9 Returning Players on U.S. Solheim Cup Team

U.S. SOLHEIM CUP CAPTAIN Rosie Jones called forming her team “an extremely exciting and difficult selection process.” Jones made two captain’s picks—veteran Vicky Hurst and LPGA Tour rookie Ryann O’Toole. That may have been the hard part, but the rest of the 12-player squad—all automatic qualifiers based on a points system—looks like it was as easy as an 18-inch putt.

This year’s U.S. Solheim Cup team will include nine of the players that won the Cup two years ago at Rich Harvest Farms west of Chicago, Illinois. They are world No. 2 Cristie Kerr, Morgan Pressel, Angela Stanford, Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie, Brittany Lincicome, Brittany Lang, Christina Kim and Juli Inkster. Stacy Lewis, a Solheim Cup rookie, was the other player to make the team on points.

In addition to playing, Inkster will serve as an assistant captain to Jones. Playing will come first said the 51-year-old Inkster, the oldest player to compete in The Solheim Cup.

“I feel like most of my career I’ve worn two hats as a mom and as a player,” Inkster said in reference to her dual Solheim Cup roles, “but it will be a challenge.”

The European Solheim Cup Team will be announced on August 29. Alison Nicholas will serve as captain. Melissa Reid, Laura Davies, Suzann Pettersen and Christel Boeljon have already made the team based on the Ladies European Tour point standings.

The Solheim Cup will be played at Killeen Castle in Ireland on September 23-25.

−The Armchair Golfer

2011 U.S. Women’s Open TV Schedule and Tournament Notes

THE 2011 U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN teed off on Thursday at The Broadmoor (East Course) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and was halted due to weather. Cristie Kerr and amateur Amy Anderson are tied for the lead at 2 under par. Neither player has completed her round. Inbee Park and Ai Miyazato are 1 under par.

Juli Inkster finished with a 3-over 74, and, with one hole to play, Michelle Wie is 7 over par. Alexis Thompson is 5 over after 15 holes. Grouped together, defending champion Paula Creamer and four-time major winner Yani Tseng have not started play.

(Photo: Paula Creamer at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open.)

“It’s an exhausting golf course,” Creamer said on Wednesday. “It’s a long walk, lots of thinking. Definitely if you lose your mind on one shot, it’s gonna cost you big time here.”

“I feel less pressure this week than before,” Tseng said on Tuesday. “I always feel so much pressure on U.S. Open course. It’s such a tough, tough golf course. But after I see Rory McIlroy do it I feel much more relaxed. You just have got to come out here and have fun, enjoy the pressure and enjoy the big crowds.”


Purse: $3.25 million
Defending champion: Paula Creamer
Course: The Broadmoor, East Course, Par 71, 7,047 yards

2011 U.S. Women’s Open Leaderboard

Tournament preview
Final field
Pairings
Spectator guide
U.S. Women’s Open website


TV SCHEDULE

TV coverage of the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open is on ESPN2 and NBC.

Thu, Jul 07
5:00-9:00 PM ET ESPN2

Fri, Jul 08
5:00-9:00 PM ET ESPN2

Sat, Jul 09
3:00-6:00 PM ET NBC

Sun, Jul 10
3:00-6:00 PM ET NBC


−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: John E Kaminski, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

The Rules Geek: Bad Behavior Down Under?

Editor’s note: The Rules Geek is an occasional and potentially annoying feature at ARMCHAIR GOLF.

AN AUSSIE READER WRITES: Yesterday I was playing in a fourball matchplay event against an opponent well known for his gamesmanship. Talking loudly on the tee while you are preparing to hit is commonplace. At the first tee we identified our balls. I was hitting a Titleist 3 while he was hitting a Titleist 2. He made a big point of saying he always hits a 2 and never a 3.
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As the match progressed and his side fell behind, the antics increased. With my side leading 2 up with 3 to play we hit off the 16th tee, an uphill tee shot. I hit my shot and didn't see exactly where it finished although it was in the fairway. He hit his tee shot into a similar area. He was riding in a cart and raced to check which ball was which. He announced that my ball was the farthest from the pin.

I took this at face value and paced out my distance and took a couple of practice swings before addressing the ball. I decided to check the ball and found it was the Titleist 2 and then checked the ball about 10 metres farther ahead and it was my ball—the Titleist 3.

To say the least, I was not impressed by this turn of events. I advised him that the ball was his, trying to remain composed. He played his shot to the front of the green about 25 feet from the hole. I chunked my approach to about 50 metres out. I managed to play a career lob wedge to a tight pin over a bunker to less than a foot to halve the hole. My side managed to win the match at the next hole.

