Post by HappyFan on Sept 4, 2023 4:49:40 GMT
Not much to report on today. Yesterday was incredibly fun, as both Six and Hyo Joon played fantastic golf. Today they... did not. To be honest, I wasn't expecting Hyo Joon to get the win, but I was at least hoping she could keep it interesting. But the Thai lady went ballistic early and by the time Joon reached the sixth hole, it was pretty much over.
I followed Six and Grace Kim for 12 holes. Things got out to a good start for Six at least; on the third hole she striped her iron right next to the hole for an easy birdie. She didn't get that close on 4, but it was an easy par. Meanwhile, Grace missed the fairway on 4 and wound up with a bogey after a wormburner second shot. Advantage Six.
But on 5, Six hit her first not-so-great drive I had seen this week. That par 5 has water along the left, and though she cleared it, her ball still rolled back into the drink. Or so I thought. Turns out she was dry, but she had to pull a Se Ri and remove her shoes to hit it from the water. She punched it up onto the fairway, then hit that third shot to a few feet for an easy birdie. Really impressive recovery.
Her drive on 6 wasn't great either, ending up in the bunker. But she hit from there to about fifteen feet right of the hole. Alas, her birdie putt went too far and she three-putted for bogey. But on the par 5 7th, she got on in two, leaving herself a twenty foot eagle try. Grace overshot the green into deep rough, but chipped from there and watched as her ball rolled in for eagle. Six missed hers, but made birdie.
That was pretty much it for Six's highlights. For the next few holes, she gave herself long birdie tries but missed. On 13, however, she hit her tee shot into the bunker and made bogey. At that point I bade farewell to her group.
I then went and joined Hyo Joo Jang's group, which was on 5. The first shot I saw from her had her drive into the deep woods on the right side. Megan Khang was in perfect shape, but hit a wormburner (yes, another one!) on her second shot that ended up in the rough near the green. Jang hit out onto the fairway, pitched to twenty feet and two-putted.
At this point, I thought she was just a couple back, but in fact, the Thai lady Wannasaen had made eagle on 5 and made a big run that pretty much put the tournament away. As usual, when a Korean had a chance to win, someone came along and did that. Sounds like a broken record at this point.
I was still hoping that Jang could do something to move up, but though her tee-to-green game was like it had been Saturday, her putting was not. Simply, she didn't make anything longer than four feet while I watched her. She missed a ~10 footer on 6. On 7, she did have an eagle try but missed and made birdie. On 9, she had a ~20 foot birdie, left the birdie try a foot or two away from the hole, then missed that for bogey.
The hole position on 10 was stupid; it was on a high part of the green that it was almost impossible to stop close to. The only way to do it I think would be to get really lucky, or get on in two and two putt. She hit it close there, but it rolled back twenty feet like every other shot I saw on that hole did. Finally on 12 she hit her third to two feet, but even there Khang hit it closer (although amazingly, Khang missed the birdie and Jang made it).
Joon was five back, made a great tee shot on 13 but once again missed the birdie. At that point I called it a day.
I enjoyed Saturday so much that I can forget about Sunday. I'm really interested in seeing what Joon does next. She does seem to have some potential, but can she handle tougher courses and the heat when she contends? That remains to be seen.
I followed Six and Grace Kim for 12 holes. Things got out to a good start for Six at least; on the third hole she striped her iron right next to the hole for an easy birdie. She didn't get that close on 4, but it was an easy par. Meanwhile, Grace missed the fairway on 4 and wound up with a bogey after a wormburner second shot. Advantage Six.
But on 5, Six hit her first not-so-great drive I had seen this week. That par 5 has water along the left, and though she cleared it, her ball still rolled back into the drink. Or so I thought. Turns out she was dry, but she had to pull a Se Ri and remove her shoes to hit it from the water. She punched it up onto the fairway, then hit that third shot to a few feet for an easy birdie. Really impressive recovery.
Her drive on 6 wasn't great either, ending up in the bunker. But she hit from there to about fifteen feet right of the hole. Alas, her birdie putt went too far and she three-putted for bogey. But on the par 5 7th, she got on in two, leaving herself a twenty foot eagle try. Grace overshot the green into deep rough, but chipped from there and watched as her ball rolled in for eagle. Six missed hers, but made birdie.
That was pretty much it for Six's highlights. For the next few holes, she gave herself long birdie tries but missed. On 13, however, she hit her tee shot into the bunker and made bogey. At that point I bade farewell to her group.
I then went and joined Hyo Joo Jang's group, which was on 5. The first shot I saw from her had her drive into the deep woods on the right side. Megan Khang was in perfect shape, but hit a wormburner (yes, another one!) on her second shot that ended up in the rough near the green. Jang hit out onto the fairway, pitched to twenty feet and two-putted.
At this point, I thought she was just a couple back, but in fact, the Thai lady Wannasaen had made eagle on 5 and made a big run that pretty much put the tournament away. As usual, when a Korean had a chance to win, someone came along and did that. Sounds like a broken record at this point.
I was still hoping that Jang could do something to move up, but though her tee-to-green game was like it had been Saturday, her putting was not. Simply, she didn't make anything longer than four feet while I watched her. She missed a ~10 footer on 6. On 7, she did have an eagle try but missed and made birdie. On 9, she had a ~20 foot birdie, left the birdie try a foot or two away from the hole, then missed that for bogey.
The hole position on 10 was stupid; it was on a high part of the green that it was almost impossible to stop close to. The only way to do it I think would be to get really lucky, or get on in two and two putt. She hit it close there, but it rolled back twenty feet like every other shot I saw on that hole did. Finally on 12 she hit her third to two feet, but even there Khang hit it closer (although amazingly, Khang missed the birdie and Jang made it).
Joon was five back, made a great tee shot on 13 but once again missed the birdie. At that point I called it a day.
I enjoyed Saturday so much that I can forget about Sunday. I'm really interested in seeing what Joon does next. She does seem to have some potential, but can she handle tougher courses and the heat when she contends? That remains to be seen.
