Golf

Different Strokes: Meadow and Maguire have to sit tight and wait

McIlroy on his wedge play, McDowell enjoys Seminole and calls for mixed teams

Leona Maguire is, like the rest of the LPGA Tour, waiting to find out when she will play again. Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images

Philip Reid's face
Philip Reid
Tue May 19 2020 - 06:00

For those on the LPGA Tour – among them Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow – the uncertainty of when and where the circuit reboots is pushed further away.

A plan to restart at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in mid-July has fallen by the wayside due to the “health risks of hosting such a high-scale event (remaining) high,” the upshot being that the women’s professional circuit – which has been in abeyance since February as its early season itinerary was firstly affected by the coronavirus in Asia before it became a global pandemic – is looking at the Marathon tournament in late-July as a possible restart event.

“To cancel was not easy. We explored all available options, and the LPGA Tour has been working with us every step of the way. We are convinced that moving toward planning an incredible tournament in 2021 is the right decision to ensure the safety of everyone involved,” said the title sponsor’s CEO Jim Fittering in announcing the tournament’s cancellation. It became the ninth tournament on the LPGA Tour so far this season to be cancelled.

At least the KLPGA Tour in South Korea managed to break free – at least for one week – from the impact of the coronavirus, as 22-year-old Park Hyun-kyung shot a closing round 67 to finish a shot clear of Lim Hee-jeong and Bae Seon-woo to claim a breakthrough title on the KLPGA Tour.

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The KLPGA Tour doesn’t have any events planned for the next two weeks but a question mark remains over future tournaments, especially in light of the decision over the weekend to cancel the men’s Korean Open which was due to be held next month.

On this day – May 19th, 2013

A serial winner on the Korean and Japanese circuits, Sang-Moon Bae’s breakthrough win on the PGA Tour came in the Byron Nelson Classic at Colonial.

In scooping the $1.2million winner’s cheque, Bae almost matched the total prizemoney he’d won in 42 previous outings on the American tour but the win itself was hard-won after squandering a four-stroke lead in the final round to ultimately finish two clear of runner-up Keegan Bradley.

Bae – who’d earn a full PGA Tour card for the 2012 season through Q-School – started the final round a shot behind Bradley but made a flying start with four birdies in the opening five holes to move four clear.

However, with strong gusting winds up to 40 miles per hour and rainy intervals, which prompted Martin Kaymer to suggest conditions were more akin to those found at a British Open, Bae encountered a tough stretch of holes midway through his round and double-bogeyed the ninth and bogeyed the 10th but settled down thereafter and a birdie on the 15th and solid play coming in ensured he completed the job. A final round 69 for 13-under-par 267 gave him a breakthrough win on the PGA Tour.

“It’s something I’ve always dreamed of, winning on the PGA Tour. It was surreal to have Mrs Nelson there and with all the history . . . . . I was in awe, actually, so almost I didn’t know how to react,” said Bae, who two years later saw his playing career interrupted by having to serve a two-year military stint in the South Korean army.

Word of mouth

“I didn’t know whether to tell it to get up, or get down, stay long, stay short. I wouldn’t be known for my wedge play. There was a little pressure there” – World number one Rory McIlroy on clinching the $1.1m final skin which came down to a nearest-the-pin shoot-out at the 19th hole. With his partner Dustin Johnson and opponent Rickie Fowler failing to find the putting surface, it came down to a tale of the tape at the extra hole where McIlroy hit to 13-feet against Matthew Wolff’s tee-shot finishing 18-feet from the flag.

By the numbers

€7.85million: The R&A launched a €7.85 million (£7m) funding package to help golf national associations and other selected organisations in Britain and Ireland to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic: "The R&A Covid-19 Support Fund will enable national associations and other key bodies to provide support to some of their members," said Martin Slumbers, the chief executive of the R&A, in announcing the fund. "Golf is in our DNA and we want to see the sport continue to thrive from the grassroots right through to the top level on the professional tours. We have a responsibility to do what we can in such a crisis."

Twitter Twaddle

“I know right now is a tough time for most so I can only speak for the world I am involved in. Yet again, we show the disparity between men’s and women’s golf. Today’s charity event should showcase golf not just men’s golf. What an opportunity has let slip, once again, to represent equality. I would love to have witnessed women athletes/golfers be invited to showcase the wonderful game as well as these incredible male golfers. Respect us as athletes. I look forward to the day for us to be included” – Mel Reid, a member of the LPGA Tour and the LET, pulls no punches in highlighting the gender imbalance in pro golf in play at the TaylorMade Skins match.

“I’d love to see a match like this with mixed teams” – Cheyenne Woods, an LPGA Tour player who is also the niece of Tiger, weighs in on a similar theme.

“9 weeks of rust, some dodgy facial hair and a seriously tricky golf course make these guys look average so far…..but like you, I’m on the couch watching it. Great cause and great to watch some live sport” – Graeme McDowell at least thought it watchable.

Know the Rules

Q: On reaching the green and preparing to mark his ball, Player A notices that the ball he is using is branded with a “Practice” stamp. Is he subject to any penalty for using such a ball/

A: No. Balls with “Practice” stamps on them are treated in the same way as golf balls that feature a golf club or course, company, school or logo and, as such, are permitted to be used by the player and are typically, listed conforming golf balls (Rule 2.a (1)/2).

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