA...then you'll see her moody act....she doesn't look like she's having any fun on tour.....she's not super friendly neither. Hmmmm...let me say it louder... I AM A DIEHARD WIE FAN! 1. Ariya 2. Ariya 3. Ariya 4. Ariya 5. Ariya 6. Na Yeon Choi 7. Michelle Wie 8. In-Gee Chun 9. So Yeon Ryu 10. All other Thai players My top 20 also includes Morgan Pressel, Sei-Young Kim, Lexi Thompson, Sakura Yokomine, Chie Arimura and Mika Miyazato in undetermined order. I consider Se Ri Pak retired so she is in my personal fan Hall of Fame with Grace Park, Mi Hyun Kim, Hee Won Han, Virada Nirapathpongporn and one of my favorites that I once thought could win 10+ times on the LPGA, Seon Hwa Lee. That didn't quite happen.
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Post by HappyFan on Aug 30, 2016 17:21:21 GMT
I rewatched the final round the other day before I erased it from my TiVo. Specifically, I focused on the final group in an effort to see where Ariya had the advantage over the two Koreans.
Some interesting notes:
By and large, Ariya was always the shortest off the tee (as you would expect, given she is using irons). There were a few exceptions: hole 13 was a dogleg that In Gee didn't quite hit right, and all three ended up pretty much the same distance. And the par 5s, it doesn't really matter that much.
One way I think to stop her is to make her pay for laying up off the tee. It was generally hard to see how much of an advantage SYK or In Gee had, but a few times it was clear that they had a big advantage, in the neighborhood of 30+ yards. To beat Ariya, you have to make her regret doing that every chance you get.
The problem on Sunday was that the Sisters did not run with this advantage. I rated the holes as follows: Great if the approach was close enough that you would expect birdie. Good if close enough to make birdie, but not a guarantee; OK if par would be a good score; and poor.
Based on this, I rated the players from holes 9 - 18 as follows:
Ariya 3 great 5 good (4 birdies), 2 bad In Gee 2 great 4 good (2 birdie), 4 soso Sei Young 3 great 1 good (4 birdies), 1 bad, 5 soso (1 birdie)
You'll notice that Ariya had the most realistic birdie chances, and the two times she had bad holes she made par.
In Gee had no bad holes, but was just out of gimme birdie range more often than not (and didn't make a single one of those good chances)
Sei Young was feast or famine: a number of great holes, a lot of so so ones, although she did make a birdie on one of her mediocre holes.
So in conclusion, I think In Gee needs to start giving herself more great birdie chances and making more of the good ones she has. Perhaps it was just not a great putting day for her, but tee to green she was fine.
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Post by SoYeonFan on Aug 30, 2016 17:33:27 GMT
Seeing how those top college players that left USC, has performed on the LPGA , college may have hurt them. Annie Park Amateur ranking got worse, after she spent time in college. The one I thought was a can't miss was Belen Mozo, who is now 101 on the money list.
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Post by SoYeonFan on Aug 30, 2016 17:45:35 GMT
I also like Michelle Wei. I have never seen her be rude to fans or slam a club. Even though she has been struggling she can still smile.
She brought a lot of fans to the LPGA in her early years. I am really pulling for her to start playing a lot better.
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Post by bangkokbobby on Aug 30, 2016 18:00:50 GMT
Interesting analysis. My open question about Ariya would be this...with all the talk of her power, distance, not using driver and her putting...are we not giving her enough credit for her creativity? I forget which hole it was...I'd have to watch the round again...which I will...but she was off the fairway, in the rough with a tree branch possibly in the way. The commentators, all former players, were talking about which shots were available to her. She hit a shot they didn't visualize. This isn't the first time she's had to be creative getting herself out of trouble. All players do this from time to time, but she seems to sometimes see things others don't, probably because she has some raw skills not every player has so her idea of what's possible is different. Let me be clear...SHE IS NOT TIGER WOODS...but it reminds me a little of when Tiger would hit that didn't seem like they were there before he executed them.
Switching to the Seoul Sisters...I think In-Gee is special...but my question is, does she have the same sense of wanting to be the best in the world that matches what we as fans see as a possibility for her? Watching Sei-Young Kim, not just here but for a long time...she plays with FIRE in her belly!! In-Gee is my favorite current player not named Ariya, Na Yeon or Michelle...I'd love to see her really hit her stride and do what I think she can do. I could see the next 5 years being a battle between Lydia Ko, Ariya, In-Gee, Sei-Young and maybe Hyo-Joo...for top honors.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2016 18:53:32 GMT
Somebody please tell me the connection between HYP, NYC and J. Song? Does Jenny "from the ROK" fit into this equation anywhere? I dont know about Jenny. But Under cover pro outed NYC and Jennifer in late May. This is about the time NYC started to play awful like a light switch. After New Jersey she has had some terrible rounds. No injury also. Around this time too May-June J. Song and HYP started to become very close. I saw them driving together here in NW Arkansas. Later NYC and JEN almost completely purged their instagram pics. So as a couple I think they are over for now. HYP has moved into this triangle and it seems to really affect NYC mentally.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2016 18:55:26 GMT
I think Ariya will do for Thai Golf what Se Ri has done for Korean Golf. However, SeRi is, was and will still be #1 with me.
Watched the Lpga on Thai TV. The commentators spoke Thai and I could not understand, that was great. American commentators don't know what to say but say it anyway. Using ex pros is not a good idea, as they don't know how to commentate.
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Post by 18majors on Aug 30, 2016 19:11:19 GMT
Switching to the Seoul Sisters...I think In-Gee is special...but my question is, does she have the same sense of wanting to be the best in the world that matches what we as fans see as a possibility for her? Watching Sei-Young Kim, not just here but for a long time...she plays with FIRE in her belly!! In-Gee is my favorite current player not named Ariya, Na Yeon or Michelle...I'd love to see her really hit her stride and do what I think she can do. I could see the next 5 years being a battle between Lydia Ko, Ariya, In-Gee, Sei-Young and maybe Hyo-Joo...for top honors. Just like Ariya, it's easy to be fooled by In Gee's easy smiles; there is a steely determination underneath those smiles. In order to be 100% focus on LPGA this year, In Gee is repaying KLPGA more than US$600,000.00 for her 5 wins last year. There can be only one reason, to be the best she can be and to be No. 1 in the world. She is not there yet, but not because lacking desires.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2016 19:15:27 GMT
Somebody please tell me the connection between HYP, NYC and J. Song? Does Jenny "from the ROK" fit into this equation anywhere? I dont know about Jenny. But Under cover pro outed NYC and Jennifer in late May. This is about the time NYC started to play awful like a light switch. After New Jersey she has had some terrible rounds. No injury also. Around this time too May-June J. Song and HYP started to become very close. I saw them driving together here in NW Arkansas. Later NYC and JEN almost completely purged their instagram pics. So as a couple I think they are over for now. HYP has moved into this triangle and it seems to really affect NYC mentally. HYP seems like an upgrade.
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