Major Time!
It’s ladies first with the ANA Inspiration at Rancho Mirage
in California…..the boys of course get their turn next week at a certain course
in Augusta, Georgia.
This time last year Lydia stood on the 18th
fairway with caddie Jason Hamilton, trying to figure out how to make birdie to
secure her 2nd Major Championship.
According to Jason, it was 84 yards to the hole, and he told Lydia to hit
it one yard left. That’s exactly what
she did, leaving her a tap in birdie and the traditional trip to Poppy’s Pond.
While that was undoubtedly the highpoint of Lydia’s 2016
year, it’s easy to forget she picked up two other tournaments mid-year – the
Walmart NW Arkansas Championship in June and the Marathon Classic in July. She also came close to winning the US Women’s
Open and the PGA Championship, so it can hardly be said it was all downhill for
Lydia after the ANA.
This year there’s no Jason Hamilton, and there’s a new coach
and equipment to contend with. More
relevantly perhaps, she comes into the tournament with a completely different
form line. Last year she had played five
tournaments by this time for a victory, two 2nds, a T3 and a T15. The victory came in the Kia Classic – this
year Lydia missed the cut, and her form prior to that has been patghy by her standards.
So she has plenty to contend with this week, but if anyone
can do it, Lydia can.
She tees off around 10.30am tomorrow NZ time, paired with
Brittney Lincicome. Coverage is on SS53
from noon.
Shell Houston Open
Danny Lee needs to win this one if he wants to get into The
Masters this year, and there will be plenty of other players in the same
boat. Despite DJ’s absence, there is
still huge quality in the field, including Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Rickie
Fowler, Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose……..etc.
Danny has drawn an interesting group in Round 1 at the Golf
Club of Houston, going with Davis Love III, and Swede David Lingmerth.
The course is reportedly set up Augusta style, with minimal
rough and fast, slopey greens running at over 12 on the stimp. Key holes could be the 215 metre par 3 9th,
and the closing two par 4s, both of which are over 440 metres, with water a
major feature on the 18th.
Meantime, Steven Alker and Tim Wilkinson are again on the
outer, at a time of the year when the schedule starts to become problematic for
them and for those on some of the other Tours.
There is no Web.Com tournament for the next 3 weeks, the Japan Tour
doesn’t get underway until April 13th, and the European Tour is also
in recess until the same date, when it moves to Morocco for the Trophee Hassan.
Barfoot &
Thompson Akarana Open
Michael Hendry got off to a strong start this morning, with
a bogey free 5 under 65. He is currently two shots behind early leader Mark Brown,
who showed he can still go low with an outstanding 7 under 63.
If you want to see some quality golf, get out to Akarana
tomorrow afternoon or over the weekend.
Michael tees off from 1# at 12.30pm, alongside new NZ Stroke Play
Champion Mark Hutson of Muriwai, who opened with a 3 under 67.
Keep an eye out also for previous Akarana Open
winners Kieran Muir, Gareth Paddison and Josh Geary, who are all in the field
and should be contending throughout the tournament.