Portland Classic 1st Round Featured Groups

The Cambia Portland Classic field is going to face some interesting challenges when they tee off Thursday at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club track.  The generous fairways and beautifully groomed, smooth-running greens have all the makings of a golfer’s paradise; and a thick, sticky rough that’s two and a half to three inches high and could turn a missed fairway into a double bogey in a heartbeat is the nightmarish downside of the week’s possibilities.

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Going into the Portland Classic the oddsmakers are giving Lydia Ko a slight edge over So Yeon Ryu, Suzann Pettersen and Stacy Lewis, the three top-seeded players most likely to challenge her for the win.

Who among these four is the best equipped to capitalize on the advantages the 6,476 yard, par-72 track will offer and steer clear of the potential trouble that waits just beyond the short grass?

Let’s take a closer look as these four top-seeded players and their playing partners for the first and second rounds.  Given the conditions, Columbia Edgewater should favor players with long, accurate drives and better than average putting skills.  At the same time, every golf tournament favors the player with the strongest mental game, the player who stays patient, maintains control, knows when to take the risk and when to lay up, and who’s ready to fire off that long, improbably winning putt when the chips are down.

That player may not be among the top seeds.  Let’s take a look.

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