Does his announcement, after checking the ball, that the ball belonged to me constitute “wrong information” under 9-2b?

[The Rules Geek sez: Rule 9-2b Wrong Information pertains to two main issues: failure to inform about incurring a penalty and incorrect information about number of strokes taken.]

If it does, a challenge at that point would have ruled him out of the hole with his partner still alive. If I had played the shot, would I have infringed the “wrong ball” rule or under equity would I have been entitled to replay my shot?

[The Rules Geek sez: Rule 15-3A Wrong Ball, which pertains to match play, states, “If a player makes a stroke at a wrong ball, he loses the hole.” So it’s good that you checked the ball before hitting it.]

This incident raises so many questions but it also leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

A followup message from the reader: I have lodged a complaint about his behaviour with the Captain. I accept that wrong information does not apply to the circumstances outlined being largely applicable to the number of strokes taken. The applicability of the rules of etiquette are applicable however. Although the behaviour would be sufficient in my view to warrant disqualification, there was no match referee on hand to make such a judgement.

[The Rules Geek sez: A breach of etiquette must be serious to warrant disqualification. Does this player’s gamesmanship and annoying antics cross the threshold?]

The Rules Geek sez rules were made to be followed. Got a rules-related tip or story? Send it to The Rules Geek at armchairgolfer@gmail.com.

More Rules Geek:
Juli Inkster and the Donut DQ
Phil Mickelson and the Proper Drop
Abnormal Ground Conditions Aid Amateur
Hunter Mahan’s Driver Replacement

(Image: devburch/Flickr)

Rules Fatigue Grips Golf World

IF JIM FURYK’S CELL PHONE didn’t lose power last week at The Barclays, would the PGA Tour have suspended its pro-am policy for the rest of the season? In a word, no. I don’t think so. No one would be talking about the rule and the so-called unfairness of it. Popular, headline-grabbing Phil Mickelson wouldn’t be sounding off and the PGA Tour wouldn’t have a PR problem.

(Photo: Dustin Johnson is in a bunker, and knows it / Gordons, Flickr)

Furyk is a good guy, a gamer who fulfills his tour obligations. His cell phone battery failed him. That, and his lack of a backup. To play the PGA Tour, you need to guard against equipment failure on and off the course. In addition to carrying those three or four wedges, you’d be wise to have two alarms.

It was an odd incident, just like the Dustin Johnson bunker incident at the PGA Championship, and Juli Inkster’s donut DQ at the Safeco Classic, and last weekend’s cheating allegations at the LPGA event in Canada, which is a different kettle of fish.

People are fed up. Stupid rules. A guy doesn’t know he’s in a bunker. A gal is trying to warm up after a 25-minute delay in the middle of her round. A guy overslept and showed up five minutes late for the pro-am. Rules, rules, rules.

The golf world is ready to throw the book at the rules book. Granted, golf does have some odd rules. And the PGA Tour does make up its own policies concerning things like pro-ams to protect its interests. But it’s not like this stuff is new.

What if this last month has simply been an odd confluence of rules violations affecting name players? Unfortunate, yes. Time to throw out the rules? Maybe not so fast. The bunker fiasco was by far the worst situation. The PGA of America needs to think hard about how they’ll conduct future championships at Whistling Straits.

As far as the PGA Tour pro-ams, here’s what Stewart Cink told Michael Whitmer of Boston.com:

I’d say less than 50 percent of the players really understand how important they are, and that’s a shame. And despite the tour’s efforts, I think that trend is going down. I don’t think players make the connection between the pro-am and the support. We aren’t born into this world with the entitlement of playing golf on the PGA Tour. All this happens through hard work and sponsorship, and we have to be attractive to business sponsors who want to put their name and their money behind us.

Did the PGA Tour buckle due to the backlash? Did Dustin get shafted by an unusual local rule? Should Juli have known to stay away from donuts?

I say yes to all three. And all because the past month in tour golf has been as odd as some of the rules.

−The Armchair Golfer

The Rules Geek: Juli Inkster and the Donut DQ

Editor’s note: The Rules Geek is an occasional and potentially annoying feature at ARMCHAIR GOLF.

JULI INKSTER UNKNOWINGLY BREACHED Rule 14-3 at the Safeco Classic over the weekend and was disqualified after completing her round. The Hall of Famer was three strokes off the lead when she used a weighted device known as a “donut” on her 9 iron to warm up on the 10th tee.

