PARK WITHDRAWS WITH BACK INJURY
Rolex Rankings No. 2 Inbee Park kept the expectations for this week very low and it turned out to be a very good but unfortunate foreshadowing to the season opener. She opened with a 7-over 80 and withdrew after the first round citing a back injury. She also withdrew from next week’s Coates Golf Championship and plans to be back in action at the Honda LPGA Thailand next month.
“I’ve always had a little lower back problem and some weeks it just gets bit worse and today happened to be one of those days,” said Park. “Hopefully in Thailand I’ll be in really good shape!”
Park told media on Wednesday prior to the first round that she has always played poorly in the winter and fall months. Today’s score was the second-highest round of her career and worst since 2011 (79 at the KEB-HanaBank Championship). She shot 81 in the final round of the 2009 LPGA Wegmans.
“Fall and winter, I’m horrible. I mean, it’s good actually that I am a golfer and playing good in summer. Sometimes in wintertime when I play I’m like, You’re so bad. First couple tournaments I feel like I’m a totally different player. I get disappointed in the first couple tournaments always. All 10 years I’ve played on tour, all 10 years I’m thinking, Am I really a professional golfer?”
Park had eight bogeys, three birdies and a double bogey in the round. She played the last four holes 5-over par and had her double on the par 5 15th hole.
QUOTABLE
“Definitely, it’s (UL International Crown and Olympics) definitely been on my mind especially after making Solheim Cup last year and this being the first year of the Olympics. I have until July 11th, that date is just in my mind. I have a lot of time and I feel like if I play well, I’ll have a good chance, I’ll have a good chance, I’ll have a good run at it. So we’ll see.” -Alison Lee on keeping track of the rankings for qualifying for the UL International Crown and the Olympics
“I came into the week or the year actually wanting to learn a lot from my peers. Alison, and Austin are in my pod, so just people that I’ve known throughout junior golf, amateur golf I wanted to definitely talk to them and learn as much as I can. I don’t want to sit back and wish I would have asked or would have known. I want to be proactive about it, so that’s definitely helped. I went to the pro-am party with Alison and just trying to meet as many people as I can and make myself as comfortable as possible out here.” -Ashlan Ramsey on her plan to be proactive with asking questions in her rookie season
LIKING A LITTLE HOLIDAY
Charley Hull said she’s never taken more than a single day off in her past off-seasons but decided this year hanging up the clubs for a little bit would be a good thing. The 19-year old from England said her seven-day break was definitely a recharging factor in how she feels this week.
“Yeah, I felt like I need it,” said Hull. “It was quite interesting actually because last year I went to Ibiza for like five days and that’s the first time I ever had five days of golf and came back and I played really well. I finished, I think I finished at the top couple of -- I felt refreshed. I thought I’d try that after Christmas and it was, good so I’m definitely going to try it again this year.”
Hull opened with a bogey-free 5-under 68 and holds a share of the lead with six others and said starting her second year on Tour with exempt status was something she was really looking forward to. She can’t wait to be able to plan some vacations in 2016. Hull started her rookie season last year with Category 17 status after finishing T28 at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament but moved up on the priority list at the reshuffle after a few good finishes early in the year.
“What I’m quite buzzed about that like I’ve got my full status and I can plan what tournaments I want to play in, and I know where I can go and if I can go on holiday and stuff because in previous years I didn’t know what I was playing in,” said Hull. “I could never go on holiday apart from it’s just nice to know what I’m playing in and what I’m not playing in.”
Asked if she set any goals for 2016, Hull mentioned a lot of top 10s and to enjoy the year. How about a win?
“Yeah, I want to have a win,” said Hull.
ACE FOR MARTIN
Watch Video of Mo Martin's Hole-In-One
Mo Martin wasn’t feeling great about her season-opening round through her first 11 holes, but there always one thing that can turn an entire day around. Martin was 2-over par with no birdies walking to the par 3 12th tee box. She had a conversation with her new caddie, Craig Castrale, about club selection and turned out to be the right one.
