Kind words from Annika Sorenstam on I.K. Kim's 1st Major win.
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http://www.lpga.com/news/2017-sorenstam-on-in-kyung-kims-major-winSaturday, August 12, 2017
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Rolex world No. 1 So Yeon Ryu
Ryu ready for Kingsbarns thanks to Spieth's coach
August 2, 2017, 3:36 pm
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Rolex world No. 1 So Yeon Ryu's shot-making prowess will get a supreme examination this week at the Ricoh Women’s British Open.
Before the start of the 2016 season, Ryu overhauled her swing under the tutelage of Cameron McCormick, who helped Jordan Spiethwin The Open at Royal Birkdale two weeks ago.
Ryu said McCormick dramatically changed her ball flight and trajectories.
“Before my ball was going quite high,” Ryu said.
Ryu said while McCormick lowered her trajectory, he also gave her the ability to hit different trajectories - low and high - and the ability to better work the ball left and right. She said her rebuilt swing makes her better able to contend with side winds that used to be particularly troubling to her. She also said her short game is more versatile.
These are changes that ought to help Ryu better manage her way around a links course.
“I think I can trust myself that my ball flight is good enough and strong enough,” Ryu said. “It's not going to be affected by the side wind much. That helped me to manage this golf course really, really well.
“Right now I feel more comfortable hitting a low shot and hitting different chip shots. It's going to be more fun to play.”
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Photo Credit Getty ImagesCalm Kim Collects Maiden Major
Korea’s I K Kim displayed nerves of steel to hold off the challenge of fast-finishing Englishwoman, Jodi Ewart Shadoff, and win the first major title of her career at the Ricoh Women’s British Open at a wet and windy Kingsbarns Golf Links.
29-year-old Kim started the final round with a six-shot lead over the field but, when Ewart Shadoff became the third player of the week to card a course record 64, the Korean needed to produce nine consecutive pars over her closing nine holes to post a one under par 71 and finish two shots clear of the Englishwoman on 18 under par 270.
Kim’s shot of the day came at the 17th where she hit a 5-wood 197-yards into the wind and over a ditch to set up a 15-foot birdie putt. She did not hole it but her regulation par gave her the luxury of a two-shot lead heading up the last and she went on to play it in text book fashion to bury the inner demons she has harboured since missing a one-foot putt on the 72nd hole of the 2012 Kraft Nabisco (now ANA Inspiration) before going on to lose the subsequent play-off to Sun Young Yoo.
“I feel uplifted and say that because I didn’t expect to win this week,” she said. “I didn’t really have any expectations. I had one of my best warm-ups of the week, so that gave me quiet confidence. But the wind was blowing differently, and I wasn’t hitting the ball as close. I didn’t have many makeable putts, but I think as well as I could with what I had today, I think.”
Ewart Shadoff’s round of the day started with a birdie on the second and she went on to fire five more in succession from the sixth before claiming her share of the course record with two further birdies at the 13th and 17th.
“I just tried to stay in the moment and hit as many good shots as I could,” she said.
“Honestly, I didn’t think I had a shot. IK was so far ahead, and she’s been playing so good recently, so I was just trying to finish as high up as I could.
“It’s been a big boost to me,” she added. “I didn’t have much confidence coming into this week, having missed the cut last week (at the Scottish Open) but I played great. The key was my putting, my putter was on fire.”
Ewart Shadoff’s 16-under par total of 272 saw her finish three shots ahead of compatriot Georgia Hall, Germany’s Caroline Masson and first round leader Michelle Wie from America. Korea’s Jenny Shin posted a 67 to finish alone in sixth place on 276 while China’s Shanshan Feng returned the same score to finish tied seventh on eleven under par 277 alongside Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim, America’s Stacy Lewis and Swede’s Anna Nordqvist.
English international Sophie Lamb faced a Rules query and then an anxious three hour wait before being confirmed as the winner of the Smyth Salver awarded to the leading amateur who plays all four rounds of the Championship.
The 19-year-old from Clitheroe birdied the last to post a 69 and finish on six under par 282 but it was then discovered that she and playing partner Jane Park had signed for their scores on each other’s cards. A Rules official was called to the Recorders Area and she adjudged that the situation was covered by Decision 6-6d/4 and that no penalty should be applied.
Lamb then had to wait for most of the afternoon until her nearest challenger, Irish World No. 1 Leona Maguire, returned a 75 for it to be confirmed that she had won the amateur prize by three shots. Swedish amateur international My Leander also played all four rounds and closed with a 79 to finish on nine over par 297.
“It has been a fantastic week,” Lamb said. “I have played very well and it was nice to finish with a birdie.
“As an amateur, you play a lot of links golf, and I think that helped me this week,” she added. “It’s all been a bit crazy but I’m delighted to know I can compete at this sort of level. It gives me a lot of confidence.”
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I.K. Kim wins first major title at Women's British Open
I.K. Kim wins first major title at Women's British Open
August 6, 2017, 3:13 pm
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – I.K. Kim banished the haunting memory of missing a 14-inch putt to win a major and replaced it with the sweetest sensation.
Finally, she can call herself a major champion.
Staked to a six-shot lead in the Women's British Open, Kim never led anyone get closer than two shots at Kingsbarns Links and sealed victory with a bold hybrid over the burn to the 17th green. She made nine pars on the back nine and closed with a 1-under 71 for a two-shot victory.
''I cannot describe my feelings,'' Kim said. ''I just tried to have some fun, but it wasn't fun on the back nine.''
Jodi Ewart Shadoff made her work for it by charging home with a 64 to put pressure on the 29-year-old South Korean. Kim didn't falter over an increasingly soggy course, however. She finished at 18-under 270 to capture the $487,500 prize.
Michelle Wie went out in 30 to give Kim something to think about, but the 27-year-old from Hawaii stalled and closed with a 66 to tie for third with Caroline Masson (67) and Georgia Hall (70).
Kim now has won three times, the most by anyone on the LPGA Tour this year, all in the last two months.
But this was the biggest by far.
She was no more than 14 inches away from winning the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship for her first major when she clasped her hand over her mouth in disbelief when it spun out of the hole. She lost in a playoff, and it was a tough memory to shake.
Until Sunday.
''I almost cried when I won. Winning is great,'' Kim said. ''It's a long process to get over 2012. A lot of people helped me. Now I enjoy playing golf again. What it did teach me is to to give the same effort to every shot, even the shortest of putts.''
Armed with a six-shot overnight advantage, Kim was rarely threatened throughout a four-and-a-half hour round in which she crucially made only one bogey.
Ewart Shadoff matched the course record - reached earlier this week by Wie and Olympic gold medalist Inbee Park - and got within two shots of Kim with her eighth birdie of the round that put her at 16 under.
''I didn't think starting the day that I would have a shot,'' she said. ''I had a great stretch in the middle of the round to get me going. My plan at the start was just to take the opportunities when I got them and that's what I did.''
Wie was the only other player to get closer than five shots of Kim.
Seemingly impervious to the pressure of leading, Kim sailed along in the damp, overcast conditions, her steady play offering little encouragement to a chasing pack that also included the likes of Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis, Park and Moriya Jutanugarn.
A birdie at the par-3 opening hole, where her tee-shot nearly found the bottom of the cup, set Kim on her way. She made birdie on the par-5 eighth, and then had her first bogey in 44 holes with a three-putt at the turn.
Kim's clinching shot, however, came as late as the penultimate hole, when a beautifully struck hybrid from the fairway sailed over the burn fronting the green and finished 15 feet from the flag. A routine par at the last completed her five-year journey between missing and making.
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