THERE MUST BE SOMETHING IN THE WIND

‘The tougher conditions the better’ is what Sei Young Kim says when she’s asked about all of her recent success in windy island settings and the 23-year old said that she really learned to comprehend how to succeed in the wind.

“I didn’t practice in wind, I just understand wind and a whole lot of how to use wind,” said Kim. “And my coach train when you got strong wind, how to hit the ball and then that’s why I understand that easier than before.”

Kim claimed all three of her LPGA wins last season on islands (Bahamas, Hawaii and Hainan Island, China) and said that all five of her KLPGA wins came on islands as well. She said it’s something about the beach setting that puts her at ease and has taken a morning walk on the beach every day since getting to Paradise Island. She said she’s been looking at some beachfront properties and likes Carlsbad, California. But doesn’t like the price tag that comes with the real estate.

“If I buy the house, I hopefully on the beach, so I was searching in California,” said Kim. “Wow, really expensive.”

Kim said returning to the site of her first LPGA win has been great so far and hopes to not put too much pressure on herself to defend her title. She did enjoy seeing her picture on the tournament posters and print materials though.

“Yeah, I saw them. Wow, that’s me,” said Kim. “Is that right? It’s not bad. I took a picture and sent to my family so my family really happy.”

BUSY BEE

Stacy Lewis put the clubs away for over a month this off-season but the 30-year old was anything but bored. She said her break was jammed packed after getting engaged to Houston Women’s Golf Head Coach Gerrod Chadwell and buying a house in Houston. Lewis said they’re still in the process of moving their things to the new digs and that getting back to her practice routine has been a nice outlet. She said her busy off-course schedule has been something that has actually helped her play well in the past.

“I mean, that’s what golf was in these last three weeks was actually a good distraction, a time when you can put your phone away, you can’t answer questions, you can’t be having things to do,” said Lewis.

“In the past I’ve played some really good golf keeping really busy,” Lewis added. “I’ve won at tournaments where I’ve had a ton of stuff going on, so I think in a way it’s going to be a good thing and that way you’re kind of just focused on one thing at a time. When you’re on the golf course, you’re on the golf course, and when you’re not, you’re worried about other stuff.”

A NICE LOOK BACK

Inbee Park took the time to reflect on her historic 2015 season during her down time and said that it was really nice to look back a year that included five wins, her sixth and seventh major title to complete the career grand slam, her second Vare Trophy title and clinched the 27th and final point for eligibility for the LPGA Hall of Fame.

“When I finished the season and got home, looking over all my wins and all the things that I’ve done on the LPGA Tour was just amazing,” said Park. “Sharing the moment with a lot of good friends and family was a great time.”

Park is not resting on her laurels just yet though. The 17-time LPGA winner said that the stacked schedule this year and the inclusion of the Olympics and UL International Crown provides an enormous opportunity for women’s golf.

“I think for women’s golf, the sport of golf itself, I think we’re just going to get so much attention,” said Park. “Even more the people who didn’t even know about golf is going to know about golf and know about the players and know about the game of golf. And obviously representing your country twice in a year is really a unique opportunity for us. We have five majors plus Olympics and the UL International Crown, so we have so many things going on this year.”

WHATEVER IS IN YOUR CONTROL

Stacy Lewis said she was ready for a break at the end of the 2015 season and realized she needed to learn from and move forward quickly from her winless campaign. She said she evaluated the season, one that included no wins, six runner-ups and eight additional top-10s, and realized that so many of the close calls were finishes that were out of her control. She felt like she did everything she could do to win the tournament but accepting some breaks and some stellar play from her Tour counterparts was key to moving on.

“At my camp a couple weeks ago I told the kids in my head, a couple of those events I won last year. I mean, the putt at ANA on the playoff, it went in. I mean, hit it exactly how I was supposed to hit it and it went in. I mean, that’s the mindset you have to have,” said Lewis. “If you did everything right, you controlled everything you could control and executed the shot the way you wanted to and it didn’t work out, it didn’t work out. I mean, Na Yeon holed out on 16 in Arkansas and my shot hit the pin on 16 and didn’t go in. There’s just things like that. That’s golf, that’s going to happen.”

