2015 RICOH Women’s British Open
Ayrshire, Scotland
Second-Round Notes
July 31, 2015
WE’RE IMPRESSED
As Pettersen worked her way through the post-round media scrum, it wasn’t lost on her just how good her round of 3-under-par 69 on Friday was. She was only one of five players to break par in the second round and other players in the field took notice of Pettersen’s effort.
“You know, with this weather, even par is still a really great score,” said So Yeon Ryu.
Lydia Ko said she was impressed when she saw Pettersen’s score posted.
“It was windy from this morning,” said Ko. “Might not have rained a lot but still there was a lot of wind out there. So to shoot even or under par is really impressive. Suzann, I don’t think she made that many bogeys - one bogey; that’s really impressive. To do that on any golf course without wind is hard. But it just shows how flawless she played.”
WEEKEND AT TURNBERRY
73 players made the 36-hole cut which fell at 5-over 149. Notables to miss the cut: Brittany Lincicome (+5), defending champ Mo Martin (+6), Paula Creamer (+6), Morgan Pressel (+6), Juli Inkster (+6), Laura Davies (+6), Karrie Webb (+11).
Martin becomes the the second defending champion to miss the cut since the event became a major in 2001. Catriona Matthew missed the cut in 2010 after her first major victory.
WIE WITHDRAWS
Michelle Wie withdrew after her 13th hole on Friday citing a foot injury. Wie was diagnosed with a bone spur prior to arriving at Turnberry this week and said that she stepped in a hole on the front nine and slipped on the 13th tee box re-aggravating the injury. She was 10-over par through 13 holes in the second round and was 14-over par for her 31 total holes.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
2 – Suzann Pettersen has posted back-to-back top-five finishes at the RICOH Women’s British Open the past two years after not scoring a top-10 in her first 11 tries at this tournament. However, for the first time in her career at this tournament, Pettersen will take at least a share of the lead into the weekend.
5 – So Yeon Ryu’s prediction for the winning score come Sunday is 5-under-par.
5 – Players broke par on Friday after 52 players on Thursday.
9 – Suzann Pettersen has won nine of the 15 times she’s held at least a share of the lead after 36 holes.
69 –Suzann Pettersen’s 3-under-par 69 Friday was the low round of the day.
5 – Rolex Rankings No. 1 Inbee Park is five shots back heading into the weekend.
149 – The cut line was 5-over-par 149 with 73 making it into the weekend.
BOUNCEBACK PAYS OFF FOR KO
With an 11:26 AM tee time Friday, Lydia Ko, who entered the day one shot back, was on the bad side of the draw, playing the brunt of her round in the worst of the Friday conditions. In other words, post as close to par as possible and avoid the disaster round. Mission accomplished for Ko Friday with a 1-over-par 73 that has her just two back of Suzann Pettersen at 5-under-par for the tournament heading into the weekend.
“It was really difficult,” said Ko. “The wind being strong is one thing; and it was a totally different direction to what it was yesterday. So that course was kind of like playing a new course. But it was so tough. The wind was really strong when we were by the water. So, you know, it was hard to keep it in the short stuff. So I made a couple bogeys because of that.”
But Ko showed a mental fortitude uncharacteristic of an 18-year-old in a major championship in the face of those three bogeys at 11, 12, and 13 by responding with back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15.
Now, Ko sits in prime position to potentially make history by surpassing Morgan Pressel as the youngest major champion in women’s golf history.
OH SHE’S HALFWAY THERE
Suzann Pettersen sets her eyes on the prize at the halfway point and has proven to be accomplished in closing out tournaments after leading or co-leading after 36 holes. Pettersen has held the second-round lead 15 times in her career and won nine of those times including the last five.
At majors, she has lead twice after two rounds, closing out one of those times which came at her first major
championship victory – 2007 McDonalds LPGA Championship. The other came at the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open where she finished tied for ninth.
NOT THAT TOM WATSON
Right over the back of the 18th green at Turnberry in 2009 is the spot the then 59-year-old Tom Watson infamously three putted with a one-shot lead to thwart his chances at becoming the oldest major champion in major history. Here Sunday on that same green another Tom Watson could win a British Open – So Yeon Ryu’s caddie Tom Watson.
