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Pebble Seaside served as a worthy host to this week’s U.S. Girls’s Open.
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Welcome again to the Monday End, the place not a single individual has ever invited us to testify earlier than the Senate. Sigh. To the information…
FIRST OFF THE TEE
Michelle Wie West and a champ who impressed.
Michelle Wie West grew up a golf prodigy in Hawaii. At age 10 she certified for the U.S. Girls’s Novice Public Hyperlinks, breaking the file for the youngest to ever achieve this. She attended the Punahou Faculty in Honolulu, the place she honed her recreation, showcased expertise and work ethic and plotted her subsequent steps on and off the course. A Hawaii State Open win adopted. Then a Curtis Cup look. Then faculty in California. An LPGA Tour card, too. And finally, a crowning achievement: A U.S. Girls’s Open.
Allisen Corpuz grew up a golf prodigy in Hawaii. At age 10 she certified for the U.S. Girls’s Novice Public Hyperlinks, breaking the file for the youngest to ever achieve this. She attended the Punahou Faculty in Honolulu, the place she honed her recreation, showcased expertise and work ethic and plotted her subsequent steps on and off the course. A Hawaii State Open win adopted. Then a Curtis Cup look. Then faculty in California. An LPGA Tour card, too. And finally, a crowning achievement: A U.S. Girls’s Open.
On Sunday night, some 20 minutes after she’d completed off the largest win of her life, Corpuz addressed the media. She was requested what reminiscences she had of U.S. Girls’s Opens previous. She didn’t hesistate.
“Yeah, I imply, the large one, after all, is Michelle profitable in 2014 at Pinehurst,” she mentioned. “I bear in mind being at dwelling and simply being amazed. Yeah, simply actually being impressed by her.”
Their paths are remarkably comparable. However Corpuz mentioned that, properly, she by no means in contrast herself to Wie West, who’d develop into Hawaiian {golfing} royalty by the point she’d began taking part in in earnest. That made sense — how may any junior golfer measure up? Positive, they every gained the Hawaiian State Open. However Wie West gained at age 12 — by 13 photographs. At age 14 she missed a PGA Tour minimize by only a single shot and had develop into a world sporting sensation. Even by the requirements of prodigies, she was in uncommon territory.
Corpuz’s highway to golf’s pinnacle was longer. Quieter, too. She spent 4 years at USC, the place she led the staff, gained thrice and earned first-team All-American honors.
“I used to be positively not as good as I’m now [when I was 18], and I do know I wasn’t prepared,” she mentioned Sunday, requested about the potential for turning professional earlier.
After commencement Corpuz earned her technique to the LPGA Tour the old school approach, by means of Q-Faculty. By the tip of the 2022 season she was the proprietor of two podium finishes and fourth within the race for Rookie of the Yr.
This started as Wie West’s week. 9 years after profitable her lone main championship at this similar occasion, the U.S. Girls’s Open at Pebble Seaside could be her ultimate occasion. Friday evening she went out in type, strolling off with a 31-footer for par.
It completed as Corpuz’s week after a gradual final-round efficiency punctuated by clutch putts when she wanted ’em essentially the most. In the long run that meant a three-shot victory. It meant incomes a congratulatory tweet from former U.S. President Barack Obama who, like her and like Wie West grew up on the Punahou Faculty. That was fairly particular, she mentioned, as a result of, “I imply, he’s executed so much in his profession.”
Hers isn’t going too badly, both.
WINNERS
A brand new crew and a 62.
When Wie West gained the Girls’s Open in 2014, she bought a test for $720,000. This yr Corpuz earned $2 million as a part of an $11 million complete purse, largest within the historical past of the ladies’s recreation. Good occasions!
Sepp Straka put collectively a preposterous ultimate spherical on the John Deere Basic, reeling off 9 birdies and an eagle by means of 14 holes. Not solely was the match win in play, 59 was, too. However then he missed a shortie for birdie at No. 17 after which overcooked a draw from the 18th fairway that missed the one place he couldn’t: the water left of the inexperienced. With one swing 59 was gone and maybe the match was, too.
