Forward Press: Doral Week On Edge!

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A normal week of Doral intrigue might include Donald Trump spat with his Blue Monster neighbors. But the presumptive Republican nominee is busy with Super Tuesday, with only plans to roll in Sunday for a low profile appearance at the WGC Cadillac.

But this is The Donald, and between his spats with the PGA Tour brass, the expiration of Cadillac's role, player perception of a Blue Monster bias and pre-Masters pressure building, the week seems ripe for something happening like we've never seen. I explain the many dynamics in play in this week's GolfDigest.com Forward Press, along with a preview of the best LPGA field yet as that tour preps for its first major.

We discussed the Doral week issues on Morning Drive:

Lexi Using The Force On The Greens

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Well, not exactly The Force, but Lexi Thompson is taking a time-tested practice drill onto the course in a quest to improve her putting.

Beth Ann Nichols of Golfweek.com on why Lexi is putting with her eyes closed. In tournament play. Which kind of makes Jordan Spieth's occasional flirtations with looking at the hole look like child's play.

“It feels like I’m burning a hole through the golf ball with my eyes (open),” said Thompson, who always has been more of a feel player.

Thompson said she putted with her eyes open once last week on a long putt at the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic and knocked it 10 feet past the hole. She then closed her eyes and drained the come-backer.

No Sugar Coates: Pettersen And Lee Paired Together

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The last time they played together the day ended in tears and controversy. So it's just a miraculous bit of algorithm writing which has led to the happy Solheim Cup reunion when first round play starts Wednesday in the Coates Golf Championship (remember, early start to avoid the Super Bowl Sunday window.)

Beth Ann Nichols reports for Golfweek.com.

“That computer, it’s amazing how it spits things out,” U.S. captain Juli Inkster said facetiously.

Pettersen and Lee were embroiled in controversy last September at the Solheim Cup in Germany when the Americans’ Lee scooped up her ball on the 17th green at St. Leon-Rot Golf Club. The Europeans’ Pettersen immediately told a rules official that the 18-inch par putt had not been conceded. Lee insisted that she heard otherwise.

Albatross Day! Jang In Bahamas, Gore In San Diego

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Here's something you may never see again...

Ha Na Jang with the first albatross in LPGA Tour history, 8th hole, Pure Silk Bahamas Classic:

 


And her priceless reaction:



And on the PGA Tour, Jason Gore at the Farmers Insurance Open, sporting his Pepperdine gear, with a 2 on the par-5 18th from 250 yards out. According to Bob Harig at ESPN.com, Gore was talked into hitting three-wood by his caddy.

 

Forward Press: LPGA Kick-Off, PGA Show Coverage

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In this week's edition I speak to LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan about the refreshingly status quo state of the LPGA Tour after years of new events, new lineups and too much sponsor turnover.

Things are so improved for the tour that its number one star is not playing the opener and no one seems to mind because Whan has arranged plenty of playing opportunities.

Also covered: the PGA Show, Farmers Insurance Open and the mysterious Singapore Open where Jordan Spieth is turning up to cash a big check and build on the fatigue that threatens to mess up his year if he isn't careful (we discussed this surprising and not-surprising revelation on Morning Drive).

I'll be curious where PGA Show coverage goes this year after years of secrecy before finally joining the modern world the last few years. In 2015, Callaway was very active online and will be again. Sirius radio will have Matt Adams on hand (with Hank Haney also doing his show from the Show floor). What remains to be seen: how much show coverage is provided by Titleist, Taylor Made and PING. I'll add links if they appear.

The full column here.

Don't Call Inbee A Hall Of Famer Just Yet

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Inbee Park quietly became a Hall of Famer with her stout 2015 campaign (two majors), but that incredible career milestone was overshadowed at season's end by the understandable Lydia Ko hype.

Beth Ann Nichols reports that Inbee actually has to play the LPGA Tour for one more year to be Hall eligible. Or, to be exact, round one of her tenth LPGA start of 2016.

Hope you don’t get injured! 
Or choose to start a family with that devoted husband beforehand. Otherwise you’ll be in HOF purgatory with Lorena Ochoa, who amassed 37 points in seven glorious years on the LPGA before dedicating herself to motherhood.

