Wie having fun again, off to best start of the year
Michelle Wie has only recorded one Top 10 this season, but it came last week at the Blue Bay LPGA. She’s hoping some of that momentum will carry over into this week at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, and so far, so good.
Wie fired an opening-round 5-under-par and sits tied for third, just three shots back of the lead held by Amy Yang.
The 27-year-old contributed some of her success Thursday to a comfortable pairing (she was grouped with fellow American Marina Alex, who shot a 6-under-par 65), and just having fun.
Wie has struggled this season – battling injuries and having missed 12 cuts – but her game has rounded into form this past week and she’s feeling better than ever. She’s taken some time off recently to get her body right.
“Really took time off and really tried to get healthy again. I did a lot of rehab and just practiced and tried to play a lot,” she said of her recent preparations.
She’s eager to get back out there for round two and continue her strong play, even with temperatures soaring into the 90’s with the humidity.
“Definitely rest a lot, get the fluids up, and I just want to keep having fun,” he said of the keys to the next three rounds.
Lydia Ko makes ‘clumsy’ double-bogey, still battles back in round one
It was an up-and-down round for No.1 on the Rolex Rankings, Lydia Ko, who began with an uncharacteristic double-bogey on the par-4 2nd, but she righted the ship with three birdies coming in and finished with an even-par 71.
Paired with No’s two and five on the Rolex Rankings – Ariya Jutanugarn (T12/-3) and Brooke Henderson (T21/-1) respectively – Ko is the highest of the triumvirate on the leaderboard, sitting in a tie for 30th.
Ko sits $15,000 behind Jutanugarn on the money list, and 116 points behind Jutanugarn in the Race to the CME Globe. It’s Ko’s first week with a new caddie, and she’s come to Malaysia trying to close the gap between her and the 20-year-old from Thailand.
Ko’s double-bogey came after she knocked a ball in the water on the second hole, a result she called ‘clumsy.’ She dropped another ball in the water on the par-4 14th and battled for the rest of her round.
“I hit a great drive and I just leaked a shot in the water. The rest of the day I was just trying to fight back and put myself in position under par,” explained Ko. “I got back into position, and then I hit it in the water again. That wasn’t good. But obviously, to finish up the round with a birdie on 18 was good. To bring it back to even. I think it could have been much worse.”
Suzann Pettersen has early success with new clubs
Suzann Pettersen hasn’t let a change in nearly every club in her bag impact her play this week. In fact, the Norwegian has been reveling in the change.
Pettersen opened the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia with six birdies in 12 holes before ending the day with a bogey. However, her opening round 5-under-par 66 has her tied for third and in prime position for her first win of 2016.
Pettersen is sponsored by Nike, and with the Oregon-based manufacturer set to pull out of the golf equipment business (they will continue to make apparel and footwear, however) she has had to test out some new gear on the course.
So far, it’s been a good change, even though she said she has changed “literally everything.”
“I’ve still got my Nike ball and my Nike driver. I know how that reacts. I’ve got a new set of irons, wedges. Just trying to test them all out,” she explained. “There’s so much on the market and to actually have the chance to play whatever you want is quite a unique thing to do.”
Some may question why Pettersen is testing new clubs now, while in the midst of the final stretch of the LPGA Tour season. But the 15-time LPGA Tour winner thinks differently.
“I never thought I was going to change, to be quite honest. I was never in a rush to get out of what I had. Nike was really good, and that’s what I played with the last eight years. But when you have the opportunity you have to see what’s out there,” she said. “It takes a lot of time, but I’d rather do it while it’s still hot, rather than coming off a winter break and being rusty and I’d have to work on ball-striking. I thought it was a good time to do it, and get a few answers at the end of this year going into next year.”
Malaysian native goes low paired with one of her role models
Being grouped with someone who she said was an inspiration to her when she was growing up inspired Jean Chua Thursday, who was paired with Japan’s Ai Miyazato.
Chua was the lowest of nine local Malaysians after round one after the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, saying she was happy with her start, an even-par 71.
“The course treated me well. I had fun today,” she explained. “Ai was great. I told her when I first started playing golf she was one of my role models, so she was awesome to play with. She was really nice. She cheered on every time I made a putt or something.”
Chua said she arrived at the golf course at 2 a.m. on Wednesday, with little time to get used to the 6,200-yard Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. She admitted, though, her iron play was the strongest part of her game Thursday, and her putting saved her on the back nine a couple of times.
“We were a little slow getting the yardages, but I think because the course is still fresh in my mind, I don’t have any memories of bad shots or good shots,” she said. “It was just whatever I hit today, that was the shot.”
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