Monday, June 8, 2015

Pettersen Returns To Her Winning Ways

- It's been almost two years, but Suzann Pettersen is back as a champion on the LPGA Tour. This was one that Pettersen was really pushing for, as she was once a member of a "Big Three" before injuries dropped her all the way to 10th in the world. Pettersen is the first European not named Anna Nordqvist to win on the LPGA Tour in two years, and is just in time for the season's second major and, perhaps most importantly for her, the Solheim Cup.

- Dear LPGA - find harder courses. When ten under par is only good enough for a tie for 27th place, the course is too easy. Birdie or bust tournaments take me right out of it, because I feel as if there is no drama. The leader will likely birdie the 18th. If you want a great ending, make it so someone has to scramble for par.

- The Manulife LPGA Classic was an interesting event, but honestly, it's going to get lost in the shuffle as the Women's PGA Championship is this week. Some players, such as Minjee Lee and Hyo Joo Kim, have established themselves as great rookies that could be major contenders, while Brittany Lang and So Yeon Ryu are among some veterans that popped back up this week that we can not forget about entering the major. So, we move on.

- This has been one of the best PGA Tour seasons in a long time, thanks to the finishes to tournaments and the champions that have been crowned. The Memorial was a great tournament with a fantastic ending, but the champion is a complete unknown. The only thing I knew about David Lingmerth was that he came in second place to Tiger Woods a couple years ago at The Players as a rookie. Other than that, he is an unknown to me and most people in the world. Perhaps this was the first of many victories he notches on his way to a great career, or perhaps he will be forgotten about as a one victory golfer. Only time will tell.

- I'm sure Justin Rose is disappointed he did not win, but he also has to feel good that his game is back to a level where he is competing on an almost weekly basis. Entering this season, Rose was completely lost. Now he seems to be peaking right in time for the US Open. He'll bounce back, and probably in a huge way.

- Jordan Spieth continues to be Jordan Spieth. Consider him among the list of favorites to win his second consecutive major. The player that I really want to see win soon is Hideki Matsuyama. The man is notching top 10's almost every week, but he seems stuck on one victory. It has only been a year, and he is really young, but I hope he doesn't have a drought where his second win is harder and harder to notch. He is such a great player who could be one of the best if he finds a way to close.

- I honestly can't add anything more to the Tiger Woods discussion. His third round 85 was atrocious, but I don't know if that means his career is over or not. I don't think anyone truly knows that answer. It looks REALLY bad, though.

- Two weeks, two invitations into major championships. One week after being a medalist for the US Open qualifier in Japan, Wen-Chong Liang won the JGT Championship Shishido Hills by five strokes. His victory, coupled with a top 10 last week, boosted him into first place on the Japan Golf Tour and earned him an invitation to the Open Championship. His win at this event also earned him an invitation to the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron. He is absolutely peaking right now, and he is one of the few players on this Tour that has experience playing in majors, so perhaps he could be a dark horse candidate for one of the two majors. If he holds on to his position on the money list, he will also receive an invite into the PGA Championship. Not a bad two weeks of golf.

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