Reid steals show as U.S. rallies

Writing from Gurnee, Illinois

Friday, July 22, 2016

One-on-two generally doesn’t work.

Statistically, it didn’t work for England’s Mel Reid on Friday at the Merit Club. Forced to play alone when teammate Charley Hull took ill, Reid lost 1 up to Japan’s Haru Nomura and Mika Miyazato.

But emotionally, dramatically, and every other way, Reid was the winner. She was saluted by the gallery, lauded by teammates Holly Clyburn and Jodi Ewart Shadoff – whose tie with Ai Suzuki and Ayaka Watanabe gained England a critical point – and essentially was the queen of the second day’s play in the 2nd International Crown.

Reid was a one-woman team with Hull sidelined, and more than hung in there. Standing 2 down after all holes, she won the par-4 12th hole with a birdie, then eagled the par-4 13th by holing out a three-quarter wedge from 70 yards, squaring the match. That brought forth a roar from a gallery that was already rooting for her.

Then she birdied the par-3 14th to match Miyazato’s bird, and a thought crept into her head.

“Hey, I’ve got a chance here,” Reid thought.

She knew the holes were running out, and some were in her favor.

“I knew they were going to birdie (par-5) 16. They finished birdie-birdie-birdie. I finished birdie-par-birdie. There’s nothing you can really do. If you lose to a birdie, it’s fine.”

Hull said in a statement she was “gutted” from not being able to play. Her asthma kicked up beginning Thursday night after dinner, and, combined with a fever, caught her hard upon waking up Friday.

“I really wanted to join my partner Mel at some point during the match, but at the advice of the medical team, the best thing to do was to rest and get healthy for my team for tomorrow,” Hull said.

England leads Group A with five points to the four each of Thailand and Japan, and the three of the United States.

The Americans got on the board solidly, making up for Thursday’s shutout. Cristie Kerr and Leix Thompson overwhelmed Ariya Jutanugarn and Pornanong Phatlum, winning 4 and 3 on the strength of playing 13-under best-ball golf in 15 holes. They birdied every hole except the third and 13th, a phenomenal performance even when the Merit Club was set up for low scores. The ball still had to reach the green and the putts on greens that are smooth but hardly tabletop flat had to find the cup. Time after time, Kerr or Thompson did just that.

The U.S. was on the verge of a sweep until Moriya Jutanugarn and Porani Chutichai whittled away a two-hole deficit to draw with Americans Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller. Chutichai’s birdie putt on the 17th made the difference. Lewis had a good look at birdie at the last, but edged the cup after lipping out a chip shot on the 17th.

“With the law of averages, they have to start going in eventually,” Lewis said.

Maybe, maybe not. But the Americans stayed with the same pairings as Thursday, when there were blanked by Thailand, drawing on their successful use at last year’s Solheim Cup as the reason.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” said Piller, invoking Bert Lance.

The birdie binge of Kerr and Thompson didn’t translate to a big lead. They didn’t go 2-up until the sixth hole, when both birdied the par 4 while Phatlum and Ariya Jutanugarn failed to do so. Their win, closed out by Thompson’s 25-foot birdie from the fringe on the par-4 15th, was huge.

“I think we need to at least make three points (on Saturday) to guarantee a playoff spot or something like that, and we know what we have to do,” Kerr said. “It’s a hard format, and when you make it to Sunday, there’s a lot more points available in the singles.

“That’s what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to make it to Sunday.”

That’s what the U.S. quartet didn’t do in the inaugural playing two years ago. And if the U.S. earns three points against Japan on Saturday for a total of six, they would leap over Japan, which would have five points, but could end up in third and into the sudden-death playoff, if England and Thailand split. Only a Saturday sweep by the U.S., moving them to seven points, guarantees them at least second place and a berth in Sunday’s finals.

In Group B, Taiwan split with South Korea and continues to lead with six points to Korea’s four. Australia and China are tied for third with three points each. The Australian duo of Minjee Lee and Su Oh won the last hole, via Lee’s birdie, to halve their match with China’s Shanshan Feng and Xi Yu Lin, assuring them of a 3-1 margin in points after Karrie Webb and Rebecca Artis beat Jing Yan and Simin Feng, who is not related to Shanshan Feng.