Shouldn’t the LPGA Hall of Fame be a benchmark 
of greatness and not time served?

It should and the LPGA might want to figure out a way to fix this before we have Inbee taking a curtain call after hitting a first round tee shot.

Lydia Joins The Likes Of Beth, Annika and Nancy

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She's moving to first name status with a player of the year award after winning Rookie Of The Year in 2014, and while she held off an admittedly nervous Inbee Park who was playing to clinch HOF status (and did), it's still easy to root for Lydia Ko.

Bill Fields captures the scene and the affection for Ko at the CME finale in Naples.

The Player of the Year honor burnishes Ko's stunning career. Already the youngest winner of an LPGA event (2012 CN Canadian Women's Open) and a women's professional major championship (2015 Evian Championship), Ko becomes the youngest to be named POY.

She is only the fourth LPGA golfer to be top player the year after being top rookie, joining Nancy Lopez (1978-79), Beth Daniel (1979-80) and Annika Sorenstam (1994-95.) Lopez stands alone in winning both awards in the same year, 1978. On the PGA Tour, which has given a rookie award since 1990, Tiger Woods (1996-97) is the only person to pull off the back-to-back achievement.

"Awesome," Ko said of the select company she joined. "Beth, Annika, Nancy, they are legendary players. Their legacies are here with us. What they have done for the women's golf and LPGA, what they are still doing, they are an inspiration. To put my name along with those three amazing players, it's a huge honor. In a way, I'm still thinking, 'Hey, am I deserving to be along those names?' "

Double Standard When It Comes To Female Competitiveness?

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Now that we've had some time to digest the Suzann Pettersen-Alison Lee Solheim Cup incident, Karen Crouse raises an intriguing point fueled in part by comments from Butch Harmon.

You may recall Pettersen was well off the 17th green of a match when Lee picked up her ball without a concession. I've always felt Suzann knew that Lee was a little loose with the match play dynamics and etiquette and was lying in wait. Her mistake, in my view, was that she was too far from the action. Had she been standing on the green, arms folded (the international signal for putting out), she is considered a Seve-like competitor. But standing off the green, almost to the next tee?  She was rightly criticized.

Yes, golf is a crazy-strange sport.

But Crouse makes the case that female athletes play under different standards when it comes to competitiveness and that Pettersen may always be remembered in a negative light, perhaps due in part to her gender.

To be a female athlete is to be ever mindful that appearances matter. Prettiness is next to godliness, which is why many of the players wear makeup during tournaments and treat their competitiveness as an imperfection that needs to be covered up with hugs and smiles. The same icy stare that identifies Tiger Woods as a fierce competitor is off-putting when it freezes Pettersen’s opponents.

“Absolutely, there is a double standard,” said Pettersen’s swing instructor, Butch Harmon, whose past clients include Mickelson and Woods. “It’s not right. One of the things I love about Suzann is what a great competitor she is. She prepares, and she plays, to win.”

Speaking by telephone, Harmon added: “If you look at Serena Williams, she gets put in the same category. People say Serena Williams is overaggressive. No, what she is is very, very good and very, very competitive.”

I really don't think of Pettersen in a negative light because she missed a nuanced element of gamesmanship and it didn't hurt that she apologized (even though she isn't the one who made the initial mistake). 

But a few months later, how do you view Suzann and the incident? Are females held to a different standard when it comes to competitiveness?

Forward Press: Two Races-To-Cash Wrapping Up, Aussie Majors Starting And Loopers In The Booth!

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It's a bizarre week in golf as the LPGA Tour and European Tour end their respective "races."

One (LPGA) has a lot on the line with a possible entertaining showdown. The other is teetering on the edge of silliness as players defect and the points leader got to the finals on a free pass from the home office.

For American west coasters, the joyous annual ritual that is going to bed watching Australia's golfing triple crown is upon us. And finally, Friday and Saturday's tour event from St. Simons Island, Georgia will feature two caddies named Bones and Woody working as on course reporters, prompting me to wonder in the column if the next "Rossy" is upon us.

