Safeway Classic

[cougar]

Sag, it was the first time for anyone in the LPGA. Several players called for rulings to make sure they were entitled to playing the preferred lies. One caddie said that they had six such events. The area around the green was most questioned. The collar did not count, but the next cut did. Nobody really liked the local rule, but most took advantage of it.

I walked the front nine as a gallery of 1, for Beth Bader, Erica Blasberg, and Anna Grzebien. I like to follow a group that I know all three players and all three caddies. Beth really played well, and could have had two more putts drop. As is was three under was great! Her caddie told me that she had some luck on the back nine, hitting two trees and bouncing back into the fairways, but sank some nice putts also. On the par 5 eighth hole Erica was in the trees with her tee shot. She had to keep a shot low to get back into the fairway. She hit what should have been a very good recovery, but it hit the yellow gallery rope dead center and dropped straight down into the rough. She could not reach the green from there and eventually made a bogey.

Rain did not stop play, as it was light and just bothersome. I took cover in a tent, and watched as Michelle Wie kept hitting balls on the range as if the weather was just fine. Several others also kept on practicing. After the rain stopped, I went out to watch Candie Kung for a few holes and then followed Christina, I.K. and Catriona play 7 and 8. I waited by the eighth green for several groups, and then went in with Shiho Oyama, Amy Yang and Marcy Hart. There was quite a long discussion in the scoring tent when they finished, and a rules official took Amy and Shiho out to the 11th and 18th holes to resolve a couple of issues. Both players received two shot penalties for incorrectly dropping after going into the water hazard. They apparently played under the lateral water hazard (red stakes) rule instead of the water hazard rule (yellow stakes).

Crowds appeared to be quite good, and as I gazed out toward the parking lot mid-morning, I could see a steady stream of cars coming in.

[greentee]

.
Great pics, great reports. Day two should see who is on the move. GO Eun Hee Ji.... and Michelle, great to see her stepping up and out, like watching a flower bloom. :-)

[bangkokbobby]

Looking at the second round pairings:
SECOND ROUND PAIRINGS

...the group that stands out for me has two of my absolute favorites, Se Ri going out with Yani...but I am a little apprehensive...both have a penchant for throwing in the one bad round a tournament, despite their success...I hope they both play well, and Mika Miyazato too, and neither has that off round that could throw off the rhythm of the group...

...I also really like the Seon Hwa-Candie-Redman group...this could actually produce a suprise winner here...in round one, these three combined for 21 birdies and just 3 bogeys with Seon Hwa having a 7 birdie and no bogeys round...

...two groups I really have my eye on are JJ-JRo-Pettersen and Prammanasudh-AiChan-Stanford...I expect both of those groups to post really low numbers...J-Ro has really struggled for a long time now but was coming around a bit in her last two tournaments, Wegmans and Jamie Farr...in fact making most of the money she's made this year from just those two events...hopefully she can hold on and pick up a more significant check this week...

...and lest I forget Michelle...not feeling a lot of heat from her pairing with Il Mi Chung and Carri Wood (now if it had been Tiger Woods...well...)...both are good players...I particularly like Il Mi, who is looking to cross into six figures for prizemoney this year...but I dunno, I just don't feel a lot of sparks here...but who knows, maybe they'll go out and torch the course today!

La Reina at the pro-am Thursday:

[Keith]

C'mon Stacy hang in there.

[Elf]

Lorena was close to missing the cut for the first time in years. She birdied the last two holes and made the cut. But.... definitely she is losing her leadership and a new Number One is coming up soon. Have no idea who will be. Kerr, Shin, Wie, Creamer, Yani, Morgan? Who knows but it is going to be a battle between many. Annika held the title for many years with Webb as her main rival. Lorena was the undisputed Number one for three years. I believe, as in many sports, the yellow jersey that represents the best pro will change quite often.

