Tag: U.S. Womens Open 2020

The LPGA’s three longest players are grouped together at the U.S. Women’s Open, where it’s driver all day

The three longest players on the LPGA are paired together at the 75th U.S. Women’s Open: Maria Fassi, Bianca Pagdanganan and Anne van Dam.

HOUSTON – The three longest players on the LPGA are paired together at the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, and Maria Fassi has already fired the first shot.

“I’m just gonna to have to hit a good one on the first three holes just to let them know who the boss is,” said Fassi, with a smile, “and then just try to hit fairways the rest of the round.”

It might be the first round of a major, but it won’t be void of a bit of trash talk.

Rookie Bianca Pagdanganan (284.655), Anne van Dam (281.849) and Fassi (280.352) tee off at 11:10 a.m. CST Thursday on the Jackrabbit Course.

Van Dam and Fassi, two players whose personalities are as big as their games, have been paired together several times this season and know each other’s games well. Van Dam said she enjoyed competing alongside players who attack a course in a similar way.

USWO: Photos | Tee times | TV info | First-timers | Memories

While none of these players plan to make Thursday a long-drive competition, van Dam said that she and Fassi have been known to give each other a look on the tee when it’s a wide open, green-light hole.

“We don’t have to say anything,” said van Dam. “You walk past it, if you outdrive her by 10 yards, and say ‘Nice drive, Maria,’ and get her fired up on the next hole.”

Pagdanganan has never been paired with van Dam on the LPGA. At the 2019 NCAA Championship in Arkansas, seniors Fassi and Pagdanganan were grouped together in the last round during the final round of the stroke-play competition. Arkansas’ Fassi won the NCAA title and Pagdanganan, who played for Arizona and helped the Wildcats win a team title in 2018, finished third.

During a rain delay, the pair discovered that both have a “Fearless” tattoo. Pagdanganan has the word inked on her left wrist while Fassi’s is hidden away on her foot.

“It’s just how I approach the game I guess,” Pagdanganan said of the tattoo.

Pagdanganan shows her “Fearless” tattoo. (Golfweek)

All three players are searching for their first win on the LPGA and Pagdanganan is making her U.S. Women’s Open debut. The Filipino tied for ninth in her first major championship – the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Aronimink.

Pagdanganan said she gets to rip driver pretty much everywhere on both the Cypress and Jackrabbit courses. The USGA was forced to use both of Champions’ courses to accommodate a field of 156 players with limited daylight hours. LPGA setups often force all three players to keep driver in the bag, so Champions Golf Club presents a real treat to the big-hitters.

The more low-key Pagdanganan said she won’t try to force anything when it comes to being the longest in the group.

“It’s just a label,” said Pagdanganan of being No. 1 in driving distance on tour. “It’s not everything, but it’s pretty cool.”

Pagdanganan can’t really explain where she gets her power, but driver is her favorite club in the bag. Her coach at Arizona, Laura Ianello, points to “insanely” fast hips and use of the ground as key to her power.

Ann van Dam is a seven-time winner on the Ladies European Tour and has what many consider to be one of the finest swings in all of golf. The 5-foot-11-inch Dutch player paired with Anna Nordqvist and Suzann Pettersen at last year’s Solheim Cup. Last year in Phoenix, Dame Laura Davies called van Dam the longest woman she’d ever played alongside.

“She has the fastest hip rotation speed that I’ve ever measured on a system,” said van Dam’s instructor David Dickmeiss.

The Bermuda rough isn’t exceptionally penal at Champions because it’s December. Texan Angela Stanford, who won last week in Dallas, said these are the tightest fairways she’s ever seen, and that hitting in the rough actually isn’t such a bad thing this week. Even if there’s grass behind the ball, she said, it’s not as thick and healthy. Her aim is to get it out there as far as possible on every hole.

Maria Fassi, Wonder Woman
Maria Fassi with her Wonder Woman golf bag.

“I don’t think I’ve ever hit this many drivers on a golf course as a pro,” said a fired-up Fassi, whose golf bag is emblazoned with a Wonder Woman logo this week. Fassi felt she connected with the inspirational female superhero during a quarantine spent watching movies.

Arkansas head coach Shauna Estes said Fassi’s swing speed can get up to 113 mph but she has the most control at 106 to 108 mph. At the SEC Championship, the explosive player once hit driver, 8-iron on the final hole, a 478-yard par 5. Estes has lost track of the number of 370-yard holes where Fassi was left with nothing more than a chip into the green.

