Safeway Classic , Aug 20-22

[NTB]

Ai Bio states her driving distance as 280 I think that is in error.

[cougar]

Had to get the umbrella out for a short while. At least it was not a downpour. There were a few tough pin placements, but the course seemed to be set up fairly. I saw Pat Hurst make an eagle on #8 with three perfect shots. When I remarked that it was the second one I saw this week, she said that I should follow on more holes. Later, I caught up with her on #17, just in time to see her chip in for her third eagle of the tournament. Unfortunately, she struggled the rest of the time.

Toyotas park free at the tournament. All others pay $5.

More later tonight.

[LoJo]

Originally Posted by notaxbill

Ai Bio states her driving distance as 280 I think that is in error.

I'd guess that's in error too, NTB! Sheesh. Didn't someone (cougar?) say something was set up weird with the measurements. I think he said that the people measuring were doing it based on who was listed first on the pairings sheet or something like that.

Well, the first day Ai was paired with Wie and Webb, both of whose driving distances are greater than Ai's....so, maybe that was what caused the odd looking driving distance for her.

By the way....big congrats to Ai for winning the Safeway. She played just so well. I thought Kerr was gonna catch her, but uncharacteristic 'iffy' putting on Cristie's part today.

[cougar]

Back from dinner with Ricearoni.

When I was out on #17, I saw one of the rules officials. As I was chatting with him, a spectator came over and said that one of players had dropped in the wrong spot. He explained what happened, and since there was no marshal on the right side of the green, I was asked if I would watch for balls going in that direction. The hole was playing downhill at 230 yards, so all of the players could reach the par 4 hole. (As it turns out, only one ball ended up on the green all day, and that was because of a lucky bounce.) As a designated "rules assistant" I was able to sit in the members only area to watch for balls entering the hazard or elsewhere to the right of the green. If there was a camera pointed from the tee to the green, you might have caught a glimpse of me.

I was put to work right away, as one ball caromed off the brick wall into the weeds. The player hit out by could only manage a bogey. Two balls were hit into the water, so I marked the spot where they crossed the yellow line. They were hit by Inbee Park and Vicky Hurst. Gloria Park's ball hit into the middle of the creek, and bounced onto the middle of the green. She made the 15 foot putt for eagle.

It appeared that most players were trying to fade a three wood into the opening, but almost all of them ended up in the left rough or bunker. Several made amazing shots from the rough. 90 percent of those who were just behind the hole missed the putt to the right, one from about two feet. For some reason the players could not read the break properly. The smart play appeared to hit a mid-iron to the left side of the fairway. A short chip shot would leave an excellent birdie opportunity. It appeared that only a handful of players did that, including Suzann.

[cougar]

Originally Posted by Blue

Thanks as always for the report Cougar.

On TV they reported that Meaghan Francella is out with Lyme Disease. Did you hear anything else about this from your connections? Judy Ranking reported that it can be extremely serious if not caught early.

Yes, Morgan's grandmother mentioned it to me. I think she said it was from a tick, but did not know exactly where it occurred. It is a shame, because Meaghan was just starting to play well again this year. I guess it must have happened sometime after I talked to Meaghan's mom in Rochester.

[Ricearoni]

Great time today -

We arrived at about mid morning and stood at the 9th green watching players mostly avoid the water. A notable exception was MW whose drive was a decent length, but whose 2nd shot was wet. You know Mom and Dad as well as most fans cringed. Crowds gathered steadily and folks dispersed throughout the course. Most folks here seem very golf knowledgeable - remarking on good drives, good play. Some are a little less LPGA knowledgeable - I overheard one woman state that Ai and Mika were sisters. I couldn't let that go uncorrected. At about 11:30 I moved to the 10th tee box and watched groups tee off until we all scrambled for cover from a quick rain shower. I moved over the the practice area, wished Cristie well, then took a quick lesson from one of the teaching pros. After a quick lunch, I walked up to the 9th tee box where there was a delay. I turned to watch the play at the 8th green and saw Brittany L seated in a folding chair - hope she was okay. We all withstood another quick shower, then I moved to the 10th green where I could keep one eye on an electronic scoreboard, and the other watching each of the final twosomes come through. Later I joined Spouse at the 14th green and cheered on the good play from there. Finally we moved to greenside at the 18th where we could see the approaching players and the manual scoreboard. Tons of fans there, but plenty of room to see. It was fun to see Laura and Suzann birdie the hole with practically the same shots. Suzanne was clearly dissappointed with her play. We all applauded each of the players, and, of course hailed Ai as she completed a wonderful tournament. The trophy presentation was well done - short and sweet - lots of thanks to Safeway, presentation of a huge check to the diminutive Ai, and gracious remarks by her.

It was a great time and we look forward to coming back next year.

[Putter]

Ricearoni & Cougar - thanks for the great reports from both of you. I'll try to post some items from the "Canuck" but no guarantees! I will have pictures, so I'll post those again this year. Anyone else going to the Canuck??

[Ricearoni]

Originally Posted by Putter

I'll try to post some items from the "Canuck" but no guarantees! I will have pictures, so I'll post those again this year.

Looking forward to it Putter.