Post by bangkokbobby on Jul 31, 2016 16:08:22 GMT -5
more pics and video on my blog: Ariya Jutanugarn Wins First Career Major At 2016 Ricoh Women’s British Open
Ariya Jutanugarn
You didn’t expect it to be easy, did you? After making it look like she was going to run away from the field early in the final round, Ariya Jutanugarn had to hold her nerves and come through in the clutch to with the 2016 Ricoh Women’s British Open. Don’t let the 3 shot separation between Jutanugarn (-16) and the duo of Mo Martin and Mirim Lee (-13) after 72 holes fool you. May took the scenic route to her first career Major. Beginning the day, Mirim trailed May by only 2 shots, 16-under to 14-under. By the time Jutanugarn recorded her second birdie of the day on the 6th hole, combined with Mirim stumbling out of the gate, May had a 6 shot lead at 18-under. At that point it seemed Karrie Webb and Karen Stupples were in jeopardy of losing their 19-under Women’s British Open scoring record. Not to worry, that record is safe for at least another year.
Mirim Lee
Mirim Lee was able to shake off a front 9 to forget and get hot after the turn. She birdied 10, 11 and 12 to get to 14-under. Ariya Jutanugarn, whether it was the heat Mirim was putting on her or just nerves, nearly imploded with a bogey at 9 and a double bogey on 13. Suddenly, not only had her 6 shot lead been shrunk to just 1 at 15-under, she also let 2014 Women’s British Open champion Mo Martin back in the tournament. For anybody familiar with May’s history, this had the look of a another loss snatched from the jaws of victory. But this is not the same Jutanugarn that probably should have won the year’s first Major, the ANA Inspiration, but fell apart. This is a 3-time winner who has fought through errant shotmaking stretches to win. And she did it again, nailing a clutch birdie on 17 to move back to a 2-shot lead on Lee. A bogey by Mirim on 18 made it a 3 shot win for May, but clearly the margin of victory does not tell the story of this round.
Ariya Jutanugarn
At the end of the day, Ariya Jutanugarn got the job done. She did not back into her 4th title of the season and first Major. She played superbly for 3 and 1/2 rounds, which allowed her to survive a rough stretch coming home. With the title, she is expected to move to #3 in the world. Over on the Seoul Sisters golf forum, one of the posters noted how her ranking of #6 in the world coming into this event was not reflective of where she truly is in the women’s golf pecking order. So that has now been corrected. She might even go higher than this. She is the first Thai player, male or female, to win Major. Why not be the first to be ranked #1? I don’t know if her game is as complete as Lydia Ko, and I never underestimate Brooke Henderson. Frankly, I don’t underestimate any of the top players. What if Stacy Lewis gets hot and starts winning again? What if So Yeon Ryu starts to be able to finish off tournaments where she has chances to win? What if any of the talented young players like Sei-Young Kim, In-Gee Chun or Hyo-Joo Kim goes on a tear? Oh, and let’s not forget about the absent Inbee Park. There are a lot of players that could stand between Jutanugarn and the #1 ranking. But if May keeps playing like she has since the month of May, those other players will need their best to keep her at bay.
1 ARIYA JUTANUGARN (-16)
T2 MIRIM LEE (-13)
T2 MO MARTIN (-13)
Ariya Jutanugarn
You didn’t expect it to be easy, did you? After making it look like she was going to run away from the field early in the final round, Ariya Jutanugarn had to hold her nerves and come through in the clutch to with the 2016 Ricoh Women’s British Open. Don’t let the 3 shot separation between Jutanugarn (-16) and the duo of Mo Martin and Mirim Lee (-13) after 72 holes fool you. May took the scenic route to her first career Major. Beginning the day, Mirim trailed May by only 2 shots, 16-under to 14-under. By the time Jutanugarn recorded her second birdie of the day on the 6th hole, combined with Mirim stumbling out of the gate, May had a 6 shot lead at 18-under. At that point it seemed Karrie Webb and Karen Stupples were in jeopardy of losing their 19-under Women’s British Open scoring record. Not to worry, that record is safe for at least another year.
Mirim Lee
Mirim Lee was able to shake off a front 9 to forget and get hot after the turn. She birdied 10, 11 and 12 to get to 14-under. Ariya Jutanugarn, whether it was the heat Mirim was putting on her or just nerves, nearly imploded with a bogey at 9 and a double bogey on 13. Suddenly, not only had her 6 shot lead been shrunk to just 1 at 15-under, she also let 2014 Women’s British Open champion Mo Martin back in the tournament. For anybody familiar with May’s history, this had the look of a another loss snatched from the jaws of victory. But this is not the same Jutanugarn that probably should have won the year’s first Major, the ANA Inspiration, but fell apart. This is a 3-time winner who has fought through errant shotmaking stretches to win. And she did it again, nailing a clutch birdie on 17 to move back to a 2-shot lead on Lee. A bogey by Mirim on 18 made it a 3 shot win for May, but clearly the margin of victory does not tell the story of this round.
Ariya Jutanugarn
At the end of the day, Ariya Jutanugarn got the job done. She did not back into her 4th title of the season and first Major. She played superbly for 3 and 1/2 rounds, which allowed her to survive a rough stretch coming home. With the title, she is expected to move to #3 in the world. Over on the Seoul Sisters golf forum, one of the posters noted how her ranking of #6 in the world coming into this event was not reflective of where she truly is in the women’s golf pecking order. So that has now been corrected. She might even go higher than this. She is the first Thai player, male or female, to win Major. Why not be the first to be ranked #1? I don’t know if her game is as complete as Lydia Ko, and I never underestimate Brooke Henderson. Frankly, I don’t underestimate any of the top players. What if Stacy Lewis gets hot and starts winning again? What if So Yeon Ryu starts to be able to finish off tournaments where she has chances to win? What if any of the talented young players like Sei-Young Kim, In-Gee Chun or Hyo-Joo Kim goes on a tear? Oh, and let’s not forget about the absent Inbee Park. There are a lot of players that could stand between Jutanugarn and the #1 ranking. But if May keeps playing like she has since the month of May, those other players will need their best to keep her at bay.
1 ARIYA JUTANUGARN (-16)
T2 MIRIM LEE (-13)
T2 MO MARTIN (-13)