AIG Women’s Open 2024 - St Andrews

[HomerJSimpson]

Pace of play was an issue throughout and I am not sure it can all be blamed on the conditions. It wasn't a great advert in that respect but that aside a very enjoyable tournament. Disappointed Vu didn't give the putt for a play off a better run

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Sorry, I realise this is nothing to do with the original topic, but I have to ask because I don't understand. I didn't know who Keely Hodgkinson is, so I've Googled her - she won one gold medal, in 800m. What makes her the favourite for sports personality ahead of all the other people that won gold medals then?

When it comes to athletics then Golds for GB are not as prolific even more so females

She was the only GB athletics winning a gold medal and first I believe since 2012

 

[sunshine]

Sorry, I realise this is nothing to do with the original topic, but I have to ask because I don't understand. I didn't know who Keely Hodgkinson is, so I've Googled her - she won one gold medal, in 800m. What makes her the favourite for sports personality ahead of all the other people that won gold medals then?

Because many Olympic sports are very niche with few competitors, but running isn’t. How many people do canoe slalom or track cycling? When you think about how many velodromes there are in the UK, or canoe slalom courses, you realise that only a handful of people are participating in the sport. And that’s the UK, most countries in the world probably don’t even have a velodrome.

Running 2 laps of the track however, has very low barriers to entry. Pretty much anyone can take it up and aspire to run in the olympics. She can truly claim to have beaten a world class global field.

 

[sunshine]

Back to golf, Nelly Korda’s swing really is a thing of beauty. Incredible sporting pedigree in her family!

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Some observations on the ‘slow play’ at the Women’s Open discussion.

1) The wind was very, very fierce and, for many groups, completely unrelenting for all of their round. Look at the flagsticks…they are the same as the ones my club recently bought…they are very stiff and in the wind we experience…which can at times be strong, they just don’t bend. But look at the highlights from St Andrews. This made it extremely difficult for the whole round for the players, and they often had to back-off from playing shots…putts especially but sometimes fairway shots and sometimes their drives as the wind threatened to blow their ball off the tee peg.

2) On the Saturday (3rd round) - going out as a two ball with Lee Mi Hyong, Lottie was four hours for her round. Pretty good for a major played in the conditions I’d say - and Ms Lee wasn’t the fastest.

3) On the Sunday…nearer 5hrs. The BIG problem was the 2nd shot on the par 5 5th hole. Players were all looking to hit the green in two…however. The 5th green is shared with the 13th…the pin for 13 was towards the 5th side of the green; the flag for 5 was towards the back of the 5th green area, and with the wind as fierce and across as it was players struggled to keep their shots to 13 off the 5th green area. This meant players playing 2nd shots to 5 were having to wait all the time for players playing 13 to clear a path to the 5th flag. A right pain and of course this meant groups backed up on the 5th tee waiting for players to play their 2nd to 5.

The same applied - though perhaps to a slightly lesser extent - with players waiting to play their tee and 2nd shots on 3. Lottie reached the 3rd tee with Charley Hull teeing off, and she was two groups ahead of Lottie. Caught up two tee times in two holes…and for the leading groups the tee times were I think near 15mins apart.

4) players on smaller double greens (7 and 11), or where a tee was close to a green, often waited until a shot was played so that any applause had died down. And with the wind - 9th…349yds…many were looking to drive it…and many did.

5) The TV viewing experience. Men’s majors have a huge number of cameras mobile and fixed all over the course. This means that producers cut away from a player’s prep to another player playing his shot and go back when the player is ready to play. You don’t usually see the extent of the faffing about the men do. But with the women there are very many fewer cameras on the course and producers have less choice, and so you tend to see and feel the faffing about that many women do…even though it’s generally no more than the blokes.

6) Many groups were put on the clock, even when any gap that had opened in front of them was not the fault of the group, but of what was going on immediately in front of them. And they could be on the clock for 5, 6, 7 even 8 holes. Most times it seemed extremely unfair but having been warned the girls did start to play ‘ready golf’…and dash to the next tee if they had putted out before their playing companion had finished. It looked ‘rude’ but they were really pushing to get on with it. TV viewers did not see any of that. And I suspect players in the men’s Open would not be so ‘harshly’ treated and pushed by the refs.

7) And just on caddies…yes many players had their caddies checking, or for some actually doing, the reading of the players putt for them, especially if the caddy was local or otherwise very experienced on reading the greens. And that could take ages. Lottie always reads her own putts…she never asks her caddy…in the Women’s Open not once over four days. So though she can look very precise and pedantic over her putts she hasn’t had a caddy faffing around as well beforehand.

That said…some of the golf was at times rather slow.

Just a few observations from being there.

 

[Mandofred]

Back to golf, Nelly Korda’s swing really is a thing of beauty. Incredible sporting pedigree in her family!

The swing is built for consistency.....love it.

 

[backwoodsman]

Back to golf, Nelly Korda’s swing really is a thing of beauty. Incredible sporting pedigree in her family!

Rose Zhang's swing is the one for me. I'd love to have a swing that smooth...