Golfweek’s JuliaKate E. Culpepper recaps the top golf stories of the week including Martin Laird winning the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, Sei Young Kim becomes a major champion, and Matt Fitzpatrick criticizes Bryson DeChambeau’s golf game.
Golfweek’s JuliaKate E. Culpepper recaps the top golf stories of the week including Martin Laird winning the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, Sei Young Kim becomes a major champion, and Matt Fitzpatrick criticizes Bryson DeChambeau’s golf game.
Reid, 33, broke through for her first LPGA victory at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, closing with a 67 to edge Jennifer Kupcho by two strokes.
Winning on the LPGA, Mel Reid said, would be a life-changing experience. Now she can finally find out exactly what that means.
Reid, 33, broke through for her first LPGA victory at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, closing with a 67 to edge Jennifer Kupcho by two strokes.
“After Portland, I wanted to redeem myself,” said Reid of the chance she let slip by two weeks ago.
A six-time winner on the Ladies European Tour and three-time Solheim Cup player (2011, 2015 and 2017), Reid trailed by one after back-to-back bogeys early on in the final round at the ShopRite but hit the gas pedal with four birdies in the span of five holes.
Former Solheim Cup teammate and vice captain Suzann Pettersen tweeted “C’mon Mel, finish like a champion!” as the Englishwoman hit the stretch with a four-stroke lead.
Both Jennifer Song and Kupcho looked like they might ace the 107-yard par-3 17th. They each posted birdie to Reid’s bogey on the penultimate hole to cut Reid’s lead to two with the reachable par-5 18th left to play.
A gutsy second shot from the rough to 15 feet on the 72nd hole left Reid with three putts to claim her first victory.
“I just want to call my dad, honestly,” said a happy Reid, who tragically lost her mother Joy in a car crash in Germany eight years ago.
A number of caddies and players rushed the 18th green to drench Reid with champagne, showing only a glimpse of how popular Reid’s victory is not only on the LPGA, but worldwide.
Two weeks ago, Reid slept on the overnight lead at the Portland LPGA Classic only to stumble in with a final-round 74 to take a share of fifth. Compatriot Georgia Hall went on to win in a playoff.
“I kind of felt like I almost gave it to Georgia,” said Reid, who in her talks with sports psychologist Howard Falco determined that she rushed things a bit that Sunday and hit shots she wasn’t comfortable with.
This time around, Reid looked fully in control at the Bay Course at Seaview.
Mel Reid of England reacts after putting out on the third green during the final round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer on the Bay Course at Seaview Hotel and Golf Club on October 04, 2020 in Galloway, New Jersey. (Photo by Michael Cohen/Getty Images)
Now in her fourth season on the LPGA, Reid is the ninth English player to win on the LPGA. It’s the first time since 1996 that English players won in back-to-back events (Trish Johnson and Caroline Pierce).
In 2019, Reid served as a vice captain for Catriona Matthew at the Solheim Cup at Gleneagles, having narrowly missed out on a spot on the team.
Ranked 74th heading into the ShopRite, Reid’s 2020 goals included a victory on the LPGA and a top-50 ranking. Now she’s not only in strong position for the 2021 Solheim, but in the running for the Summer Olympics too.
Reid began working with Falco in August, the week before the AIG Women’s British Open and immediately felt comfortable, opening up about deep-rooted wounds she’d been reluctant to address. The journey of better understanding her self-worth paid off quickly.
Mel Reid leads the Shoprite LPGA Classic after 3 rounds at 15 under. Jennifer Kupcho and Jennifer Song are T-2 at 14 under.
With one more round to go in the Shoprite LPGA Classic, they’re all chasing Mel Reid.
The 33-year old was consistent throughout the day at Seaview Resort in Galloway, New Jersey, but arguably her finest moment came at the halfway point. A 3-wood into the par-5 ninth hit the edge of the green and rolled several feet toward the hole, setting up an eagle. Three additional birdies propelled Reid to a 5-under 66 and 15 under par: one shot clear of second place.
England’s Reid tied for seventh at the ANA Inspiration and tied for fifth at the Cambia Portland Classic. A win at the Seaview this week would be her first career victory on the LPGA Tour.
Jennifer Kupcho and Jennifer Song may have something to say about that, though.
Kupcho, a former NCAA Division I champion with Wake Forest, carded a 6-under 65 to put herself into a tie for second. The 23-year old from Littleton, Colorado, dealt with pain in her upper back throughout the third round and still managed six birdies.
“Yeah, I mean, the golf course is definitely tricky,” said Kupcho. “I think it really actually makes me focus a lot more just because some of the holes you have to like hit right on the spot going into the greens. I’ve played through a lot of things in my career.”