Ryu, after an even-par 72, put her within two shots of the lead heading into the weekend admitted that her fellow competitors and their caddies have been having fun with her caddie this week.
“Everybody is joking around, ‘O, Tom Watson, you three putted right there, blah, blah, blah,’” Ryu said with a laugh. “So he’s just sick of it, but he’s just so used to it.”
But it is Watson that could ultimately have the last laugh come Sunday if he can continue to steer Ryu properly around the wind-swept Turnberry layout.
“He just understands what I’m going to hit and he understands what I want to hit, and then he understands links golf courses, and he understands what the weather’s like,” Ryu said. “So he is really helpful to this tournament.”
NEW STRATEGY, NEW COACH, NEW OUTLOOK ON THE LINKS
Suzann Pettersen’s older. She’s wiser, and she’s not about to test those fairway bunkers anymore. She used to try squeezing every tee shot through. That didn’t work out so well – zero top-10 finishes in her first 11 tries at the British. In the last two years at this event, where she’s finished in a tie for fourth and a tie for second in back-to-back years, she’s abandoned her former bombs away approach on links style courses and instead she’s laying back and just trying to make the game simple.
It’s much like the swing coach change she’s undergone under the tutelage of her new coach Butch Harmon, a switch that she believes has caused a career renaissance at 34 and has enabled her to practice more than ever before.
“It’s just a much easier move. Mentally it’s probably never been this easy for me,” Pettersen said. “Very easy for me to maintain the quality on my practice. I don’t feel like the thoughts and the swing thoughts kind of change from day to day. It’s very consistent. Literally the first thing we work on is still what we just kind of are nibbling on to be honest. Just nice to have somebody that can really push you and kind of take nothing but great success as like the ultimate goal.”
It’s particularly key on a golf course like this where there’s so much to think about lines and strategy wise. It’s impossible to add a million technical thoughts in as well so she only has one swing thought in her mind at all times on the course these days under Harmon.
“Well, I’m a lot wider. I’m much shallower, which is why I hit it a lot further. Essentially, handshake, handshake. It’s super simple,” Pettersen said. “He’s brought back – trying to back the simpleness. I’m trying to mess it up as much as I can but he’s pretty good at kind of getting me back on track.”
TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED
Compared to all of the other major championships, luck is said to play a more substantial role at this one than any other. The luck of the draw in specific always is a topic of conversation. At times the morning wave can take advantage of benign conditions and finish just as the fan – or the shower from the sky – seems to turn on. And obviously, there’s the vice versa to that too.
On this day, though, So Yeon Ryu was the beneficiary. The wind was ripping the massive Scottish flag hanging at the center of the property back and forth throughout the day but the rain and the gusts were a bit stronger in the afternoon.
“With this weather, even par is still a really great score,” Ryu said. “I think yesterday I shot 5-under-par and then I knew weather is going to be really bad for today. So I think it really made me feel comfortable to play with this weather with a pretty good under par yesterday. I think I really tried to enjoy this wet weather, because I know it’s always going to be like this.”
At least for the rest of the weekend. It appears the good weather of the two days prior are past us and the weekend will bring much of the same difficult conditions we saw Friday. But the gloomy weather won’t put a frown on Ryu’s face. Neither will four top-five finishes in her last seven starts but no wins, which had been frustrating her but not anymore after a recent talk with her sports psychologist.
“She just said, ‘don’t forget your motivation.’ My actual motivation is I’m happy. That’s why I’m playing golf,” Ryu said. “So I just kind of switched my mindset; okay, I’m still happy. Even though I hit a really bad shot, how blessed to be playing golf at this beautiful place. I always remind myself, I’m one of the luckier girls, let’s enjoy life. I think that kind of mindset helped me to more enjoy golf; and that makes me play well.”
QUOTES OF THE DAY
“The last six, seven holes it’s crosswind or into the wind. It was just really tough coming in. I don’t know what we’re going to get the next two days, but hopefully a little bit better. People might think we got the better side of the draw but it was pretty ugly this morning, as well. - Inbee Park on the tough conditions even in the earlier tee times
“I think like three. I was playing in three layers and my rain jacket, so four layers. But I had five layers on Monday and David (Leadbetter) said I look like I gained weight. So I’m trying not to wear a lot of clothes.” - Lydia Ko on how many layers she got by with on Friday
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