Stories about this trio can go on for days.

“It’s going to be fun,” said a grinning van Dam. “Too bad people can’t come out and watch.”

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Andrea Lee withdraws from U.S. Women’s Open after positive COVID-19 test

Andrea Lee withdrew from the U.S. Women’s Open on Wednesday after a positive COVID-19 test.

Andrea Lee tested positive for COVID-19 and has withdrawn from the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, the USGA announced. The LPGA rookie tested negative in a pre-tournament test last week in Dallas. After traveling to Houston, she tested again and received a positive result.

She is experiencing mild symptoms and currently quarantined. Japan’s Ayaka Watanabe has replaced her in the field.

“Andrea is part of the USGA family, having represented the USA in several team competitions, and we are disappointed to lose a player of her caliber from the field,” said John Bodenhamer, USGA senior managing director, Championships. “We look forward to watching her play in future U.S. Women’s Open Championships for years to come.”

U.S. Women’s Open: Tee times | How to watch

Lee, 22, has competed in 14 USGA championships, including four U.S. Women’s Opens. At last year’s Women’s Open in Charleston, where she competed as an amateur, Lee made headlines when she was penalized for slow play.

The 2019 McCormack Medal winner won eight times at Stanford and has four top-20 finishes on the LPGA this season.

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Yes, Brittany Lang is from Texas, but that doesn’t mean she knows Champions Golf Club

Considering she has just two victories in 16 LPGA seasons, Brittany Lang certainly brings her best to this major.

The theory is a sound one – Brittany Lang, who already has one U.S. Women’s Open title under her belt, was reared in Texas, the state where this year’s event will be held starting Thursday. She’s certain to have an edge in terms of familiarity, right?

Not necessarily.

Although Lang graduated from McKinney High School, just outside Dallas, she didn’t spend much time at Champions Golf Club, which sits northwest of Houston.

But just because she hasn’t frequented the club founded by famous Texans Jackie Burke, Jr. and Jimmy Demaret, Lang isn’t stressed as she heads into her 16th U.S. Women’s Open.

“I am not super familiar with this golf course. I have been here. My caddie, however, is. He grew up playing here a little bit, which is helpful. I was supposed to come down and play it, and something was bothering me, my arm was bothering me, and I wasn’t able to come down,” Lang said.

“But I saw it today and it’s pretty straightforward.”

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The 2016 champ, who edged Anna Nordqvist in a playoff at the Bay Area’s CordeValle Golf Club, said she’s modified her approach when it comes to majors. There might have been a day when Lang would have stressed about a new or unfamiliar course, but this week she tried to get some rest to prepare for the rigors the Open throws at players.

“I didn’t play (Monday). I just drove up. Yeah, I was tired after Dallas. That was a grind. I was just really tired and I want to be fresh and my caddie knows the course and we get yesterday and today. It’s plenty for me,” she said.

USWO: Photos | Tee times | TV info | First-timers | Memories

“I think younger Brittany had a lot more energy, so she would have played it multiple, multiple times. But older Brittany is a little more tired … and that’s okay. Now that I’m a mother and I’m considered old out here, I’m going to take a breather.”

Considering she has just two victories in 16 LPGA seasons, Lang certainly brings her best to this major. Aside from the victory in 2016 — her last — she has two other top-10 finishes and has placed in the top 50 nine times at U.S. Women’s Opens while missing the cut just three times.

She’s hoping that magic continues this week, perhaps even breaking her four-year victory drought. Lang is certainly capable — she finished T-11 in Dallas last week.

“It’s crazy. I take pride in it. You know, it’s hard,” Lang said of her string of 16 U.S. Women’s Opens. “Watching Angela (Stanford) win last week (at the Volunteers of America Classic outside Dallas), that’s pretty special to have staying power like that. I take pride in it, even though I’m not quite to her level. But it’s really special.”

One thing she won’t be short on this week is support. Her husband, Kevin, is on hand as are her parents, her mother-in-law and her daughter. Still, she can’t get too caught up in playing well in her home state in front of family, something she said can lead you down a slippery slope.

“I try to lower my expectations because you get pretty excited. You have a lot of family and you want to win, you want to play so well and do well,” she said. “But I’ve learned to calm down a little bit and lower my expectations.

“It’s just fun to be in Texas.”

And as for what she’s seen of the course?

