ANA Inspiration
Rancho Mirage, California
First-Round Notes
April 2, 2015

Rolex Rankings No. 56 Morgan Pressel (-5)
Rolex Rankings No. 120 Ai Miyazato (-4)
Rolex Rankings No. 163 Juli Inkster (-3)
Rolex Rankings No. 33 Charley Hull (-2)
Rolex Rankings No. 1 Lydia Ko (-1)
Rolex Rankings No. 3 Stacy Lewis (E)
Rolex Rankings No. 9 Lexi Thompson (E)

All eyes are on Lydia Ko this week as she eyes becoming the youngest major champion in LPGA Tour history. But the current holder of that record, Morgan Pressel, may have something to say about Ko taking that from her just yet after firing a 5-under-par 67 in the afternoon to storm into the lead. Pressel became the youngest major champion at the age of 18 when she took the leap here into Poppie’s Pond in 2007 and is hoping to add another plaque to the Walk of Champions.

“I think every player dreams of having their name up on that wall, and the fact that mine is up there, it’s very, very special,” Pressel said. “I have so many great memories here, but I’d love to put it up there again.”

Pressel leads Japan’s Ai Miyazato (68) by one shot and a group of four players that includes 54-year old Juli Inkster, American Alison Walshe, South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu and LET member Gwladys Nocera by two shots.

Although Pressel’s hoping to deter Ko this week, she said she’d be surprised if Ko didn’t break her record in one of the five shots she has at it this year. Ko, for her part, was the talk of the golfing world in the morning wave for nearing a different record. Could the 17-year-old Ko tie Annika Sorenstam’s streak of 29 in a row? It looked in major doubt as she headed to the eighth tee – her 17th hole of the day – at even par, her streak of 28 subpar rounds in serious jeopardy.

If Ko has a greatest asset in a game seemingly free of weaknesses, it may be her mind. The ability to completely ignore how absurd it is the things she’s accomplishing at 17. Again, she tuned out any of the outside noise and stiffed a 6-iron on the par-3 from 158 yards to two feet and tapped in for birdie. Just like that with a par on the ninth, she secured her 29th consecutive rounder under par, tying Annika on a day in which she got the tougher draw having to play in the morning wave.

“Today I was so busy trying to make up-and-downs, or trying to make a good two-putt or make some birdies, because I really wasn’t hitting my driver well, and here the rough can get pretty thick,” Ko said. “When you’re in that position a record was the last thing I was thinking about. But, yeah, Lexi [Thompson] and I made two really good birdies on 8, and I got back to under par.”

Ko’s streak seemed in serious limbo on a morning in which the wind ripped through Mission Hills, and Ko went out in 1-over-par 37. But the wind calmed down a bit on her inward nine and Ko steadied herself with a bogey-free 2-under 34 on a day she said she didn’t quite have her best stuff.

“I think probably on my 1st hole, which was my 10th, I read a little note that David [Leadbetter] gave me prior to my round,” Ko said, “and I just went back. Just put myself back another step and just said this is a whole new nine. There are some birdie opportunities there, so I just try to keep it simple. But it wasn’t as simple as I would have liked.”

As for the record, well, Ko didn’t even think about that when she was signing a red number for the 29th straight time.

“The record wasn’t really in my head. I guess, post round, now that you guys are asking. Here it is,” Ko said. “But, no, not when I was playing. But I think because I was spraying it a little bit, it made me think less about the records and the after results.”

However, don’t confuse that for anything other than shock and admiration that she’s become associated with a legend like Sorenstam.

“I would love to play with her one day!” Ko said. “That would be really cool. Just growing up I read some of her books and some of the videos we saw.

“I mean, she’s legendary, and everybody pretty much looked up to her.”

With another under-par round tomorrow, everyone will be looking up at Ko.

LOST BUT NOW FOUND
Morgan Pressel was admittedly lost as she headed to the Singapore airport on her way to the States a month ago. She had finished in a tie for 46th in a 63-player field and wasn’t exactly sure where or why her game had gone awry. And as she headed back to the States to prepare for the West Coast Swing, she wasn’t entirely sure she knew how to get it back to where she wanted it.

“I was just kind of lost after Singapore this year. I knew where I wanted my swing to get but I was having trouble getting it there,” Pressel said.

So she turned to an old friend, calling up her old coach, Ron Stockton, and had him take a look. What he saw wasn’t the swing he used to know. She was getting the club too far inside on the way back and ripping it over the top to compensate. They’ve worked on getting her club more on plane on the way back and got her posture back to where it was. The backswing feels more outside and out in front of her, but she has seen the results immediately. She fired a second-round 64 to climb into the lead at the Kia Classic a week ago before finishing in a tie for 15th, and is atop the leaderboard heading into the second round here at the season’s first major.

“I have a lot less movement on my golf ball which has been helpful,” Pressel said. “Where I can now aim pretty much right down the center of the fairways. Really, honestly, I had no idea where the golf ball was going early this year, so it’s a big change.”

SHORTER, NOT WORSE
The Dinah Shore Tournament Course has been historically known to suit long hitters off the tee, but Morgan Pressel and Ai Miyazato dispelled that idea on Thursday after the duo finished atop the leaderboard through the first 18 holes of the first major of the year. Pressel, who averages 243 yards off the tee and ranks 92nd on Tour, and Miyazato (244 yards, 86th) both said they think accuracy on this course trumps distance.