Around the Crown

Saturday’s play begins at 10:30 a.m., with the playoff between the two third-place teams for the final spot in Sunday’s singles coming immediately after the last match ends. ... Sunday’s singles start at 11 a.m. ... Galleries jumped on Friday, and while no figure was announced, the total was probably close to 4,000. One Merit Club official said the total in South Korea two years from now could exceed 100,000 for the week, given the popularity of the Korean players in their homeland and the chance to win an international competition on home turf. 

– Tim Cronin

U.S. shut out by England in opening day of International Crown

Writing from Gurnee, Illinois

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Hammered again.

Skunked.

Shut out.

Blanked.

Get the idea?

The two United States duos in the 2nd International Crown at the Merit Club were beaten on Thursday by England. Americans Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson never led against Holly Clyburn and Jodi Ewart Shadoff, who teamed for a 2 and 1 victory. Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller had a 2 up lead on England’s Charley Hull and Mel Reid after six holes, but couldn’t stop Hull and Reid from a birdie-eagle-birdie binge on the next three holes. The Brits were thus 1 up at the turn, and, never trailing thereafter, went on to a 2 and 1 triumph.

If this sounds familiar, it is. Two years ago, when the Crown debuted at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland, the Americans were also shut out on the opening day, a deficit they couldn’t come back from in the following two days. The Yanks ended up on the sidelines on Sunday, when the Crown was on the line.

The outcome earned England four points, while Thailand has three and Japan one in the  group with the pointless U.S.

“I felt like we played good golf today, so there’s – that’s what this format is,” Lewis said. “You play good golf and you’re going to lose matches, and that’s the way it goes.”

Golf lacking a defensive component, Lewis is right. She and Piller combined for a 6-under best-ball reading in their 17 holes, but Hull and Reid were 9-under, including an eagle each. Hull was 8-under herself, finishing eagle-birdie to close out the match.

“It was just a great day,” Hull said.

The barrage under par starting at the seventh was the stuff golf dreams are made of. Hull dropped a short into to within 10 feet on the 179-yard seventh and sank it. Reid smashed her 6-iron second shot within 15 feet on the par-5 eighth and sank it for an eagle. Hull returned the favor with a 3-iron to eight feet on the ninth for a birdie 2.

“Charley made everything she looked at,” Piller said.

It was there for the taking for the English duo. Piller made only two birdies, Lewis five.

“It’s always nice to beat you guys,” Reid said with a grin to an American reporter.

Clyburn and Ewart Shadoff got off to a quicker start than their compatriots, a birdie by Clyburn on the par-3 second moving them ahead of Kerr and Thompson. By the end, the visitors were 8-under across 17 holes to the 6-under of the hosts.

“On the back we didn’t play well enough to win,” Kerr said. “I left Lexi a couple times as a partner, and you can’t do that in four-ball if you want to win.”

Thailand appeared to be on the way to a similar sweep of Japan, but Ayaka Watanabe’s birdie at the last ensured a halve for her and Ai Suzuki against Thai duo Ariya Jutanugarn, the sixth-ranked player in the world, and Porani Chutichai. Jutanugarn scored seven birdies, but she and Chutichai never led until the 15th hole – when Jutanugarn authored birdie No. 6 – and lost that advantage when Watanabe poured in her 8-footer on the 18th.

In the other group, Taiwan, a.k.a. the Republic of China to diplomats and Chinese Taipei to the International Olympic Committee, swept Australia, even as they posted four points against the U.S. two years ago. Now, unlike 2014, the quartet wants to keep it going.

“We tried to make as much birdies as we can instead of one play aggressive and one play smart and safe,” former world No. 1 Yani Tseng said. “Me and Teresa (Lu) today, we’d go for every shot almost.”

That brought them a 2-up lead on Karrie Webb and Su Oh after five holes, and while the Australians brought the match square via birdies on the 11th and 12th holes, Lu birdied three of the next four holes and Tseng birdied the one Lu didn’t to run off with a 3 and 2 victory. 