Song equaled Kupcho with a 65 of her own. The 30-year old dual citizen of the U.S. and South Korea remained clean and finished strong, holing the last of her six birdies on No. 18.
“I love it,” Song said about her performance. “First and third round it was bogey-free, and I just want keep that going and have the same momentum going into tomorrow. I’m not going to change a lot of things. I think just focus on my rhythm and be aggressive out there.”
The top of the leaderboard remains fairly crowded, with a number of other contenders lurking. Fourth-place Nasa Hataoka of Japan finds herself within striking distance at 12 under. Malaysia’s Kelly Tan and California’s Ryann O’Toole are T-5 at 11 under, while Canadian Brooke Henderson is also in the hunt at 10 under, which leave her in seventh place.
“Yeah, first two days I didn’t really score as well as I felt like I was actually hitting it,” said Henderson, who achieved seven birdies and one bogey. “Today I kind of made some putts that I wasn’t expecting to make, so it was a little bit of a bonus. Evens out, but hopefully tomorrow I can continue to make all those putts that I made today.”
It sliding glass door that led to her backyard patio on the Dinah Shore Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California.
My first contact with Dinah Shore was actually with her window.
I broke it.
Of course it wasn’t any little old window. No, no, no. Of course not. It was a floor-to-ceiling sliding glass door that led to her backyard patio in the shadow of the ninth hole of what is now known as the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California.
It was the day after Juli Inkster won the 1989 Nabisco Dinah Shore, the annual first major of the year for the LPGA Tour. Media members were allowed to play the course that Monday, with the same pin placements as the best women players in the world faced in the final round.
All was well – the sun was bright, the winds low, the team playing well with birdies galore through eight holes. And then we stood in the middle of the fairway of the dogleg, par-5 ninth with a chance to reach the green in two.
My Titleist 3 didn’t reach the green in two. Instead, my 3-wood – yes, it was a wood back then – sent the ball wildly hooking away from the intended target and then crashing through the sliding glass door.
Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio and Dinah Shore.
Thank heavens Dinah wasn’t with someone in the kitchen.
I was told by the appropriate people that insurance would take care of the damage and Dinah would never find out who unleashed the glass-breaking missile.
But a year later, someone pointed me out to Dinah as she was playing in a charity event and told her I was the one who shattered her sliding glass door.
Television personality Dinah Shore takes a practice swing in preparation for her hostess role for the Colgate Winners Circle golf tournament in Palm Springs, Calif. in March, 1972. (AP Photo)
“It was you? You’re the one?” she said in the most livid voice she could muster that belied all her Southern charm. “So you’re the one who broke my window and made a clean getaway.”
I was a bit on edge. Then she smiled and lit up the world.
I got a hug instead of a bill and a slap upside my head.
“So glad to meet you,” she said.
There I was, two years into my first job out of college, the prep writer for The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, joking around with Dinah. Gaining experience and paying my dues at a jarringly low salary was happily augmented by a workload that included coverage of a PGA Tour event, a major on the LPGA Tour, a senior tour golf event, one of the best professional tennis tournaments in the world, the Don Drysdale Hall of Fame Classic, the NFL’s Fastest Man contest, the Pepsi All-Star Softball Game, The Skins Game and 13 glorious days when the California Angels played spring training games at Palm Springs Stadium.
Cover a high school varsity boys and girls basketball doubleheader one night, head to the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic the next morning. Write up a high school tennis match one evening, write a story on Andre Agassi or Martina Navratilova the next day. Chronicle a high school track meet, watch the NFL’s fastest men sprint the following afternoon.
Helen Alfredsson and Dina Shore hold up the trophy at the 1993 Dinah Shore Classic. Stephen Dunn/ALLSPORT
Break Dinah’s window, end up playing 18 with her.
Not a bad gig indeed. A lot of pinch-me moments, the best without question a round with Dinah. Ahead of the 1991 Nabisco Dinah Shore, I asked the main media official for the tournament if I could play with Dinah and then write a story on her for the bonus section the paper produced each year.
“Dinah says of course,” I later heard.
So, two years after reducing her sliding glass door to rubble, I was hitting balls on the practice range at MHCC ahead of my 18 with Dinah. And I waited. And waited. And waited. Then I was told our tee time was bumped 45 minutes. Didn’t ask why. Just kept hitting balls into the horizon.
Just when I thought Dinah wasn’t going to be able to play for whatever reason, she emerged on the range and began to say hello to every one of the 40 or so golfers.
HOLLYWOOD, CA – MAY 6, 1959: Actress Dinah Shore poses at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 11th Annual Emmy Awards held at the Moulin Rouge on May 6, 1959 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by TVA/PictureGroup/Invision for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences/AP Images)
“I’m so sorry, Steve, I was on the phone with Kirk Douglas,” she said.
Not often you’re put on hold by Spartacus.
