US Women’s Open – Belated Epilogue

Congratulations to Cristie Kerr for winning the first major championship of her career. After a start to 2007 that she would rather forget, Cristie started playing much better once June arrived – third place at the Ginn Tribute and T18 at the LPGA Championship before winning at Pine Needles.

I just returned home this afternoon from a very enjoyable vacation in Michigan, which not only prevented me from posting but also only allowed me to view about 45 minutes of the Open coverage last Saturday (and that was on tape, to boot!). Under normal circumstances I would have been upset but the trip was such a great one, I only now slightly regret having missed the action. Other than the rain delays, it looked like a good one.

For the first time, Yours Truly managed to pick a winner of a major and (coupled with Ochoa’s win at Wegmans) to make two consecutive correct picks.

Once again, Lorena Ochoa did not win the major but remained in the running until the very end. Get ‘em next time, Spitfire.

Angela Park continued her outstanding rookie season with her tie for second, but she wasn’t the only rookie who shone – In-Bee Park gets my Big Surprise Award by finishing tied for fourth. Her previous best was a T45 at the Corning. Narrowly missing out on the prestigious award was Ji-Yai Shin (a KLPGA member who has won four times on that tour this year), who finished sixth. By missing the cut, Suzanne Pettersen gets the Big Disappointment Award.

While driving through southern Kentucky on our way north a week ago Wednesday, we passed through the town of Tompkinsville. Assuming you haven’t heard of it, it’s about 20 miles north of the Tennessee border, maybe 30 miles southeast of Mammoth Cave, and nowhere near any interstate highways (yes, we drove through there on purpose!). In the middle of Tompkinsville, I noticed a sign at (I believe) the local Burger King which spelled out “Good Luck In The Open – Marci Turner”. Sure enough, amateur Marci Turner played at Pine Needles last week and while she didn’t make the cut, she did shoot 151 – better than Sarah Lee, Karrie Webb, Grace Park, and of course, Michelle Wie. I don’t know anything about Marci Turner other than her hometown but for some odd reason, I’m pretty sure I’ll be a fan if she ever turns pro.