U.S. Women's Open Blog

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Kerr wins

Touching moment to see Kerr break down. Have to be honest, I really thought Ochoa would pull it out. But have to hand it to Kerr after that magical putt on the 14th hole. We should have known we were staring at fate. Ken
Posted By Ken Klavon At 6:35 PM

Battle Within The Championship

Besides the battle for the championship, there are other hidden competitions going on at the U.S. Women's Open. You've got a battle for low amateur between Jennie Lee and Jenny Song. You've also got battles for low Lee, low Park and low Kim. The low Park battle should be good as both Angela and In-Bee are under par. Angela stands at two under and In-Bee is at one under. Both have played 10 holes. Mi Hyun and 2005 Women's Open champion are in the hunt for low Park, while Jee Young Lee has the beat on low Lee. Stay tuned.

Posted By David Shefter At 3:25 PM

The Range

Spent about an hour on the range trying to gauge nerves and whatnot. Sometimes it's evident. Angela Park seemed pensive. She'd lifet her head to look down at Se Ri Pak every now and then. She went about her routine but seemed introverted even while players made small talk. Focused? Maybe. Pak worked with her swing coach for a good while. Seemed that they were working on a hitch. Pak, though only 29, is viewed as a legendary player by other Koreans. She's opened the door for many, if not all, to come to the United States and make a living. Morgan Pressel was loose. That's no different than any other time. Lorena Ochoa was the only player to receive applause. The quiet Mexican-born Ochoa quickly went off by her to a far corner. She immediately went to work. Cristie Kerr spent a long time on the putting range. She'd stop to talk every once in a while but was often lost in concentration. Ken

Posted By Ken Klavon At 1:05 PM

Final Group

You could not ask for a better final Women's Open grouping in terms of fiery players who are not afraid to show their emotions. We've all seen Morgan Pressel deal with the highs and lows of golf. Cristie Kerr is never afraid to show her emotions and Lorena Ochoa is as feisty as they come. We could see some pre-July 4 fireworks at Pine Needles this afternoon. Ochoa and Kerr are seeking their first major championships, while Pressel became the youngest major winner in women's professional golf history earlier this year at the Kraft Nabisco. Wow! This should be one fun final round.

Posted By David Shefter At 10:26 AM

Today

Beautiful day today. Sun out, humidity is rising, but sun nonetheless. Last night was rather interesting with the downpour. Part of the building that serves as the media center, was submerged under water. Not just any benign area either. The water was flowing over electrical sockets. Scary stuff. No injuries. Fact of the day by way of Patty Kirk Bell: the last two Women's Open winners at Pine Needles (Annika Sorenstam in 1996 and Karrie Webb in 2001) entered each respective week as the money leaders on the LPGA Tour. Lorena Ochoa entered this week as the money leader. Makes you go hmmm with Ochoa contending. Ken

Posted By Ken Klavon At 9:24 AM

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Pouring

It is absolutely pouring out. Lightning galore as well. So looks like they called it in the nick of time. Our poor media relations folks came in completely drenched from head to toe. Must give Lorena Ochoa credit for coming inside the media center to do an interview. Cristie Kerr turned down the invitation, saying it's been a long day. Guess the precipitation will make the course receptive tomorrow. Ken

Posted By Ken Klavon At 8:06 PM

Stat Link

The great Carol Mann asked about stats and the hardcore stuff golf fans want. Here is a link to what we have: http://www.uswomensopen.com/scores/ Ken
Posted By Ken Klavon At 8:06 PM

Play Suspended

The third round was suspended at 8:05 p.m. EDT due to darkness. Play will resume at 7:30 a.m. Sunday. By the way, the rest of the third round will be televised on ESPN2 beginning at 8 a.m. Sunday. The fourth round will begin approximately at 10:45 a.m. The players will go off in threes, in 11-minute intervals off the first and 10th tees. There will be new pairings for the fourth round. I know no more than that. Ken

Posted By Ken Klavon At 8:06 PM

Streaming

We've also received several comments regarding the lack of streaming on the site. Please know there were many factors that went into this for the reasons why we are not; believe me when I say that we would love to be able to stream from every championship, especially this one. Ken
Posted By Ken Klavon At 4:44 PM

USGA Grouping

Interesting third-round grouping with In-Bee Park, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada. All three were junior golf rivals just a couple of years ago, and all three have won a USGA amateur championship. Park took the 2002 U.S. Girls' Junior at 14, and reached two other Girls' Junior finals in 2003 and '05. Granada won the 2004 U.S. Girls' Junior a year after being eliminated in the quarterfinals. And Morgan Pressel, a month after losing out on the 2005 U.S. Women's Open, blitzed the field at the U.S. Women's Amateur at Ansley Golf Club's Settindown Creek Course in Roswell, Ga. The three of them together have competed in more than 20 USGA championships and their combined ages is 57. This is the future of women's golf.

Posted By David Shefter At 4:42 PM