However a lot to Straka’s delight, the chase pack stalled out simply shy of his profitable complete of 21 below par. He’s left with a test for $1.3 million, a second profession PGA Tour victory, a 62 and a hell of a narrative.
Rasmus Hojgaard started the ultimate spherical on the Made in HimmerLand six photographs behind the lead. He caught the lead by means of 72 holes — after which took six extra to outlast Nacho Elvira. The win was Hojgaard’s fourth on the DP World Tour and vegetation him squarely within the European Ryder Cup image.
Cameron Smith gained his second LIV occasion in a one-shot victory within the circuit’s return to Centurion, outdoors London.
I additionally observed Golf Channel flash by means of a quick LIV spotlight exhibiting Smith’s win, which I’ve not observed up so far — though I admittedly watched extra Golf Channel this weekend than standard.
ALSO-WINNERS
Reid, Reed and Reads.
That might be Reid as in Mel Reid, who impressed throughout her Dwell From debut alongside Brandel Chamblee and Anna Whiteley Jackson. The English golfer didn’t make the Girls’s Open subject however made a reputation for herself as a commentator and leaned into complicated discussions about driving distance and course setup. Right here’s hoping she performs effectively shifting ahead. But when she’s on the lookout for a change…
That might be Reed as in Patrick Reed, who completed a shot behind Smith at LIV London (regardless of a dramatic near-miss). The consequence was his fourth top-four end this LIV season, plus a runner-up end on the DP World Tour and a T4 on the Masters. I’m undecided Reed’s on anyone’s brief record of seemingly captain’s picks for the U.S. Ryder Cup, however essentially the most chaotic doable situation could be him ending on the rostrum on the Open Championship and inserting himself into that dialog.
Why Brandel Chamblee says this transfer is robbing the LPGA of pleasure
And that may be Reads as within the placing efficiency of Charley Hull, who shot a final-round 66 and rolled in 135 ft of putts on the afternoon. She completed first in strokes gained placing for the week, gaining 9.046 photographs on the greens with greater than three of these approaching Sunday. Plus her final-hole proclamation — “shy children don’t get sweets” — was a hell of a technique to announce you’re going for the inexperienced. Kudos.
Ludvig Aberg deserves reward, too, for bouncing again from a disappointing third spherical on the John Deere Basic to publish a Sunday 63 that vaulted him right into a share of fourth place, the very best results of his younger profession. He, too, will probably be within the dialog for a European Ryder Cup spot, in line with captain Luke Donald.
However I’d largely prefer to take a second to acknowledge the exhibiting of Jiyai Shin, a near-mythic character in LPGA circles. A decade in the past, Shin was capping off a five-year stretch throughout which period she gained 11 occasions on the LPGA Tour together with two main championships. She sat at World No. 1 for 25 weeks from 2010-11, the first-ever Korean to carry that spot. However she resigned her membership forward of the 2014 season and returned to Asia to be nearer to her household and prohibit her play primarily to the Korean and Japanese circuits.
However the 35-year-old hasn’t misplaced her recreation. Not even shut. In February she traveled to Australia and gained the Vic Open. That was certainly one of three wins throughout excursions within the first half of 2023, throughout which period she logged 10 top-10s in 13 begins. Within the final decade, Shin had solely sometimes performed in different continents and hadn’t performed within the U.S. since lacking the minimize on the 2019 U.S. Girls’s Open. However this week she sat at even par by means of two rounds earlier than taking pictures 70 on Saturday after which lived as much as her nickname — Remaining Spherical Queen — with the second-best rating of the day.
Shin was eloquent after the spherical and described herself as thrilled to see what number of followers she nonetheless had in america.
“I’m so enthusiastic about taking part in at Pebble Seaside, and till the final gap I had followers cheering me up, and I believe I had a lovely end. So though I didn’t win the championship, I’m as blissful as being a champion. I believe that this expertise left me an indelible impression, and I’ll always remember this week.”
As for future U.S. journey — and a return to this occasion?
“Properly, earlier than this match my finest end was fifth, so that is my new file with the U.S. Open. So I believe I’ll look ahead to yet another step up.”
NOT-WINNERS
Massive names, large video games.
