One woman made some noise — big time — late Saturday afternoon during the U.S. Women’s Open at the Broadmoor.
Unfortunately, that woman wasn’t one of the competitors; they weren’t even on the golf course at the time. Instead, it was Mother Nature who showed her force with a lightning show and brief gully-washer that stopped the tournament yet again.
Make that three days out of three days for weather woes at arguably the biggest championship in women’s golf.
“It’s kind of like “˜Groundhog Day,'” noted Ben Kimball, championship director of the U.S. Women’s Open. “¦ But “we’re not going to leave the Broadmoor until we’ve played 72 holes and crown a national champion. You can’t control Mother Nature. We’ll just keep plugging away and see what happens.”
In other words, while certainly not preferable, it’s possible that play might be extended into Monday if there’s another extensive delay on Sunday.
On Saturday, the leaders — unrelated players Mika and Ai Miyazato, both from the island of Okinawa, Japan — didn’t even start their third round as play was stopped at 3:59 p.m. and never resumed, being called for the day at 6:19 p.m.
The third round will resume at 6:45 a.m. Sunday, with groups going off in 11-minute intervals, meaning the lead group of the Miyazatos and I.K. Kim should tee off shortly after 8 a.m. The players will remain in the same pairings for the final round and tees will not be moved between rounds.
The upshot is that, if the weather holds on Sunday (a big “if”), some golfers will end up playing zero holes Thursday, 36 Friday, zero Saturday and 36 on Sunday.
And, for the third consecutive day, Sunday likely will feature parts of two different rounds.
“You either are above it and move on and just kind of accept that this is what it is, or you dwell on it and let it get to (you),” said Paula Creamer, who played 52 holes in two days last year en route to winning the U.S. Women’s Open. “That’s something that I guess I’ve kind of been lucky where I’ve been in every Open with a delay so I know what to expect and I know how to handle it. Mentally you have to be ready to come out and know that there are going to be long days.”
Mika Miyazato (pictured at left in a USGA photo), who is winless on the LPGA Tour, shot a 4-under-par 67 Saturday and leads by one going into Sunday. She stands at 5-under 137.
“I can’t believe it still,” Miyazato said of being atop the scoreboard at the Women’s Open. “I’m a little bit nervous but also excited.”
Right on Mika’s heels are fellow Okinawa resident Ai Miyazato, the former No. 1-ranked women’s player in the world, who posted a second-round 68 for a 138 total.
Kim, who went bogey-free for her first 32 holes, sits third at 139 after a 69. Americans Stacy Lewis (73 in round 2) and Ryann O’Toole (72) share fourth place at 141.
Four other U.S. players are among those who will start Sunday five out of the lead — Creamer, Angela Stanford, Wendy Ward and Lizette Salas.
Even though they aren’t related, the two Miyazatos should be very comfortable in one another’s company for the final day of the Women’s Open.
“I’ll be glad to play with Ai tomorrow,” Mika said. “We’re both from Okinawa and obviously we’re good friends. I think she’s a great player. Playing together should be good for both of us. I’m looking forward to it.”
Ai, who won five LPGA Tour events last year to temporarily earn the No. 1 spot in the world, also sounds like she’ll enjoy it.
“I’ve known (Mika) since she was like 10 years old,” Ai said. “It’s really fun to play with her always, and especially in this tournament. It’s really, really exciting.”
Not surprisingly, the two Miyazatos rank No. 1 and 2 in putting through two rounds at 27.5 per round. With the Broadmoor’s hard-to-figure greens, it was assumed from the beginning that whoever could best figure out the befuddling greens would win. And, so far, the Miyazatos fit the bill.
As Yani Tseng, currently the top-ranked women’s player in the world, said, “The greens are very, very tricky.”
Even though Tseng will start the day nine strokes out of the lead, at 4 over par, she and many others are still within striking distance given the number of holes left to play in Sunday’s marathon.
Other big names within single digits of the lead are Morgan Pressel (4 over), Norwegian Suzann Pettersen (3 over), South Korean Se Ri Pak (2 over), two-time Women’s Open winner Karrie Webb (1 over) and 2007 champ Cristie Kerr (1 over). Kerr bounced back from a triple bogey on the 10th hole of her second round with three birdies down the stretch.
“I made a really bad swing on 10 and paid the price for it,” Kerr said. “I fought really hard the rest of the round.”