Dinah hit a few balls, the smallest bucket you can imagine.
“Steve, want to go see my new window?” she said and then laughed. “Let’s go.”
And off we went to the Arnold Palmer Course adjacent to the course that bears her name and one that presents a strong but fair challenge full of water hazards, deep bunkers and testing greens.
Dinah was playing to a 23 then and you quickly learned you want her on your side in a match. And you never – repeat – never put up money against her in a putting contest. What she lacked in power – she was 73 – she made up for with command of the shortest club in her bag.
She played quickly with a smile that never left her face. And the silence of the serene game was gladly broken when she started singing, which was about on every hole. Soothing tunes were steady, good shots aplenty, many laughs constant.
I can still hear her say, “Good shot, Steve,” or “Nice putt, Steve.” I returned in kind, but she’d say, “You’re just being polite.” That was a phrase not often spoken to me, but it made me smile.
We’d play a few holes and then drive the cart to a shady spot to talk all things Dinah. She spoke with delight about the Grand Ole Opry, cooking, her stardom on television for four decades, her days as a competitive swimmer and a member of the fencing team at Vanderbilt University, her days entertaining the troops on USO tours to Europe. It was a majestic career that spanned more than 50 years and was marked by her abundant popularity, 10 Emmy Awards, nine gold records, a Golden Glove, a Peabody Award.
And she went on and on about her great love in life – singing – and how her passion – golf – was driving her batty.
“Golf is like a lousy lover,” she said. “Like someone who is never there when you need him. And just when you least expect it, your lover shows up and makes you feel like heaven on earth. But just when you think the world is perfect and life is wonderful, your lover takes the next bus out of town.”
She hopped aboard the golf bus and embraced the game from the get-go when Colgate president David Foster talked her into putting her name on a women’s golf tournament in 1972.
At 52, Dinah traded in her tennis racket for golf clubs. And the golf bug bit hard.
1990: Dinah Shore looks on during the Los Angeles Open at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, California. Mandatory Credit: Ken Levine /Allsport
She said she didn’t want to embarrass herself so she did what she could to learn the game and play it well without ignoring all her other callings. And she sure did play, eagerly becoming a regular participant in pro-ams – she played about 10-12 a year – as well as becoming the first woman member of Hillcrest Country Club on the west side of Los Angles.
“I’m not good. I hit the ball and then I giggle so I won’t cry,” she said, underplaying her ability.
When talk turned to the tournament, she dismissed her enormous influence that elevated the women’s game.
“Oh, Steve, it was the players,” she said.
But it was Dinah who opened a massive door. Her Hollywood connections and glamour sparked the LPGA Tour to new heights and brought forth a much-needed spotlight when network TV coverage was a precious commodity. When the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winners Circle Tournament made its debut in 1972, Jane Blalock won and received a check for $20,000, which was $15,000 more than any other LPGA tournament winner was awarded that year.
“Sometimes in sports there is a defining moment,” Blalock told the Los Angeles Times in 2011. “That moment for us was 40 years ago.”
As the years passed, the tournament grew in stature and Dinah never shied from one of her most important leading roles.
“The tournament will always be The Dinah as far as I’m concerned,” said Dottie Pepper, the lead on-course analyst for CBS golf coverage. Among her 17 LPGA Tour titles were her major triumphs in The Dinah in 1992 and 1999.
“Dinah put the LPGA on the Hollywood and TV stage at the most needed time,” Pepper said. “She provided the theater for our first major championship of the year. Exposure to a world-wide audience that we could only dream about at the time. She genuinely loved the game, especially the women’s game, and we should all be forever grateful.”
1994: Dinah Shore was a singer, noted TV celebrity and long-time friend of the LPGA. She founded the California tournament that eventually became the ANA Inspiration, one of the LPGA Tour’s five majors.
Dinah, who passed away in her Beverly Hills home in 1994, is honored with plaques in the World Golf Hall of Fame and the Television Academy Hall of Fame. Worthy tributes indeed.
But my lasting memory will be the 18 holes I played with her – and the time spent at the 19th hole talking and laughing the time away. I’ve played Augusta National twice, Cypress Point twice, Riv, Oakmont, Merion, Olympic, Hoylake, Pebble and Spyglass. The Old Course at the Home of Golf and Pinehurst No. 2 in the Cradle of American Golf. The Stadium Course at PGA West, the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Cherry Hills, Oak Hill and Hillcrest.
But my best day and the most fun I’ve ever had on a golf course without question was with Dinah, the 18 holes that spanned nearly six hours – we didn’t slow play nor hold anyone up as the conversations timed out longer than the actual playing of the round. I can still hear her singing, still see her smiling, still picture her draining a putt.
