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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Golf-U.S. tempers fray as Europe push to brink of Solheim win

August 17, 2013

Aug 17 (Reuters) - Sweden's Anna Nordqvist holed-in-one to clinch a morning point in style as Europe tightened their grip on the Solheim Cup and the United States' tempers frayed during a controversial second day in Parker, Colorado on Saturday.

Europe opened up a 10.5-5.5 lead over the U.S. at the close, dominating the fourballs on an afternoon marred by an astonishing tiff over ball placements between the American pairing of Morgan Pressel and Cristie Kerr and their opponents Karine Icher and Beatriz Recari.

Relations, already strained in the morning when organisers admitted to a mistaken ruling in Europe's favour during Friday's play, became acrimonious as Pressel and Kerr quarreled with Icher and Recari on the 16th hole for over half an hour.

Officials needed to step in to place Recari and Kerr's balls after both shot into a water hazard and could not agree on each other's ball placement.

Icher and Recari shrugged off the furore to help Europe sweep the fourballs 4-0 and open a commanding five-point lead heading into Sunday's singles.

No team has ever rallied from more than two points behind to win the trophy, but U.S. captain Meg Mallonrefused to concede.

"Obviously, it was a very disappointing afternoon," Mallon told reporters. "We have our work cut out for us tomorrow. It can be done. It's daunting right now but it can be done."

Trailing 5-3 after the opening day, the U.S. had pulled within a point after winning the morning foursomes 2.5 to 1.5, but Nordqvist, playing with Caroline Hedwall, fired up the Europeans by acing the 187-yard par-three 17th at Colorado Golf Club.

That sealed the clash with Pressel and Jessica Korda 2&1, and marked the Swede as the first player to make a hole-in-one in the tournament's history.

"I don't think it has hit me yet," Nordqvist said. "It was a really good shot, going straight at it. We thought it might be a little long, but it pitched and hit, and it's just an unbelievable feeling."

INCORRECT DROP

Stacy Lewis and Paula Creamer prevailed one-up over Azahara Munoz and Icher, while Michelle Wie and Brittany Lang won 2&1 over Suzann Pettersen and Beatriz Recari to give the U.S. early momentum in the foursomes.

The Americans were up in arms after organizers confirmed in the morning that Europeans Pettersen andCarlota Ciganda were given a favourable and incorrect ruling on the par-five 15th during their duel with Lewis and Lexi Thompson on Friday.

Ciganda hit her second shot into a water hazard and was allowed to take an incorrect drop before eventually halving the hole and going on to win the match.

The LPGA apologised "for any confusion" in a statement, but Lewis, who had argued the point with officials on Friday, was not mollified.

"It hurt us. It hurt our team. It hurt the momentum," she said. "But ... it fired us up more. So, if anything, if they feel bad about it, that's good, because we're just more fired up out of it."

Catriona Matthew and Caroline Masson salvaged a half for Europe in the morning foursomes againstBritanny Lincicome and Lizette Salas, before Europe tore through the afternoon.

Jodi Ewart-Shadoff and Charley Hull won two-up over Creamer and Thompson, and Munoz and Ciganda prevailed one-up against Gerina Piller and Angela Stanford.

Hedwall and Masson won 2&1 over Wie and Korda, before Recari and Icher completed the sweep with a one-up win over and Kerr and Pressel following their 16th hole squabble.

The U.S. will need a monumental effort on Sunday to score the 14.5 points needed for victory, effectively nine out of the 12 singles battles.

Europe's five-point lead is the equal biggest in the competition's history heading into Sunday.

(Reporting by Ben Everill; Editing by Ian Ransom)

U.S. tempers fray as Europe push to brink of Solheim win

August 17, 2013

(Front L-R) Jessica Korda, Morgan Pressel and Paula Creamer of Team USA encourage fans on the first tee …

(Reuters) - Sweden's Anna Nordqvist holed-in-one to clinch a morning point in style as Europe tightened their grip on the Solheim Cup and the United States' tempers frayed during a controversial second day in Parker, Colorado on Saturday.