More TV Hours Sunday: With all the weather-related interruptions this week, live Sunday morning TV coverage of the Women’s Open has been added to the schedule. ESPN2 will start its telecast at 7 a.m. NBC will take over at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
It wasn’t immediately clear if NBC or any other outlet will show the conclusion of the tournament if the event does end Sunday evening.
Mika’s Good Golf Helps a Good Cause: Besides playing for a victory in perhaps the top tournament in women’s golf, Mika Miyazato is competing this week for her Japanese countrymen who have been affected by the major earthquake and tsunami that hit the country in March.
Miyazato has said that all the prize money she wins in the four LPGA major championships, plus select Japanese events, will be donated to the American Red Cross to aid reconstruction efforts.
If Miyazato goes on to win the U.S. Women’s Open, that will mean $585,000 for the cause.
“For me, winning majors is what I strive for, and to donate all of my earnings from the major I hope I can give positive things to the people who are around the disaster area.”
What’s in a Name?: Mika Miyazato was asked if she is often confused with Ai Miyazato — the former No. 1-ranked women’s player in the world — and if people think they’re sisters (which they’re not, even though they’re both from Okinawa, Japan).
“Everybody asks me,” Mika said. “Everybody thinks we’re sisters. (But that’s OK because) I think that way everybody could remember me, because Ai is playing great. In a way it’s good for me because everybody thinks we’re sisters and they could remember me. But we’re not related.”
Added Ai: “Miyazato is a pretty common name in Okinawa.”
Kudos to the Broadmoor Grounds Crew: With weather-related interruptions in play every day, it hasn’t been easy on the Broadmoor grounds crew to have the course in peak condition for very early starts each day.
“I have to tip my hat to the grounds crew here at the Broadmoor,” said championship director Ben Kimball. “Each day we’ve gone a little bit earlier on them (with the resumption of play), and they’ve been able to pull their magic tricks out and get us going back earlier than expected, which is great.”
Birthday Girl: North Dakotan Amy Anderson, who will turn 19 on Sunday, on celebrating her birthday at the U.S. Women’s Open: “It’s awesome, especially that I’ll be playing (on the big day). That makes it all the better. It’s a great atmosphere. It’s a lot of fun. I couldn’t really have a better birthday.”
Anderson was in 34th place at the end of play Saturday.
An Extra Burden for Lewis: Kraft Nabisco champion Stacy Lewis had more reason than most to dread a 34-hole day Friday, followed by a 7 a.m. restart Saturday to complete her second round.
Lewis wore a back brace 18 hours a day for 7½ years starting at age 11 to correct scoliosis (curvature of the spine). She also underwent major surgery as a high school senior — one that placed a titanium rod and five screws in her back.
“Playing 36 holes and sitting on the bus for an hour isn’t good for my back,” she said Saturday after rounds of 68-73. “”¦ I felt awful (Friday) night and I didn’t feel much better when I woke up. It was just really tiring to me. I’ve played 36 holes (in a day before), but not on a (hilly, high-elevation) golf course like this. It was tough.”
Two Rounds and Out: Several big-name/notable players missed the 36-hole cut on Saturday. World Golf Hall of Famer and two-time U.S. Women’s Open champion Betsy King shot 83-77–160 in what she has said is her final tournament on the LPGA Tour. Also making early exits were another World Golf Hall of Famer and two-time Women’s Open winner, Juli Inkster, who putted with a wedge for part of her round Saturday after breaking her putter (74-76–150); Laura Davies, winner of 20 LPGA Tour events, including a U.S. Women’s Open (78-75–153); 13-year-old Mariel Galdiano, the third-youngest qualifier in U.S. Women’s Open history (85-85–170); and Birdie Kim, winner of the 2005 U.S. Women”˜s Open at Cherry Hills (83-74–157).
Meanwhile, Michelle Wie birdied the 18th hole from 35 feet Saturday to barely make the cut with a second-round 71, which left her at 149.
The 72 players who shot 149 or better for two rounds survived the cut.
Saturday Tidbits: I.K. Kim went the first 32 holes of the tournament without a bogey, but made her first one on her initial hole Saturday, the 15th. “¦ Colin Cann will see if he has another Sunday U.S. Women’s Open victory in him at the Broadmoor. Cann caddied for Annika Sorenstam when she won at the club in 1995, and he’s on defending champion Paula Creamer’s bag this time around.
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