“I loved it,” she said. “A lot of drivers off the tee, which I think is great. A lot of character. Greens are massive, so a lot of long putts. And they’re fast … probably a lot of 10-feet-and-in putts for par and long lag putts.”

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There’s a wall on the range at the U.S. Women’s Open, so Danielle Kang got creative to save her routine

There’s a wall on the driving range at the U.S. Women’s Open, so Danielle Kang got a little creative to keep her warm-up routine.

HOUSTON – Danielle Kang likes to warm up hitting her wedges to head covers spaced out on the range. It’s tough to do that this week, though, because there’s a wall on the range roughly 30 yards in front of the players. It’s a strange look, but it’s there for good reason.

Both ends of the range at Champions Golf Club have to be used this week to accommodate a field of 156 players competing on two courses. With the entire field going off in the same wave (between 9:20 a.m. and 11:32 a.m. CST), the USGA needed to utilize every inch of the 300-yard range to make it happen. (Officials didn’t want drives from big hitters like Bianca Pagdanganan, Maria Fassi and Anne van Dam rolling up on the other end of the range.)

USWO: Photos | Tee times, TV | First-timers | Memories

Kang, for one, is left to scout out positions where she can get her wedge work done.

“I’ve been going into tents and trying to hit wedges,” she said. “I went over there, behind the trees over there and tried to hit it. I went across the range. I’m trying to find places where I do it, because routine is very important for me, and I want to be able to hit wedges.”

2020 U.S. Women's Open
Nasa Hataoka hits a shot in the practice area at Champions Golf Club, where a wall makes it possible to accommodate the full 156-player field. (Chris Keane/USGA)

There are a handful of spots that she has found to make it work. Playing golf in a pandemic requires a bit of creativity.

Kang, one of the hottest players in 2020, took a considerable amount of time off from the tour after finishing runner-up to Ally Ewing (nee McDonald) in October at the LPGA Drive On Championship in Georgia. She felt that her game was getting “a little bit titter tatter” at Reynolds Lake Oconee. She was only hitting her driver about 225 yards and her ball flight was getting lower.

When she came to Houston to preview Champions while boyfriend Maverick McNealy competed in the PGA Tour event in town, she knew she’d need more firepower in her bag to have success here, particularly on the Cypress Course. Kang wanted to find an extra 10 to 15 yards as well as more height on her approach shots. To get it, she’d need to focus on body work, technique and rest.

“My physio hasn’t been able to travel this entire year because of COVID, so it’s a bit different for me to have like no body work done,” she said. “It’s every day I try to do foam rolling and do the workouts. It’s shorter days, as well, so it’s harder for me to cram in all the workouts and the practices.

“So I tried to utilize the few weeks I had at home, and I guess it’s more technique, as well. Technique has to be pretty timed up, but your body has to be able to do it.”

Long breaks aren’t a cause for concern with Kang. Quite the opposite, in fact. She came back from a 166-day break on the LPGA schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic and won two consecutive tournaments in Toledo, Ohio.

McNealy is with Kang this week, carrying around the snacks during her practice rounds (peanut-butter filled pretzels, chocolate-covered pretzels and Oreos). He tied for 12th last week at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

“Actually, it’s really cool to have him around, jokes aside,” said Kang, “because he looks at all the greens for me, as well, and sees where they would be more grainy off the greens and try and hit this chip shot. I have him try and look at my lines. It’s just having another eye out there. It’s just helpful.

McNealy’s best advice for the week?

“Just relax,” she said. “It’s the U.S. Open; everyone is stressed out.”

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Nelly Korda returns from back injury just in time for U.S. Women’s Open

Nelly Korda withdrew from the KPMG and hasn’t been seen until this week at the U.S. Women’s Open, where she’s taking things “step by step.”

HOUSTON – Nelly Korda did something “stupid” (her word) on the 13th hole of the first round at Aronimink Golf Club. She tried to crack her back, and it went into spasm. Korda said she doesn’t normally crack her back, but it was cold outside in the opening round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and she could feel it tightening up.

“I just made a little oopsie,” said Nelly, “which turned into a little bit longer of an oopsie.”

She withdrew from the October major and hasn’t been seen since – until this week at the U.S. Women’s Open, where she’s taking things “step by step.” She started practicing about a dozen days ago. Played 18 on Monday for the first time since the opening round of the Women’s PGA.

Both the Cypress and Jackrabbit courses are in use this week at Champions Golf Club as both tracks are needed to get 156 players around with limited daylight. On Tuesday, Korda played the front nine on the Jackrabbit course and chipped and putted on the back nine.