QUOTABLE

“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?” -Inbee Park on how she’s consistently rusty at the start of each LPGA season

“Absolutely not.” -Stacy Lewis on whether she will be a bridezilla in the lead up to her wedding

“I’m not 20 anymore.” -Inbee Park on trying to balance her schedule this year and not playing more than four weeks in a row

CAN’T STAY AWAY

Unlike a lot of the LPGA players who like put the clubs away for a while in the off-season, Lexi Thompson admits she can’t last for more than a week without hitting balls. Instead of going on a vacation, Thompson worked on her short game.

“I lasted a week,” said Thompson. “Yeah, that’s it…I can’t do more than a week, I get so bored. I don’t go on vacations and I guess that’s kind of why a lot of people take about a month off. I don’t go anywhere. I enjoy going out to play. My brothers are home, too, so we all go out so it’s actually enjoyable.”

Asked who wins the family matches these days between her and her brothers, Nicholas and Curtis, Thompson said there are some factors that go into it.

“It depends,” said Thompson. “I don’t know. My middle brother can go really low, but it depends. Depends on the day and how windy it is and who’s hitting it well and who doesn’t quit.”

Thompson may have wanted to also keep the momentum going from a stellar 2015 season that included two wins and 11 additional top 10s. She starts this year ranked No. 4 in the Rolex Rankings, just one spot behind No. 3 and fellow American Stacy Lewis.

“I think overall the consistency definitely helped just with how I hit the ball and then putting came around for a lot of the tournaments,” said Thompson. “But really the mental side of the game. I was a lot more positive last year. Even when I hit bad shots, I just went on to the next one and just tried to build on it, so I think that really helped me.”

ALWAYS LOOKING FOR IMPROVEMENTS

Stacy Lewis is her toughest critic and used a tough season last year to help breakdown some of the areas in her game where she wanted to improve in 2016.

“Yeah, just kind of looked for some areas that maybe I could get better and also saw some areas that I improved on last year, too,” said Lewis. “It wasn’t a total loss. So I mean, yeah, I wanted to learn from it but I also just wanted to move on and be done with it.”

On paper, Lewis was terrific and finished in the top 3 in five different statistical categories: first in birdies (407) and putts per greens in regulation (1.74), second in sub-par holes (417) and third in scoring average (69.79) and rounds under par (73). The always-analytical Lewis dissected the numbers and set some goals for the new season.

“Putting got way better. Driver was straighter but not as far,” Lewis added. “Iron play was pretty similar. Biggest thing was putting was way better, got a lot better last year, especially lag putting got really good. I wanted to work on some mid range putting. Short putts and long putts were good and there was room for improvement in the mid range, so that’s kind of been the focus this offseason, short game. Bunker play, I think there’s always room for improvement.”

DON’T EXPECT ANYTHING NOW

Inbee Park has set the expectations low for this week. The 27-year old said that she has always been rusty at the start of the season and is something she has just come to peace with throughout her career. Last year was her first time playing in this event and finished in a tied for fifth. It may be bad by Park’s standards but probably not for most others.

“I think the first couple tournaments I’m just going to be really generous on myself,” said Park. “I’m usually pretty rusty first couple tournaments and it’s tough to get everything in shape in January. Just trying to take these first two tournaments as like warming up and just getting the feel of the tournament again and getting ready to play again. The really important thing this year is just get your momentum going in the summer, really important.”

Park has geared her training to peak during the summer months, something she has done very well, particularly in the major season. Over the past three seasons, Park won five of the fifteen major championships.

“Yeah, I mean, even though I do it every year, it’s new every year and it’s always disappointing every year,” said Park. “Just got to just keep trusting yourself that you’re going to get in shape in a couple months and just yeah. I mean, it’s hard, but you’ve just got to get through that moment.”

TV Times this week for PURE SILK-BAHAMAS LPGA CLASSIC

Golf Channel

Jan. 28 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Jan. 29 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Jan. 30 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Jan. 31 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

All times listed are Eastern

Wednesday News and Notes - Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic

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