Azahara Munoz has been happy with her ball striking and her putting this season. Just not at the same time.
That was at least until Thursday when, in the midst of a challenging season during which the Spaniard has recorded a single top 10, all aspects of her game began working in unison at The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America. Munoz missed only one fairway and needed a mere 22 putts en route to an opening round 5-under 66 at Old American Golf Club.
“I just haven't been able to put both things together, like ball striking and putting together,” Munoz told Golf Channel after her round. “Today was really nice. Didn't get myself in trouble.”
While Munoz hit just half her greens on Thursday, she said most of her approach shots left her still with a putter in hand from just off the putting surface. Those shots that wound up just slightly further off the green she opted to chip, and found a bit of luck not once, but twice when she holed out on Nos. 6 and 7.
“When I miss I miss in the right places, and when I had my chances I made them,” Munoz said about her short game. “That was really good.”
Munoz says her success on Thursday was due in large part to her ability to capitalize on the par 5s, where she made birdie on three out of the four. She added that she was able to quiet the questions she was having in her own mind about her putting and was able to remain aggressive.
“I feel like sometimes having so many doubts kind of hurts me, so just trying not to even have time to have those doubts, just hit the putt,” Munoz said after her round. “Just trying to be more reactive, just see the line, and go with it.”
Munoz will need to remain aggressive over the closing stretch of the season as she finds herself in danger of losing her LPGA Tour status with just two events remaining on her schedule for the season.
Munoz sits at No. 104 in the Race to the CME Globe Point Standings to begin the week in Texas. The top 100 in the point standings will retain their card for next season and the top 60 will qualify for the CME Group Tour Championship. She’s off to a strong start after her round on Thursday, in which she is projected to jump inside the top 50 in the point standings. Munoz is also poised to compete next week at the Buick LPGA Shanghai as well as The ANNIKA Driven by Gainbridge at Pelican in November, which will afford her two additional opportunities to shore up her position in the season-long race.
“It's hard,” Munoz admitted on Thursday. “It is tough when you think about it. It's probably not a good thing, so I try not to. Obviously it's in the back of my mind, but once I'm on the course I try to enjoy the day and do my best.”
In 2010, Munoz joined the LPGA Tour by finishing fifth at the LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament to secure her card and she rapidly rose to the top of the women’s game by becoming the first Spaniard to earn the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award.
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