A TV viewer who watched Inkster on Golf Channel emailed tournament officials who in turn alerted the LPGA rules folks. After being informed of the DQ, Inktser left the course without speaking to reporters. She later issued this brief statement:

“It had no effect on my game whatsoever, but it is what it is. I’m very disappointed.”

If you read 14-3. Artificial Devices, Unusual Equipment and Unusual Use of Equipment on pages 48 and 49 in the 2010-2011 The Rules of Golf, you might be scratching your head as to the Inkster rules breach. That’s because the infraction pertains to a USGA decision related to 14-3:

14-3/10 Use of Training or Swing Aid During Round

Q. During a round, may a player make a stroke or a practice swing using a club with a weighted headcover or “donut” on it, or use any other device designed as a training or swing aid?

A. No. The player would be using an artificial device to assist him in his play in breach of Rule 14-3, but see also Decision 4-4a/7 for use of a weighted training club.

Inkster clearly violated the rule. Case closed. Should she have known the rule? You might already know how The Rules Geek feels about that.

That said, The Rules Geek doesn’t like TV tattletales. It’s weird. Stop it, OK? Unless you can stake your life on iron-clad proof of intent.

The Rules Geek sez rules were made to be followed. Got a rules-related tip or story? Send it to The Rules Geek at armchairgolfer@gmail.com.

More Rules Geek:
Phil Mickelson and the Proper Drop
Abnormal Ground Conditions Aid Amateur
Hunter Mahan’s Driver Replacement

(Image: Keith Allison/Flickr)

Golf as Fountain of Youth

GOLF KEEPS YOU YOUNG, or at least younger. I’m convinced. Juli Inkster turned 50 on Thursday and shot a 71 in the opening round of the LPGA Championship. Still competing at a high level against players young enough to be her daughters, Juli is not the retiring kind—at least not yet. Said Juli, “I asked my kids, ‘Is 50 old?’ They say, ‘Well, yeah, but mom you don’t act 50.’” Current and former LPGA Tour players Natalie Gulbis, Morgan Pressel, Beth Daniel and Meg Mallon gave Juli an iPad for her birthday.

Fred Couples is also 50. Not only has Freddie lit up the Champions Tour, he led the Masters after 36 holes.

Tom Watson is 60. We all know about his golf exploits in the last year or so.

The oldest living major champion winner, Jack Fleck is 88 and still heads to the golf course nearly every day to hit balls and play a few or several holes.

Errie Ball, who played in his first British Open at age 15 in 1926, is 99 years young. The last I heard, Ball still gives lessons at the Willoughby Golf Club in Stuart, Florida. Errie was a good friend of Bobby Jones and is the last surviving player from the inaugural Masters. Ponder that.

So keep playing golf. It’s an elixir.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Image: Keith Allison/Flickr)

Congrats to Juli Inkster, Patty Berg Award Winner

I’VE ALWAYS LIKED JULI Inkster. I think it’s because she comes across as a real person with a life outside of golf (not that others don’t have a life) and at the same time is hyper competitive and exudes a fun spirit on the golf course.

Inkster was named the 2010 recipient of the Patty Berg Award, given in honor of the LPGA founder (one of 13) and Hall of Famer. The award is given to individuals who exemplify diplomacy, sportsmanship and goodwill, and make lasting contributions to the game of golf. Check, check, check and check. Inkster is more than deserving.

“She [Berg] always demonstrated what being a professional is all about,” Juli said at LPGA.com. “She gave so much of herself to the LPGA. Receiving this award with Patty’s name on it, and thinking of all the special individuals before me who have received it, leaves me truly humbled.”

Inkster has had a tremendous career in golf. She entered both the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame and World Golf Hall of Fame in 1999, which was the same year she became only the second woman in LPGA history to complete the modern-day LPGA Career Grand Slam. Early on, Inkster won three consecutive U.S. Women’s Amateur titles. Um, that’s dominant. She never slowed down after turning professional, collecting more than 30 victories, including seven majors. She also played on eight U.S. Solheim Cup teams.

I’d love to see Inkster win again, but if it doesn’t happen she will still have a room full of trophies and awards to admire. Congrats, Juli, on adding another one.

First 2010 LPGA Major

The Kraft Nabisco Championship, the year’s first major, tees off on Thursday in Rancho Mirage, California. Brittany Lincicome is the defending champion. The field is deep, which should produce a lot of excitement like last year when Lincicome eagled the final hole to win her first major. Visit LPGA.com and Mostly Harmless for previews and predictions.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Image: Harry Limey/Flickr)