Preview Kraft Nabisco 2012

[bobawiefan]

Hello Wie Nation:

I thought I would take a trip down memory lane before my memory becomes condensed. (milk in a can)…L0L ;D ;D ;D

An example of how the course has played over the last 6 years.
2005... Sweden Annika Sörenstam……….. ..273 −15...win margin…8 strokes
2006... Australia Karrie Webb* …………........279 −9.…win margin…Play off
2007... United States Morgan Pressel ……..285 −3.…win margin…1 stroke
2008...Mexico Lorena Ochoa ……………........277 −11.…win margin…5 strokes
2009... United States Brittany Lincicome… 279 −9.….win margin…1 stroke
2010...Taiwan Yani Tseng………………. .........275 −13.…win margin…1 stroke
2011... United States Stacy Lewis …………..275 −13.…win margin…3 strokes

.Article from Kraft Nabisco championship…29 Mar 2011
The best finish by an amateur in Kraft Nabisco Championship history is a fourth-place finish recorded by Caroline Keggi in 1998 and Michelle Wie in 2003
.
KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP
March 23, 2005
And no discussion about the promise of the future of the LPGA would be complete without mentioning the teenagers who have competed on the LPGA Tour the past several years and this week in particular with nine in the field. This week mark's the first time that Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, Aree Song, Michelle Wie, Jane Park, Brittany Laing and Ai Miyazato sharing the same stage in a competitive environment. It's going to be a great week.
Could not find any results for Michelle in the 2005 tournament…



Wie ready for first major as pro player
The Hawaii teen is set for the LPGA Tour's opening major of the season
Ochoa, who recorded five birdies on each side of the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., currently leads Michelle Wie (66, -6) by four strokes. (The first round is still underway)

Milk in a can recollection:
On the final hole, Michelle was one stroke back of Webb and Ochoa, (both being at -9). Michelle was at -8. Michelle had two strokes to make birdie and move into a three way playoff…Michelle’s golf ball was in the rough on the edge of the green with about a 10 to 12 foot shot to the pin… Michelle had a choice of either putting or chipping…The safe play would have been for Michelle to putt and get close to the hole for a birdie shot…But, Michelle chose to chip and try to go for the win with an eagle…Her chip went about 5 to 6 feet pass the hole… Her come back putt slid off to the left and Michelle had to settle for par and 3rd place. Michelle finished with a -8...
Karrie Webb won in a sudden death playoff over Lorena Ochoa

Could not find any results for 2007 or 2008 Kraft Nabisco
2007... United States Morgan Pressel ……..285 −3.…win margin…1 stroke
2008...Mexico Lorena Ochoa …………….........277 −11...win margin…5 strokes

2009
1.…..Brittany Lincicome… 66-74-70-69...279.…-9
T67...Michelle Wie………..71-81-81-71...304...+16

2010
1.…. Yani Tseng…. 69-71-67-68.…. 275 …-13
T27.. Michelle Wie .71-71-71-78.…. 291.… +3

2011
1...Stacy Lewis……66-69-71-69.…275... -13
6...Michelle Wie…..74-67-69-75.…285... -3

Plenty of TV Coverage:
Mar 29 12:00-3:00 PM ET GC
Mar 29 6:30-9:30 PM ET GC
Mar 30 12:00-3:00 PM ET GC
Mar 30 6:30-9:30 PM ET GC
Mar 31 4:30-8:30 PM ET GC
Apr 01 4:30-8:30 PM ET GC

Good Weather all week:
Mar 29...thru…82 degrees…10% chance of rain
Mar 30...fri…..85 degrees…..0% chance of rain
Mar 31...sat….83 degrees…..0% chance of rain
Apr 01...sun…80 degrees…..0% chance of rain
No report on wind conditions….

Will post pairing and tee times when they become available.

And finally Wie Nation…Remember, in BoolaBoss’s contest, I am on a one round roll, so bring your A game…Good luck Wie Nation..

Got to love wie golf

bobawiefan

[bobawiefan]

Hello Wie Nation:

Michelle tweeted:
Michelle Wieþ@themichellewieReply

Off to the course now to work with Leadbetter!! Excited to work on my game

Thought you would like to see the course setup before you entered your scores in BoolaBoss’s contest..

The yardage on these holes add up to 6,702 yds….Lpga yardage is 6, 738 yds…

Hole 1...377 yds.
Par 4: The course opener requires a tee shot down the middle. The three bunkers surrounding the green are the main challenge to this hole. The elongated green hosts some tough pin-placements, so the approach shot must be accurate.

Hole 2...521 yds.
Par 5: One of the longest holes on the course, this slight dogleg-left is bordered by traps down both sides of the fairway. Despite the downward slope which makes it hard to hold the green, this is one of the few true birdie holes at Mission Hills. Long hitters can hit the green in two.

Hole 3...415 yds.
Par 4: Hole 3’s uphill fairway makes it play longer than it is. The narrow landing area off the tee requires a long, straight shot. Often one of the toughest holes on the course, the large green is made more daunting by difficult pin placement.

Hole 4...380 yds.
Par 4: The slight dogleg-right demands an accurate drive. The uphill approach shot to the green is deceiving, and leaves many players scrambling to save par. The three bunkers guarding the green add to Hole 4’s difficulty.

Hole 5...182 yds.
Par 3: The fifth hole requires a precise iron shot over the water to the two-tiered green. With a rear pin placement, plenty of spin is needed to hold the ball on the top tier.

Hole 6...391 yds.
Par 4: At 391 yards, Hole 6 is a severe dogleg-left. Players who choose to go for it have to carry water and a row of palm trees. A safer tee shot is to the landing area down the right side. The welltrapped green slopes severely from back to front, causing most players to attempt to keep the ball below the hole.

