Post by philknj on Jul 20, 2017 12:40:00 GMT
I took a leisurely pace to Trump National in Bedminster and arrived after all the morning groups had teed off. The plan was to watch Hye Jin Choi in AM and Mi Hyang Lee and Ha Neul Kim in the PM.
Choi (playing with Haruka Morita and Caroline Hedwall) had started at #1, so I backtracked the front nine from the 9th green until I reached the left side of the 6th fairway. It was a downhill par-4 (389 yards) that turned a little to the right with a green surrounded by water on three sides.
Morita(-1) drove the ball short and left...she is a Honma staffer. Choi(E), whose bag appears to be all Ping this year, except for the putter, hammered it down the fairway, left-center. Hedwall(+3) was next and her TaylorMade 3-wood drifted into the right rough. I couldn’t figure out what irons she had...they reminded me of Titleist CBs, but I didn’t see any logos...maybe they were covered over. I think she had a driver, but never used it during the 13 holes I watched.
With the pin in the front-right, Choi hit a safe iron to about thirty feet away. Her first putt was dreadful, maybe 8-10 feet short...two-putted for bogey. Hedwall made another bogey and Morita made par. Morita was followed by a Japan TV crew (TV Asahi or TV Wowow).
Morita bogeyed the par-3 7th, while the other two made pars. BTW, I missed seeing Morita eagle the par-4 2nd hole.
Hedwall continued her meltdown at the par-5 8th hole. Her third shot wedge flew the green and landed in a sloped bank of rough, leaving a downhill chip with little green to work with. I don’t know what she said to her caddy after that beauty, but she was ticked off. After her chipped fourth shot, she said “I hit wedges better than that” and two-putted for bogey. While she waited for the other players to finish, her caddy whispered some excuse into her ear. Morita made bogey and Choi made birdie.
Hedwall (says “Carro” Hedwall on her bag) got in a few more words for her looper while waiting on the par-4 9th tee box. She’s about the same height as the guy, but much heavier...I hope she’s not a violent person! I remember a woman followed Carro at the 2015 KPMG, who told me she was her “mental coach”...maybe she still needs one. Her 3W drive went way right into a tree area lined with wood chips/mulch and close to a fence that ran against a parking area of noisy utility trucks. After hitting a provisional, Hedwall found her first ball. I was in front of her in the trees and figured she would punch out to the side, but instead she politely asked me to move...planned to hit one behind the edge of the trees and directly toward the green. The shot seemed crazy to me...did not work as it clipped some high branches, stayed in the tree area, but was much closer to the fairway...finished with a double bogey and carded a 43 (+7) on her first nine. Choi stuffed her approach to about two feet for birdie and carded a 35 (-1)...Morita carded a 37 (+1).
As I started walking to #10, a woman in a cart said to her walkie-talkie, “Group 17 is 19-over after nine holes.” Obviously, it meant that Choi’s group was 19 minutes over its recommended time for playing the first nine holes. However, there were no warnings issued.
Choi blistered her drive at the par-4 10th. I asked the guy manning the laser surveyor tripod (these gadgets were everywhere) how long was Choi’s drive. He didn’t know...he just sends the coordinates to HQ and they figure out the distances...he guessed it was about 270. He also confirmed that the players were getting some decent rollout on #10.
Choi had an occasional but persistent cough throughout the week, but her appearance and play was not weak in any way. However, her instructor followed along and gave her a pill at the 11th tee box...later in the round he gave her a small cup of something, maybe water with powder mixed in.
Among the weekend players, the final USGA stats have Choi ranked 12th in driving distance (they counted the 8th & 18th holes only) and 13th in driving accuracy. That is crazy good, but can’t be appreciated until seen in person. The uphill par-4 12th (353 yards) is a good example...the fairway has a narrow neck between the bunkers about twenty yards wide and she split that zone...and made birdie.
Hedwall stopped the bleeding and nearly aced #14 (182 yards)...the ball hit three feet short of the hole and bumped off the pin. She made the two-foot birdie putt. She birdied the par-5 15th hole, but started giving it back on the par-3 16th hole (168 yards). With the flag on the far left, she dropped a ball on the turf and hit a high draw right at it...until it hit the front bank and rolled back in the water. She hit a good shot from the drop zone under the main scoreboard and made the putt for bogey.
