Post by verdantgarden on Sept 3, 2017 3:13:10 GMT
This tournament is definitely lower key than it has been in the past. A case in point was when I arrived at the course a little past 8 o'clock there was no volunteer staff in the parking area I could give my $5 to. It was DIY all the way. The spectators were sparser than any Saturday I can remember. Only the final two groups had any significant amount of followers (although I have to acknowledge the few early birds who came out to cheer on Lexi Thompson).
I took the hot weather better than I thought I would. It was even pleasant early on and the course offers plenty of shade. I was told later in the day by a guy who knows the course that it is "blessed" to be on top of three aquifers.
Instead of food tents, food trucks were lined up to offer differing fare. I chose a bulgogi beef rice bowl that was very good. If I had a complaint it's that they should have had more vendors selling water around the course.
Early on, a woman named Chris came up to me in recognition. This put me at a disadvantage as I didn't remember her. She referred me as a "sportswriter" (HAHAHA, no). I explained I was just a humble message board poster. She must remember me in years past when I would jot down details of most shots. She was with her husband Bob who was now semi-retired. She said she has been trying to figure out how to describe that state and I told how the old saw that semi-retirement was where you drive half-way to work then turn around and drive back home. She liked that.
My plan for the day was really no plan. I followed a smorgasbord of pairs here and there back and forth. Belen Mozo started play wearing prescription glasses. She didn't like the look of her play and had them off by the end.
I was pretty fortunate to see mainly good play. Both Tubert and Mirim Lee made long birdie putts on 6. I followed Megan Khang for a couple of holes. She almost reached the green in two on hole 5 and made a long birdie from the left fringe on 6. Hyo Joo Kim had a wonderful tee shot on the par 3 Eighth hole. I caught Mariah Stackhouse play 11 like a master: drive it far and straight, hit approach close and below the hole, make putt. Nicole Broch Larsen had a tap-in birdie on 6.
About the real ugly I saw was LeBlanc's botching of no. 7. She twice in a row flopped on her flop shot from the left rough.
After lunch, I followed a few pairing for a few holes. Got three holes of In Gee Chun and Ai Miyazato from holes 3 to 5. Mostly it was Rocket and then I caught up with Tiffany Joh and Brittany Altomare who is playing really well. Tiff and Brit had similar third shots on 12 but while Brit got up and down for birdie, Tiff way overshot the green and bogeyed the hole. On 16, Tiffany made a 15-foot birdie putt while Brittany had her turn on 17 with a 6-footer. Tiffany had a similar putt but only caught the right edge of the hole. On 18, Altomare hit a tree on the left side of the fairway leaving a long second shot. She got her ball to the back of the green and then performed a great lag putt for an easy par. Tiffany lagged a long putt herself to make a par.
By then it was 4PM and I was kaput. Threesomes tomorrow.
I took the hot weather better than I thought I would. It was even pleasant early on and the course offers plenty of shade. I was told later in the day by a guy who knows the course that it is "blessed" to be on top of three aquifers.
Instead of food tents, food trucks were lined up to offer differing fare. I chose a bulgogi beef rice bowl that was very good. If I had a complaint it's that they should have had more vendors selling water around the course.
Early on, a woman named Chris came up to me in recognition. This put me at a disadvantage as I didn't remember her. She referred me as a "sportswriter" (HAHAHA, no). I explained I was just a humble message board poster. She must remember me in years past when I would jot down details of most shots. She was with her husband Bob who was now semi-retired. She said she has been trying to figure out how to describe that state and I told how the old saw that semi-retirement was where you drive half-way to work then turn around and drive back home. She liked that.
My plan for the day was really no plan. I followed a smorgasbord of pairs here and there back and forth. Belen Mozo started play wearing prescription glasses. She didn't like the look of her play and had them off by the end.
I was pretty fortunate to see mainly good play. Both Tubert and Mirim Lee made long birdie putts on 6. I followed Megan Khang for a couple of holes. She almost reached the green in two on hole 5 and made a long birdie from the left fringe on 6. Hyo Joo Kim had a wonderful tee shot on the par 3 Eighth hole. I caught Mariah Stackhouse play 11 like a master: drive it far and straight, hit approach close and below the hole, make putt. Nicole Broch Larsen had a tap-in birdie on 6.
About the real ugly I saw was LeBlanc's botching of no. 7. She twice in a row flopped on her flop shot from the left rough.
After lunch, I followed a few pairing for a few holes. Got three holes of In Gee Chun and Ai Miyazato from holes 3 to 5. Mostly it was Rocket and then I caught up with Tiffany Joh and Brittany Altomare who is playing really well. Tiff and Brit had similar third shots on 12 but while Brit got up and down for birdie, Tiff way overshot the green and bogeyed the hole. On 16, Tiffany made a 15-foot birdie putt while Brittany had her turn on 17 with a 6-footer. Tiffany had a similar putt but only caught the right edge of the hole. On 18, Altomare hit a tree on the left side of the fairway leaving a long second shot. She got her ball to the back of the green and then performed a great lag putt for an easy par. Tiffany lagged a long putt herself to make a par.
By then it was 4PM and I was kaput. Threesomes tomorrow.