Hole 7...395 yds.
Par 4: At 395 yards, prevailing winds often come into play on this sharp dogleg-left. The ideal tee shot lands to the left-center of the fairway. This is the only way to take the trap and mound on the right and trees on the left out of the approach shot

Hole 8...168 yds.
Par 3: Hole 8 is short on yardage and long on intimidation. The elevated green guarded by two traps taunts the player from the tee.

Hole 9...539 yds.
Par 5: Finishing off the front nine is the longest hole of the course. A sharp dogleg-left, the tee and second shots are tight, tree-lined target areas. The subtle undulations on the green often surprise many a golfer.

Hole 10...388 yds.
Par 4: This wide fairway allows players to be aggressive off the tee. Fairway bunkers line both sides, but players favor the right. This leaves a clean approach to the deepest green on the course.

Hole 11...500 yds.
Par 5: Long hitters will find the green in two, as long as the narrow fairway is found off the tee. Varying pin placements increase the difficulty on the green.

Hole 12...389 yds.
Par 4: A birdie is possible on this downwind rolling fairway with a slight dogleg left. A well-placed drive is important to miss the midpoint bunker just before the trees.

Hole 13...405 yds.
Par 4: One of the more difficult holes on the course, 13 begins a four-hole stretch that separates the champion from the rest of the field. The large, tiered green is notorious for not holding approach shots.

Hole 14...148 yds.
Par 3: Even though this is the shortest hole on the course, it requires accuracy and good timing due to shifting winds, bunkers and water. The tee is elevated and the fairway slopes downward, making club selection crucial.

Hole 15...387 yds.
Par 4: No. 15 has the reputation for being the toughest driving hole on the Dinah Shore Tournament course. Bunkers on the left at mid-point and trees on both sides of the fairway leave little room for stray tee shots. The green is elevated and well guarded by deep bunkers.

Hole 16...407 yds.
Par 4: Consistently ranked as the most difficult hole on the course, staying out of the trees on the right is crucial. The green is hard to read with its many subtle contours. Most players are glad to take par on this hole.

Hole 17...179 yds.
Par 3: No. 17’s tee shot is deceptively more difficult than it looks. The green is uphill from the tee, and is protected on the front and in the rear by deep bunkers.

Hole 18...531 yds.
Par 5: The most famous 18th hole on the LPGA tour has two different tees. The LPGA determines each day which tee is played. The island green is huge with hard-to-read contours requiring accuracy and skill with the putter. Watch for the winner to jump in Poppie’s Pond!

Maybe Michelle will jump in Poppis’s Pond.

Got to love wie golf

bobawiefan

[bobawiefan]

Hello Wie Nation:

Here are the first two days pairings and times:

Round One:
Tee #1...12:38 PM…PST…Grp #33
GAL, Sandra….WIE, Michelle
For Michelle, round one TV starts at 3:30PM…PST

Round Two
Tee #10...8:04 AM…PST…Grp #18
GAL, Sandra…WIE, Michelle
For Michelle, round two TV starts at 9:00AM…PST

TV schedule:
Kraft Nabisco Championship
March 29: GC 12:00-3:00 PM ET…9:00AM-12:00 Noon…PST
March 29: GC 6:30-9:30 PM ET…..3:30PM-06:30 PM…PST
March 30: GC 12:00-3:00 PM ET…9:00AM-12:00 Noon…PST
March 30: GC 6:30-9:30 PM ET…..3:30PM-06:30 PM…PST

Got to love wie golf

bobawiefan

[bobawiefan]

Hello Wie Nation:

Why I am excited and optimistic about Michelle’s golf game and future…

GolfTalkCentral
Wie drops belly putter, dusts off an oldie
By Randall Mell
Mar 27, 2012 6:17 PM ET

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Michelle Wie is looking to find the putting touch of her youth in a bid to kick start the next chapter in her career at this week’s Kraft Nabisco Championship.
Yeah, she’s only 22, but when she was 15, she rolled in a lot of birdies in big events. So, this week she is ditching the belly putter she has been using since the middle of last summer and is going back to the putter she used when she was 15, a standard Nike prototype blade putter.
Wie didn’t have any trouble finding the putter.
“I always keep that one around,” Wie said. “It’s my baby.”
Wie’s move to the old putter is as much symbolic as sentimental or physical. Coach David Leadbetter said she putted with more feel back at that age. She also poured in a lot of birdie chances. She had three second-place finishes in LPGA events as a 15-year-old. She was runner-up at the LPGA Championship that year and tied for third at the Women’s British Open.
“It will help her get more natural again with her putting,” Leadbetter said. “She was a very good putter when she was young, but she became more mechanical."
Leadbetter believes the belly putter leans to even more mechanical putting
“I think she’s had enough of that beast,” Leadbetter said.
Wie officially completed her senior year at Stanford last week, earning a degree in communications. She says it heightens her desire to see what she can do now focusing fully on golf.
She’s looking to turn around her sluggish start with a lot of distractions to 2012 while getting ready to graduate. She tied for 38th at the LPGA Honda, tied for 59th among 60 players at the HSBC Women’s and missed the cut at the Kia Classic.
“I want to win more,” said Wie, a two-time LPGA winner. “That’s a big thing. I feel like it’s been pretty mediocre so far. I want to be the best player I can be. It’s going to be a fun ride from here on out, entering the real world. I’m really excited.”

got to love wie golf

bobawiefan

[bangkokbobby]

Best wishes, Michelle. Play well