Relations, already strained in the morning when organisers admitted to a mistaken ruling in Europe's favor during Friday's play, became acrimonious as Pressel and Kerr quarreled with Icher and Recari on the 16th hole for over half an hour.

Officials needed to step in to place Recari and Kerr's balls after both shot into a water hazard and could not agree on each other's ball placement.

Icher and Recari shrugged off the furor to help Europe sweep the fourballs 4-0 and open a commanding five-point lead heading into Sunday's singles.

No team has ever rallied from more than two points behind to win the trophy, but U.S. captain Meg Mallon refused to concede.

"Obviously, it was a very disappointing afternoon," Mallon told reporters. "We have our work cut out for us tomorrow. It can be done. It's daunting right now but it can be done."

That sealed the clash with Pressel and Jessica Korda 2&1, and marked the Swede as the first player to make a hole-in-one in the tournament's history.

INCORRECT DROP

The Americans were up in arms after organizers confirmed in the morning that Europeans Pettersen and Carlota Ciganda were given a favorable and incorrect ruling on the par-five 15th during their duel with Lewis and Lexi Thompson on Friday.

Ciganda hit her second shot into a water hazard and was allowed to take an incorrect drop before eventually halving the hole and going on to win the match.

The LPGA apologized "for any confusion" in a statement, but Lewis, who had argued the point with officials on Friday, was not mollified.

"It hurt us. It hurt our team. It hurt the momentum," she said. "But ... it fired us up more. So, if anything, if they feel bad about it, that's good, because we're just more fired up out of it."

Catriona Matthew and Caroline Masson salvaged a half for Europe in the morning foursomes against Britanny Lincicome and Lizette Salas, before Europe tore through the afternoon.

Jodi Ewart-Shadoff and Charley Hull won two-up over Creamer and Thompson, and Munoz and Ciganda prevailed one-up against Gerina Piller and Angela Stanford.

Hedwall and Masson won 2&1 over Wie and Korda, before Recari and Icher completed the sweep with a one-up win over and Kerr and Pressel following their 16th hole squabble.

The U.S. will need a monumental effort on Sunday to score the 14.5 points needed for victory, effectively nine out of the 12 singles battles.

Europe's five-point lead is the equal biggest in the competition's history heading into Sunday.

(Reporting by Ben Everill; Editing by Ian Ransom)

Another day, another dispute at Solheim Cup

EDDIE PELLS (AP National Writer) August 17, 2013AP - Sports

PARKER, Colo. (AP) -- One day later, one hole further down the golf course, Solheim Cup rules officials found themselves in another drawn-out dispute over where to drop balls that flew into a hazard.

Saturday's row, which European captains timed at 31 minutes, came on the par-5 16th and involved American Cristie Kerr and Europe's Beatriz Recari, both of whom teed off into the hazard that separates the split fairways on the 532-yard hole.

The sides couldn't reach agreement on where either drop should come. The bigger problem appeared to be deciding where Recari's shot entered the hazard.

LPGA Tour official Brad Alexander, who admitted rules officials had erred in the protracted case involving Europe's Carlota Ciganda on No. 15 the day before, watched replays on TV and came out to the course but that didn't offer any quick resolution.

After Recari finally dropped, she hit her third shot onto the green and had a 25-foot putt to close the match. She missed and the players moved to 18 before the Europeans closed out a 1-up victory and a sweep of the best-ball matches, courtesy of Karin Icher's 45-foot putt from off the fringe.

Still miffed at the prolonged argument long after the match was over, Recari gave a detailed explanation. Her version: Three spotters said they saw the ball bounce on the ground and cross the line of the hazard. The Americans, meanwhile, heard Recari shouting at the ball to ''get right,'' which suggested to them it was over the hazard the entire time and never hit the ground.

''Bottom line, they won the hole,'' Recari said. ''I mean, we have to be adults. ... If it's inconclusive, we have to come to agreement. That was the argument for 31 minutes, the referee and all of us trying to figure it out. And we went back and forth.''

