By Tony Leodora
This was supposed to be the showcase week of the year for women’s golf.
It turned out to be showcase week for a magnificently renovated and manicured Saucon Valley CC, the stately 54-hole facility in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
And it was a showcase for the weather in the Lehigh Valley, as the week from heaven made girl-watching at the USGA’s premiere women’s event very comfortable.
And it was a showcase for Eun-Hee Ji, the 23-year-old Korean who claimed her first major championship by sinking a 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole of a very tense competition.
But nothing else went right this week – for the LPGA Tour, for the USGA or for the overall mantle of women’s golf.
First, the USGA was forced to play the championship without the two most recognizable women on the LPGA Tour – Michelle Wie and Natalie Gulbis. Neither met the standards for an automatic exemption and both were bounced in qualifying tournaments.
Then, distraction turned to embarrassment, as it was learned that 15 major LPGA players got together and drafted a letter asking Commissioner Carolyn Bivens to resign.
After a day of peace, the distraction arose again as it was reported that Bivens was going to resign and the already-money strapped LPGA was working on terms of a buyout.
Then marquis attraction Lorena Ochoa, the No. 1 women’s player in the world, proved very vulnerable in her second round. On the extremely slick Saucon Valley greens she developed an embarrassing case of the yips. She missed at least a half-dozen very short putts (3 to 6 feet), en route to a 79.
In the third round Paula Creamer, the other remaining marquis name, seemed hot on the trail to her first major championship when she suddenly suffered a triple-bogey on the short 10th hole, then imploded during the rest of the back nine to disappear off the leaderboard with a 79.
In the final round, stumbling and bumbling again dominated the scene. Christie Kerr had a three-shot lead midway through the front nine before her putter betrayed her and caused her to finish above par. Brittany Lincicome also made a run before missing some short putts on the back nine.
Golfer after golf seemed to be falling prey to a combination of incompetence and nerves, until Ji saved the day. She shot three-under-par on the final eight holes to secure the win. Her 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole was reminiscent of the late Payne Stewart’s 18-footer to win the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst.
“I was extremely nervous before I made that putt,” Ji said, through an interpreter shortly after play concluded. “As a matter of fact, I’m still extremely nervous now.”
No doubt, the LPGA was very nervous also, until Ji sank the winning putt. A playoff, with two or three players stumbling their way along until somebody survived was the last thing women’s golf needed in this week of ruined showcases.
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