The only really crooked drive I saw Choi hit was at the par-4 17th hole. There’s water down the right side, so she aimed left, but drove it through the fairway and over the cart path, until it rested under a small tree. The lie of her Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x was not good and she had a restricted backswing. She made a nice chop out to the fairway, but couldn’t save par.
On my walk to her ball, I was passed by an EMT cart that had a woman stretched out in the back with an ice bag on her forehead. The weather report predicted 97F, but it only got as high as 90F.
Choi(69) and Morita(75) finished the day with pars at #18, while Hedwall(79) made bogey.
I gave my feet a rest for a while. The crowd had picked up considerably around the clubhouse area, but the Thursday attendance here was definitely much less than the Thursday attendance at Lancaster CC two years ago.
Ha Neul Kim’s group (w/ Ai Suzuki and Karine Icher) teed off from the 10th tee at 1:36 PM, so I decided to intercept them from the opposite direction by backtracking from the 15th hole. I found them hitting their approach shots at #12...Sky Kim was -1, Suzuki was +1, and Icher was Even.
The 6th tee box was near the 12th green, so I made a temporary detour over there and stationed myself on the left side. Using her current form, Michelle Wie stuck her butt out in my direction and hit a high cut down the left side of the fairway...not stylish, but effective. Then I looked behind me and B.J. Wie was walking down there as a spectator behind the ropes with his yardage book flipped open. REALLY, DUDE?! REALLY?!
Back to Sky...made about a ten-footer to save par at #12, which was symbolic of how she played...getting in and out of jail. She drained another toughie at #13 to save par. At the par-5 15th, she pulled her drive into the rough short of the bunkers. With a hybrid, she made a flat-footed arms and shoulders swing and popped it out nicely...made par.
Sky finally stumbled with a bogey at #16...I continued with her group thru #18 and parked myself behind the 18th green to watch the wedge shot approaches. Kim’s ball landed short of the flag (which was on the left) and spun back down the bank towards the water. I assume it went into the water as she slumped her head and shoulders. Suzuki was next and landed her ball at least ten feet past the flag, but it had ferocious backspin and ran down the bank, too. I decided this was a good time to leave and find the MHL group. I later learned that Kim and Suzuki made pars on #18, so their balls must have stayed out of the water.
Mi Hyang’s group had completed the front nine, so I started backtracking from the 15th green. I reached the 13th fairway, but her group hadn’t arrived yet...then a horn sounded around 4:35 PM for a weather stoppage. You could hear rumbling in the distance. There was no shelter around so I had to walk back to the 15th green. The sky finally opened up. I had a collapsible umbrella, but that wouldn’t help me with potential lightning, so I went inside the merchandise building to wait it out. The TV broadcast was on but the satellite feed died a couple of minutes later. A much stronger storm cell passed over Lancaster CC in 2015, but I was able to wait it out sitting comfortably inside a hospitality pavilion...no such luck here.
Ten minutes later, Mi Hyang’s daddy came into the merchandise building and we exchanged greetings. He was with an unknown Korean guy. Later, Daddy walked up to me holding three caps he wanted to buy and seemed to imply that he wanted to get me one, too. I said no at first, but he really wanted to do it so I said “thanks!” We went to the cubby holes displaying the various hats...I narrowed it down a couple of Greg Norman versions, one blue and one red. The USWO letters and logo stood out better on the red one so that was my choice. He took the caps to the counter, but ran into a problem. He said he had a player discount card, but not on his person. They told him he couldn’t get the discount now, but if he came back later with the card and receipt, they’d give him an adjustment...problem solved. He gave me the cap (full price is $32) and we shook hands. Then he left the building to return to the clubhouse area.
A few moments later, it occurred to me that I was holding a cap with no receipt, no bag, and the tag still attached. I know it was a gift, but how would anyone else know?! I quietly slipped out the front door, but where could I go as it was pouring? Directly across the merchandise building was the open tent with the spectator scooters. A couple of uniformed lawmen were among the people taking cover in there. I kept the cap wedged under one arm and held the umbrella with the other...and made sure I didn’t act guilty! I was already wearing a cap and didn’t want to remove the tag on the new one until I got home.
