- It has been stated numerous times that, perhaps, there is a burden to be number one. You've achieved a goal you were after your entire life, and now no longer have anyone to go after. Meanwhile, every other player in the world is chasing after you and looking to beat you. I'm not saying Inbee Park wasn't motivated prior to this week, but she seemed like a completely different golfer this week as opposed to the rest of the season. With the rest of the world looking at the young Americans to carry the LPGA, Inbee can now fly under the radar and take a lot of people by surprise. It's a rather amazing situation to be in for someone who just won three majors a season ago.
- By the way, just how brilliant was that final round 61? It was so brilliant that some people are criticizing it for not being a 59. Inbee destroyed that course yesterday.
- It is June, and Asia can finally celebrate their first LPGA champion of the season. A few years ago, the LPGA would be filled with champions from South Korea that no one in America has ever heard of. Over the last two years, however, despite one or two other tournaments, it has really been Inbee Park carrying the Korean contingent. It reminds me a lot of Se Ri Pak's greatness in the early 2000's. Inbee has a little bit to go before she can be compared with the greatest Asian golfer of all time, but if she can win a couple more majors, the comparisons will be close. I'm sure Korea would love a few more champions, but they'll take Inbee's greatness.
- Shanshan Feng may be the most forgotten great player on the LPGA Tour right now. Part of the reason is because she is Chinese, part is because she plays a half season in Asia, and part is because she doesn't win as often as she should for how often she is in contention. She faltered during the birdiefest on Sunday, but that shouldn't take away from her play as of late. The US Open is in two weeks, on a course that suits Shanshan's game. She would make a perfect sleeper pick.
- It is rather fitting that both Stacy Lewis and Michelle Wie finished T6. These two have been the two most consistent players on Tour this season, and their strong finishes this week set them up perfectly for the US Open. The knock against Wie right now is that she isn't able to rake in the birdies like some of the other players on Tour, which is preventing her from filling a storage unit with trophies, but she shot four rounds in the 60's this week, and she was able to shrug off a disappointing week last week. Lewis, meanwhile, is showing why she's the best player on Tour, and is easily the favorite going into the US Open.
- Hee Young Park's nickname is "The Rocket". It was supposed to be a compliment for the way she "rockets" up the leaderboard, but it could also be a way to describe her play in general. In several tournaments this season, Park looked like she could win the golf tournament...on Thursday. She then follows it up with a terrible round to put herself out of contention. She was able to notch a top 10 this week, but you have to wonder how great she could be is she could avoid those horrible stretches of golf.
- Ben Crane has made a career out of coming back from career slumps. It was five years between his wins in 2005 and 2010, and it's been three years between his two most recent victories. Crane has really struggled this season after a back injury, and looked like he was going to miss the FedEx Cup playoffs this season until his win in Memphis. Is surprises me, though, that Crane has only won 5 times on Tour. Unfortunately, back injuries have prevented Crane from becoming an elite player.
- The FedEx St. Jude Classic this year seemed to be a calm before the storm. It was relatively anti-climatic, with Crane having too large of a lead entering Sunday to be over taken. There were rain delays, which caused the event to not be live on a major network. The only big name in contention was Phil Mickelson, and his rounds were so up and down that it was hard to get excited by it. It's unfortunate that this tournament, which does great work for a wonderful charity, is going to be brushed under the rug, but that tends to happen the week before a major.
- Speaking of Lefty, there is a part of me that thinks there is no possible way he wins the US Open this year, and yet there is another part of me that thinks he is saving his magic for next week. I think we will know on Thursday - Phil needs a great first round to have a chance. He's not going to do like he did at the Open last year, where he shot a great final round and everyone collapsed around him. He needs to be in contention all week to have a chance, and seeing how he plays round to round this week, I don't really like his chances.
- I feel really bad for Koumei Oda, who would have gotten in to the US Open with a win in Japan this week. He finished one shot back of the eventual champion, leaving him at 62 in the World Golf Rankings. Anyone in the top 60 is exempt into the US Open. Conversely, it's great to see Bernd Weisberger make it on the number after losing in a playoff on the European Tour. Many thought Bernd would be on the outside looking in after finishing in second place, but he made it, and needs to now start making travel plans. Even though I feel bad for Oda, I can't help but also feel great for the man who gets in because of Oda - Craig Barlow. Barlow lost his Tour card a few years ago, and is best known as one of the players who played with Annika Sorenstam when she played in the Colonial in 2005. He has never won on Tour, hasn't made a cut in any PGA sponsored event since 2012, and will be a forgotten player entering the event, but he will start on the first tee with as much of a chance to win as anyone.
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