Post by philknj on Jun 7, 2017 17:21:32 GMT
I walked on to the property at the 16th green...maybe they had fencing in this area in past years. The back of the 17th tee box was pushed back another four yards to 119.
I saw a familiar face at the 10th tee, Andrew Tschudin (ex-Mi Hyang Lee, ex-Minjee Lee), who was looping the less lucrative bag of Peiyun Chien for an 8:30 AM start.
I checked out the main practice green and noticed Na Yeon Choi working on an alignment drill with Birdie Kim watching over her.
MJ Uribe was chatting with Ivan Galdame (ex-MHL, ex-G. Molinaro), but Ivan was wearing a guest badge, so he might not have been looping for anyone this week. Alejandra Llaneza dropped by and received a big hug from MJ for qualifying on Monday.
Kelly Shon was there, but her caddy was not Old Mike Carrick.
Haru Nomura was there with her caddy, a Yamaha rep, and both parents (I think). Her caddy was talking with the Yamaha guy, said he started working for Haru two years ago...said she was all golf, a complete introvert at the beginning, but now she is completely the opposite.
I was surprised to see prominent coach Joe Hallett here at a “lesser” LPGA event. His best-known client is Stacy Lewis, but he must also work for Karine Icher...he wanted to check out her putting.
Checked out the range...Sandra Gal was working under the eye of the Callaway rep. Her caddy is an Aussie with a man bun. Had my first look at Maddie Sheils. I think Pernilla Lindberg was working with her coach. Paula Creamer was chipping at a practice green near the range and wore a t-shirt that said “I Eat Greens for Breakfast”.
MHL was scheduled for a 1:30 PM start, so there was time to watch other players. Danielle Kang is one of my pro-am regulars...said she wanted to buy a tarantula, but didn’t because she couldn’t find anyone who would take care of it when she wasn’t home...considered buying a tiger a few years ago...said if she didn’t travel for a living, her home would look like a zoo. She has a pug named Buddha.
Brooke Pancake was wrapping up her day at the 18th green. She has Callaway Apex (“Rubbish”) irons and her Cally driver looked like a Big Bertha V series.
Picked up Na Yeon Choi’s group as they putted out the 3rd green. NYC’s guru Birdie Kim followed along wearing a red hoodie with the hood pulled up. At the short par-4 5th hole, which is slightly uphill with a blind tee shot, her caddy (resembles Scott Hoch) gave a long-winded description of how she has to start her ball down the left side, while intersecting with a bunker and something else in the distance. Either she didn’t understand what he said or didn’t buy it...slightly perturbed, she asked, “But, what is my finish line?” He answered the question, then she stepped to the tee with a wood or hybrid and hit a perfect draw that started down the right side and finished dead-center. She handed him the club and started walking down the fairway with Birdie. The looper, now in CYA mode, started yapping his left side reasoning while scrambling to get caught up with his player.
NYC’s driver swing looked good to me as she nailed one at the par-4 6th hole...and she threw in a nice stretching routine before it. As her group started walking down #6, Birdie talked to the caddy and made motions with both arms, as if to say, “when the ball hits the fairway here, the ball goes this way.” I know nothing about the caddy...don’t know if he’s a local or a tour regular.
Early on, I stayed ahead of MHL’s group so I could look over the first three holes. At the par-5 3rd, they had a big guy there named Will Hogue, who has the record for the longest poke in Long Drive competition, 469 yards (it carried 450 and had twelve seconds of hang time). He would hit three or four balls for each group and they were allowed to use his ball for the scramble.
He hits a high cut, so when I stood on the right side of #3, it was a little dangerous. I dodged one ball that hit a cart path and skipped in and out of a bunker. After that I went behind the trees when he hit. He was hitting unmarked Callaway range balls with a small breeze at his back. The hole was listed at 492 and I heard a caddy say for a subsequent approach shot, “I think 110 is a good number.”
Mi Hyang extended her hand to me as she approached the par-4 4th tee box. I congratulated her on her strong performance in Michigan last week. I followed her intermittently the rest of the day. If she has made swing changes (as reported) I’m not knowledgeable enough to detect them. Again, her daddy was not around, which I never witnessed before at any tournament. Charley Hull was two groups behind MHL and I didn’t see her daddy either. Maybe the daddies are saving themselves for big events like the USWO...I’ll know for sure in a few weeks.
