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Post by HappyFan on Apr 14, 2023 16:11:55 GMT
Round 2 Another sad week for the Koreans. Hyo Joo was right in this then completely upchucked and was lucky to make the cut. I really thought this might be Hae Ran's breakthrough week; she has played well on Jeju in the past and I felt like the conditions here might be to her liking. But the greens stymied her. So we have the situation where there are only two Sisters in the top 20, and both are KLPGA guests. Even Hae Ran is starting to be infected by the LPGA Korean malignancy. I was really hoping In Gee might make a run at the Chevron and the career Grand Slam, but now I'm wondering when and if she is going to get over this latest slump. Who knows, she might be inspired by her surroundings next week, but she has not had a decent week since the British last year, so I'm not optimistic. At least her new commercial is nice. Meanwhile, they are talking about shortening the course on the weekend, so expect drivable par 4s. Oh well. Hwaiting!
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Post by HappyFan on Apr 14, 2023 16:39:46 GMT
They also interviewed Korean-Aussie rookie Grace Kim, who is in the hunt after two rounds:
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Post by HappyFan on Apr 14, 2023 16:55:55 GMT
Rookie challenge: who will finish better this week, Min Byeol Kim in Korea, or Youmin Hwang in Hawaii? Who will make more money?
I'm guessing it will be Min Byeol in both categories, but Youmin is certainly positioned to make a run if she starts sinking putts.
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Post by SoYeonFan on Apr 14, 2023 18:48:22 GMT
Round 2 Meanwhile, they are talking about shortening the course on the weekend, so expect drivable par 4s. Oh well. Hwaiting! Brooke Henderson is five back, so they want to give her reachable par fours and fives. She has not played that well lately, so I guess they want her in the last groups the final round. However, Yu Jin Sung is also a strong driver of the ball also.
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Post by SoYeonFan on Apr 14, 2023 19:00:44 GMT
Correction: Karen Chun missed the cut with a double on sixteen and bogey on seventeen. Wishful thinking!!!!! In Kyung Kim plus one going into seventeen but made a triple bogey.
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Post by philknj on Apr 15, 2023 3:13:31 GMT
If I'm in Hanwha's management, I definitely want Sung not only to win, but to play Chevron next week and join the LPGA tour immediately. Their team in the U.S. needs some new blood.
Says "Hanwha Q-Cell" ... after winning in Hawaii and joining the LPGA, she should get the Anglicized version as shown by Inky the semi-retiree.
********
Speaking of Chevron, I looked up that field for the first time today ... MHL is there (#110 on the list) ... NOT that I'm complaining, but I didn't expect that. So, starting with a #189 priority, she played one tournament, made one cut and got into the Oil Slick Invitational "major"... whatever. Chevron's first alternate is Inky with zero CME points ... let's go Sung.
BTW, the ANA in the desert traditionally had a somewhat limited field ... 115 players last year. Chevron is going with a formulaic 132 field.
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Post by verdantgarden on Apr 15, 2023 14:46:31 GMT
It's rounding up to be an exciting tournament with plenty of contenders. But I don't recall seeing so few spectators. The holes don't appear to be roped so I suppose one could have practically free reign to wander the course.
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Post by HappyFan on Apr 15, 2023 17:24:05 GMT
Round 3 Yu Jin Sung (the Google translator amusingly calls her 'Eugene') is playing a very solid, low-mistake brand of golf. If the wind keeps up, that could be a winning formula. I still feel like she's a long shot, but the odds are getting better. Thankfully, she is long enough to take advantage of the course from time to time. Good luck to her! With her smiles, her looks, her game and her seemingly understanding English, she'd be a great addition to the LPGA. Hye Jin made a slight run into the top 20 yesterday. She probably won't make the broadcast, but I'm hoping for a top ten from her. Human Hwang is also at t-18 right now. They are six back, which is probably too much to have a legit chance to win, but these are two players who are capable of going low, so we'll see. Interviewing Grace Kim in the middle of her round seems like a recipe for screwing with her concentration. They should stop the practice tout suite. Hwaiting!
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Post by SoYeonFan on Apr 15, 2023 18:22:42 GMT
Yu Jin Sung was pretty sound tee to green but she missed three or four good birdie chances.
Look out for Celine Boutier because she plays her best final round golf when a Korean is leading.
