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RICOH Women’s British Open Hot Starts (Video)

By Elizabeth Bethel

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Three days ago I questioned if Lydia Ko was ready for the 2015 RICOH Women’s British Open.  She answered Thursday with a resounding YES!  So did the pace setting rookie Hyo Joo Kim and veteran Cristie Kerr, who talked her balls from tee to green to cup to card a personal best opening round at the Women’s British Open.  Morgan Pressel‘s albatross on the par 5 14th was a stunning golf moment but it wouldn’t undo the damage done by a pair of doubles and 4 bogeys as Pressel struggled to get her rhythm.

Still, Kerr agreed that Thursday was a fine day to begin the 39th contest for the Women’s British Open with a round of golf played out under uncharacteristically sunny Scottish skies.

"“It was a lot of fun. I tried to keep my head down and keep going.” Kerr told the media after her round. “I played within myself, just trying to do myself, and not over-worry about results and it paid off.”"

In case you were otherwise occupied today, let’s start with a  few first round highlights:

Power vs Precision

Hyo Joo Kim’s blemish-free 65 edged out Ko’s and Kerr’s 66s and gave her the overnight lead, but I looked a little deeper at their stats.  Lydia Ko’s 21 putts took my breath away!  (Kim and Kerr both rolled 31 putts.) Still, don’t discount Kim going forward into the second round.  She started hot like this last year at the Evian Championship and walked off the 72nd with the Championship.

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Stacy Lewis, at 29 putts, and Inbee Park at 30 managed the greens slightly better than Kim and Kerr, yet they finished a bit further down the board.  Plain and simple, Lydia Ko’s game was dialed in, and at 12 for 18 she didn’t even set the record at hitting greens in regulation!

Ko’s targeted game paid big first round dividends.  Just compare it to Brittany Lincicome‘s power game.  Length off the tee didn’t do Lincicome any good at all.  She’s sleeping on a 75 and staring down the barrel of a 10 shot deficit going into Friday’s 2nd round.

The difference between power and precision didn’t escape the odds-makers either.  They’re now giving Lydia Ko having a slight edge over Hyo Joo Kim with two of the power players — Lincicome and Lexi Thompson — well back among the favorites to win.

Ready to Go the Distance

At 69 and 70 respectively, Inbee Park and Stacy Lewis delivered respectable first rounds, as we would expect these two champions to do.  They both understand that the first round doesn’t set the outcome on the 72nd hole and their game plans don’t include jumping out in front and setting the pace.  They’ll be back Friday to deliver more of the same — steady, consistent, champion-level play — as will Azahara Munoz.

And while players with early morning tee times on Friday may have the added advantage of the weather, Kim, Ko and Kerr would probably assure us that it never hurts to start round two with a little edge over the competition.

The Fickle Scottish Weather Factor

The weather advantage could work well for Kerr, who’s teeing off several hours before either Lydia Ko or Hyo Joo Kim, and it could be particularly helpful to Suzann Pettersen, who’ll be starting at 4-under par.  Some early birdies would put her into quick contention.

Paula Creamer, who’s starting early and at 1-under par, could also make good use of a second round weather advantage although Creamer, like Pettersen, Park, Lewis and Kerr, has enough experience playing in Scotland’s dismal summer conditions to be fully prepared for whatever nastiness the weather throws at her.

I’m expecting Cristie Kerr, who’s a seasoned competitor, to harness her 1st round energy and channel it into to her 2nd round play, but I don’t have a feel for how the two young Millennials are going to adapt to the changing conditions that promise to impact Friday play, particularly for the afternoon wave.

There’s little doubt that  afternoon groups are going to be challenged by the wind and rain we know so well as just a charming component of the Scottish golfing experience.  But Inbee Park has explained why, despite the weather, this is the event to play and the RICOH Women’s British Open is the championship to win:

This is what I do for a living and this is what I love to do. To be able to win a Championship on the soil of the birthplace of golf would be very special. – Inbee Park

Next: Women's British Open Featured Groups

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