USWO: Photos | Tee times, TV | First-timers | Memories

Asked if she feels a little anxious going into a major with so little preparation, the 22-year-old said, “A little, yeah. I mean, you kind of don’t know what’s going to happen. I mean, your feel is not 100 percent there. Like yesterday when I was putting, I was hitting them like 10 feet by.”

Korda, now No. 3 in the Rolex Rankings, is on the short list of best players without a major, joined by the likes of Minjee Lee and Nasa Hataoka. She lost in a playoff earlier this year to Mirim Lee at the ANA Inspiration and took a share of third last year at the KPMG at Hazeltine. Her best finish at a USWO, a share of 10th, came in 2018.

Korda, who played practice rounds with older sister Jessica this week, was 14 years old when she debuted at the USWO with her dad on the bag. Petr Korda will be here this week too, walking outside the ropes. Nelly tied for 64th in 2013 at Sebonack in her dream week.

“That’s kind of where I decided this is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” she said.

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Forward Press podcast: U.S. Women’s Open preview with Beth Ann Nichols

Beth Ann Nichols previews the upcoming U.S. Women’s Open at Champions Golf Club in Houston, the final major of 2020.

Welcome to episode 71 of Forward Press, a weekly podcast from your friends at Golfweek.

In this edition of Forward Press, Golfweek’s David Dusek chats with Beth Ann Nichols about the upcoming U.S. Women’s Open this week in Houston, how the media would perceive Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer if they hadn’t each won a U.S. Women’s Open title, Lexi Thompson’s incredible U.S. Women’s Open active streak and much more.

You can download the Forward Press podcast and listen on all of your favorite platforms, including: iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, Castbox and Radio Public.

Did you like what you heard? You can catch up on previous episodes of the Forward Press podcast here.

U.S. Women’s Open: Thursday tee times, pairings and TV info

The U.S. Women’s Open will be the final major of 2020. Check out pairings and tee times for the first round, as well as how to watch.

The final major of 2020 has arrived: the U.S. Women’s Open. In a year when every one of these things feels like a gift, the U.S. Golf Association put women’s golf in the anchor position with this championship. It will be the fourth and final USGA event of the season, following the U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open.

With little winter daylight and still a full 156-player field, the USGA will utilize both the Cypress Creek and Jackrabbit courses at Champions Golf Club in Houston to pull it off. Players will play one round on each to start the tournament, and after the 36-hole cut is made, the second half of the Women’s Open will play out solely on Cypress Creek.

The Women’s Open field includes 41 players making their debut and 24 amateurs. There are nine past champions in the field and 25 past USGA champions.

Last week’s LPGA winner Angela Stanford will be in the first group off Cypress Creek’s first tee on Thursday morning.

Check out full pairings and tee times below.

All times are listed in Eastern.

U.S. Women’s Open: USWO rookies | My first USWO

Tee times

1st tee, Cypress Creek

Time Players
10:20 a.m. Angela Stanford, Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Nicole Broch Larsen
10:31 a.m. Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (a), Christina Kim, Meghan MacLaren
10:42 a.m. Jaye Marie Green, Jing Yan, Benedetta Moresco (a)
10:53 a.m. Katherine Kirk, Azahara Munoz, Minami Katsu
11:04 a.m. Sarah Schmelzel, Emily Kristine Pedersen, Caterina Don (a)
11:15 a.m. Ashleigh Buhai, Xiyu Lin, Su Oh
11:26 a.m. Ayaka Furue, Angel Yin, Mamiko Higa
11:37 a.m. Danielle Kang, Anna Nordqvist, Jin Young Ko
11:48 a.m. Sophia Popov, Mi Jung Hur, Carlota Ciganda
11:59 a.m. Lexi Thompson, Nelly Korda, Heejeong Lim
12:10 p.m. Gaby Lopez, Jasmine Suwannapura, Narin An
12:21 p.m. Alena Sharp, Ji Yeong Kim2, Ingrid Lindblad (a)
12:32 p.m. Yuka Saso, Allisen Corpuz, Heeyoung Park (a)