“I think for a long hitter out here who can take advantage of some of the par-5s, which is helpful, there are places no matter how hard you hit it, you’re behind a tree in a tough spot in a bunker,” said Pressel. “So I’ve always looked at this golf course as consistency as the tee. Yeah, Lexi hits it a long way, but if you watched her last year, she hit every fairway. So I think the big key out here is just keeping the ball in play. And knowing sometimes on some holes which side of the fairway you need to be on so you can hit and have a good angle through your approach shot.”

Miyazato agreed.

“I’m not a long hitter, not just this golf course, I think it’s a really good set-up, and it doesn’t matter the distance,” said Miyazato. “It’s all about position and where you are, wherever you hit, you are.”

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER
The morning wave of the ANA Inspiration was all about youth with 19-year-old Charley Hull shooting a 2-under 70 to lead the way and 17-year-old Lydia Ko continuing her impressive sub-par streak with a 1-under 71.
But leave it to 54-year-old Juli Inkster to show Thursday afternoon that age really doesn’t matter when it comes to shooting a low round at a major championship.

Inkster fired a 3-under 69 at Mission Hills and sits in a tie for third after the first round of the ANA Inspiration. A two-time winner of this event, Inkster is very familiar with this golf course and knows what it takes to win here. With her golf swing feeling good after some work earlier this week with her longtime instructor Mike McGetrick and the putter finally heating up, Inkster was able to put together a low number.

“I enjoy the game and I enjoy working at it,” Inkster said. “I like the process of it. But these girls are our future. You know, I’m just lucky I can still come out here and compete a little bit.”

Tied for the most major wins by an active players, Inkster would love nothing more than to add another one to her illustrious career. She came close to adding another victory to her resume last year at the U.S. Women’s Open, when she sat in a tie for third through three rounds. And it’s the set-up of major championship golf courses that makes Inkster feel like she can still compete in them.

“What I like about the majors is you don’t have to shoot 20-under or 18-under to win,” Inkster said. “If you can come in around par, 1, 2, 3-under and come Sunday you’ll have a shot. So that’s kind of why I like majors.”

FEELS LIKE HOME
Charley Hull was looking forward to returning to Rancho Mirage this week, the site of her debut in a professional golf event as a 15-year old amateur in 2012. The LPGA Tour rookie from England has good memories at Mission Hills Country Club and has played well in the championship in her first two appearances. She tied for 38th in her first go around in 2012 and then tied for seventh last year.

“It’s amazing because I first played this competition three years ago, and it was my first ever pro event and it was a major, and I was an amateur at the time because I had an invite,” said Hull. “I played a pretty good first round, and I finished like 30-something in the end. So it was pretty good. Then coming back last year was a lot of fun. Yeah, I do like this golf course. Who wouldn’t? The atmosphere around here is beautiful with the mountains and everything.”

Hull, who earned Category 17 status on the Priority List this year thanks to her T28 finish at Q School last December, has been playing well on the Ladies European Tour circuit to start off the 2015 season. A more compact swing from a coaching change since January has seemed to make the difference. She’s recorded three LET top-10s this season and tied for 7th at the LPGA/LET co-sanctioned ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open in February.

She has liked the way her game has taken form and likes the way it sets up on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course. She’s three shots off the leads and in a tie for seventh.

“I like everything. I like the way it’s laid out,” said Hull. “I like the greens because usually on a Sunday they get really quick, so you’ve got to be in the right positions on the green. So it’s good if you can stop the ball also because they can roll on coming on to the green. So if you spin it coming into the greens, you have a good chance for birdies.”

Hull already has a win on the LET (2014 Lalla Meryem Cup) and with a victory this week would become the fourth Rolex First-Time Winner in LPGA Tour history at the ANA Inspiration, joining Helen Alfredsson (1993), Nanci Brown (1995) and Morgan Pressel (2007).

AIRTIMES THIS WEEK
The ANA Inspiration will have two live windows of coverage during Friday’s second round and four hours of coverage on each day of the weekend:
April 3 12:00pm - 3:00pmET
6:00pm - 9:00pm ET
April 4 5:00pm - 9:00pmET
April 5 5:00pm - 9:00pmET

QUOTABLE
“It’s huge for Japan too because I’ve seen the ANA Airlines since when I was little, and it was always there when I would travel. It just felt very special especially for the Japanese players. For sure everyone is happy about it, and especially this tournament it has so much history, and I just really appreciate the ANA because they kept the traditions of this tournament. Just everything’s going well, and it’s a very happy thing.” – Ai Miyazato on the new title sponsor of the event, Japan-based All Nippon Airways

“She doesn’t seem to pay any attention to that kind of pressure. It’s pretty unbelievable to watch her play. Too much too soon? I don’t know. I was a cocky young kid who thought that I could win. I mean, I did. I think the time commitment that came after that, I don’t know if I was quite prepared for that, and I don’t know if I had been taught necessarily to say no enough.” – Morgan Pressel on comparing her early success to Lydia Ko’s

ANA Inspiration First Round Notes and Interviews

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