LPGA's First 2006 Major

[iacas]

I had to look it up to make sure I knew the name: The Dinah Shore. No doubt it's called something else now though... with sponsor names.

Anyway, a good start for a few people:

Lorena Ochoa -10
Michelle Wie -6
Stacy Prammanasudh -5
*Angela Park -4
Morgan Pressel -3
Paula Creamer -3

Only on the LPGA Tour would you ever see a first-round leaderboard with "-10" winning and "-3" only four places (T5) back. Where are all the people with numbers between "3" and "10"? I would expect at least a big clump of 6s, 5s, and 4s!

ESPN2 tonight from 5pm to 7pm. Whoopty doo.

[Thrash13]

I'll be honest in saying I don't care for a -10 score after round one. I'm more of a -5 or -6 guy after round one with the score not changing much after that. But I like the tougher golf courses, so that's just me.

The leaderboard is pretty stacked though, and it could provide a lot of excitement this weekend. I'll try to catch some of it on the weekend if I can catch a spare moment or two.

[ragontona]

Apparently Ochoa played the round of her life yesterday, plus she had the benefit of going out early in the day before the course got tougher. Annika even broke out the obligatory "What course was SHE playing?" line.

Golf's a game of averages though... she'll come back to the pack. After it's all said and done, -10 might end up being the winning score on Sunday.

[iacas]

Apparently Ochoa played the round of her life yesterday, plus she had the benefit of going out early in the day before the course got tougher. Annika even broke out the obligatory "What course was SHE playing?" line.

Indeed. I made fun of a guy for predicting -11 as the winning score at the TPC when guys shot -7 on the first day... and what won, -12 or something?

I would have expected more people between -6 and -3 is all I was saying...

[Baynative]

Pressel -second round 74 ...gonna be some crying today!

[iacas]

Pressel -second round 74 ...gonna be some crying today!

I'm still pulling for Creamer. And hey, if not her, what would be a bigger story than Wie winning?

Pressel seems to be trying too hard.

[Baynative]

I'm still pulling for Creamer. And hey, if not her, what would be a bigger story than Wie winning?

She actually shot a 76 - the LPGA website absolutely SUX!

As for Wie - you're right. If she wins a big one it will silence a lot of critics and vindicate that goofy women's ranking system.

[iacas]

She actually shot a 76 - the LPGA website absolutely SUX!

I don't think it'll vindicate the system at all. After all, Michelle might still fall OFF the rankings entirely. And heck, the way those systems are, if Annika has a bad week and Wie wins, she might jump to the #1 ranking for all we know!

I agree the LPGA site sucks.

[ragontona]

Only on the LPGA Tour would you ever see a first-round leaderboard with "-10" winning and "-3" only four places (T5) back. Where are all the people with numbers between "3" and "10"? I would expect at least a big clump of 6s, 5s, and 4s!

How about all the PGA Players between 10 and 21? Phil Mickelson's making a joke of the BellSouth!

[Chichido]

Apparently Ochoa played the round of her life yesterday, plus she had the benefit of going out early in the day before the course got tougher. Annika even broke out the obligatory "What course was SHE playing?" line.

You were right on! 9-under in reg, and birdie playoff so that sums it to 10-under.

what a finish! but in the end, experience always pays off in golf. Karrie Webb with over 10 yrs experience on Tour and a HOFer was not phased at all; Lorena on the other hand choked on the next 3 rounds after her first day's -10; and choked on the most important put of her life on tour so far; what the hell was that lag putt all about from the fringe??? I was rooting for Lorena when Wie & Gulbis were in the chase, but when Karrie got in contention, it just felt much better to see her win it. Lorena, Nat & Wie have plenty of time for majors over the next 10 years.

[Thrash13]

The play down the stretch was very entertaining, especially when there are two eagles in two different ways on the 18th to make a playoff. I was cheering for Natalie Gulbis, and she handled the pressure very well. But she came up just a little short by missing her birdie putt at the 18th. She will win some majors in the future, along with a lot of regular tourneys. She is too talented not to.

Karrie Webb was the last person I was cheering for. I would rather have seen one of the three younger ladies win their first major, even Michelle Wie. But Webb deserved every bit of it, and I commend her for that.

It was a really solid weekend of golf. It was a whole lot better than the PGA's BellSouth Classic. :/

[Carlos Garza]

I don't think Ochoa choked. I thinks that here problem had more to do with here strategy, playing with a big lead. I think that Lorena Ochoa played great down the stretch. She played -3 in her final 3 holes, with an eagle in the final hole to force a playoff with Karrie Webb. She will be a force in the LPGA in years to come.

[Thrash13]

Yeah, Ochoa had every chance to give up in the final round, but she hung in there and fought to the end. I was hoping she would win the playoff.

I thought she was going to finish at -3 or -4 after the first few holes on the back nine. But she scrambled and made some solid bogey-saves along the way.

[iacas]

I don't think Ochoa choked. I thinks that here problem had more to do with here strategy, playing with a big lead. I think that Lorena Ochoa played great down the stretch. She played -3 in her final 3 holes, with an eagle in the final hole to force a playoff with Karrie Webb. She will be a force in the LPGA in years to come.

They've been saying the same thing about Ochoa for five years now, though.

Frankly, I'm just tired of seeing the exact same reaction from Michelle Wie over every missed putt. Deep squat, putter goes over the head... you know what I mean. Do something different for a change. I was rooting for Gulbis. And so were about 200 people nearby me at the time...

[iacas]

Gulbis wanted to win. Webb wanted to win.

Ochoa wanted not to lose, and when she got to 17, she turned that around to wanting to win. Wie... didn't know how to win. Or, stated another way, she didn't know that in order to win you have to get in the playoff first. Tony says it :

Wie was on the fringe and should have putted the ball and ensured a birdie and a playoff. Instead she decided to chip and played a way too aggressive shot, sending it far enough by that she two putted and missed the playoff.

BTW, good for Webb. She fell apart late Saturday. And good for Gulbis. This is also good for Wie... another learning experience.

[Jeepthrills]

I don't think the LPGA could have asked for a better opportunity to show their stuff. It was a lot more entertaining than the Lefty Show at the Bell South. I almost fell off my couch when Wie nearly holed out on 16. When Webb sunk hers 30 seconds later I was hooked. Granted, if it hadn't been a Major or if Phil was batling someone I probably would have been flipping back and forth. That said, good show. The future looks bright for the LPGA. If the Masters has that kind of finish I will need a defibrulator.