One major difference between the Friday and Saturday disputes: America had no momentum to lose, the way it did when Stacy Lewis and Lexi Thompson got held up for nearly a half-hour on the 15th hole while officials figured out where Ciganda should drop.

Ciganda got up and down to save par en route to a victory on Friday. Recari's drop wound up making no difference in the match, but Europe still walked away with the win and the 10 1/2-5 1/2 lead heading into Sunday singles.

''It took forever, it was a mess, and it made everybody a little frazzled,'' Kerr said. ''And I mean, really, where my ball crossed, it kind of wasn't a question. But we were just trying to get it right. And we had to go to TV, and that took forever. And then the fans got anxious and it was weird.''

---

THE NEW SPANISH ARMADA: Carlota Ciganda looked like a different player Saturday than she did in her Solheim Cup debut.

The reason: Her partner, Azahara Munoz.

''I met Carlota when she was 8 and I was 11,'' Munoz said. ''And every time, in the Spanish team, we always play the foursomes together. And ever since I can remember, we are best friends.''

Ciganda made the 12-foot birdie putt to clinch a 1-up victory over Angela Stanford and Gerina Pillar and close out a day that was much different from her opening match. She and Suzann Pettersen won that match, in large part because Ciganda got a favorable - and incorrect - ruling about where to drop on the 15th hole, then got up-and-down for a par.

But she was all over the place on Friday, playing from the scrub and weeds through most of the back nine.

On Saturday, with Munoz by her side, it was a much different story.

Cigada made the first of four birdies on No. 2 and, of course, saved the best one for last - after curling a 7-iron close on the uphill 18th.

''Today it was like playing just a normal event like we used to in Spain or even in Europe,'' Ciganda said. ''So I trust her and I think she trusts me, too.''

---

HEATED MOMENT: Paula Creamer and Lexi Thompson were involved in an argument on the seventh green when Charley Hull and Jodi Ewart-Shadoff conceded Creamer's par putt after Creamer had lined it up and was ready to make the stroke.

Europe already had a birdie and Creamer's putt for par was on the same line as her partner, who had a birdie putt to halve the hole.

As Creamer was getting ready to putt, European assistant captain Annika Sorenstam shouted that her team should concede the putt. Ewart-Shadoff's caddie then told Creamer, ''That's good.''

The Europeans didn't want to give Thompson a free look at the line. Under the Rules of Golf, when they conceded Creamer's putt, she wasn't allowed to make the stroke because it would assist her partner.

An argument ensued, and shortly afterward, Thompson made her putt anyway, accentuating it with a big fist pump. It drew the match to even, but the Americans ended up losing, 2 down.

''Things happen out there,'' Creamer said. ''It's an unfortunate thing. I think you should kind of know the rules of match play, for sure, when you're out there, but at the same time, Jodi and Charley apologized for what happened.''

American captain Meg Mallon said Solheim Cup officials spoke with USGA officials, who said Sorenstam's directive didn't count as ''advice,'' and therefore didn't violate a rule that allows only head captains to advise the players.

Ewart-Shadoff said it was much ado about nothing, given that Thompson made the putt.

''We kind of were unsure about what the rule was about playing out when we had already made the birdie,'' she said. ''At the end of the day, they made the putt and there's nothing really to say about it.''

---

SHORT SHOTS: Giulia Sergas was the only European to only play one match over the first two days. ... Americans who haven't tallied a point yet: Lexi Thompson, Gerina Pillar and Angela Stanford, who is on a six-match losing streak. ... By splitting her matches Saturday, Michelle Wie moved to 5-1-1 lifetime when playing as a captain's pick.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Inbee Park, Cristie Kerr share lead in Canada

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- Top-ranked Inbee Park shot a 5-under 65 on Friday for a share of the second-round lead with playing partner Cristie Kerr in the Canadian Women's Open.