It was an odd week for the highest of the Rolex Rankings. World No. 1 Jin Younger Ko missed the minimize at a course that, on paper, would have suited her exact ball-striking fairly effectively. World No. 2 Nelly Korda shot a final-round 80, second-highest rating of the day, to complete T64. World No. 3 Lydia Ko was by no means an element and completed T33. World No. 4 Lilia Vu shot 79-82 to overlook the minimize. It was an uneven and shocking exhibiting for the LPGA’s largest stars. This was every week for newer stars to shine, with LPGA rookies Bailey Tardy and Rose Zhang amongst these within the high 10.
COURSE TALK
Pebble Seaside and Pebble’s attain.
We’re getting somewhat wordy already and there’s loads of Monday End nonetheless to return so let’s hold this temporary: Essential venues elevate golf occasions. Hearken to Corpuz:
“I imply, I believe personally after I watch golf on TV it makes it a lot extra attention-grabbing to know the course, and I believe, such as you mentioned, it helped to get us numerous viewers this week. Particularly simply figuring out the historical past. Tiger simply completely annihilated the place.”
The truth that this week’s occasion was at Pebble Seaside made each related storyline that rather more attention-grabbing.
As for the course itself? I discovered myself keyed into early-round featured group protection to see how the course was taking part in. I assumed, like Chamblee and Reid identified on Golf Channel, the par-5s performed a bit one-dimensional. However I additionally thought match organizers adjusted effectively on the fly, shifting up some tees on the weekend to arrange a terrific check with a mixture of birdies and bogeys.
CADDIE CORNER
Looper loans and homophones.
Okay, it must be “homonyms” however the rhyme was too good to move up. I’m talking right here of Jay Monahan, caddie to Allisen Corpuz, who shares a reputation with the soon-to-return-to-action PGA Tour commissioner.
“I’m actually excited for each of us,” Corpuz mentioned. “He works actually exhausting for me and he’s certainly one of my finest mates at this level most likely, so simply to have the ability to share that with him is absolutely particular.”
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Monahan (this Monahan, not the commissioner) is married to a special main champ, LPGA professional Jennifer Kupcho. He and Corpuz bought related on the finish of January 2022, had a “actually good first week” and have been collectively ever since.
“I believe [Kupcho] offers him some recommendation to move on to me,” she mentioned. “Yeah, simply type of has at all times felt like an older brother to me.”
Straka, in the meantime, gained with a loaner caddie whose identify — and calves — chances are you’ll be acquainted with. That’d be Duane Bock, longtime caddie to Kevin Kisner.
Whereas Straka didn’t discuss his association with Bock, the unique plan was for Bock to loop for him on the John Deere after which once more on the Open Championship. No phrase on whether or not that has modified after their victory collectively.
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NEWS FROM SEATTLE
Crews and footwear.
Monday End HQ has formally gotten agency and quick, which is nice information for the golf programs if considerably alarming for our upcoming fireplace season. I had an important outing with some good buddies at West Seattle Golf Course — arguably the town’s finest muni — one late night final week. I used to be happy to discover a course that I’m used to taking part in in 45 levels and sop had a completely completely different character to it.
I additionally put a pair pairs of muddy sneakers (one golf, one operating) by means of the washer and am amazed how significantly better they emerged on the finish. Simply thought it’s best to know.
WHAT’S NEXT
Hyperlinks, drinks and thinks.
That’s hyperlinks as in Hyperlinks Golf Szn on the PGA Tour, which begins with this week’s Genesis Scottish Open and takes us into the Open Championship subsequent week. Regardless that I’d like to see the professionals tee it up at neighboring North Berwick, I’ll gladly accept some espresso golf this week earlier than I head east to hitch the gang for some main championship protection subsequent week.
That’s drinks as in me questioning what number of Pimm’s Cups have been consumed by Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth and their respective wives throughout their journey to Wimbledon final week. The American tennis contingent hasn’t fared significantly effectively of their journey to England — time to see if the golfers can do higher.
And that’s thinks as in a visit contained in the thoughts of Viktor Hovland, who joined me on the vary at Karsten Creek in Oklahoma for a 10-minute session that became 40. I hope you’ll take pleasure in a take a look at his golf swing and his persona, too.
We’ll see you subsequent week!
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