Here is this week's Forward Press column at GolfDigest.com, with links and some fun embeds.

Speaking of Rossy, for those of you too young to remember the beloved ABC/ESPN on-course reporter, I went hunting for a "he's got no chance" clip on YouTube. Sadly, that signature phrase from the late Bob Rosburg was nowhere to be found.

But do check out this short British Pathé highlight reel from Wentworth, circal 1960. The Ballantine's event was played to test the larger American ball. It includes Rosburg, stylish crowds, a stylish version of that now-mangled golf course (no doubt this clip will be studied by restorer Ernie Els) and best of all, those wacky flagsticks!

Inbee Park Moves Within A Point Of Hall Of Famer Status

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She's been battling injury but Inbee Park won the Lorena Ochoa Invitational Sunday with an 8-under-par 64 to also make some of the year-end awards and such interesting. She also got to wear the least-flattering winner's prize in all of golf. Does anyone look good in a sombrero?

Park earned another point toward her LPGA Hall of Fame qualification and now has 26 of the 27 points needed to be eligible. This in just ninth year as an LPGA member (must be an active member for 10 years to be eligible for induction).

At next week's CME Globe, Inbee has three opportunities to earn the point that lands her in the hall: a win, winning Player of the Year or winning the Vare Trophy.

This is all interesting because, in all honesty, the LPGA has the best and toughest system for "HOF" status and it's pretty amazing that someone so young is on the cusp in just year nine of her career as an LPGA member.

The dreaded sombrero photo, no captions please.

Following her win on Sunday, Inbee Park sits just 1 point shy of qualifying for the #LPGA Hall of Fame.

A photo posted by Golf Channel (@golfchannel) on

We Thought Only Media Shuttles Took Forever: LPGA Player Edition

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It wouldn't be a golf tournament if the media shuttles didn't take some circuitous routes to the course, though even those entertaining debacles rarely happen now that tournaments have turned to quality outfits like Country Club Services.

So it's a bit surprising to see LPGA players not only taking a tournament shuttle to the course, but experiencing a total nightmare. That's what happened Saturday in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, where the tour relied on the Decisions of the rules to push back tee times for four players whose 15-20 minute journey took over two hours due to road issues and Mexico City's infamous traffic.
Randall Mell reports on the remedy for this bizarro situation:

With four players who were in contention stuck in a shuttle bus that took more than two hours to make the usual 15- to 20-minute commute from the tournament hotel to the golf course, the LPGA pushed back the day’s final three times. By doing so, Suzann Pettersen, Angela Stanford, Minjee Lee and Carlota Ciganda were assured that they would be spared disqualifications for missing tee times.

The LPGA cited Decision 6-3a/1.5 in pushing back tee times, determining there were “exceptional circumstances beyond the players’ control.”

Odd: Rich Harvest Farms Drops Out Of 2016 LPGA Event

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Brainchild of Commissioner Mike Whan, the International Crown is one of the LPGA's bigger events thanks to a different format. Announcing the exclusive Rich Harvest Farms as 2016 host was considered a nice get for Whan, though architecture aficionados pan the course which was a Golf Digest panel favorite before it wasn't.

Now comes news the course is pulling out of the 2016 IC obligation less than nine months out, with no reason given but a funny comment from the LPGA Tour that they are open to future events there despite this uncomfortable situation. Right!

From the Len Ziehm, who notes developer Jerry Rich's interest in hosting events adding to the oddity of the last minute drama.

Teddy Greenstein says the event will stay in the Chicagoland area, possibly at Merit Club or Cog Hill.

The LPGA's statement:

LPGA & Rich Harvest Farms

The LPGA and Rich Harvest Farms have mutually agreed to relocate the 2016 UL International Crown.

Despite this decision, both parties remain open to future LPGA opportunities at Rich Harvest Farms based on the successful partnership in staging the 2009 Solheim Cup.

The UL International Crown will continue as scheduled July 21-24, and the LPGA stands committed to keeping the 2016 edition of the biennial match-play event in the Chicagoland area. The 2018 event will still be showcased in the Republic of Korea.

The LPGA is finalizing a new host venue and will comment further at the appropriate time.