Round 4 - Rookie Sung Hyun Park wins first title at U.S. Open

July 16, 2017

Rookie Sung Hyun Park played a final round of 67 to finish 11-under 277, two strokes ahead of Hye Jin Choi (a) and four ahead of Mi Jung Hur and So Yeon Ryu. Park was trailing seven-strokes behind heading into the weekend but made 12 birdies over the last 27 holes.

“I did not have the best first and second rounds,” said Park. “I wanted to believe in myself again for the final two rounds and I did.” Park thanked her caddie, David Jones, for helping her stay focused and positive.

Putter fails Feng on weekend

Sunday, Shanshan Feng was dressed in her signature cow-patterned attire and ready to leave her mark on USGA history. But for the second consecutive day, the putter let her down, and she arrived at the 72nd hole needing eagle to force a playoff with Sung Hyun Park who was already in the clubhouse at 11-under par. Feng sent her approach sailing over the green, eliminating a chance for eagle and left her chip short of the putting surface and rolled back to her feet. Her putt for double lipped out and she settled for a triple bogey, eight at the par five to drop from solo second into a tie for fifth at six-under par.

“I think overall before the last hole I did pretty well,” Feng said after her round. “I did a good job hanging in right there because my putting was not really that great.”

Feng combined for 64 putts over the weekend but still managed to post her second best finish at the U.S. Women’s Open.

“You know now I look back I should be happy, actually, about my result because coming into this week I had no expectations at all. My last three U.S. Opens I think I missed tow cuts and last year I just made the cut so actually this year is such an improvement. So I think it’s been great.

Alex, Low American

Marina Alex knew it would be tough to play in her home state of New Jersey, but handled the pressure well and finished T-11, the low American in this year's U.S. Women’s Open Conducted by the USGA. It’s her best major finish since 2014 when she finished tied for ninth at the Ricoh Women’s British Open.

“This is awesome,” said Alex. “I feel like I've improved so much from then until now in terms of my game and just nice to be back close to the lead.

“Being in contention and being under a lot of pressure and just figuring out ways to handle it, ways to just improve on dealing with the environment and how to hit quality shots when under a lot of pressure.

“I don't think anyone can teach you one way or the other. You can ask a lot of players who have been there. It's a learning process. Everyone is different. They handle it how they handle it. It's just me figuring out myself.

The hometown favorite had her entire family and a ton of fans out watching today as she carded a 2-under par, 70.

“Every hole. It's cool. It's awesome,” said Alex. “I'm really glad that the State of New Jersey and the community found it and interesting coming out to watch me and watching women's golf, being out here. I'm really happy.”

The New Jersey native has work to do to continue to improve but is moving in the right direction.

“I'm close,” said Alex, who opened with rounds of 71-70 before posting a 73 on moving day. “Mainly just handling myself under pressure and being able to play how I play the first two rounds [also on] Saturday and Sunday and continuing to keep that up and try and handle the circumstances better each time.”

This week’s low American hopes to make the 2017 Solheim Cup team but knows others are hoping to make the team as well.

“Playing would be fantastic, but if I don't make it I don't make it,” explained Alex. “It's not -- I'm still looking at how I'm performing throughout the year. It's such an improvement from the past few years.

“That's extremely gratifying. If I make the team, that would be spectacular, but if I don't, it is what it is. There's a ton of players playing well right now.”

Lee posts low round on Sunday

After a disappointing 77 on moving day, Minjee Lee had a much earlier tee time on Sunday than she would have liked. But she bounced back from her highest round in the U.S. Women’s Open with her lowest round and the best round of the day with a six-under par, 66 to finish tied for 11th.

“I just wanted to have a good day. I hit it better, I hit more fairways and I hit more greens,” Lee told the media. “I just came out and thought, let’s just finish with a good day at a U.S. Open.”

Lee’s finish is the latest in what has been a solid season for the three-time winner, who has six top-10s in 2017, and remains confident her first major victory could still come this season.

“Obviously, I am hitting it good and I am putting it good,” said Lee. “We have the British Open and the Evian, two majors left. Hopefully, I can have good results there. I mean I’m just going to do the same and hope for the best.”

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Round 3 - Feng's consistency pays off in Bedminster

July 15, 2017

Shanshan Feng played 17 consecutive pars on Saturday, 23 counting Friday, before a closing birdie on 18th for a 71 that put her at 9-under, one shot ahead of amateur Hye Jin Choi and Amy Yang.

