The USGA Is Back! Twosomes Taking Over Five Hours; Excessive Setup And High Scores

The U.S. Women's Open committee or the weatherman or someone blew it Saturday judging by Gary D'Amato's account. The setup was set in stone before Saturday's winds kicked up, but that also may have been the problem.

"I think Blackwolf is starting to snarl a little bit," said Ben Kimball, director of the Women's Open.

How Meeksian!

Paula Creamer was asked if the difficult setup was the USGA's response to the low scores and player comments after the first two rounds.

"One hundred percent," she said. "Yes. One hundred percent."

Kimball disagreed, saying it was determined during site visits weeks ago.

"The actual setup and strategy for the week was done in advance of when I even got here," he said. "We didn't go off course; we didn't have a knee-jerk reaction to anything any player said or try and do anything to try to dictate any particular score today."

The average round for the twosomes...twosomes was 4 hours, 50 minutes. Twosomes!

Stina Sternberg points that it took the final group of Pettersen and Wie 3:06 for...nine holes! But the USGA also seems to have suspended their station system that would have meant slow play penalties.

The tougher conditions, in addition to the already intimidating length of the Blackwolf Run layout, with flags teetering near the water's edge on many holes, resulted in rounds taking painfully long on Saturday. The final pairing of Wie and Pettersen made the turn in 3:06 after being forced to wait for up to three groups to tee off before them on some holes. Slow play has been a hot-button topic on the LPGA Tour this season, culminating in a much-disputed loss-of-hole penalty for Morgan Pressel in the semi-final of the Sybase Match Play Championship in May, but no penalties have been given out so far this week. As long as the sluggish pace is a result of the course setup, it's difficult to penalize the players.

Randall Mell quotes Kimball on the pace Saturday with optimism for improved pace Sunday.

“Tomorrow, we’re hoping for improvements,” Kimball said. “There are some things with the setup that will help.”

Na Yeon Choi opened up a six stroke lead, reports Dan Manoyan.

Kohler: “These Asians have done so well because they know the meaning of work."

An unbylined AP story quotes Herb Kohler talking about Asian golfers knowing the meaning of work and that the "Americans have now seen what the Asians can do, and they’re starting to work.”

But this gave me a bigger laugh:

Kohler said his company has 11 manufacturing plants in China, which produce products mainly for sale to Chinese customers.

“We’re very successful in China because of the attitude of those people toward work,” Kohler said. “They love to work, they know how to work and they do what it takes. And they love to win.”

I'm sure they love making toilets at those lavish wages!

Lorena Coming Out Of Retirement...Kind Of

From an AP story, based on a statement posted on her website. She's playing two fall events, one in France and the other of which is her Invitational in Guadalajara.

Take That Camilo: Pettersen To Become Highest Ranked Player To Pose In ESPN's "Bodies" Issue

Ryan Ballengee with the big news.

Shanshan! China Gets Its First Major

AP's John Kekis on Shanshan Feng's LPGA Championship win.

The 22-year-old Feng, the only player from China on the tour, had the lowest round of the tournament at the right time and finished at 6-under 282.

Feng, who began the day three shots behind third-round leader Eun-Hee Ji, had a bogey-free round to etch her name in the record books, and her fourth top 10 of the year moved her to fifth in the world.

Here's her post-round interview:

Ms. Woods On Uncle's Advice: "He's always telling me just to kick butt."

Randall Mell on Cheyenne Woods making her LPGA debut Thursday in the Wegman's LPGA Championship, just a week after qualifying for the U.S. Women's Open.

Growing up as Tiger’s niece had its advantages and its disadvantages.

“I would say the best thing is definitely just having him as an uncle and having him there to support me,” Cheyenne said. “He is obviously amazing at golf. Having him there, and knowing I can go to him whenever I need, is nice to have.

“The most difficult thing is dealing with the pressure, but I have dealt with it a long time, and I have somehow been able to play my own game. That’s what I mainly try to think about is playing my own game, just trying to do my own thing and not worrying about what others are thinking.”

Though Cheyenne didn’t accumulate an amateur record close to her famous uncle’s – who does? – she believes she has some Tiger in her. “I think I do,” she said. “It’s not like you can control it, but if I put myself in a pressure-packed situation, I think I’m definitely able to buckle down and get through it.”

Steve DiMeglio also profiled Woods and noted this.

Uncle Tiger also has given her other advice.

"He's always telling me just to kick butt," she said. "You know, Tiger is always dominating, so that is the one word of advice he would give me. He is obviously amazing at golf, and having him there and knowing I can go to him whenever I need him is nice to have."

Update on 2012-06-07 15:03 by Geoff

**Ron Sirak's assessment of Woods heading into her debut:

Cheyenne Woods does not join the LPGA with the same skill level Tiger Woods brought to the pro game in 1996, but then again, few in the history of the sport have. She does, however, show the promise to compete on tour well enough to not only keep her card, when she gets it, but also win. While Cheyenne may not be the female version of her famous uncle, that smile and her easy manner could give the LPGA another marketable vehicle on which to hang its hat if she does win.

Update on 2012-06-08 03:28 by Geoff

**Cheyenne's pre-tournament interview...