Morgan Pressel’s game was in a strong place. She finished in second place at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship in 2016. It was her second 2ndplace finish of the year, following up six top 10 finishes in 2015.
Then, the game became a struggle for the 14-year LPGA veteran.
Pressel didn’t find a top 10 until the HUGEL-JTBC LA Open last year, where she finished T7 at (-5). Pressel’s second top 10 since 2016 came in Los Angeles this week, where she finished at (-9) and T3.
She’s looking to find the top of the leaderboard again with her game’s resurgence this week. “I feel like I played golf that can carry me further throughout the rest of the year. It's been a struggle the last couple years for sure. Not the golf I wanted to play,” Pressel explained.
It’s not been a consistent approach for Pressel at Wilshire Country Club either. As she walked down the 72nd hole, she reflected on her performances in Los Angeles.
“Last year I was really squirrely with my ball striking. Wasn't really confident but managed to kind of scrape it around. Putted really, really well. Got up and down from everywhere.
This year I hit a ton of fairways and a ton of greens and missed so many birdie opportunities, but still managed to make a few and just played really steady golf this week.”
She found the fairway just north of 80% of the time this week, a 12% jump from her full 2018 season total. That translated to finding the green, which she found 74% of the time this week, a 14% jump from last year.
Pressel credits a swing change for her improved play, focusing on getting her hands in front of the ball before contact. It creates an easier angle to compress the golf ball, leading to crisper, more consistent contact.
The two time LPGA winner looks to take that consistency through the rest of the season, not waiting for her next starring role in the HUGEL-AIR PREMIA LA Open to be her next performance in contention. Pressel’s next shot is at the LPGA Mediheal Championship next week.
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