Tuesday, November 21, 2017
CME Golf Championship 2017
The weather
has been perfect the past four days in South-West Florida for the
final event of the year of the LPGA Women's Golf Tour. It takes place
in Naples, just south of Fort Myers, at the fabulous Tiburon course
at the Ritz-Carlton.
I am certain
that course preparation was a challenge this year. The course was
affected by Hurricane Irma. There were many trees down once the storm
had passed, and conditions were soggy. But the crew worked hard, and
the course is in perfect condition. Mind you, golfers still face
those nasty bunkers with the three foot lips, similar to the pot
bunkers in Great Britain. Quite often, players must hit away from the
hole in those bunkers, to get the ball in play.
Brooke
Henderson entered the week with a decent shot at the tournament
title. If she had won, she would also receive the CME Globe bonus
prize of one million dollars. She played consistently all week,
recording the score of 70 on her first three rounds; however, the
competition is fierce at this level, and Brooke's game was not quite
good enough to bag the big prize. Please remember that this girl is
but twenty years old, and undoubtedly will retire some day as
Canada's best female golfer, ever.
Michelle Wie
entered the last round tied for first with Kim Kaufman, Ariya
Jutanugarn, and Suzann Pettersen. Wie had missed several weeks on the
tour, after an appendicitis attack at the Canadian Open. “It was a
shock. I was in contention in Canada, and then it happened. I didn't
expect to be out six weeks.” Incidentally, Wie is a member of the
“P2 Putting Army”. Translation? She is using the P2 Putter grip
which comes out of the Quinte Area, from Steve Auger and company!
All told,
there were 14 golfers within two strokes of the lead going into
Sunday's final round. The CME company announced that they had
extended their endorsement of the event at least until 2023, which is
exciting for those of us who are in the area.
Brooke
finished the tournament at six under, and the other Canadian in the
event, Alena Sharp finished at one under.
As the
golfers entered the final stretch, the wheat began to separate from
the chaff. S. H. Park took the title as the “Rookie of the Year”,
but was out of contention following a disastrous round of 75 on
Saturday. The Korda sisters, daughters of Peter Korda, a long-time
tennis professional, played well up to the final holes.
But it was
Floridian Lexi Thompson, with a strong contingent of fans on hand,
who entered the final holes in the driver's seat. She birdied the
17th to take a one stroke lead on the field. She played
the 18th hole well, and rolled a long putt to within 18
inches. The crowd hushed as she tapped in the short putt to sew up
the victory. There was a group gasp as the putt rolled past the
hole.
Moriya
Jutanugarn is Ariya's sister. She was waiting patiently for her
sister at the 18th green. Ariya shocked the crowd by
rolling in a 20 foot putt to birdie the final hole and take the
championship. Thompson had to settle for second place. She also was
the winner of the CME globe, with the million dollar bonus.
All the
ladies now take a break until the next season rolls around. Not quite
as much pressure in the off-season!!!
James Hurst
November 19,
2017.
# posted by James Hurst @ 1:50 PM 
