Does Lydia Ko Deserve Another Win?

It’s been some time since we have seen Lydia Ko on the first page of the leaderboard and in the World No. 1 position. But honestly speaking, we are ecstatic that she is up there and back where she belongs. As a super fan of Lydia Ko, we have watched her since she was an amateur playing at the CP Women’s Open and winning the tournament as an amateur. We remember taking a photo with her, not with a smartphone but with a vintage camera. Her dad was caddying for her and graciously volunteered to take the photo of his daughter with us at the pro-am. We followed her at the Kraft Nabisco tournament at Mission Hills when Yani Tseng was World No. 1 and Lydia Ko was still an amateur.

Many years later and when we see Lydia today, we fondly remember her in ponytails and glasses. Lydia was World No. 1 then she fell from grace. She let longtime caddie Jason Hamilton go, ended her Callaway sponsorship, switched coaches and suddenly lost herself. Lydia Ko stopped winning and no one knew why. Even with a new club sponsorship, PXG, Lydia was not winning tournaments.

Enter Sean Foley, Lydia Ko goes back to basics and re-learn her old swing. Suddenly, Lydia Ko is on a comeback. She wins the CME Tour Championship in October 2022, gets married in December 2022, wins the Saudi Aramco Tournament 2023 in February and now sits on World No. 1 position once more.

In Thailand, Lydia is playing very well but so are the other girls such as Nelly Korda, Nasa Hataoka, Pornagong Phatlum, Sei Young Kim and Anna Nordqvist. The leaderboard is packed at the top. It will be interesting to see who ends up winning the Honda LPGA Thailand.

Can Ariya 3-peat?

It’s not an easy feat for a golfer to play three tournaments and win all three, especially all in a row. But if Ariya Jutanugarn wins tomorrow, she would have done it. She would have changed history and made it a 3-peat. Lydia Ko almost did that earlier this year when she won back-to-back, at the KIA Classic then at the ANA Inspiration. If she had won the Lotte Championship then she would have 3-peated. But she missed it.

Ariya has been playing really exceptional and people are starting to notice. I remember walking with Ariya at the CP Women’s Open last year and she did not have a single fan in the gallery. Now at the Volvik Championship, she has a few more fans. If I was there, I would have followed her and watched her play.

Lets all see if Ariya can pull this off. Surely someone would like to hoist up a new trophy but if no one can play as good as Ariya, she will have to do it again and I’m pretty sure she will.

 

Did Ariya 2-peat?

Can a player win a tournament, fly home to meet the Prime Minister of Thailand and to sign a get well card for the King then head back to the US to prepare for the Kingsmill Championship and win it? If we are talking about Ariya Jutanugarn then the answer is a loud “YES”.

Ariya came from behind on third round to take the lead. Other promising players like Stacy Lewis, In Gee Chun and So Yeon Ryu were one stroke behind and all of them except In Gee was the outright leader.

Judy Rankin on the Golf Channel liked the way Ariya swings her club. We see her struggle on the tee box with her M1 driver, often pulling it left like she did yesterday. But as a strong player, she managed to bat it out and was on the side of the green in two. She saved par and moved on like nothing had happened. Talk about confidence.

It is going to be a huge celebration for the Jutanugarn’s family tonight. Hope she invites all her friends and fans but I know I am dreaming. Congratulations again Ariya!

It’s a Close Out Event

If Ariya Jutanugarn could close out her match at the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic today, she will make her country Thailand so proud. She will also make her critics whine like a baby and she will gain back fans that followed her at the ANA Inspiration that were rooting for her to win. Ariya deserves to win today but only if she could stay loose and free.

Amy Yang is creeping up the leaderboard after birdie’ing 4 holes. She started the day at -8 and now she is at -12, just a few strokes short of Ariya. Amy is a fighter and has the right combination of skill and attitude to take a tournament. Ariya has to be careful with her carefree nature and not let her casualness take over her emotions. She has to put a little care in her game, instead of taking it for granted like she did at the ANA where she lost the match in the last 3 holes.

 

Ariya is Close Again

If you’re listening Ariya, please win the tournament in Texas this weekend. It would bring so much happiness to fans in Thailand and here. Your sister Moriya will celebrate it with you and so would your mom and brother. Ariya Jutanugarn played so well today that she could have ended the day higher than third on the leaderboard. She played fearlessly. It was unheard of but she went for the green in two on the last hole. A wonderful chip and a great putt earned her a birdie. Nice shot Ariya!

