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Post by philknj on Jul 28, 2023 16:23:59 GMT
This one runs Aug. 7-13 at Bel-Air CC (which will also host the 2026 Curtis Cup). GC will cover it Wednesday thru Sunday. A field list is posted and I count 154 names ... 2 empty spots to fill. Defending champ Baba-chan is skipping this one ... AIG WO is playing the same week, although I don't see her name in that field. Jiyoo Lim is identified has exempt for being in the WAGR top-25 as of June 7, but her name is NOT in the field list ... KGA getting cheap? Rin Yoshida is coming over for this one. The next several USWA sites have been set, except for 2027 ... hope it comes back to my neighborhood. BTW, the USGA announced changes to its qualification process starting in 2024 ... one of them is increasing the WAGR top-25 exemption to top-50. It's no longer a lock for the USWA to get the top players, especially with so many invitations handed out for the big pro events surrounding the USWA on the calendar.
Per the USGA:
BEL-AIR COUNTRY CLUB (Yardages subject to change)
Hole 1: 495 yards (Par 5)
Hole 2: 378 yards (Par 4)
Hole 3: 155 yards (Par 3)
Hole 4: 432 yards (Par 4)
Hole 5: 112 yards (Par 3)
Hole 6: 382 yards (Par 4)
Hole 7: 348 yards (Par 4)
Hole 8: 496 yards (Par 5)
Hole 9: 318 yards (Par 4)
OUT: 3,116 yards (Par 36)
Hole 10: 205 yards (Par 3)
Hole 11: 385 yards (Par 4)
Hole 12: 345 yards (Par 4)
Hole 13: 172 yards (Par 3)
Hole 14: 547 yards (Par 5)
Hole 15: 430 yards (Par 4)
Hole 16: 148 yards (Par 3)
Hole 17: 453 yards (Par 4)
Hole 18: 386 yards (Par 4)
IN: 3,071 yards (Par 34)
TOTAL: 6,187 yards (Par 70)
***********
Past winners at Bel-Air CC (per USGA) -
1929 SCGA Amateur (Gibson Dunlap)
1934 SCGA Amateur (Charles Seaver)
1976 U.S. Amateur (Bill Sander)
1991 SCGA Amateur (Craig Steinberg)
2004 U.S. Senior Amateur (Mark Bemowski)
I looked up Bill Sander on Wikipedia and was stunned to read that he was on the PGA Tour for about 15 years. Doing what?! I don't remember this guy's name at all. He had two career 2nd place finishes ... I guess I wasn't watching those weeks. He also graduated from PGA Tour q-school four times.
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Post by fanofseri on Aug 1, 2023 1:52:13 GMT
The number of Koreans resembles my 401(k).
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Post by SoYeonFan on Aug 1, 2023 3:24:19 GMT
It seems like Rachel Heck has been at Stanford forever.
I think that she has been injured this year.
Sometimes I think that she is too nice which caused her the Amateur win one year.
I hope that she Bailey Shoemaker or one of the other USC Trojan wins.
But it may be Megha Gahne or veteran Rachel Kuehn time.
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Post by philknj on Aug 3, 2023 1:07:50 GMT
Per the USGA website, the shuttle parking is at UCLA, which is adjacent to Bel-Air CC (separated by Sunset Blvd.) and will be in operation Aug. 4 thru 13, so I assume you can see players in their practice rounds this coming weekend. I count 155 names in the field list, leaving one more to find.
Strange images on Google Maps ... the street-level view of the entrance (10768 Bellagio Rd.) shows a lot construction going on just beyond a security kiosk (Dec. 2022 image). An overhead view of this area shows dirt, rubble and construction vehicles where a clubhouse would logically be ... what happened?
This is the 205-yard par-3 10th hole ... Rolling Green GC and Lancaster CC have par-3s with bridges, but I don't remember them looking this glitzy.
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Post by fanofseri on Aug 3, 2023 3:47:39 GMT
There is ample parking near the
Bel-Air entrance. Your car will end up towed to an Armenian-owned parking lot ten miles away. Make sure you have $400 in cash & don't have a t-shirt embroidered with the Turkish flag.
