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McDonalds LPGA Championship [Spoilers, oh yes, spoilers.]

JB said:
Nice to have live coverage again though.
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Very cool of GC to use the time allotted for the replay to start live coverage again. Yay GC!

(Now if that automatic DVR update and recording correction would get invented.)
 
Yeah, I figured that was a no-brainer for them, but ya never know.
 
JB said:
Yeah, I figured that was a no-brainer for them, but ya never know.
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I wonder how dark it really is? They can adjust the cameras so much that they can make it look light when it's nearly black out.

Since all of my girls seem to be out of it, I think I'm going to root for Kristy McPherson. (She would be one of my regulars but for the belly putter.)
 
Shes a Tampa girl...Good choice. hehe
 
I think I'm going to go tomorrow. PC, Gulbis, and Wie are still playing, and CK and others may be circulating around watching the play as well. If so, I'm bringing best_wife_ever and the 10 month old. (Is bringing an infant to a golf tournament considered bad form?)
 
I dont think so as long as they are okay with it. You dont want a screaming baby obviously.
 
Ha that would make some friends. Especially in the backswing. We'll be strategic about where we bring her. We've gotten pretty good at zone defense.

So look for me -- I'll be wearing my white THP shirt! Too bad the belt buckles aren't ready yet JB.
 
worst_shot_ever said:
I think I'm going to go tomorrow. PC, Gulbis, and Wie are still playing, and CK and others may be circulating around watching the play as well. If so, I'm bringing best_wife_ever and the 10 month old. (Is bringing an infant to a golf tournament considered bad form?)
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Very cool--the baby will get you lots of attention, and we'll watch for you. Be sure to yell, "Get in the hole!" a lot, so we know it's you.
 
ClairefromClare said:
Very cool--the baby will get you lots of attention, and we'll watch for you. Be sure to yell, "Get in the hole!" a lot, so we know it's you.
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You are up late.
 
worst_shot_ever said:
Ha that would make some friends. Especially in the backswing. We'll be strategic about where we bring her. We've gotten pretty good at zone defense.

So look for me -- I'll be wearing my white THP shirt! Too bad the belt buckles aren't ready yet JB.
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We will be WSE.
 
Final Round pairings

The last few groups: (for those too lazy to click the link:act-up:)
Start Time : 2:04 PM
Kyeong Bae
Nicole Castrale

Start Time : 2:12 PM
Angela Stanford
Stacy Lewis

Start Time : 2:20 PM
Jiyai Shin
Kristy McPherson

Start Time : 2:28 PM
Jin Young Pak
Na Yeon Choi

Start Time : 2:36 PM
Anna Nordqvist
Lindsey Wright

TV TIME STARTS AT 4:00

Rooting for Kristy McPherson to get her first Win/Major! I am impressed by how she has played both the majors so far this year. Likes the pressure?
 
If you yell The hackers paradise luvs ya at KM or MW, there is a prize pack in it for you...hehe

Or better yet hold up a sign that says it...hehe
 
Has anyone else noticed that Paula is wearing a dress today? A lot of people say they aren't sure about dresses on the golf course, but I say don't knock it until you try it. That extra breeze on a hot day is quite refreshing :wink:
 
And you GG just got a RL dress like another Morgan.
 
They are trying to compare Nordqvist's swing to Annika's. Even in their own slo-mo it looks NOTHING like it. If the girl was not from where she was, they would never say a thing about it.
 
I saw that, they must have needed some filler. Because it accomplished nothing else.
 
They came back and showed 2 swings and one putt and went back to commercial again. It seems that there are more and more breaks than normal this year.
 
Heckuva putt by Nordqvist.
 
She held on for the win. Great hanging through. Then got blasted in the face with champagne.
 
Vey nice approach for Nordqvist on 18. Ended the tournament perfectly. I hope they can get off the Sorenstam kick.
 
Wow, impressive. That was such an impressive round to be leading for three straight days, only your 5th tournament on the tour and at a MAJOR. She played beautifully all day and great way to finish with the approach on 18. Impressive.

The reason they mention Annika so much (besides being from the same country) is that Anna was a beneficiary of Annika's scholarship she developed for Sweedish golfers, she has been working at Annika's academy this year and is now working with Henry Reis, Annika's coach.
 
Yeah but when they compared their swings and they were nothing alike, come on. I hope they don't put a bunch of pressure on her to be the next Annika.
 
I agree, Anna is 6 feet tall, not going to be the same swing. The comparison in their swings is ridiculous, but you can see why they would mention Annika.

As for the rest of the coverage and golf. I was disappointed with the coverage for the last few holes. I would have liked to see Angela and Kristy's par putts that they apparently missed to drop down to 8 under. Looking on the LPGA website Kristy bogied 16 and Anglea 17.
Disappointed in Michelle Wie with 2 double bogies today!

Funny to see Bivens give the trophy to Anna just because of the height difference! Anna has to love that she isn't teeing off tomorrow at 7:58 AM anymore.
 
So I attended the event for the final round, up until about the time that the GC coverage began (it was very warm and we wanted to get the baby out of the heat). A few thoughts I took away from the event.

1. I arrived just as Natalie Gulbis was teeing off. She was very dark, with very white teeth, and was wearing a very fetching black Adidas skort and shirt. I watched her drive, a nice shot into the middle of the fairway, but didn't follow her then. Later I met up with her again on 9 and 10. It's too bad TGC didn't start its coverage then, because she was just a few feet from me for her approach on 10 and I would have been right in the middle of the shot with my THP shirt and all. Her gallery had become pretty massive by then, and of a slightly different demographic than many of the other galleries. Perhaps not surprisingly, it was there that I ran across the "get in the hole" guy. He bellowed his trademark phrase about a half-nano-second after the ball left her putter face. Sadly, it did not listen, and she had a two-footer coming back.

