Inside the Ropes

Hi-ya! The chop has come down and the field has been cut from 145 to 75 for tomorrow’s final round.

Today we were promised thundershowers, and those with an afternoon tee time dreaded the idea of playing in mucky conditions. But thank goodness their prayers were answered and not a drop was seen. Though the winds grew stronger as the day progressed.

It was another great day out on the course, especially for the South Koreans. At one point, they were in a five way tie for the lead! But one broke away from the pack to claim the title of #1 after round two, three year LPGA tour member, Song-Hee Kim. She shot a 9-under-par 133 and is holding Angela Stanford at bay by two strokes. Stanford is at 7-under-par 135. Out of the top ten positions, 7 out of 1o are currently being held by South Koreans. Out of those 7 is recent Safeway Champion M.J. Hur who had a solid round of golf and maybe hungry for another title. 

Team VTech also had a great day with four of our players moving into the final round.  Karen Stupples was 1-over-par today to fall back just one stroke, but good enough to remain tied for 15th at 3-under-par 139. Amy Hung shot 3-under-par to move her into a tie for 24th, Becky Morgan shot 2-under-par today for a total of 1-under-par 141, and Alena Sharp shot 2-over-par to finish 1-over-par 143, beating the cut score of 2-over-par. Yesterday’s leader, Sandra Gal was 5-over-par and fell to 2-under-par 140. Maybe it was all the media attention and the sizable crowd that distracted her?

We’ll see what happens tomorrow at the Pinnacle Country Club Golf Course for the final round of the P&G NW Arkansas Championship as the weather channel still insists that rain is in our forecast. Let’s hope they’re wrong again the the storm stays south and the golf stays hot!

Today was a good day for golf. With the flag pins replaced with mini American flags to remember those we lost eight years ago, the mood was quiet yet upbeat amongst the golfers and the crowd. The weather was good, the wind minimal, and the course in excellent form. And though it was a Friday and technically still a work day, heaps of onlookers and fans showed up to cheer on their favorite players.

We had the usual herd of eager Michelle Wie fans cheering her on as she was paired with Natalie Gulbis and Brittany Lincicome. (Michelle finished tied for 21st at 2-under-par 69.) While others had local fans from long before they ever decided to turn pro. Though Team VTech’s Karen Stupples graduated from Florida State University, before she transfered she spent a year in Arkansas. During that year, Karen made an indelible impression on the people she met and they came out to support her today. One of them just happened to be her old coach, Coach Abel. (Karen finished in a five way tie for 4th at 4-under-par 67.)

As the day continued, it definitely felt like summer with the humidity and temperatures in the low 80’s, but as the cooling winds blew through the trees on the Pinnacle Golf Course, you could feel a change coming. Though the course was a vibrant shade of green, you couldn’t ignore the yellowing leaves scattered upon the ground. Two more months and the season will be over. But let’s not think about that, let’s focus on the golf.

At the end of the day, we find Germany’s Sandra Gal #1!, for now anyway. With a score of 7-under-par 64, she takes the lead with Song-Hee Kim a stroke behind. It was a day for ups and downs in scoring. A very frustrated Brittany Lincicome finished 6-over-par, while many top players are 1-over-par or higher. Tomorrow, 145 of the world’s best players will try again, hoping to make it to Sunday’s final round and a chance to win the P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship and that $1.8 million purse. Last year’s defending champion Seon Hwa Lee faced a little difficulty and showed some frustration as she finished her day tied for 105th at 3-over-par 74. Team VTech’s Alena Sharp is T37 at 1-under-par, Amy Hung and Becky Morgan are 1-over-par and Diana D’Alessio is T138 at 6-over-par 77.

So let’s make a prayer to the putting gods to help our girls do their best and hopefully, those thundershowers that are suppose to show up around noon will decide to take the weekend off and give our girls some good golf weather.

Here’s to hoping for a dry tomorrow.

Today is cut day at the CN Canadian Women’s Open and 74 players of 156 carded 1-over-par or better to advance to weekend play. Among those 74 players are Lorena Ochoa, Yani Tseng, VTech’s Karen Stupples and Ai Miyazato.

On top of the leaderboard currently tied for 1st is Safeway runner up Norway’s Suzann Pettersen and South Korean Song-Hee Kim at 9-under-par 133. And right behind are recent British Open winner Catriona Matthew and Rolex Number One Lorena Ochoa at 8-under-par 134. Kim set a tournament  record with shooting a 9-under-par in her second round. 

Last year’s defending champion Katherine Hull failed to qualify for weekend play.