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Post by SoYeonFan on Apr 16, 2023 4:30:06 GMT
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Post by SoYeonFan on Apr 16, 2023 4:40:33 GMT
Great Tournament by Yu Jin Sung even thou she came up short for the win. I really thought that she would win after getting into the playoff. But she made her only bad pitch in the Tournament at the wrong time.
Kudos: To veteran Yu Liu for her best performance in a long time, didn't win but played great.
A shout out to Yumin Hwang with a final round sixty-seven to tie for ninth place. I am going to miss the Mediheal Championship Final round.
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Post by HappyFan on Apr 16, 2023 6:18:01 GMT
Round 4 Well, I can't deny that this one was a nail-biter. The two players who were jockeying the whole day ended up making clutch birdie putts to get into a playoff. Liu Yu was poised after a ridiculous 64 to get a second straight win for China and steal this one away from the Sisters. Who would come out on top? Alas, it wasn't Eugene. It wasn't her best day today, but what she did do great was make clutch putts. I think at one point she was 7 one putts out of 8 holes, and a number of those were longish par saves. This allowed her to stay at the top of the heap until the back nine. But when she finally missed one, several players grabbed the chance to move ahead or into a tie with her, and the rest of the day was a battle to get the lead back and keep it. After barely missing one birdie, she hit a blistering bomb on 18, but her approach ended up in the bunker. She got out and sunk a ten foot birdie putt to tie and force a playoff. That might have been the putt of the year so far. Fantastic. I was so rooting for her to win, but she just didn't play the playoff hole well at all. Other than the drive, pretty much every shot was bad, and once she botched her third and thinned it over the green, it was pretty much over. I'm bummed now, but I like Grace Kim, too, so I'll probably get over it soon enough. I have to say Grace made up for last year's Aussie Open. You may recall that she had the lead on the final hole there, only to make double and hand the trophy to Buhai. This time she was two down with two to play and made clutch birdies on 17 and 18. Then she hit a ballsy approach during the playoff, risking the water but ending up near the green and the hole on the right. From there it was an easy up and down for the win. I have been thinking that Grace had the makings of a star for some time, but I'm surprised how quickly this win came. Yeah, it's not the greatest field, but she went through the ringer to get this trophy. She earned it. With Hae Ran having a rotten week, I wonder how much this is going to affect the Rookie race? Well, I think Hae Ran still has plenty of time to make her own magic, perhaps even next week. Game on! Great finish for teenager Youmin Hwang, a 67 to move into the top ten. Hye Jin also had a good day and just missed the top ten herself. So it wasn't quite as terrible a week as it looked like it might be. Congrats to Grace, but my fear is that we will NEVER be able to watch her without being inundated with Karrie this and Karrie that. They like nothing better than talking about Webb or Sorenstam if they can do it, and it got insufferable after a while today. Y'know, it doubtless helped, working with Webb, but the way they talked, it was the magic key that made it all possible. Give Grace a little more credit, please! Hwaiting!
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Post by jumpcut on Apr 16, 2023 13:53:16 GMT
This is a riot. When the "interpreter" struggled to do her job, Yu Jin just went ahead and started answering all the questions in English herself.
Tough loss but great attitude.
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Post by tonyj500 on Apr 16, 2023 16:26:58 GMT
Since this was a Saturday night finish here on the East Coast of the U.S., I was out to dinner with wife. When I got home the last group was on the 12th hole and there was not a single U.S. player in contention. I thought of switching the channel to the Basketball playoffs or the baseball game. but decided to stick with it instead. What I was treated to, in my opinion, was one of the most interesting and enjoyable finishes in quite awhile. I really had no rooting interest, but really enjoyed watching these two players that I knew almost nothing about. Sometimes I think we want players from our country to win so badly (and I am certainly guilty of this), that we miss out on just sitting back and relaxing and watching how talented these girls are no matter where they were born.
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Post by verdantgarden on Apr 16, 2023 16:42:40 GMT
Very exciting final round. Yu Jin Sung somehow managed to maintain a one-shot lead through most of the round until Linnea Strom surged to -12 after 11 holes. But a double bogey at 14 and failing to birdie the 18th doomed Strom to finish one stroke behind Yu Liu who shot a massive 64. (Every time Yu Liu appears, I go "yoo hoo, Yu Liu!". Grant Boone mistakenly called Yu Liu "Yoo Hoo" once during the broadcast.)
Then Grace Kim provided the coup de grace by playing aggressively and birdieing her last three holes in regulation and the playoff to take the victory. I look forward to watching Grace at Pebble Beach.
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