The 18 with Dinah surpassed even the day I made my lone hole-in-one, which came a year later in the Dinah Shore Media Day tournament, at the famous 17th hole on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course.
Dinah awarded me a marble clock that year as our team was victorious. But the gift of her company the year prior will forever be the leader in the clubhouse of memories playing the wonderful game of golf.
RANCHO MIRAGE, California – Danielle Kang is a major championship winner and a Californian born and raised. Winning a major in California might be the next step in Kang’s LPGA career, a career that already is on the fast track to stardom. “It’s a …
RANCHO MIRAGE, California — Danielle Kang is a major championship winner and a Californian born and raised. Winning a major in California might be the next step in Kang’s LPGA career, a career that already is on the fast track to stardom.
“It’s a major you definitely want to win, especially in California,” Kang said as she prepared for this week’s ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage. “I’m from California, so I think it would be really awesome to be able to win in this state. Last year, I came close. It wasn’t the final round that I wanted, but I think having another opportunity this year is going to be really interesting.”
Kang’s sixth-place finish in the 2019 ANA Inspiration, where she finished six shots behind winner Jin Young Ko, was her best performance in eight starts at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course. Three of those starts have ended with missed cuts on a course that Kang says she is still learning about from one start to the next.
“Year in and year out, you come here and you expect it to be the way it is, and it actually even exceeds your expectations when you come,” Kang said. “I get surprised every time I come up here.”
These days, it is LPGA fans who are excited to see Kang show up at the golf course. Since the LPGA restarted its tour in July, Kang has dominated play. She won the first two events of the restart in Ohio and finished fifth at the Ladies Scottish Open.
Not only is Kang now the leading money winner on the tour with $643,933, but she is also No. 1 in the Race to the CME Globe year-long chase. She has moved to a career-high second on the Rolex Women’s World Rankings behind Jin Young Ko, the defending champion who is not at the ANA Inspiration this week because of COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Kang’s hot streak in the restart gives her five career LPGA wins, including a major at the 2017 KMPG Women’s PGA Championship. That might sound like Kang is firmly established as the favorite at Mission Hills this week. But rather than thinking about winning, Kang is thinking about the same things she thinks about every week she shows up at a tournament.
“What I normally do when I get to a tournament, kind of figuring out the green speed, the conditions around the greens and how it’s going to play is the most important,” Kang said. “I played nine holes earlier this (week), and they tightened up the fairways even more than they normally do, I’ve noticed, and around the greens, if the ball just rolls over the green or just short, it gets into a little bit of a funky lie.”
That kind of pre-tournament work is particularly important for Kang this week at Mission Hills, which is playing different than during the event’s traditional April dates. Kang and the rest of the field must adjust to playing on Bermuda grass with thick, heavy rough rather than the rye grass of a spring visit to the desert.
“It’s playing way different than I expected,” Kang said. “I didn’t know that the golf course could change from April to September that differently, but I’m really excited to see what kind of golf course and what kind of game is going to be shown this entire week.”
Kang admits it will be strange playing a California tournament without her legion of family and friends who have followed her from her days on the Southern California PGA junior tour to Pepperdine University for two years to her consecutive wins in the U.S. Women’s Amateur. But with COVID-19 restrictions meaning no spectators at Mission Hills this week, Kang said she and the rest of the players have no choice but to focus on the game and not the atmosphere.
“I can just do the best I can and play for them, and I’m really excited to play in California for the first time this year and just be able to perform for them whether they’re at home watching or not,” Kang said. “(I’m) really excited to just kind of have the opportunity to play well and give myself the best opportunity.”
Larry Bohannan is The Desert Sun golf writer, part of the USA today network. He can be reached at (760) 778-4633 or larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at Sun.@Larry_Bohannan. Support local journalism: Subscribe to the Desert Sun.
Lincicome got a quick mommy moment in with her now one-year-old daughter Emery at Pinnacle Country Club, just north of Fayetteville.
Brittany Lincicome got a little extra inspiration at the turn during Friday’s opening round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, presented by P&G.
After an even 36 on the front, Lincicome got a quick mommy moment in with her now one-year-old daughter Emery at Pinnacle Country Club, just north of Fayetteville.
She stopped and tickled Emery, who was waiting between holes with caretakers. The move worked as Lincicome went out and finished with a 1-under par 35 on the back nine. A trio is in the lead at 7 under.
We’d play a few holes and then drive the cart to a shady spot to talk all things Dinah. She spoke with delight about the Grand Ole Opry, cooking, her stardom on television for four decades, her days as a competitive swimmer and a member of the fencing team at Vanderbilt University, her days entertaining the troops on USO tours to Europe. It was a majestic career that spanned more than 50 years and was marked by her abundant popularity, 10 Emmy Awards, nine gold records, a Golden Glove, a Peabody Award.