“I guess finally on the 18th I hit it close enough [to make a birdie] and give the fans some excitement,” Feng said. “Coming to this week, I didn't have any expectation at all. I just wanted to bring out my A game. And then I think I did really well for the first three days, and then I'm going to stick to my game plan tomorrow. I just focus on my own game and let's see what happens.”

Kerr keeps grinding

Ten years after winning the U.S. Women’s Open, Cristie Kerr is in position to win it again. The LPGA veteran has battled back spasms throughout the week to climb into the top-10, and as the old saying goes, beware the injured golfer.

“Pure insanity. Just grit, just determination like any other tournament in the world,” Kerr said about fighting through the pain this week. “You would think about just going home but not this one. I had to try to just stick it through.”

Kerr opened with rounds of 69 – 73 and followed up with a two-under par, 70 including a string of 13 consecutive pars to finish of her day, many were saves from long range. Her two-under round was enough to lift her from a tie for 14th to eighth and five-back of the lead heading into Sunday.

“Scores really haven’t gone anywhere. They really kind of messed with the pins a bit and they wanted to keep the score kind of where it was and hopefully I can have a great day tomorrow.”

Park puts it in drive

Saturday afternoon, Sung Hyun Park threw her hands up in the air and then on to the white cap atop her head in disbelief as her approach to the 18th green backed up and narrowly missed dropping into the cup. Park converted the putt for her sixth birdie of the day, all of which came on her second nine, to post a five-under, 67 on moving day at the U.S. Women’s Open.

“Well, to be honest with you, I feel like some load off my chest. I was a bit frustrated my first two rounds,” Park said about her opening rounds of 73 - 70. “I am probably more excited about tomorrow and anticipation is raised.”

Anticipation has been high for the 2017 rookie who won seven times last season on the KLPGA and earned the nickname of ‘Shut up and Attack.’ While she currently leads the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings, with four top-5s so far this season, Park has another goal she’s striving for this year.

“I want to win. It may seem like I am in a rush to win but I believe I have improved after each and every tournament,” Park told LPGA.com. “I will do my best to accomplish this goal until the last tournament of the season.”

It might not take her that long. Park is currently three-strokes back at six-under par with one round to play. She held the 36-hole lead at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2016 at CordeValle where she finished third after weekend rounds of back-to-back 74s.

“Last year I came here as, I guess, a non-member. But, I got very valuable experience playing there last year,” Park said. “That kind of provided me the solid ground to come back here. And with that experience and learning, I hope that I will have a good finish.”

The transition from KLPGA to LPGA has been an easy one for Park. The biggest difference has been traveling farther between Tour stops than she did on the KLPGA, but she’s also had a less strenuous schedule.

“I have a lot more time to think about golf,” Park told LPGA.com. “Compared to my time in the KLPGA, I have had a slightly more relaxed schedule this year which has allowed me to spend more time thinking about my golf style and analyze my game and weaknesses.”

It’s hard to find many weaknesses when your name is atop the leaderboard in a major championship.

Lee having fun

After a good night’s sleep, Mirim Lee admits to being in better condition physically ahead of round three. With a bogey-free, 67, Lee moves into contention at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open Conducted by the USGA.

Although she was not satisfied with her tee shots, she felt her iron play and putting saved her on several occasions. Lee closed with birdies on No. 17 and No. 18 to finish with five birdies to sit at 5-under par heading into the final round.

Course conditions were “pretty hard, pretty tough,” said Lee. “I think it's pretty good except maybe some fairways were a bit soft. But, other than that, I think overall the conditions are excellent.”

What will it take for Lee to win her first major championship?

“I probably have to pace myself, maybe especially on the green, and I'll probably have to pay attention close to my tee shots as well,” said Lee.

She is certainly capable of going low in majors having carded an opening round 64 at CordeValle and an opening round of 62 at the 2016 Ricoh Women’s British Open, so don’t count her out tomorrow.

She is excited heading into the final round at Trump National Golf Club and said, “I'm actually having fun. I'm excited but also having fun as well.”

Round 2 - Feng holding on to lead in heavy rain

July 14, 2017

Feng had the advantage of not having to finish round 1 on Friday morning and followed up her round 1 66 with a 70 to head into the weekend at 8-under par. Jeongeun Lee, Amy Yang and amateur Hye Jin Choi are tied for second place at 8-under.