According to Judy Rankin, Ariya’s swing is compact and repeatable. It is a beautiful golf swing and Ariya can win more tournaments because she is a good player. Judy thinks that Ariya is an untapped player, ready to be a star but unfortunately, she can’t seem to close. The last time she was leading a tournament was at the ANA Inspiration before faltering on the last 3 holes. Ariya was a bundle of nerves and pulled her tee shot into the water. She could have tied Lydia Ko and force a playoff but instead, she fell down the leaderboard.

Ariya needs to believe that she can win here. Don’t let this opportunity get away from you. Win it for Thailand.

 

Another Tough Week for Michelle Wie

It was another tough week for Michelle Wie and after two dreadful rounds, she missed the cut again and will not be playing in Texas this weekend. Michelle ended up at +6, four strokes away from the proposed cut. She hasn’t played the weekend since the ANA Inspiration.

Round 2 was cut short because of weather and play was suspended. It will resume at 7:30am in the morning before Round 3.

Fans of Michelle can’t believe this is happening to her. She seems to be injury-free and swinging freely. Her drives are out there and she gets on the green in regulation but when it comes to putting, she can’t seem to find the line. I know it is getting used to the new putting technique but I wished she did not add Jack Nicklaus’ scrunched up style to her tabletop setup. She used to putt better.

No wonder why Michelle is not as friendly as before. As a fan, I forgive her for telling me that she has no time for a picture with her. And as far as an autograph is concerned, I’ll just dust off an old program with her signature on it. I hope you will get better Michelle. Smile – life is not so bad.

Cutting the Fun Out

A lot of LPGA players find themselves touring the locale when they get cut from a tournament. After Yani Tseng played two dismal rounds, she exited the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic at +10. Almost a day after, she met up with friends in San Francisco and toured the city. She was having a great time at Union Square with best friends yesterday which is fine if she needed a break. But missing the cut meant that her game still needs fixing.

Even on the range, Yani seemed distant. She didn’t want to hit balls and she wasn’t in love with the routine that LPGA players go through when they prepare for a tournament. She needs to embrace the pro circuit and her participation in the tour. Forget playing tourist and get to work Yani!

So Yeon Ryu only played so-so

So Yeon Ryu just celebrated a low round yesterday at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic by shooting a tournament record of 63. But today, it was like she had never played golf before. She bogeyed the first three holes and thought she was back in the groove on the hole after but continued bogeying the fifth hole. From there, she struggled and fell down the leaderboard.

In the meantime, defending champion Lydia Ko started climbing the leaderboard by sinking birdie after birdie. Last week’s Lotte champion, Minjee Lee also started her move to the top while Katie Burnett was fading fast.

It was moving day and the proposed cut was +3. It would be another cut for Yani Tseng, former World No. 1 who we still love and admire. Hopefully Yani will find her game and stay around for the weekends.

Stop! In the name of P.K. Krongaphan

As a LPGA fan, I love taking pictures of LPGA players on practice days and on pro-am. I don’t even bring a camera on tournament rounds because cameras are not allowed.

At the last tournament that I attended, I was annoyed at fans using their smartphone to take pictures. When they say cameras are not allowed; they mean all cameras including the one in our smartphones.

After round 2 at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic, P.K. Kongkraphan missed the cut and decided to stay around the range to work out alignment issues. A fan was about to take her picture and she held her hand up when she saw the smartphone was aimed at her. No pictures meant no pictures anywhere, on the course or on the range. Please be considerate to LPGA players in the future.

 

Moriya to win the Lotte Championship

If you have ever met Moriya Jutanugarn, you would think she is the most gracious person you will ever meet. She is porcelain fair and pretty. She is barely 5 feet 1 inch but she can out drive most of us. She does not spend much time on the driving range but she will spend endless time on the putting green, making every putt count.

Moriya is in contention at the Lotte Championship. If she can play as good as she has all week then there’s a good chance she will be hoisting the trophy up on the 18th green and enjoying a hula. Moriya was playing head-to-head with the leaders in round 3. Leaders that included past champion, Sei Young Kim and qualifier, Katie Burnett.

You know as a big fan of the Thai sisters, I will be glued to the action on Ko’olina for the final round of the Lotte Championship.