These Girls Are GOOD!

[oldmaninblack]

I had the pleasure of attending the Samsung World Championship at Big Horn last week. (I just got back in town yesterday).

I was really impressed with the quality of play of all the girls and doubly impressed when Annika put the hammer down and left them all in the dust. Michelle Wie was really impressive in the Friday round with a 65.

When Sophie and later Annika hit their shots over my head into the crap and called for a rules official, I got an up close look at how that process works for them. Sophie had to take an unplayable from under a bush and drop on the cart path twice and the place the ball on the path after the dropped balls rolled down the hill, closer to the hole. She had to play off the path because the closest point of relief from the path was back in the bush. She hit a perfect shot off the concrete and made par.
Annika got line of sight relief from a scoreboard (temporary obstruction). Both she and her caddy argued with the rules official about the "nearest point of relief". They were trying to say that Annika plays a draw, so the nearest point of relief should be farther out. The rules official politely declined to discuss the issue and suggested that they could appeal the ruling if they wanted to. She made the drop and made her shot (a fade that ended up right of the flag). I was wondering at the time why they would bother getting a ruling over what were fairly straight-forward drop situations. After the Michelle Wie incident I don't wonder anymore!

The only downside to a great time at a great tournament was the herd of pushy and obnoxious reporters and photographers following Michelle Wie. I positioned myself stategically to watch all the players go by, so the only player I didn't see much of was MW, because the gentlemen of the press positioned themselves right in front of me.

[EDSGOLF]

You should have taken their cameras and thrown them in the ponds like Stevie Williams does Any practice pictures taken?

[LobWedge]

Pretty shifty of Annika and her caddie to try and get "line of sight" relief based on preferred ball flight.