Park, the South Korean star who swept the first three majors of the season and has six LPGA Tour victories this year, had seven birdies and two bogeys at Royal Mayfair to match Kerr at 8-under 132.

Kerr, coming off the United States' loss to Europe in the Solheim Cup, shot her second straight 66. She won the Kingsmill Championship in May for her 16th career LPGA Tour title.

''It's a course where you have to really shape the ball off the tee and be creative,'' said Kerr, the 2006 winner at London Hunt in Ontario. ''I played very well the last couple of days. It's unfortunate I bogeyed the last hole today, but that's what happens when you hit an errant shot and have to chip out to a difficult pin.''

On the par-4 18th, Kerr drove into the left rough and was startled on her approach when a door on a portable restroom slammed shut.

''I mean, (the noise) really scared me,'' she said. ''I could have hooked (the ball) in the water.''

Park also bogeyed the final hole. She's returning to play after a break in South Korea following a failed bid in the Women's British Open to become the first professional to win four straight majors in one season.

''I worked on a couple of things after that because I wasn't hitting it my best at the British Open. I'm obviously hitting it a lot better this week and putting a lot better,'' she said. ''On the greens, I was really comfortable because they're so pure wherever you hit it, it's just going to go right there.''

Park holed out from 20 yards from a bunker on the par-4 first hole for a birdie.

''I always love to start with a birdie,'' Park said. ''It's like a good luck charm for me.''

She finished second last year at Vancouver Golf Club, three strokes behind teen star Lydia Ko.

Park and Kerr will play together for the third straight day Saturday.

''It's always fun to play with Inbee,'' Kerr said. ''She always plays well, and I enjoy playing with her.''

Angela Stanford, 0-4 for the United States in the Solheim Cup, and France's Karine Icher, a member of the winning European team, were a stroke back. Icher had a 66, and Stanford shot 68.

''Good putting made the difference today,'' Icher said. ''The course is quite hard, (with) tricky fairways and big rough, so I'm looking to get some good drives and putts on the weekend.''

Ko was 6 under after a 69. Last year in British Columbia, the New Zealand amateur star became the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history at 15 years, 4 months.

''I've just got to play my own game and hopefully get some more putts rolling in,'' Ko said.

Paula Creamer and 49-year-old Laura Davies also were 6 under. Davies had a 66, and Creamer shot 68.

''I'm holing putts,'' Davies said. ''That's the difference. ... You know, you can't compete if you can't hole putts.''

Charley Hull, the 17-year-old English player coming off a strong performance in the Solheim Cup, was 5 under after a 66. She played alongside Ko in the first two rounds.

''I played pretty solid,'' Hull said. ''I wasn't hitting that good today on the front nine with my tee shots because I felt a little tired out there. The back nine I got something going, holed a few putts and I'm pretty pleased with that.''

Michelle Wie missed the cut with rounds of 73 and 76. She won the 2010 tournament at St. Charles in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

''I'm completely under the weather,'' said Wie, also a member of the losing U.S. Solheim Cup team. ''I was struggling today, just could not get out of bed. I just felt really sick today, though that is no excuse.

''I'm going to take advantage of the two days I'm not playing, and just not leave my bed and just kind of sleep for 40 hours straight.''

U.S. teammate Stacy Lewis withdrew Thursday after an opening 74, citing illness.

Sweden's Caroline Hedwall, a record 5-0 in the Solheim Cup, was 4 under after her second straight 68.

Park seizes share of Canadian LPGA lead

World number one Park In-Bee fired a five-under par 65 to grab a share of the second-round lead at the LPGA Canadian Women's Open.

South Korea's Park, who has won three major titles this season, was joined on eight-under 132 by US veteran Cristie Kerr, who carded a 66.

First-round co-leader Angela Stanford carded a 68 that left her tied for third on 133 with France's Karine Icher, who posted a 66.

Lydia Ko, whose victory in this tournament last year at the age of 15 made her the youngest player to win an LPGA title, had shared the overnight lead with Stanford.

