O'Neill: History will be made at St. Andrews

The LPGA and women’s golf will make history this week, when the ball goes in the air at St. Andrews. The Ricoh Women’s British Open will be contested for the first time on the Old Course.

“I think it's a big, big, big deal,” Annika Sorenstam said at the recent HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship. “I'm really excited about it. I think it's a huge step for women's golf to go there. (Considering) the history that St. Andrews has with the men playing the Open there, I think it's wonderful. I think it's an amazing place. So I’m going to enjoy every minute.”

This will not be the first women’s event to be contested at the birthplace of golf. For instance, the Scottish Ladies Championship has been played on the Old Course nine times, most recently in 2003. A women’s amateur event was first played at St. Andrews in 1903.

But a venue that has conducted numerous men’s British Opens over the years will be center stage for the women’s version — which was adopted as a major championship by the LPGA in 2001 — for the initial time. And it should be fascinating to see the game’s top players tackle, arguably, the game’s No. 1 golf course.

The course will be set up at par 73 and cover 6,638 yards for the women. The renowned Road Hole, aka No. 17, has been made into a 453-yard par-5. The men played the course at par 72. 

It has been an odd year in the majors, for both men and women. First-time champions have dominated on both sides. Perhaps that is good news for Lorena Ochoa, who is the No. 1 player in the women’s game and who is still without a major title.

Ochoa’s latest brush with a major came at the Women’s Open at Pine Needles last month. She played in the final pairing but could not out-battle Cristie Kerr down the stretch. Nothing would be more special for Ochoa then to get a breakthrough major championship win at a breakthrough major championship venue for the LPGA.

“Well, I think just like everybody, it’s a dream come true and it’s going to be for sure the most special week for us, at least to me, in my five-year career that I’ve played so far here on Tour,” said Ochoa, who had never been to St. Andrews before this week. “I’m going to have a lot of support. My family is coming and some friends from México, so there will be a lot of people carrying the Mexican flag around.”

That’s a site you don’t see often at St. Andrews.

JAY WALKING
Jay Williamson fired his caddie on the 15th hole during the first round of the Canadian Open last Thursday. Williamson then finished the round with a man he pulled from the gallery.
 
Williamson, who lost in a playoff at Hartford recently, got into a heated exchange with his caddie, Mike Mollet, after a poor shot on the 14th hole, the Toronto Star reported. On the 15th tee, things came to a head and Williamson fired Mollet on the spot.

According to the newspaper report, Mollet responded by throwing a handful of balls into the nearby lake before walking back to the clubhouse. With no one to carry his bag, Williamson picked 69-year-old Don Alexander out of the crowd. Alexander is a former Canadian amateur of some repute who actually played in the Canadian Open in 1962. Alexander finished out the round.

Williamson shot 72 with his substitute on the bag. He shot 74 on Friday and missed the cut.

JIM DANDY
Jim Furyk’s hole-in-one during his final round at the Canadian Open on Sunday made him the first player in 22 years to score an ace during the final round of a victory. The last player to make an ace in the final round on his way to victory was Joey Sindelar at the 1985 B.C. Open.

HOT HUNTER
Hunter Mahan might be the hottest hand on Tour right now — Furyk’s win notwithstanding. Mahan has finished in the top-10 in each of his last four starts, including a victory at the Travelers Championship. He has climbed from 106th on the FedExCup points list to 12th.

What’s more, besides moving up the FedExCup points list, Mahan has made a dramatic climb up the Presidents Cup eligibility list. With just two weeks left before the teams are selected, Mahan is 14th on the U.S. list.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR?
Brandt Snedeker is making a strong run at Rookie of the Year honors. Snedeker is 25th on the FedExCup points list and leads all rookies with five Top-10 performances, including four of his last six starts.

PLAYOFF TIME
Three weeks remain to qualify for the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedExCup and while time is short, it isn’t too late to make a dash.

For instance, four players — George McNeill, Bob Heintz, Ryan Palmer and Glen Day — leaped into the Top 144 last week with their finishes at the Canadian Open. McNeill gained 42 spots to 105th while Heintz picked up 33 places and is now 122nd. Day climbed 12 spots to 138th and Palmer made the biggest leap, improving 62 spots to 127th.

TIGERS TOUR
Tiger Woods has an impressive record at most PGA Tour events, but his log at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational has been simply astounding. In eight starts at the tournament he’s won five times, finished second once and has never finished worse than a tie for fourth. In 32 rounds, he’s had 23 rounds in 60s and is 83-under par.

DOCTOR ROBERTS
In his last four starts, Loren Roberts has finished, in order, first, second, third and for fourth. He’ll be in Minnesota this week for the 3M Championship.

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds