Post by philknj on Jul 27, 2019 6:53:52 GMT
I dropped by Raritan Valley CC in Bridgewater, NJ at 6:55 AM. I forgot my sunblock, but had a new golf umbrella with me which helped a lot as it hit at least 95F. The course was a par-72 at 6438 yards. Five qualifiers and two alternates were up for grabs.
Saw a mishmash of college golf bags – Elon, U. of Tampa, Yale, Notre Dame, Harvard and U. of NC. Linda Wang represented St. John’s U., but did not wear the team uniform. She wore a red Callaway cap, red J Lindeberg shirt with a CIMB logo, white shorts and white socks over the kneecaps...I assume she is a returning senior, but was dressed like a pro.
I checked out the range and was not surprised to see a wide range of ball-striking from good to lousy. One of the better players was recent Penn St. grad Jackie Rogowicz – I was surprised she bombed out with a 78.
Events like this generate reunion scenes between players who haven’t seen each other in a while. One scene was the mom of Anina Ku (Harvard) greeting Jennifer Peng (Yale). Peng graduated last year but still wore her Yale uniform. She said she was working in the city and tries to play once a week. She took a half-day off to play this qualifier. Only a half-day?!
I walked with the 2nd group off #1 at 7:41 AM - Jennifer Peng, Lisa Coe and Emily Zhu. A girl who could have passed for Peng’s sister (also wearing a Yale uniform) pushed Peng’s bag. A guy wearing a Trump Ferry Point shirt had Coe’s bag and Zhu pushed her own bag.
Peng hit some decent shots on the range, so I figured she would be the best in this group. Boy, was I wrong...instead I lucked out seeing Emily Zhu. She wore the Golf Canada uniform and played Titleist gear, AP3 irons in particular. I looked her up later...she is 15, but looks 13, a tiny splinter whose belt wrapped 1 ½ times around her waist!
The first hole was a par-5 of 452 yards and Zhu had the longest drive of the group...this would be a recurring theme. Pound-for-pound she may be the longest hitting female I have ever seen in person. The only other player that might match her in this category is ex-LPGAer Na On Min at Upper Montclair CC 10+ years ago.
Put aside the pound-for-pound ranking...Zhu might have been the longest player in this field, period. For instance, Megha Ganne, probably the top NJ junior girl, hammered her drive at #1 but was one yard behind Zhu’s earlier divot (and Ganne is 30-40 pounds heavier).
The 2nd (par-4, 401 yards) would be good drive measuring hole if the LPGA played here. It’s straight with a tiny amount of incline...also narrow, about 25-30 yards wide. The only oddity is in the tee box which has two MGA (Metropolitan Golf Association) official yardage markers, 401 and 414. However, I paced off the distance between them to be seven yards. I don’t get it...they both can’t be right. So, Zhu drove it either 256 or 263. But, her iron was short to a green with a false front...she chipped on and two-putted for a bogey. She reinserted a wedge and putter into her bag with a small amount of additional velocity.
After four holes, the course continues through a tunnel under Route 28 for holes 5 & 6. There are parabolic mirrors on both ends of the tunnel to prevent head-on smash-ups. The 5th tee box had a sign saying this was a time check location. I looked at my watch and saw that Zhu’s group completed the first four holes in 1 hour & 10 minutes. I figured they’d be in trouble and I was right. At the 6th tee, the stopwatch cop said they were five minutes behind their allotted time.
The par-3 7th was listed at 173 yards, but it played much shorter as it was a little downhill and the pin was on the front tier (see IG pic below). Zhu and Peng hit the front tier and made birdies. Coe was long to the upper tier and three-putted.
There was a closed snack shack at the 9th tee box (par-5, 493 yards). A plaque on the wall listed three double eagles at this hole going back to the early ‘80s. Zhu hit her second shot into a greenside bunker, splashed out and two-putted for par. Coe also made par, while Peng airmailed the elevated green with her third shot and made double-bogey.