A volunteer heard that the players might return to play around 5:30 PM. At 5:40 PM, it was still raining when players started streaming rapidly out of the clubhouse area and towards the driving range. Mi Hyang in a yellow rain suit was one of the first ones and I hustled down there. The range filled up quickly and the slowpokes had to wait for space to open up. A convoy of white vans were idling and would return the players to their last holes.
I don’t know where the MHL group stopped playing but I guessed it was before the 13th hole, so I started walking the course from the 10th hole around 6:15 PM. My guess was right. They were preparing to tee off at the 12th when the horn was blown at 6:35 PM to resume play. Mi Hyang was -2, Azahara Munoz was +1 and Morgan Pressel was +1.
Mi Hyang birdied #12 to go to -3, but she dumped her tee shot at the par-3 14th into the right rough about ten feet in front of me. She wedged it out and two-putted for bogey. An errant second shot at the par-5 15th contributed to another bogey. She recovered at the par-3 16th with a shot I hadn’t seen her hit before. Instead of her usual club shaft towards the target finish, she had the shaft pointing vertically in front of her. The ball took off on a piercing low-mid trajectory towards the left side pin placement. It held the green near the collar and she made the putt for birdie.
While on the left side of the 17th tee box, the orange sun momentarily broke through clouds over the merchandise building and right into my eyes. I put my palm up to it and could feel the heat. It was still high enough to complete the last two holes, but you couldn’t see the ball against the grey sky.
The final highlight of the day was at the par-5 18th hole where Morgan Pressel jarred her third shot for an eagle. The few witnesses remaining on the left side of the fairway and in the bleachers went nuts. From the fairway, Pressel said something like, “I couldn’t even see the ball after I hit it.” She finished at -1, MHL was -2, and Aza was Even.
Many more groups were still playing, but this looked like a good time to leave. For a moment, I thought it was winter in the parking lot, as I put my car into low gear and plowed through the mud for about forty feet before reaching the gravel path exit road.
Choi (playing with Haruka Morita and Caroline Hedwall) had started at #1, so I backtracked the front nine from the 9th green until I reached the left side of the 6th fairway. It was a downhill par-4 (389 yards) that turned a little to the right with a green surrounded by water on three sides.
Morita(-1) drove the ball short and left...she is a Honma staffer. Choi(E), whose bag appears to be all Ping this year, except for the putter, hammered it down the fairway, left-center. Hedwall(+3) was next and her TaylorMade 3-wood drifted into the right rough. I couldn’t figure out what irons she had...they reminded me of Titleist CBs, but I didn’t see any logos...maybe they were covered over. I think she had a driver, but never used it during the 13 holes I watched.
With the pin in the front-right, Choi hit a safe iron to about thirty feet away. Her first putt was dreadful, maybe 8-10 feet short...two-putted for bogey. Hedwall made another bogey and Morita made par. Morita was followed by a Japan TV crew (TV Asahi or TV Wowow).
Morita bogeyed the par-3 7th, while the other two made pars. BTW, I missed seeing Morita eagle the par-4 2nd hole.
Hedwall continued her meltdown at the par-5 8th hole. Her third shot wedge flew the green and landed in a sloped bank of rough, leaving a downhill chip with little green to work with. I don’t know what she said to her caddy after that beauty, but she was ticked off. After her chipped fourth shot, she said “I hit wedges better than that” and two-putted for bogey. While she waited for the other players to finish, her caddy whispered some excuse into her ear. Morita made bogey and Choi made birdie.
