Global Golf Post, July 17, 2017

globalgolfpost com JULY 17 2017 WOMENS PRO U S WOMENS OPEN Short Game Puts Park Over The Top BEDMINSTER NEW JERSEY It couldnt have gotten much more exciting And that was before an F 18 and Marine helicopter scrambled to shoo away a private prop plane that ventured too close to Trump National Bedminster as the owner who is also the President of the United States nestled into a tent behind the 16th tee and 18th green to watch a little golf In fact the owner might have his detractors although the fans on site throughout the week could only be described as decidedly pro President Trump but no one could question that Trump National Bedminster produced another in a recent run of riveting major championships This one had a little of everything You had Shanshan Feng the Olympic bronze medalist past major champion and pride of the Peoples Republic of China the woman who could be credited with turning around the fortunes of the game in her home country making only one bogey through her first 57 holes She led after each of the first three days and was in the final twosome trying to become the first woman since Hollis Stacy in 1977 to lead the championship wire to wire You had the No 1 ranked player in the world So Yeon Ryu who didnt have her best stuff all week but remained in the hunt until the final three holes when a 12 foot birdie putt at 16 slid low and spoiled her chances for a second major title and third tournament win this year And you had a 17 year old amateur Hye Jin Choi trying to make history by becoming the youngest major championship winner in history and the first amateur to win the U S Womens Open since Catherine Lacoste shot 10 over to win in 1967 In the end Sung Hyun Park the long hitting 23 year old from South Korea with a golf swing that draws more than a few comparisons to Davis Love III won the biggest event in womens golf her first victory since moving to the LPGA Tour this season Park whose willowy frame produces extraordinary power had been close often including at the 2016 U S Womens Open where she was the 36 hole leader and could have been in the playoff with Brittany Lang and Anna Nordqvist had she not pulled her second shot at the last hole into a pond Park also finished tied for second last year at the Evian Championship and played well at the ANA Inspiration in the spring So it came as no real shock that she was once again in the mix at this U S Womens Open especially given how long Trump National played after a deluge on Friday The surprise was how good Parks short game has become After a bogey at the ninth hole on Sunday put her two shots back she made clutch putts at 12 and 15 for birdie to reach 10 under and take the lead She sealed the victory with a combination of power and finesse hitting 8 iron to 4 feet on the difficult par 4 17th and making birdie and then after hitting her third shot on the par 5 18th over the green a spot that had caused a great deal of bother for other players Park hit a deft chip to a couple of feet for a tap in par and a two shot win ahead of Choi The short game is what I pay closer attention to and spend more time practicing Park said Fans in Korea actually know about my issues with the short game So Ive studied and practiced the short game more than anything else The last shot on the A HOLE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 OUT 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 IN TOTAL PAR 5 4 4 3 4 4 3 5 4 36 4 4 4 4 3 5 3 4 5 36 72 PARK 5 3 4 3 3 4 3 4 5 34 4 4 3 4 3 4 3 3 5 33 67 CHOI 5 3 4 3 4 4 2 5 4 34 5 4 4 4 3 4 5 4 4 37 71 LEADERS FINAL ROUNDS