After the Zhu group teed off at the par-5 11th, I departed for the clubhouse entrance to do some exploring. I found the luxurious men’s locker room where they had a Poland Spring water cooler. I topped off my bottle and would return there later for a couple more refills. They had a five-page list of member handicap index numbers posted on the wall. Of course, it includes some single-digit players, but I’m positive there are many more under-10 guys on the list I saw at Galloway National GC. On the way to the pro shop, I passed through corridors that had numerous big wooden plaques with the winners of club championships.
For the rest of the morning I was mostly on the back nine, which was more open but less interesting than the front nine. The 13th hole was a memorable dogleg left par-4 (353 yards) where you could take a shortcut by carrying a huge bunker running down the left side.
I was in the right rough at the par-4 16th when the group of Brynn Walker (incoming UNC senior), Katie Li and Rachel Oates (her first tournament in 7 years) teed off. I knew where Zhu had driven her ball and none of these players were as long.
I followed Walker’s group to the 17th tee (par-4, 390 yards). This was the first time I saw Li hit and it startled me...envision a John Daly swing with a Nick Price one-two tempo.
Walker’s drive went straight right...they found it about a half-yard into some high wispy grass. Oates’ mom was following the group and said this was Walker’s first bad drive all day. Walker made a gutsy call by not taking a drop...instead she dropped a wedge straight down on the ball, but it popped out much further left than planned, scattering Oates and her caddie in the middle of the fairway. From the first cut on the left side, Walker made bogey.
I followed Walker’s group to the end. After the final putts at #18, Li lifted her arms away from her body and said, “I’m all sweaty.” I think that was her way of saying let’s do handshakes instead of hugs.
I hung out near the scoreboard area. The bag room door was open near the pro shop entrance. I looked inside and it had numbered spaces for 380 bags.
Zhu had a chance with a 74. But then 72s by Walker and Li pushed Zhu into a playoff for 1st alternate against Rina Jung (U. of Penn). Zhu conceded the playoff to Jung...I don’t know why. My guess is that Zhu is from Canada and knew she couldn’t get to Mississippi on short notice if called later.
My car thermometer read 104F as I departed...it dropped to 97F as I drove to my parents’ place for the PM...and poor Peng had to go back to work.
Photo: Gio Kim, co-medalists Linda Wang and Megha Ganne, Brynn Walker and Katie Li
Scores:
www.golfgenius.com/pages/2084013
Saw a mishmash of college golf bags – Elon, U. of Tampa, Yale, Notre Dame, Harvard and U. of NC. Linda Wang represented St. John’s U., but did not wear the team uniform. She wore a red Callaway cap, red J Lindeberg shirt with a CIMB logo, white shorts and white socks over the kneecaps...I assume she is a returning senior, but was dressed like a pro.
I checked out the range and was not surprised to see a wide range of ball-striking from good to lousy. One of the better players was recent Penn St. grad Jackie Rogowicz – I was surprised she bombed out with a 78.
Events like this generate reunion scenes between players who haven’t seen each other in a while. One scene was the mom of Anina Ku (Harvard) greeting Jennifer Peng (Yale). Peng graduated last year but still wore her Yale uniform. She said she was working in the city and tries to play once a week. She took a half-day off to play this qualifier. Only a half-day?!
I walked with the 2nd group off #1 at 7:41 AM - Jennifer Peng, Lisa Coe and Emily Zhu. A girl who could have passed for Peng’s sister (also wearing a Yale uniform) pushed Peng’s bag. A guy wearing a Trump Ferry Point shirt had Coe’s bag and Zhu pushed her own bag.
Peng hit some decent shots on the range, so I figured she would be the best in this group. Boy, was I wrong...instead I lucked out seeing Emily Zhu. She wore the Golf Canada uniform and played Titleist gear, AP3 irons in particular. I looked her up later...she is 15, but looks 13, a tiny splinter whose belt wrapped 1 ½ times around her waist!
The first hole was a par-5 of 452 yards and Zhu had the longest drive of the group...this would be a recurring theme. Pound-for-pound she may be the longest hitting female I have ever seen in person. The only other player that might match her in this category is ex-LPGAer Na On Min at Upper Montclair CC 10+ years ago.