10th tee, Cypress Creek

Time Players
10:20 a.m. Cheyenne Knight, Agathe Laisne (a), Minyoung2 Lee
10:31 a.m. Pajaree Anannarukarn, Perrine Delacour, Kelly Tan
10:42 a.m. Brittany Lang, Pernilla Lindberg, Esther Henseleit
10:53 a.m. Sarah Jane Smith, Jeongeun Lee, Linn Grant (a)
11:04 a.m. Kana Mikashima, Amelia Garvey (a), Kim Kaufman
11:15 a.m. Yealimi Noh, Jenny Shin, Lei Ye (a)
11:26 a.m. Amy Olson, Jennifer Song, Morgan Pressel
11:37 a.m. Jeongeun Lee6, Gabriela Ruffels (a), Hinako Shibuno
11:48 a.m. Stacy Lewis, Seon Woo Bae, Hannah Green
11:59 a.m. Jessica Korda, Amy Yang, Georgia Hall
12:10 p.m. Lala Anai, Maria Fernanez Torres, Ryann O’Toole
12:21 p.m. Yu Jin Sung, Lucie Malchirand (a), Ana Belac
12:32 p.m. Emily Toy (a), Andrea Lee, Seung Yeon Lee

1st tee, Jackrabbit

Time Players
10:20 a.m. Kristen Gillman, Bronte Law, Yu Liu
10:31 a.m. Olivia Mehaffey (a), Lindsey Weaver, Annie Park
10:42 a.m. Lauren Stephenson, Austin Kim (a), Cydney Clanton
10:53 a.m. Mi Hyang Lee, Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Momoko Ueda
11:04 a.m. Patty Tavatanakit, Fatima Fernandez Cano, Alessia Nobilio (a)
11:15 a.m. Megan Khang, Emilia Migliaccio (a), Eun-Hee Ji
11:26 a.m. Brittany Lincicome, Cristie Kerr, Gerina Piller
11:37 a.m. Charley Hull, Minjee Lee, Hae Ran Ryu
11:48 a.m. Sung Hyun Park, Austin Ernst, Mirim Lee
11:59 a.m. Jennifer Kupcho, In Gee Chun, Moriya Jutanugarn
12:10 p.m. Ally Ewing, Mel Reid, Madelene Sagstrom
12:21 p.m. Nuria Iturrioz, Sayaka Takahashi, Ina Kim-Schaad (a)
12:32 p.m. Emma Spitz (a), Christine Wolf, Frida Kinhult

10th tee, Jackrabbit

Time Players
10:20 a.m. Kaitlyn Papp (a), Marianne Skarpnord, Pornanong Phatlum
10:31 a.m. Caroline Masson, Mone Inami, Yuna Nishimura
10:42 a.m. Linnea Strom, Janie Jackson, Lily May Humphreys (a)
10:53 a.m. Chella Choi, Caroline Hedwall, Mina Harigae
11:04 a.m. Sakura Koiwai, Mi-Jeong Jeon, Teresa Lu
11:15 a.m. Maja Stark (a), Eri Okayama, Asuka Kashiwabara
11:26 a.m. Nasa Hataoka, Rose Zhang (a), Celine Boutier
11:37 a.m. Brooke Henderson, Heyjin Choi, Lizette Salas
11:48 a.m. Lydia Ko, Sei Young Kim, Brittany Altomare
11:59 a.m. Inbee Park, Ariya Jutanugarn, So Yeon Ryu
12:10 p.m. Bianca Pagdanganan, Anne van Dam, Maria Fassi
12:21 p.m. Yui Kawamoto, Ho-Yu An (a), A Lim Kim
12:32 p.m. Erika Hara, Saki Asai, Beatrice Wallin (a)

How to watch

Thursday, Dec. 10

First round, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Peacock

Golf Central Pre Game, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Golf Channel

First round, 12:30-6 p.m., Golf Channel

Golf Central, 6-7 p.m., Golf Channel

Friday, Dec. 11

Golf Central Pre Game, 10-11 a.m., Golf Channel

Second round, 1-3 p.m., Peacock

Second round, 3-6 p.m., Golf Channel

Golf Central, 6-7 p.m., Golf Channel

Saturday, Dec. 12

Golf Central Pre Game, 10-11 a.m., Golf Channel

Third round, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Golf Channel

Third round, 1-2:30 p.m., Peacock

Third round, 2:30-6 p.m., NBC

Golf Central, 6-7 p.m., Golf Channel

Sunday, Dec. 13

Golf Central Pre Game, 10-11 a.m., Golf Channel

Final round, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Golf Channel

Final round, 2-5 p.m., NBC

Golf Central, 5-6 p.m., Golf Channel

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Symetra Tour winner Ana Belac brings can’t-miss game, colorful hair to U.S. Women’s Open

Ana Belac transitioned quickly from college golf to a professional career, finishing on top of the Symetra Tour money list for a USWO start.