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Post by philknj on Aug 3, 2023 17:48:03 GMT
I hope that she Bailey Shoemaker or one of the other USC Trojan wins. Are you daft?! You cannot classify The Tigress as an "other USC Trojan" ... she's the only USC player that can win this thing. The USGA posted an article with bios on a few players ... Nikki Oh is the daughter of Ted Oh. FYI, several players from the USWA field are at the Canadian Women's Amateur this week in Halifax, including Brooke Rivers who opened with a course-record 65 and still has the lead. I saw her at the 2019 KJ Choi junior event in NJ and she looked and played over-age (that's a compliment). More details are in my report. |
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Post by philknj on Aug 5, 2023 16:34:01 GMT
Sorry Haney, three Wolverines in the field ... and I don't think there are any Spartans in the field (although Valentina Rossi is playing the AIG WO the same week).
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Post by SoYeonFan on Aug 6, 2023 3:04:56 GMT
Sorry Haney, three Wolverines in the field ... and I don't think there are any Spartans in the field (although Valentina Rossi is playing the AIG WO the same week).
I didn't want to tell him, but I am a Michigan fan but just follow the football team. Did not know Monet was at Michigan, now I will follow the golf team also. |
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Post by HappyFan on Aug 6, 2023 18:03:15 GMT
In Gee is known for her painting, but there is another Chun called "Monet"? Interesting, I wonder if she ever paints?  |
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Post by SoYeonFan on Aug 7, 2023 18:44:56 GMT
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Post by philknj on Aug 8, 2023 3:52:06 GMT
Only 8 of the top-24 players from the Aug. 2 WAGR list showed up ... I don't see an obvious favorite here.
The Tigress (70, E) should have no problem reaching match play on Wednesday ....
... ditto for Rin Yoshida (70, E)
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Post by philknj on Aug 9, 2023 1:02:40 GMT
Still a lot of golf left in Round Two of medal qualifying ... the cut is top-64 ... 64 players are at +4 or better ... 11 players are in the clubhouse at +5 ... there's a chance of getting the playoff from Hell.
I knew they had bridges there, but they also have a tunnel.
Caroline Canales walks through a tunnel to the hole six tee box during the first round of the 2023 U.S. Women's Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. (James Gilbert/USGA) |
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Post by philknj on Aug 9, 2023 10:35:42 GMT
The playoff will start at 7 AM on Wednesday ... ten players who finished at +4 are gunning for nine spots. I've seen three of these players before: Jensen Castle (2021 USWA winner), Brooke Rivers (2nd place at 2023 Canadian Women's Am last week) and Jackie Rogowicz, who after shooting a career-best 73.54 as a Penn St. senior in 2019-19 wisely decided not to burn up her inheritance by turning pro ... she's from just across the river in Yardley, PA.
The washouts included:
Annabell Fuller +5 Avery Zweig +5 The Great McGinty +5 Minori Nagano +5 Justice Bosio +6 Count de Monet Chun +7 Krissy Carman +8 Aine Donegan +10 Jess Baker +12 Megan Furtney +15
Most of the Wednesday matches are set and there may not be many Trojans left standing afterward ... The Tigress gets Latanna Stone, Brianna Navarrosa gets recent Canuck am champ Lauren Kim and Malia Nam has to face off against teammate Bailey Shoemaker.
Look out for Nikki Oh who is a chip off the old block ... won her qualifier by six shots, shooting 65 at Victoria Club in Riverside, CA. Her Wednesday opponent is TBD.
Catherine Rao, the Princeton pepper pot, gets EMP wannabe Jeneath Wong on Wednesday. That's Katie Cranston in the back seat, whose Wednesday opponent is TBD.
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Post by philknj on Aug 9, 2023 23:51:27 GMT
Well, that sucked ... The Tigress lost to Stone. 
******
Now for the good news ... the best active woman player named Oh is not on the LPGA or KLPGA ... I'm talking about Nikki Oh ... so what if she's 15, check out this collection of videos at Bel-Air, especially the second and third ones:
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Post by fanofseri on Aug 10, 2023 2:08:31 GMT
I want to wear a bucket hat and a light blue button down shirt on Saturday. But it will draw too much attention. It's better to focus on the players.
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