Hedwall (says “Carro” Hedwall on her bag) got in a few more words for her looper while waiting on the par-4 9th tee box. She’s about the same height as the guy, but much heavier...I hope she’s not a violent person! I remember a woman followed Carro at the 2015 KPMG, who told me she was her “mental coach”...maybe she still needs one. Her 3W drive went way right into a tree area lined with wood chips/mulch and close to a fence that ran against a parking area of noisy utility trucks. After hitting a provisional, Hedwall found her first ball. I was in front of her in the trees and figured she would punch out to the side, but instead she politely asked me to move...planned to hit one behind the edge of the trees and directly toward the green. The shot seemed crazy to me...did not work as it clipped some high branches, stayed in the tree area, but was much closer to the fairway...finished with a double bogey and carded a 43 (+7) on her first nine. Choi stuffed her approach to about two feet for birdie and carded a 35 (-1)...Morita carded a 37 (+1).
As I started walking to #10, a woman in a cart said to her walkie-talkie, “Group 17 is 19-over after nine holes.” Obviously, it meant that Choi’s group was 19 minutes over its recommended time for playing the first nine holes. However, there were no warnings issued.
Choi blistered her drive at the par-4 10th. I asked the guy manning the laser surveyor tripod (these gadgets were everywhere) how long was Choi’s drive. He didn’t know...he just sends the coordinates to HQ and they figure out the distances...he guessed it was about 270. He also confirmed that the players were getting some decent rollout on #10.
Choi had an occasional but persistent cough throughout the week, but her appearance and play was not weak in any way. However, her instructor followed along and gave her a pill at the 11th tee box...later in the round he gave her a small cup of something, maybe water with powder mixed in.
Among the weekend players, the final USGA stats have Choi ranked 12th in driving distance (they counted the 8th & 18th holes only) and 13th in driving accuracy. That is crazy good, but can’t be appreciated until seen in person. The uphill par-4 12th (353 yards) is a good example...the fairway has a narrow neck between the bunkers about twenty yards wide and she split that zone...and made birdie.
Hedwall stopped the bleeding and nearly aced #14 (182 yards)...the ball hit three feet short of the hole and bumped off the pin. She made the two-foot birdie putt. She birdied the par-5 15th hole, but started giving it back on the par-3 16th hole (168 yards). With the flag on the far left, she dropped a ball on the turf and hit a high draw right at it...until it hit the front bank and rolled back in the water. She hit a good shot from the drop zone under the main scoreboard and made the putt for bogey.
The only really crooked drive I saw Choi hit was at the par-4 17th hole. There’s water down the right side, so she aimed left, but drove it through the fairway and over the cart path, until it rested under a small tree. The lie of her Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x was not good and she had a restricted backswing. She made a nice chop out to the fairway, but couldn’t save par.
On my walk to her ball, I was passed by an EMT cart that had a woman stretched out in the back with an ice bag on her forehead. The weather report predicted 97F, but it only got as high as 90F.
Choi(69) and Morita(75) finished the day with pars at #18, while Hedwall(79) made bogey.
I gave my feet a rest for a while. The crowd had picked up considerably around the clubhouse area, but the Thursday attendance here was definitely much less than the Thursday attendance at Lancaster CC two years ago.
Ha Neul Kim’s group (w/ Ai Suzuki and Karine Icher) teed off from the 10th tee at 1:36 PM, so I decided to intercept them from the opposite direction by backtracking from the 15th hole. I found them hitting their approach shots at #12...Sky Kim was -1, Suzuki was +1, and Icher was Even.
The 6th tee box was near the 12th green, so I made a temporary detour over there and stationed myself on the left side. Using her current form, Michelle Wie stuck her butt out in my direction and hit a high cut down the left side of the fairway...not stylish, but effective. Then I looked behind me and B.J. Wie was walking down there as a spectator behind the ropes with his yardage book flipped open. REALLY, DUDE?! REALLY?!
Back to Sky...made about a ten-footer to save par at #12, which was symbolic of how she played...getting in and out of jail. She drained another toughie at #13 to save par. At the par-5 15th, she pulled her drive into the rough short of the bunkers. With a hybrid, she made a flat-footed arms and shoulders swing and popped it out nicely...made par.
Sky finally stumbled with a bogey at #16...I continued with her group thru #18 and parked myself behind the 18th green to watch the wedge shot approaches. Kim’s ball landed short of the flag (which was on the left) and spun back down the bank towards the water. I assume it went into the water as she slumped her head and shoulders. Suzuki was next and landed her ball at least ten feet past the flag, but it had ferocious backspin and ran down the bank, too. I decided this was a good time to leave and find the MHL group. I later learned that Kim and Suzuki made pars on #18, so their balls must have stayed out of the water.
