St Andrews Magazine 2017 RICOH Women's British Open Daily: Friday 4 August

Friday 4 August 2017

Wie takes lead with blistering round

Contributors Matt Hooper (on site at Kingsbarns)

Photo Credits Matt Hooper/St Andrews Magazine

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WIE REMINDS US ALL OF HER TALENT WITH SCORCHING 64 TO LEAD AFTER THE FIRST ROUND AT KINGSBARNS Kingsbarns, Scotland:

On Thursday at Kingsbarns Michelle Wie showed the watching galleries the skill and flair which was the hallmark of her younger days, hitting long drives and rapier-like irons as she dismantled the back nine on the Fife links.

Early drizzle gave way to a glorious morning and Wie most certainly made hay while the sun shone.

Following a bogey at the par five second hole, the American hit back with birdies at the 4th, 6th and 8th to go out in 34, 2-under-par. Then she lit the blue touch paper on the back nine. A regulation birdie at the par five 12th was followed by birdies on the two par threes on the second nine. The birdie at 14 was truly special, with a shot to around four feet away from the pin on the back level of the spectacular green.

Five under-par would have been a welcome opening round for Wie, who has struggled for fitness in recent weeks, but she saved the best for last with birdies on each of the last three holes to post 64. “I had a lot of fun today” said the 27-year-old former US Open champion.

Wie embraces the challenge of the links and enjoys having to be creative. “I made a point of

coming over early, I felt like the Scottish Open was a great way to get into links golf. I love being creative, I was putting with my 11 wood, chipping with things I never would in the States, bump and runs, it’s fun” said Wie.

THOMPSON SHINES AS THE CREAM RISES TO THE TOP EARLY AS STORMS ROLL IN DURING THE AFTERNOON Kingsbarns, Scotland: The men’s majors often flatter to deceive, with all of the world’s top three missing the cut at June’s US Open, but in the women’s game this rarely happens and once again the cream of world golf is near the top of the leaderboard after day one of the RICOH Women’s British Open. One of those standout names is Lexi Thompson, the 22-year-old is chasing her second major title, and she got off to the perfect start, a 5-under-par 67.

Her round wasn’t made easy by two severe rain delays, but with the wind down and the course soft, the big-hitting American took full advantage.

Birdies at 3, 5, 8 and 9 saw her go out in 33 and even a bogey at the 10th didn’t derail her charge, with birdies at 11 and 12 moving her back to 4-under-par. She failed to birdie the 15 th but ended in style with one at the par four 18th to sit just three back of Wie’s lead.

“I had a week off coming into the event and I have worked really hard on my game and some things which I needed to improve on. I’ve had a great year so far and I just want to keep it going” said Thompson. The Floridian won the Kingsmill Championship earlier this year and has moved to world number two in the ROLEX Rankings.

Lexi is potentially part of a fairytale story this week, with former Kingsbarns caddie Kevin MacAlpine on her bag. “Yeah he definitely is (helpful having him), I don’t know this golf

course at all apart from the practice round, so his local knowledge has helped me out tremendously.”

MAGNIFICENT MELISSA FAILS TO REID THE SCRIPT AND LEADS A STRONG ENGLISH CHALLENGE Kingsbarns, Scotland: Melissa Reid has always had the talent, everyone in the game knows that, and she certainly has the work-ethic to match, but unfortunately her results on the biggest stage haven’t matched up, perhaps this is the week. Reid, a self-confessed lover of links golf and Kingsbarns, tore up the front nine, with five birdies in the first ten holes to take the early lead. 2 bogeys and 2 birdies over the closing five holes saw her post a round of 67. She was understandably delighted.

“Yeah it is (a great start). I felt like there were a lot of birdies out there.”

Success in the RICOH Women’s British Open would be by far the biggest win of Reid’s career.

“What would it mean to me? It would mean having a massive party! This is why we practise hours and hours to put ourselves in position to win tournaments like this ” said Reid.

Reid had come in somewhat under the radar, with the fame of Charley Hull, the potential of Georgia Hall and the ‘last hurrah’ for Laura Davies all considered bigger stories. But after this opening round the focus will be on the Derbyshire girl as she attempts to contend for the title over the next three days.

Reid is one of six English women within five shots of the lead, the highest number from any nationality among the leaders other than the United States. Jodi Ewart-Shadoff matched Reid’s round of 67 late on in the day; Georgia Hall posted a 4-under-par round of 68, which was equalled

by Charley Hull and the evergreen Laura Davies.

THE WEATHER

Variable clouds and breezy in the morning but decreasing winds in the afternoon, good chance for rain overnight

FRUSTRATED BOOTH FAILS TO BUILD ON IMPROVED FORM AND SLUMPS TO AN OPENING 76 Kingsbarns, Scotland: It is nearly 10 years since Carly Booth burst into the golfing world at the age of 16, and 5 years since she won twice in a season, and after a long disappointing run the 25-year-old Scot has shown signs of returning to her best form. She has made the cut in all four Ladies European Tour events this season, and won the US Open Sectional Qualifier to secure spots in the two most prestigious events in the women’s game. Last week at the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open she showed grit and guile to put herself in contention through 36 holes at Dundonald, before falling away at the weekend. She arrived at Kingsbarns with hopes of making another cut and boosting her ranking on the LET Order of Merit.

However, following a round which included five bogeys and one birdie she has a huge fight on her hands to fulfil that ambition. She cut a dejected figure when she spoke to me after her round: I started by asking Carly if the course played much different today than the practice days: “Today was a nice day, I can’t really complain about the weather, it was quite similar really” she said.

What aspect of your game were you perhaps frustrated with? “Putting, I

putted very badly today.”

I finished by asking Carly if she had a score in mind to make the cut, to which she responded she had no idea. Clearly disillusioned from such a disappointing start, Booth will have to rectify her putting issues quickly to turn it around and avoid missing another Major cut.

IN THE LAUNCH EDITION OF ST ANDREWS MAGAZINE THIS AUTUMN, CARLY BOOTH TELLS US WHY SHE LOVES ST ANDREWS

2017 RICOH WOMEN’S BRITISH OPEN – LEADERBOARD First Round 1

Michelle Wie

USA

-8

F

2

In-Kyung Kim

KOR

-7

F

3

Lindy Duncan

USA

-6

F

4

Melissa Reid

ENG

-5

F

Chella Choi

KOR

-5

F

Anne Van Dam

NED

-5

F

Lexi Thompson

USA

-5

F

Jodi Ewart Shadoff

ENG

-5

F

Ally McDonald

USA

-4

F

Morgan Pressel

USA

-4

F

Anna Nordqvist

SWE

-4

F

Jaye Marie Green

USA

-4

F

Laura Davies

ENG

-4

F

Georgia Hall

ENG

-4

F

Charley Hull

ENG

-4

F

9

Complete Coverage of the 2017 RICOH Women’s British Open