“Yeah, so 150 front, 157, and it was straight right to left, but starting it out right I knew it was going to hurt it a little bit,” said Martin. “I was right in between 6 and 5. This is Craig and I’s first tournament together and we haven’t had a birdie. I still haven’t. We’ve had a hole in one together but not a birdie. I was in between 6 and 5 and I said I was a little hesitant with 6. He said no, I like it. I said I have to work with 5 to take some off. He said yeah, I love that. Aimed it just right of the tower and hit it perfectly.”
With one stroke of her 5-iron, Martin notched her second hole-in-one in LPGA competition and first since the 2013 Lorena Ochoa Invitational. She’s had six overall in her golf career.
“It was funny, I was thinking about the other hole in one I had at Lorena’s event a couple years ago, I felt like I was very much in the same mindset,” said Martin. “Hit it well. The green’s kind of sandy there so we saw the sand hit and it looked good and it rolled a little bit and went straight in.”
She said the celebration and reaction was a little bit delayed and the glare of the sun didn’t make it any easier.
“A little delayed because we were just like, Did that really go in or did that not go in?” Martin said. “There was a lot of glare. But it had been a little bit of a lackluster day before that so it was a little delayed on my part, too. But this game’s crazy. It’s nice to break the seal on the holes in one.”
STING LIKE A BEE
Michelle Wie surely didn’t see her 2016 season getting off to the start she had on Thursday.
“On the 16th hole, my seventh, hole, I was waiting to hit my tee shot and I felt something sting and it hurt really, really bad and I knew it was a bee, and I brushed it away and the stinger was still in there and we were trying to find a tweezer and out of all the people, our security guy had tweezers on him so I got it out,” said Wie. “Just kind of swelled up a little bit, but been putting Benadryl cream on it so it’s doing pretty good now.”
Wie was even par through her first six holes before the sting and picked up three bogeys on the back nine to finish 3-over par.
“I think it did a little bit making the turn,” said Wie. “It just kind of felt so swollen it was kind of hard to grip the club. I mean, I was hitting the ball so well on the front nine and just definitely had a couple loose ones coming in making the turn. You can kind of feel the venom kind of spread. But the last couple holes, it’s feeling better.”
Wie was looking forward to starting the season with a game plan to stick to her newest swing, something she said she will dedicate herself to doing in 2016.
“You know, it’s definitely harder to keep that in the wind today but that was my one focus today,” said Wie. “I know that David’s going to probably call me up after my round today asking me if I’m still sticking with the same swing. So it felt good out there today. I mean, I only missed two greens, I just putted horribly. But for the greens to be a little better tomorrow morning, we’ll come in early on and get it going.”
EXCITED TO BE HERE
Megan Khang made the most of her opening round of her first season as an LPGA member and sits just two shots off the lead at 3-under par after 18 holes. The 18-year old from Rockland, Mass. tied for sixth at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to earn exempt status for her rookie season.
“It was so much fun,” said Khang. “I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be, but I guess I kind of was inside because I didn’t really find my groove until the back nine. No, it’s exciting to be here all thanks to Pure Silk and everything.”
Khang has plenty to be proud about after picking up two birdies on the back nine after the wind started to pick up. She’s one of four rookies within three shots of lead alongside Ashlan Ramsey (tied for the lead at -5), Cyna Marie Rodriguez (-3) and Gaby Lopez (-2).
“I think I am. It was a rough start,” said Khang. “Not necessarily a rough start, had to keep it in there, but made the turn 1 under and finished strong so I was proud of that.”
Khang made four LPGA starts as an amateur and earned low amateur honors at the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open. But that experience doesn’t make her rookie season any less exciting.
“No, it’s still new. I mean, still learning some things out here,” said Khang. “Still exciting to be out here. I think I’m going to do that every week and come out here excited and ready to play the rest of my life hopefully.”
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