The sweep was completed by Candie Kung – runner-up in the Women’s Western Amateur at Exmoor in 2000 – and Ssu-Chia Cheng’s 2-up victory over Minjee Lee and Rebecca Artis.

South Korea and the People’s Republic of China split, with Korea’s In Gee Chun and Amy Yang beating China’s Shanshan Feng and Xi Yu Lin 2 up, and China’s Simin Feng and Jing Yan scoring a 1 up win over Sei Young Kim and So Yeon Ryu.

“I was nervous on the first tee,” Shanshan Feng said. “I wasn’t shaking, but I could feel like I wasn’t concentrating as normal.”

It was like that for many players. For the Americans, desperate to get back into contention, it may be even more so on Friday morning, when the U.S. plays Thailand. England meets Japan in the other Group B match, while South Korea and Taiwan face off in Group A, and Australia meets China.

Around Merit Club

The quote of the day came from England’s Mel Reid, who couldn’t help note her team’s success compared to the woeful English squad in the Euro 2016 soccer tournament: “We were saying along the way, we’re all pretty big football fans, and we made more points in one day than England did in the whole tournament. Can I just point that out? We’re pretty proud of that, so we’re already on a winner.” ... Galleries weren’t huge, but the estimated 2,500 or so on hand were into it, with a few flags and painted faces in evidence. With tee times running from 8 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. on Thursday and Friday, large crowds aren’t expected until the weekend. ... The 2018 Crown in South Korea was awarded to the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon, the site of the 2015 Presidents Cup. ... This year’s Crown is the first of three straight years a significant LPGA tournament is in the Chicago area. Next year, the WPGA Championship is at Olympia Fields, and the 2018 edition will be played at Kemper Lakes in Hawthorn Woods. When the 2000 U.S. Women’s Open was held at Merit Club, the address was Libertyville. Since then, with luxury homes sprouting up around the perimeter of the course, the course and those homes have been annexed by the village of Gurnee, most of which is located to the northeast of the facility.

– Tim Cronin

Duel In The Sun, Mistwood-style

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Two players tied for the lead.

Two more, three strokes back.

A forecast for unrelenting sunshine and heat.

Sound familiar?

It’s the menu for Wednesday’s final round of the 22nd Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open at Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville, with Big Ten rivals Stephanie Miller and Brooke Ferrell the co-leaders at 6-under-par 138, and Kelly Grassel and Lexi Harkins tied for third at 3-under 141.

Eight players of the 32 who made the cut are under par, with the only professional in red figures Sterling’s Ember Schuldt, at 1-under 143.

Miller, going into her senior year at Illinois, posted a second straight 3-under 69 on Tuesday. Ferrell, a senior at Wisconsin, added a 70 to her opening 68.

It’s the second time Miller, from Elgin, had held or shared the lead entering the final round. Four years ago, when she was in high school, she slumped to an 80 and fell out of contention quickly.

Ferrell, a disciple of Dennis Tiziani, who like her hails from Edgerton, Wis., shared second place last year.

Dana Gattone, with Ferrell the co-leader after the first round, ballooned to 78 on Tuesday from her opening 68 and stands at 2-over 146, tied for 10th and eight strokes out of the lead.

Grassel and Harkins each scored 2-under 70 to stay within contact of the leaders, and will play together in the penultimate pairing at 9:06 a.m. Miller and Ferrell tee off at 9:15 a.m.

The cut fell at 13-over 157, encompassing nine pros and 23 amateurs, the latter group including Monday’s ace owner, Lindsay Dodovich of Chicago. 

– Tim Cronin

Leaders

a-Brooke Ferrell, Edgerton, Wis. 68-70–138

a-Stephanie Miller, Elgin 69-69–138

a-Kelly Grassel, Chesterton, Ind. 71-70–141

a-Lexi Harkins, Crystal Lake 71-70–141

a-Hannah Kim, Evanston 74-68–142

a-Bing Singsumalee, Naperville 71-72–143

a-Taylor Thompson, Galesburg 72-71–143

Ember Schuldt, Sterling 71–72–143

Ferrell, Gattone share first round lead in Illinois Women's Open

Writing from Romeoville, Illinois

Monday, July 18, 2016

One day into the 22nd Phil Kosin Illinois Women’s Open, and it’s shaping up as an Illinois vs. Wisconsin showdown.