2. Rich Lerner is really tall. And thin. I saw him from about 30 feet or so, but even from that distance he looked like he had stepped out of an El Greco painting. Can you believe his interview with Lorena Ochoa? So, you're getting married soon, any thought about when you'll be hanging them up -- or words to that effect. Are you kidding me?

3. The players were very accessible to the fans. I spoke to or otherwise exchanged pleasantries, smiles, or wise-cracks with a bunch of players. As a general rule, I thought most of them looked much better in person than they do on TV, probably because they look more normal and natural in person. And to watch them strike the ball was truly impressive. So here's a few of my brushes with greatness today:
  • Paige Mackenzie (very friendly);
  • Irene Cho (walking between 9 and 10; she had just putted out, and was all by herself.);
  • In-Kyung Kim (a smile across the language barrier);
  • Se Ri Pak (this was funny. I was crossing the path between the 18th green and the scorer's tent. I wasn't really paying attention, and I looked up and she was right in front of me walking off the green. I said, "Oh, hi, Se Ri!" and she literally stopped and started waiving at the baby and said "hi!" She was very pretty and charming about it, all the more impressive since she had just finished a lousy round by her standards.)
  • Lorena Ochoa (much shorter and more petite than I had expected; she wore a very attractive outfit today, and she's not one I generally think of as pretty. I think her face looks softer in person.)
  • Katherine Hull (who was joking with her caddy that she was playing the wrong course after she made a tough par from the wrong side);
  • Yani Tseng (and her caddy, who is quite cute, but weighs less than the bag she was carrying; Yani absolutely crushed her 3W off the first tee. Amazing, fearless swing. And so friendly, too -- life is just a big bowl of cherries for her. I'm a fan.)

Of course, I saw a whole host of players from close proximity, some of whom I recognized, some not, but didn't have a chance to catch their eye or interact. A few of the standouts in that category:

  • Paula Creamer (and her famous manservant -- super cute outfit today.)
  • Angela Stanford (only saw her on the practice putting green; her group was later in the round and I had to pack it in before I could circle back to her)
  • Kristy McPherson (She's just a stud, no question about it.)
  • Natti G (as described above)
  • Michele Wie (see below)
  • Inbee Park
  • Soo-Yung Kang (whose recent disappointment at Corning must still be eating at her, I'm sure. She is very elegant, attractive woman. Loved her outfit today.)
  • Kristy Kerr (who bogied the hell out of 9 while I watched by putting it in the fairway bunker).
  • Mika Miyazato (who hit an amazing approach on 9 from 200+ that rolled right by the hole and stopped about 8 feet away ... which she then missed!)
  • and the list goes on....

4. Let me also say that Michelle Wie is actually quite attractive in person, or at least much more so than has ever been apparent to me from the television and print images I've seen. I think 2D does bad things to the shape of her face and the cameras screw with her complexion -- in person, she was very pretty. Also, during the two holes I watched her play (from very close range by the way), she seemed very relaxed and just happy to be there. She and Eunjung Yi, her playing partner (from California), were chatting together quite a bit.

5. This was the first LPGA tournament I've ever attended. What a strange, interesting life it must be to play professional golf on the LPGA tour. First, putting on one of these annual tournaments is a MASSIVE production. The amount of logistical support required is a nightmare. (Where did the two huge mobile lightning rod cranes come from? Who thought to order the parking lot signs? Who got the programs together? Who organized the many player necessities? etc. etc.) Also, because it's a golf tournament, the stars -- the players -- exist in extreme close proximity to the spectators ... you can literally reach out and touch them. But they are also basically in a bubble inside the ropes; it's just them, their playing partner, their two caddies, and maybe one or two staffers, all sort of going through the steps of playing a round of competitive golf while trying to ignore all the people right next to them quietly watching them play. But those same people are secretly and desperately waiting for a chance to share one or two words or a smile, as if participating in the minor human formulae with a person who plays golf for a living is some big deal (then they go post about it on a golf forum when it happens :D ). Also, and despite the scale of the production that goes into the tournament, many of these players are simple journeywomen who grind it out each day, and lack much of the recognition factor a few of the stars have, except perhaps among the most avid fans; and sadly for them, unlike the PGA, they do so without much financial remuneration for their work (even the successful grinders don't take much home in winnings -- just take a look at the winnings for T23 at this particular Major: $18,000. You better have some good endorsement contracts if that's what a top 25 finish is going to pay out.). While others are phenomenally wealthy as a result of little better than middling play with a photogenic smile. I don't know, being there just made me feel a bit reflective.

6. Another thing I learned. It's better to watch on TV than to follow it at the course if you are interested in knowing what's happening. When I got home, I sat down and watched the round on the DVR so I could figure that out. Now, had I done my homework, known the course, and been strategic about who I followed and for how long, I might have been less at sea. I think the way Ricy does it is the right way. Bringing a baby and a non-golfing spouse to a single round is probably the wrong way, if your interest is in following the competition itself instead of playing golf celebrity jeopardy. Don't get me wrong -- I had a blast and it was very fun to share space with these phenomenally talented women. But I will concede that there is a better way to attend an LPGA event if you have the opportunity.
 
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