Twitter: Where LPGA Players Can Vent About Bad Tournament Decisions
by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 29, 2009 11:20 AM EDT
32 comments
The Wegmans LPGA outside of Rochester was won by Jiyai Shin, catapulting her to the top of the LPGA Tour's money list. It was her second win this season and gives her a further strange hold over the Rookie of the Year race. As she sits now, she is also arguably the LPGA Tour Player of the Year.
The back nine of the final round of the tournament was played by the last groups in a rain storm that almost everyone knew was coming. Shin walked into the final round with a four shot lead and held the trophy after winning by seven. That may well have been the outcome regardless of the weather, but judging by Morgan Pressel's hurting approach to the home hole, at least it would have been a lot prettier to watch.
Pressel and Lewis both hemorrhaged shots on the back nine on Sunday. As Hound Dog points out in his tournament epilogue, Lewis cost herself about $100,000 by playing the last six drenched holes in +4. Pressel played the back nine in 44 shots. Kenny Perry almost finished his round in Connecticut in that many.
The question then becomes obvious: why didn't the LPGA Tour start the final group sooner?
Was it TV? Nope. That was on tape delay. And I'm sure ESPN was kicking themselves because they could have shown a more exciting World Series of Scrabble episode.
Both Lewis and Pressel were on Twitter after the round, rightly complaining about not starting sooner.
From Pressel's Twitter page:
Trying to dry out the water-logged golf bag. Will never understand why we didn't tee off earlier when they knew the weather.
Lewis was equally succinct. (In 140 characters, you have to be.)
Question of the day: Why didn't we tee off earlier?
Well, LPGA officials, why not?
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While both ladies have a point – as did the players last week at the US Open when they waited until 9:00 to start on Monday with storms heading their direction – the LPGA players would still have had to play in rain. Pressel and Lewis just couldn’t keep their ball out of the rough and neither has the strength to advance the ball very far out of wet rough. Neither does Shin, for that matter, but when you have a 6 shot lead, you just play back to the fairway and hit a wedge to 10’ and make the putt.
A legitimate complaint – but it comes across as sour grapes.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Jun 29, 2009 12:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I agree that it comes across as sour grapes, but $100K is good reason to have sour grapes! That’s particularly true for Stacy, who has been screwed over by the LPGA’s bizarre official money rules.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 29, 2009 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Neither of these two got screwed by the decision. They weren’t going to catch Shin…especially Pressel. Maybe they didn’t notice that Shin was expanding her lead in the same conditions ?
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Jun 29, 2009 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think they both got screwed. Did you see how they played the last six holes? That was awful to watch and a lot of it had to do with the rain.
Shin deserves credit for hanging in there in crappy weather. She was going to win anyway, but was very impressive in not letting the rain slow her down in the way it did Pressel & Lewis.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 29, 2009 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I see – so Shin WASN’T in the same group playing the same course in the same conditions at exactly the same time ? It’s not the course’s fault and not the committee’s fault that they couldn’t control their ball any better than they did.
No – they weren’t playing in pretty conditions – but they were the same conditions for all three.
Quiet ladies and go practice.
Perhaps make a call to Nike for a copy of Tiger’s “There are no rainy days” commercial.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Jun 29, 2009 12:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I just said that Shin deserves a lot of credit for hanging in there in poor weather. Shin’s play doesn’t mean that the Tour shouldn’t have moved up play by an hour. They’re not correlated.
It’s like the conundrum at the Open – the element of “luck of the draw” was pretty evident in this year’s Open. Before it was raining, the course was pretty good for scoring. The rain comes, Shin plays just fine, but then Lewis and Pressel lose $100K each because they couldn’t get them out there 60 minutes sooner?
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 29, 2009 12:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
There is no “luck of the draw” when all three players are in the same group. That’s the whole point.