Put aside the pound-for-pound ranking...Zhu might have been the longest player in this field, period. For instance, Megha Ganne, probably the top NJ junior girl, hammered her drive at #1 but was one yard behind Zhu’s earlier divot (and Ganne is 30-40 pounds heavier).
The 2nd (par-4, 401 yards) would be good drive measuring hole if the LPGA played here. It’s straight with a tiny amount of incline...also narrow, about 25-30 yards wide. The only oddity is in the tee box which has two MGA (Metropolitan Golf Association) official yardage markers, 401 and 414. However, I paced off the distance between them to be seven yards. I don’t get it...they both can’t be right. So, Zhu drove it either 256 or 263. But, her iron was short to a green with a false front...she chipped on and two-putted for a bogey. She reinserted a wedge and putter into her bag with a small amount of additional velocity.
After four holes, the course continues through a tunnel under Route 28 for holes 5 & 6. There are parabolic mirrors on both ends of the tunnel to prevent head-on smash-ups. The 5th tee box had a sign saying this was a time check location. I looked at my watch and saw that Zhu’s group completed the first four holes in 1 hour & 10 minutes. I figured they’d be in trouble and I was right. At the 6th tee, the stopwatch cop said they were five minutes behind their allotted time.
The par-3 7th was listed at 173 yards, but it played much shorter as it was a little downhill and the pin was on the front tier (see IG pic below). Zhu and Peng hit the front tier and made birdies. Coe was long to the upper tier and three-putted.
There was a closed snack shack at the 9th tee box (par-5, 493 yards). A plaque on the wall listed three double eagles at this hole going back to the early ‘80s. Zhu hit her second shot into a greenside bunker, splashed out and two-putted for par. Coe also made par, while Peng airmailed the elevated green with her third shot and made double-bogey.
After the Zhu group teed off at the par-5 11th, I departed for the clubhouse entrance to do some exploring. I found the luxurious men’s locker room where they had a Poland Spring water cooler. I topped off my bottle and would return there later for a couple more refills. They had a five-page list of member handicap index numbers posted on the wall. Of course, it includes some single-digit players, but I’m positive there are many more under-10 guys on the list I saw at Galloway National GC. On the way to the pro shop, I passed through corridors that had numerous big wooden plaques with the winners of club championships.
For the rest of the morning I was mostly on the back nine, which was more open but less interesting than the front nine. The 13th hole was a memorable dogleg left par-4 (353 yards) where you could take a shortcut by carrying a huge bunker running down the left side.
I was in the right rough at the par-4 16th when the group of Brynn Walker (incoming UNC senior), Katie Li and Rachel Oates (her first tournament in 7 years) teed off. I knew where Zhu had driven her ball and none of these players were as long.
I followed Walker’s group to the 17th tee (par-4, 390 yards). This was the first time I saw Li hit and it startled me...envision a John Daly swing with a Nick Price one-two tempo.
Walker’s drive went straight right...they found it about a half-yard into some high wispy grass. Oates’ mom was following the group and said this was Walker’s first bad drive all day. Walker made a gutsy call by not taking a drop...instead she dropped a wedge straight down on the ball, but it popped out much further left than planned, scattering Oates and her caddie in the middle of the fairway. From the first cut on the left side, Walker made bogey.
I followed Walker’s group to the end. After the final putts at #18, Li lifted her arms away from her body and said, “I’m all sweaty.” I think that was her way of saying let’s do handshakes instead of hugs.
I hung out near the scoreboard area. The bag room door was open near the pro shop entrance. I looked inside and it had numbered spaces for 380 bags.
Zhu had a chance with a 74. But then 72s by Walker and Li pushed Zhu into a playoff for 1st alternate against Rina Jung (U. of Penn). Zhu conceded the playoff to Jung...I don’t know why. My guess is that Zhu is from Canada and knew she couldn’t get to Mississippi on short notice if called later.
My car thermometer read 104F as I departed...it dropped to 97F as I drove to my parents’ place for the PM...and poor Peng had to go back to work.
Photo: Gio Kim, co-medalists Linda Wang and Megha Ganne, Brynn Walker and Katie Li
Scores:
www.golfgenius.com/pages/2084013