The 16-year-old phenom from New Zealand carded a second-round 69 that left her tied for fifth on six-under 134, alongside England's Laura Davies (66) and American Paula Creamer (68).

Park got off to a hot start at the Royal Mayfair Golf Club course with birdies at the first and second. She holed out from a bunker at the par-four first.

"I always love to start with a birdie," Park said. "It's like a good luck charm for me. I almost never finish a round over par when I start with a birdie."

Park, seeking a needed just 25 putts on Friday. Her seven birdies included three in a row at the 14th, 15th and 16th.

"I hit the ball really good, and I obviously putted really good out there," she said. "On these greens, you can two-putt from anywhere. I think it's pretty good. If you slightly over-hit it, you can easily three-putt. So the three-putt is something that I was trying to avoid."

Park played with Kerr in the first two rounds and said they fed off each other's birdies.

"I think it's always good when you're playing with a partner while she's making a lot of birdies and it makes you want to have more birdies," Park said. "It already felt like a final round, and trying to make more birdies and trying to get the momentum going."

Kerr, who had six birdies and two bogeys, agreed.

"It's always fun to play with In-Bee," said Kerr, who is happy with her own game despite a disappointing bogey at 18.

"I'm mad at myself for knocking my last tee shot, but I did so much good stuff in the last couple days," she said.

"I mean, you can't do anything about a porta potty door slamming in your back swing," she added of the noise that distracted her on that tee shot. "I sucked it up, and I made a really good two-putt for bogey."

Ko, who has played in nine other LPGA events this season including four majors, says she's trying to make more decisions, such as club selection, without the help of her caddies.

As an amateur she has hired and played with new caddies every week, often using someone with local experience.

This week Royal Mayfair member Bruce McMillan is carrying her bag.

"The last couple of caddies, local caddies, we've kind of done club selection and stuff together, but this time I decided I wanted to make the decision so Bruce doesn't know what club I'm hitting," Ko said. "I've decided I wanted to be more independent. Doing it this way, it actually helps me to learn to know my clubs better, so I think that's a really good opportunity that way."

Bart Bryant leads Boeing Classic

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (AP) -- Bart Bryant got off to a fast start in his bid to win consecutive Champions Tour titles, shooting a 6-under 66 on Friday to take the first-round lead in the Boeing Classic.

Bryant had eight birdies and two bogeys at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge, five days after winning the Dick's Sporting Goods Open in Endicott, N.Y., for his first victory in his rookie season on the 50-and-over tour.

''It was a good way to start. I wish I could have hung on there late. Kind of ran out of steam the last few holes, but overall, a great day,'' Bryant said. ''I'll take a 66 every day for the rest of my life.''

Bryant opened with a birdie and added four in a row on Nos. 3-6. He bogeyed the par-4 seventh, rebounded with birdies on Nos. 11, 13 and 14, and had another bogey on the par-3 17th. On the 210-yard, par-3 13th, he holed out from a bunker.

Bryant did not play much during his final four years of PGA Tour eligibility because of two surgeries on his left wrist. The first one didn't work and, after the second one, he said, ''I was beginning to think this might be it.''

''I was not really hopeful to play again,'' he said, ''but the second time we did it, it worked. It seems like it's holding together. It was just years and years of beating it up. I lost all the cartilage in there. The bones started rubbing. So they went in there and fused one big bone.''

Duffy Waldorf and Bobby Clampett shot 67, and Bernhard Langer, Dick Mast and Kirk Triplett followed at 68. Langer tied the course record with a 5-under 31 on the front nine.

Hometown favorite Fred Couples opened with a 69.

Waldorf, who tied for sixth last year in the event in his Champions Tour debut, chipped in from a bunker behind the green for an eagle on the 498-yard, par-5 18th.

Triplett, who grew up in Eastern Washington, had four birdies in a bogey-free round.

Kenny Perry, No. 1 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, struggled to a 70.

Mark Calcavecchia hurt his back on the 12th hole and withdrew.