Two Fighting Illini team members and a Wisconsin player fought for the lead in Monday’s first round at Mistwood Golf Club. Wisconsin senior Brooke Ferrell and Illinois junior Dana Gattone share the lead with 4-under-par 68s, while Illinois senior Stephanie Miller is a stroke behind after a 3-under 69.

Eight of the 63 players in the field broke par and another three matched it on a warm day with little wind.

Gattone, of Addison, speckled her career-best 68 with five birdies, with only one bogey staining it. The highlight was the final birdie, a 3-foot downhill putt on the par-3 17th, for it set her up to par the last and finally score less than 69.

“I feel really confident out here,” Gattone said. “It sets up good for me, and for my course management.”

Gattone has a secret weapon for the latter, a pro-style yardage book a friend made for her a few years ago with more distances and details than in the regular yardage book the course sells.

Miller’s 69, which featured four birdies on the back nine, was achieved by “staying patient,” she said. “I just hit some good shots. The key here is putting the ball in good position. I missed three fairways, but when I missed a fairway, I missed in the right spot.”

Miller, who lives in Elgin, came off a family vacation to Alaska on Saturday and only hit a few balls practicing on Sunday.

Ferrell, of Edgerton, Wis., tied for second last year, while Gattone finished fifth and Miller tied for 22nd. Madasyn Pettersen of Rockford, last year’s winner, is in an AJGA tournament this week.

Lindsay Dodovich of Chicago authored the shot of the day, a hole-in-one on the 17th hole, which was a 160-yard test. A 6-iron was the weapon.

“I didn’t see it go in,” Dodovich said, noting how the green falls off to the back left, the pin position for the first round. “I hit it right at my aim point, to the right of the flag. My dad saw it go in.”

– Tim Cronin

Leaders

a-Brooke Ferrell, Edgerton, Wis. 68

a-Dana Gattone, Addison 68

a-Stephanie Miller, Elgin 69

a-Kelly Grassel, Chesterton, Ind. 71

a-Lexi Harkins, Crystal Lake 71

Ember Schuldt, Sterling 71

Frederique Bruell, Shaker Heights, Ohio 71

Jenna Pearson, Wheaton 71

a-Siyun Liu, Shanghai, China 72

a-Taylor Thompson, Galesburg 72

a-Grace Kil, Arlington Heights 72

Remembering Leon McNair

Leon McNair, inducted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame last year, died Sunday, July 3, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's Disease. He was 75.

The longtime professional at Fox Bend Golf Course in Oswego, for which he was part of the construction crew, fought the disease for which there is as yet no cure valiantly.

A standout at Glenbard West High School and graduate of Southern Illinois, where he was a member of their 1964 NCAA Division II championship golf team, Leon was lured into staying at Fox Bend by architect and construction guru Brent Wadsworth. McNair was at Fox Bend from 1967 until his retirement in 2005.

McNair put Fox Bend on the map with an amateur tournament to show the layout off to the better area players, as well as superior service to build a regular clientele.

He remained active as a member of the board overseeing the First Tee of Aurora and Fox River Valley, and president of Wadsworth Golf Charities. He was Illinois PGA Section president in 1991-92, and the IPGA's Professional of the Year in 1992.

Most recently, he was spearheading Wadsworth's Links Across America initative to boost youth participation in the game.

“The reason we launched Links Across America is, other than a few rare cases, affordable golf for youth does not exist in this country,” McNair said in his Hall of Fame acceptance talk. “The mission was to develop feeder short courses, three-, six- or nine-hole across the country to provide affordable golf, especially for youth, families, adult beginners and individuals with injuries or disabilities."

By last fall, 29 courses had been built in 16 states.

McNair was also honored last fall by the state, which named the portion of Route 34 that runs in front of Fox Bend the Leon McNair Highway.

Memorials may be directed to either The Leon McNair Memorial Fund in care of the Community Foundation of the Fox Valley, 111 W. Downer Place, Aurora, Ill. 60506, or ALS Association of Greater Chicago, 220 W. Huron, Suite 4003, Chicago, Ill. 60654.