Feng dealt well with the rain playing pars on the first 10 holes, birdied 11 and 12 when the rain let up and finished the round with more pars.

“I played probably the first nine holes in the rain, but my phone told me it was going to rain all afternoon and I was prepared,” said Feng. “I really didn't pay attention to the weather and just concentrated on every shot. But I had a lot of 5-irons and hybrids into par-4s and a 3-wood on No. 9.”

Not everyone coped as well as Feng among them

Brittany Lincicome, Paula Creamer, Jiyai Shin, Inbee Park and Morgan Pressel who failed to make the cut. Michelle Wie withdrew Friday morning due to a sore shoulder.

Round 1 - Shanshan Feng leading U.S. Women's Open

July 13, 2017

Shanshan Feng has taken the lead in Round 1 of the U.S. Women's Open with a 6-under 66, one shot ahead of Amy Yang. So Yeon Ryu, Rumi Yoshiba and Lydia Ko ate T3 at 4+under.

Round 1 was suspended due to darkness at 8:33 p.m. EDT. Round 1 will resume at 6:45 a.m. and Round 2 will begin at 7 a.m., with all Round 2 tee times delayed 15 minutes.

Yang Once Again In The Hunt

Amy Yang knows the drill.

When she arrived for her post-round press conference on Thursday to breakdown her opening round, 67, Yang came ready to review the birdies and bogeys that made up her day. It’s certainly not the first and hardly the last time the Korean has done a post-mortem on her day at a major championship. She posted her 16th career top-10 in a major championship two weeks ago at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. But after watching her idol win the U.S. Women’s Open at Blackwolf Run in 1998, it’s become the championship Yang wants most to win.

“I’ll keep trying,” Yang said with a smile. “I’m playing good, played good lately and I’m hitting the ball solid and making some putts.”

Just as she said at Olympia Fields, Yang remains committed to the routine that earned her more than a dozen top-10s in majors in hopes this will be the week she earns her first major victory.

“I think it is maybe most important being patient out there,” said the two-time U.S. Women’s Open runner-up. “I know the course will be tough out there and things not going to go like way you think.”

Yang is making her 11th appearance in the U.S. Women’s Open.

Feeling the Heat

Many golfers choose to head straight to the range after their round, but for World No. 1 So Yeon Ryu a rest is the order of the day.

The heat today is just another factor that the best female golfers in the world will have to deal with, on top of the challenging layout at Trump National. However, Ryu has a plan to combat the heat this week.

Ryu said: “I'm pretty happy with everything today. It was really humid and hot this morning. My energy is pretty low this morning. Sometimes better to rest than a lot of practice. I'm play planning to have a plenty of rest and fully charged and ready to go tomorrow again.

“I just drink a lot of water. Try to get an umbrella as much as I can. Try to stay in the shade. Try not to think too much. Try to concentrate all the time. I just need to like save energy. When I hit the ball, I really focus on everything. When I'm walking or something, I just try to have fun.”

Despite the heat, Ryu shot an impressive four-under-par, 68.

Scrambling Saves Lexi

You don’t always have to be accurate off the tee to post a good score at a major championship, as long as you can rely on your scrambling skills to keep you on the right side of par.

Just ask Lexi Thompson. The World No.3 hit just five of 14 fairways today, but still managed to shoot one-under-par, to remain in the top half of the field.

“I never am complaining with an under-par round in the U.S. Women's Open. I left a little ball-striking out there. I'm very happy with the way I scrambled and made a few solid par putts. Hit a few good spots in the second nine and go into tomorrow with a positive attitude.

“I would say off the tee (was bothering me). I think I hit like four fairways. I struggled a little bit off the tee but, like I said, I'm very happy with the way I scrambled and played my right shots into the greens knowing that they were going to come out a bit different out of the rough.”

Lag Putting the Key for Brooke

Brooke Henderson shot a bogey free, two-under-par round of 70 to begin her U.S. Open title challenge in New Jersey.

Any bogey free round at a U.S. Open Championship is one to be respected, but even more so when you factor in the intense heat and strengthening winds that today’s round brought.

“You know, I'm hitting the ball really well. I feel like my lag putting has really kicked in to be a lot better than it was at the beginning of the year. With those two combinations, I feel like I'm confident on longer par-4s and par 3s, which is always a good feeling.

“The scores, some were really low out there. I imagine some are not so low. It's a really tough golf course. I'm happy with 2-under and hopefully I can repeat that tomorrow.”

Scores