You said that Shin deserved credit for her play – but blamed the conditions for how Pressel and Lewis. Which one is it ? You can’t have it both ways.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Jun 29, 2009 1:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sure I can :) If my hypothesis is “that kind of rain storm equals crappy play,” then Pressel and Lewis prove me right. Shin is on a different part of the bell curve – the 5% of players that wouldn’t play like garbage in that weather.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 29, 2009 1:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
lol – so you’re proving ME right – Pressel and Lewis are whiners who aren’t mentally tough enough to play championship golf and win on a regular basis. Both have the physical talent, but between the ears, they need to make some improvements. Until they do, the best players will cross them off the list in bad weather conditions.
This may come as a shock to you – but golf is an OUTDOORS game – which means that weather comes into play. Should the tours stop play when the heat index reaches 95 degrees ? Below 50 ? How about wind over 25 mph because it moves balls in the air ? We already know that rain is too much for Pressel and Lewis. (where’s all the talk of how deadly accurate the women are off the tee now ?)
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Jun 29, 2009 1:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think we’ll just have to agree to disagree on this one :)
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 29, 2009 2:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don’t necessarily disagree with what you’re saying about the conditions, but seems kind of preposterous to give the final group such a known disadvantage.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 29, 2009 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
ah – the FINAL group…so…there wasn’t a group just in front of the final group ? or another in front of them ? Where was the run by the early groups ? It didn’t exist.
YES – they could have started earlier – but they didn’t – quit whining about it. Quit blaming everyone else for your bad play.
I know – we’ll just move golf tournaments to indoor mats and simulators so everything will always be sunny, dry, and 72 degrees.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Jun 29, 2009 2:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm with CG
Lewis and Pressel are whining. Shin didn’t struggle in the conditions and is tournament golf only supposed to be played in good weather?
by Bill Jempty on Jun 29, 2009 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Like I said, I’ll agree to disagree. If you know bad weather is coming, you move up tee times. Every tour on the planet does it.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 29, 2009 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The LPGA has moved up tee times themselves on numerous occasions. For some reason they chose not to yesterday. Bill – would Pressel and Lewis still be whining if you had blogged about the curious decision before you read their Tweets?
by hound dog on Jun 29, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Why do I need to blog before hand
I did blog about the tournament but playing in the rain I didn’t comment on because ALL THE Players had to play in the same conditions. and again, is tournament golf only supposed to be played in good weather?
Did anyone bother to think that the tournament to tee off early would have had to contact All the volunteers who make these things run smoothly. Can’t run the tournament without these people.
Lewis and Pressel are a couple of whiners.
by Bill Jempty on Jun 29, 2009 4:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Pressel thought of the volunteers.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 29, 2009 4:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I didn't
See Pressel signing golf balls for volunteers at 18. That was Shin.(Ok there were 17 other holes and maybe Morgan did it off camera…..)
by Bill Jempty on Jun 29, 2009 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
"I can’t believe this is happening to me"
Were Morgan’s words after Birdie Kim won the 2005 US Open. It was so unfair, I was supposed to win not her! Certain members of the media have been saying the tournament was stolen from Pressel ever since conveniently forgetting that Brittany Lang was tied for 2nd with Pressel.
This golf article asked if Morgan would whine at the US Open. The author also called Morgan ‘petulant’.
by Bill Jempty on Jun 29, 2009 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I’m not sure what that has to do with this particular situation, though I agree that was whiny.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 29, 2009 5:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Petulant is a good word – whiny fits, too. That reaction at the ’05 Open was what you get from a little girl…and she fit that mold at the time, too. Personally, I like the fire, just now how it manifests itself sometimes.
On that great shot from Birdie Kim, Pressel was tied for the lead and Lang was already finished. The advantage was Pressel’s in that situation – right up to the point where Kim’s bunker shot hit the flagstick and dropped in.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Jun 29, 2009 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
once a whiner...
So since Pressel “whined” four years ago and had trouble suppressing her girly emotions when she was 17, that means every complaint she has for the rest of her life equates to whining?