I saw a familiar face at the 10th tee, Andrew Tschudin (ex-Mi Hyang Lee, ex-Minjee Lee), who was looping the less lucrative bag of Peiyun Chien for an 8:30 AM start.
I checked out the main practice green and noticed Na Yeon Choi working on an alignment drill with Birdie Kim watching over her.
MJ Uribe was chatting with Ivan Galdame (ex-MHL, ex-G. Molinaro), but Ivan was wearing a guest badge, so he might not have been looping for anyone this week. Alejandra Llaneza dropped by and received a big hug from MJ for qualifying on Monday.
Kelly Shon was there, but her caddy was not Old Mike Carrick.
Haru Nomura was there with her caddy, a Yamaha rep, and both parents (I think). Her caddy was talking with the Yamaha guy, said he started working for Haru two years ago...said she was all golf, a complete introvert at the beginning, but now she is completely the opposite.
I was surprised to see prominent coach Joe Hallett here at a “lesser” LPGA event. His best-known client is Stacy Lewis, but he must also work for Karine Icher...he wanted to check out her putting.
Checked out the range...Sandra Gal was working under the eye of the Callaway rep. Her caddy is an Aussie with a man bun. Had my first look at Maddie Sheils. I think Pernilla Lindberg was working with her coach. Paula Creamer was chipping at a practice green near the range and wore a t-shirt that said “I Eat Greens for Breakfast”.
MHL was scheduled for a 1:30 PM start, so there was time to watch other players. Danielle Kang is one of my pro-am regulars...said she wanted to buy a tarantula, but didn’t because she couldn’t find anyone who would take care of it when she wasn’t home...considered buying a tiger a few years ago...said if she didn’t travel for a living, her home would look like a zoo. She has a pug named Buddha.
Brooke Pancake was wrapping up her day at the 18th green. She has Callaway Apex (“Rubbish”) irons and her Cally driver looked like a Big Bertha V series.
Picked up Na Yeon Choi’s group as they putted out the 3rd green. NYC’s guru Birdie Kim followed along wearing a red hoodie with the hood pulled up. At the short par-4 5th hole, which is slightly uphill with a blind tee shot, her caddy (resembles Scott Hoch) gave a long-winded description of how she has to start her ball down the left side, while intersecting with a bunker and something else in the distance. Either she didn’t understand what he said or didn’t buy it...slightly perturbed, she asked, “But, what is my finish line?” He answered the question, then she stepped to the tee with a wood or hybrid and hit a perfect draw that started down the right side and finished dead-center. She handed him the club and started walking down the fairway with Birdie. The looper, now in CYA mode, started yapping his left side reasoning while scrambling to get caught up with his player.
NYC’s driver swing looked good to me as she nailed one at the par-4 6th hole...and she threw in a nice stretching routine before it. As her group started walking down #6, Birdie talked to the caddy and made motions with both arms, as if to say, “when the ball hits the fairway here, the ball goes this way.” I know nothing about the caddy...don’t know if he’s a local or a tour regular.
Early on, I stayed ahead of MHL’s group so I could look over the first three holes. At the par-5 3rd, they had a big guy there named Will Hogue, who has the record for the longest poke in Long Drive competition, 469 yards (it carried 450 and had twelve seconds of hang time). He would hit three or four balls for each group and they were allowed to use his ball for the scramble.
He hits a high cut, so when I stood on the right side of #3, it was a little dangerous. I dodged one ball that hit a cart path and skipped in and out of a bunker. After that I went behind the trees when he hit. He was hitting unmarked Callaway range balls with a small breeze at his back. The hole was listed at 492 and I heard a caddy say for a subsequent approach shot, “I think 110 is a good number.”
Mi Hyang extended her hand to me as she approached the par-4 4th tee box. I congratulated her on her strong performance in Michigan last week. I followed her intermittently the rest of the day. If she has made swing changes (as reported) I’m not knowledgeable enough to detect them. Again, her daddy was not around, which I never witnessed before at any tournament. Charley Hull was two groups behind MHL and I didn’t see her daddy either. Maybe the daddies are saving themselves for big events like the USWO...I’ll know for sure in a few weeks.
I assume she is still married.