Originally Posted by Elf

Lorena was close to missing the cut for the first time in years. She birdied the last two holes and made the cut. But.... definitely she is losing her leadership and a new Number One is coming up soon. Have no idea who will be. Kerr, Shin, Wie, Creamer, Yani, Morgan? Who knows but it is going to be a battle between many. Annika held the title for many years with Webb as her main rival. Lorena was the undisputed Number one for three years. I believe, as in many sports, the yellow jersey that represents the best pro will change quite often.

I don't believe Lorena will lose the #1 Rolex ranking for a while yet. She's a big lead and results the last 2 years count and she had good results earlier this year. I envisage if things don't change - Cristie will probably end the year as POY and #1 in the money list with Lorena #1 in the rankings. Same sort of unsatisfactory situation we had in 2006.

I've always thought the world rankings lagged behind the reality and took too long to catch up with who the best player in the world actually is when things change. The #1 in the money list and the POY have been in agreement at the end of the year for the last 10 years or more. And if you asked me to name the best player in the world at the end of each year - it just so happens that without fail it's always agreed with the POY and the money list leader.

I think Lorena was the best player in the world at the end of 2006, 2007, 2008. At the end of 2006 she was on top of every list except the world rankings. But she had to wait till the Spring or Summer of 2007 before the world rankings caught up. Every tournament in 2007 before Lorena was #1 in the world rankings - the likes of Dottie Pepper and analysts were asked who was the real #1 and best player.

I think Lorena's been the best player for nearly 3 years now - starting shortly before the end of the 2006 season. But she's only been ranked #1 the last two and a quarter years - but this may well yet be 3 years before it changes.

[bangkokbobby]

...second round thoughts...

...Se Ri's the Hall of Fame Seoul Sister...Ji Yai is the Next Big Thing...but quietly, Seon Hwa Lee just keeps playing well year after year...her 2009 win is in reach...but there are many sharks in the water near the top of the leaderboard...

...Ai Miyazato...muy caliente! She is locked in...here's what breaking through for that first win can do for a player's confidence...are you listening, Michelle...

...MJ Hur...scorched the back nine at 5-under Saturday...will her great play continue Sunday...

...JJ...she was smoking early in the round but came back down to earth late...could have been in the hunt for the win...not completely out of it at 6-under, but it would take a lot of good players stumbling...still a great week so far...

...Michelle Wie...the definition of a roller coaster round...two bogeys...two birdies...two bogeys...three birdies...she always makes it an interesting ride...

...My Thais....Russy, Pornanong and Stacy all are looking at good weeks...Russy at 6-under after two...Pornanong and Stacy thaied...uh, tied...at 5-under...

...Ji Yai Shin...a good round 2...but again, slipped in a bad start again which makes her have to play lights out just to get back into contention...not enough rounds to do that this week...also, if you are a Ji Yai fan, you are hoping Nordvist doesn't win this week...as of Saturday, Ji Yai is the clear Rookie of the Year...but if Nordvist wins on Sunday to go along with her Major earlier this year...Anna might still trail in ROY points but the argument of whose year is better, with Ji Yai playing far more events, gets muddier...

...Meena...oh gosh, what could have been...three straight bogeys to close out the round or she would have been right there with the leaders...argh!

...Kyeong Bae...shocking week...man oh man...17-over through 2 rounds...I wonder if that's the worst two rounds of her professional career...here's the scorecard...yikes: LPGA.com

some pics:





Christina playing golf or in Jedi training?

[Ricearoni]

Well, it was a workout on the course today. Spouse and I grabbed breakfast, watched a bit of the practicing, then split - me to the 10th tee, he to the lst. My group made it to the 15th hole before what began as a spring-like shower became a heavy and unceasing downpour. Ugh! Seems like all of us - players and fans - believed the Weather Channel. What were we thinking? To make matters worse, water bagan to pool on the 16th green and a grounds crew had to be called to clear it. This procedure took about 45 minutes, clearly irritating Michelle Redmond whose play on that hole had been interrupted. On the plus side, Dorothy played a better round, I finally got to see the back 9, and (when the rain clouds cleared) we were treated to an aerial show by the Airforce Thunderbirds. Very fun.