No, not ALL the players had to play in those conditions – McPherson and Tseng didn’t have to. That’s the inequality I’m talking about. I don’t have a problem with unforeseen weather changes influencing tournament results but I do have a problem with the Tour not trying to avoid bad weather that was predicted 24 hours before. The volunteers could have been notified before they left Saturday. Shin would have won anyway yes, but the FINAL RESULTS were altered by the non-decision nonetheless.
by hound dog on Jun 30, 2009 7:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Actually, there was a run by early groups. Yani Tseng posted -6 for her round early on. So did Kristy McPherson. (And, I didn’t see this earlier, but Amanda Blumenhurst made up a ton of ground on Sunday.)
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 29, 2009 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
that is exactly the point
As soon as the rain started, nobody could score. The players who finished early (like McPherson and Tseng) had an advantage over Pressel and Lewis. Yes Shin would have probably won anyway but second place hurts a lot less than T4 (or T15 where Pressel wound up). Since the officials knew the bad weather was coming, they should have maximized the amount of playing time before it.
by hound dog on Jun 29, 2009 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
and you know what ? That’s golf – it wasn’t the first time it had happened and it won’t be the last.
Pressel finished +6 on Sunday – nobody’s fault but her own. Quit blaming other people for your bad play, Morgan.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Jun 29, 2009 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I see...
When the LPGA f—-s up and you don’t care, “That’s golf”. When they do it and I don’t care, I’m being soft on the incompetent fools.
by hound dog on Jun 30, 2009 7:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
hmmm – works for me. :-)
Tell you what – when the LPGA figures out how to control the weather and everything that goes with it – which obviously won’t happen until Michelle Wie takes her rightful throne – I’ll get on the bandwagon of condemning the tour for not having control over conditions.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Jun 30, 2009 9:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
If the LPGA were ever able to control the weather
The tour would never have financial problems again. Million dollar winners every week!
by Bill Jempty on Jun 30, 2009 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
LPGA
another head scratcher move by the LPGA execs.
by Dave Andre on Jun 29, 2009 12:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
2 things
they went off in pairs, so all 3 weren’t in the same group, but they did have to suffer under the same terrible conditions.
another thing: who sets tee times? don’t the local tournament organizers work with the LPGA here? was it just they hoped the front would move in more slowly? or did they think that the bad weather might be the only thing that could bring the Americans back from such a big deficit with Shin playing so well? I remember reading in the post-final round interviews a comment from Stacy that she was hoping she could make up ground in the rain:
Q. When you get here today what’s the mindset, catching her is possible, not possible, somebody coming way back to you?
STACY LEWIS: I heard it was going to rain so I kind of thought that would actually help us, just the conditions would be hard, and so it would allow a great round to move up quite a bit. And so I just went out and tried to make as many birdies as I could and move up the leaderboard. At 13under through 12, I thought I was in a really good place and then I just didn’t really hit the shots I wanted to after that.
Q. Realistically, when you started the day you knew you were 5 behind her, and she was playing so good, was it tough to even get going today knowing it would be a long tall mountain to begin with before the rain even started?
STACY LEWIS: No, I don’t know going into it. I knew the conditions were going to get hard. Actually I wanted that. I told my caddy, when the condition gets hard we have to get better and go out there and make some birdies when every one else is struggling to make pars and that was kind of the mind set. It started to rain and I a couple of good pars. I made a good birdie on 12. I was doing what I wanted to do and then I think I missed a short putt on 14, and I think that just kind of threw me off. I mean, I think with the conditions like this, was she catchable? For sure. But she played great, you can’t take that away in her.
by The Constructivist on Jun 29, 2009 8:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
ok – first off – applause to Stacy Lewis for not falling on her ass laughing at that second question. “A long tall mountain” ???
I guess you have to admire the fight when someone says that the bad weather will help.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
by courtgolf on Jun 29, 2009 9:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Good pull on the transcript, TC. It is tough for me to consider Lewis a whiner because she has busted her ass every time that there has been hard luck or dumb rules in her way.
Email me any comments or questions at ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com.
by Ryan Ballengee on Jun 30, 2009 10:17 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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