Mi Hyang’s group had completed the front nine, so I started backtracking from the 15th green. I reached the 13th fairway, but her group hadn’t arrived yet...then a horn sounded around 4:35 PM for a weather stoppage. You could hear rumbling in the distance. There was no shelter around so I had to walk back to the 15th green. The sky finally opened up. I had a collapsible umbrella, but that wouldn’t help me with potential lightning, so I went inside the merchandise building to wait it out. The TV broadcast was on but the satellite feed died a couple of minutes later. A much stronger storm cell passed over Lancaster CC in 2015, but I was able to wait it out sitting comfortably inside a hospitality pavilion...no such luck here.
Ten minutes later, Mi Hyang’s daddy came into the merchandise building and we exchanged greetings. He was with an unknown Korean guy. Later, Daddy walked up to me holding three caps he wanted to buy and seemed to imply that he wanted to get me one, too. I said no at first, but he really wanted to do it so I said “thanks!” We went to the cubby holes displaying the various hats...I narrowed it down a couple of Greg Norman versions, one blue and one red. The USWO letters and logo stood out better on the red one so that was my choice. He took the caps to the counter, but ran into a problem. He said he had a player discount card, but not on his person. They told him he couldn’t get the discount now, but if he came back later with the card and receipt, they’d give him an adjustment...problem solved. He gave me the cap (full price is $32) and we shook hands. Then he left the building to return to the clubhouse area.
A few moments later, it occurred to me that I was holding a cap with no receipt, no bag, and the tag still attached. I know it was a gift, but how would anyone else know?! I quietly slipped out the front door, but where could I go as it was pouring? Directly across the merchandise building was the open tent with the spectator scooters. A couple of uniformed lawmen were among the people taking cover in there. I kept the cap wedged under one arm and held the umbrella with the other...and made sure I didn’t act guilty! I was already wearing a cap and didn’t want to remove the tag on the new one until I got home.
A volunteer heard that the players might return to play around 5:30 PM. At 5:40 PM, it was still raining when players started streaming rapidly out of the clubhouse area and towards the driving range. Mi Hyang in a yellow rain suit was one of the first ones and I hustled down there. The range filled up quickly and the slowpokes had to wait for space to open up. A convoy of white vans were idling and would return the players to their last holes.
I don’t know where the MHL group stopped playing but I guessed it was before the 13th hole, so I started walking the course from the 10th hole around 6:15 PM. My guess was right. They were preparing to tee off at the 12th when the horn was blown at 6:35 PM to resume play. Mi Hyang was -2, Azahara Munoz was +1 and Morgan Pressel was +1.
Mi Hyang birdied #12 to go to -3, but she dumped her tee shot at the par-3 14th into the right rough about ten feet in front of me. She wedged it out and two-putted for bogey. An errant second shot at the par-5 15th contributed to another bogey. She recovered at the par-3 16th with a shot I hadn’t seen her hit before. Instead of her usual club shaft towards the target finish, she had the shaft pointing vertically in front of her. The ball took off on a piercing low-mid trajectory towards the left side pin placement. It held the green near the collar and she made the putt for birdie.
While on the left side of the 17th tee box, the orange sun momentarily broke through clouds over the merchandise building and right into my eyes. I put my palm up to it and could feel the heat. It was still high enough to complete the last two holes, but you couldn’t see the ball against the grey sky.
The final highlight of the day was at the par-5 18th hole where Morgan Pressel jarred her third shot for an eagle. The few witnesses remaining on the left side of the fairway and in the bleachers went nuts. From the fairway, Pressel said something like, “I couldn’t even see the ball after I hit it.” She finished at -1, MHL was -2, and Aza was Even.
Many more groups were still playing, but this looked like a good time to leave. For a moment, I thought it was winter in the parking lot, as I put my car into low gear and plowed through the mud for about forty feet before reaching the gravel path exit road.