Speaking of fun, during one cloudburst, I made a side trip to the Safeway 19th hole and sampled some of the PNW's finest beer, wines and spirits. A very popluar place. I then sat in the stands at 18, watching several groups finish. There was lots of applause for good approaches, of course, but also for fan favorites - MW, Suzann, Helen, etc. They've set the stands up nicely so that there is plenty of room for fans to sit or stand around the green, as well as sit in the stands. This should make it easy for more folks to see the conclusion tomorrow.

Spouse and I met up at the 18th green after Lorena had completed her round. Spouse reports that she was still battling a cold. Her fans were a little less in number than usual, so walking with her 3some was a lot easier. He spoke briefly with her fiance who is very friendly, but a bit more reserved than she is.

We're just making our plan of action for tomorrow. Likely, he'll follow his favorite while I follow the lead group. In spite of the rain, it's been a great trip.

[cougar]

I went out the back nine with Kris Tamulis, Allison Hanna-Williams and Jee Young Lee. Kris hit a nice wedge shot close to make her birdie. Jee Young was a foot off the green in two and made her birdie. On the 11th hole, all three hit the green, but none could make a birdie putt.

After watching them tee off on the 12th hole, I went over to the 14th hole to catch up with Pat Hurst, I.K. Kim, and Morgan Pressel. As they were teeing off, I heard a big cheer from the area of the third hole and knew it had to be a hole-in-one. Sure enough, I confirmed with Song Hee Kim's caddie later that she hit a 7 iron into the cup. A side note on it is that there was a baby bird walking around near the tee, and efforts to shoo it away were not successful. Finally, Song Hee hit her tee shot with the bird nearby, and holed it out. Both other players in the group made birdies there.

Pat Hurst hit a wedge shot stiff on the par 5 15th hole and made her birdie. I.K. Kim caught the bunker with her third shot and made bogey. She recovered on the 16th hole with a nice tee shot and putt for birdie. Pat Hurst pulled her tee shot into the bunker and made bogey. On the 17th hole, Morgan pushed her tee shot into the creek, but it bounced out into the rough. She hit a nice flop shot onto the green, but could not convert her putt. I.K. hit a big drive on the 18th hole (284 yards), barely rolled off the green hole high to the left, and then made the putt for birdie.

I rested for a while and then checked out the Safeway tent. There seemed to be about the same items as in previous years, but I only sampled a few morsels and bagged a few non-perishable items for later. Shortly after I returned to the practice area, it started raining - more than yesterday. It did not last long, but the second wave was much stronger and longer. As we watched the scoreboard, several people remarked that the final morning group's score stayed the same for a long time. We later found out that the rain created a puddle on the 16th green, and one of the players requested that the green be swept off instead of taking a drop to a new location. As it turned out, she two putted for par anyway.

The remainder of the day was spent wandering around different holes and watching as many players as possible. Nice birdie putts on the 13th green were made by Michelle Wie, Haeji Kang, and Anja Monke.

The Thunderbirds put on a terrific air show that was seen from most parts of the golf course. Luckily, it was not too loud to inhibit play.

Interesting that the cut was 70 players on the nose. Can you imagine the problems if there were 85 players that made the cut?

[bangkokbobby]

Originally Posted by Ricearoni

I finally got to see the back 9, and (when the rain clouds cleared) we were treated to an aerial show by the Airforce Thunderbirds. Very fun.

They showed some of the Thunderbirds on the telecast...I know they are super well trained pilots...still, I was a bit nervous, actually quite a bit terrified, having them so close!

Some Safeway pics from the OGA:

Michelle Wie (in the rain)






Christina Kim




w/Natalie Gulbis




Natalie Gulbis


Anna Nordvist


Ai Miyazato




Paige Mackenzie


Cristie Kerr


J-Ro


Suzann Pettersen


J-Ro and Pettersen