When Ana Belac won the Symetra Tour’s Carolina Classic on Oct. 31, she did it with purple hair. Her long, colorful locks will make Belac easy to distinguish from the crop of U.S. Women’s Open first-timers at Champions Golf Club in Houston this week.

Belac’s long hair had been purple earlier in the Symetra season before she traded out for blue – bright blue – and then went purple again. Belac, the 23-year-old from Slovenia, is naturally a brunette but her hair has seen a rainbow of colors. It doesn’t stand for anything in particular, Belac said. She just likes to experiment.

“Maybe I’ll surprise everyone with something that hasn’t been seen seen before,” she mused a month before her first U.S. Women’s Open start. “Although purple has brought me two victories so far, so I kind of like purple.”

Belac doesn’t quite remember when she learned that limited spots in the U.S. Women’s Open were on offer to Symetra Tour players this season along with LPGA status. It certainly didn’t change anything about the way she went about her first few months as a professional.

USWO: Photos | Tee times | TV info | First-timers | Memories

“I heard it somewhere,” she said. “I tried not to think much about it, because the more things you think about, the more pressure you add in.”

Belac is among the 41 first-time competitors in the U.S. Women’s Open field. She earned her spot by finishing among the top 5 players on the season-end Symetra Tour money list. Belac made nine Symetra Tour starts since turning professional in April, not long after the 2020 college season ended prematurely because of COVID.

That decision didn’t require a lot of thinking. Belac always knew she wanted to play professionally. She had earned Symetra Tour status at LPGA Q-School in the fall of 2019 and even though Duke head coach Dan Brooks told her he’d find a spot on the roster for her if she wanted to return for a post-COVID fifth year, Belac was ready to close that chapter.

“I accomplished a lot in my college career. I wish I got another chance at nationals but at the same time I won nationals last year with my team,” she said. “Maybe it would have been different if that hadn’t happened, but my ultimate goal was always to play professionally and knowing that I had my degree – I finished my degree in May – that kind of made my decision easier and I was just so excited to turn pro.”

Ana Belac during the second round of the 2019 NCAA Women’s National Golf Championship at the Blessings Golf Club Fayetteville, Arkansas. (Photo: Tim Cowie)

Brooks remains Belac’s swing coach, and she’s still based in Durham, North Carolina. Her roots are so firm there that she calls her Carolina Classic victory on the Symetra Tour a home win.

“A lot of things can affect if you’re going to finish in the top and luckily I did really well in the highest purse of the season so that kind of boosted me up a little bit,” she said of that victory, which netted her $30,000.

Beginning with the Symetra Tour’s Florida swing in September, Belac had her mom Erika on her bag. Belac said mom knew enough about golf to know what to do on the course but not enough to give advice.

“Which is great,” added Belac, an independent player who likes to make her own decisions.

Still, it was nice to have the companionship – and someone to help her do the driving. During a round, Belac and her mom would often try to spot which yards had dogs.

“We’d remember and then the next day we’re like, where is that dog from yesterday?” Belac said.

At home in Slovenia, Belac has a cat named Hilton. She hasn’t been home since last Christmas, and isn’t sure if she’ll head home for the holidays after the U.S. Women’s Open. The last thing she wants is to get stuck there should COVID travel restrictions arise again.

Belac won $49,081 in her nine Symetra starts, enough to put her on top of the season-long money list. She hopes some of that can go toward getting a dog to bring home to her Durham apartment. She’s always wanted a Husky.

This week, Belac will be one of four Duke players in the field. When Brooks was recruiting Belac at the 2015 ANNIKA Invitational Europe, he walked up on a par 3 to watch her swing for the first time, began recording and she made a hole-in-one. It remains her only hole-in-one to date, but she wouldn’t mind repeating a similar feat this week with another.

“Clutch moments,” she joked. “U.S. Opens and things like that.”

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How to watch: TV, streaming information for the 75th U.S. Women’s Open

NBC and Golf Channel are teaming up to provide 25 hours of live coverage from Houston of the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, the final major of 2020.

NBC and Golf Channel are teaming up to provide 25 hours of live television coverage of the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, the final major in golf for the 2020 calendar year.

For the first time in U.S. Women’s Open history, the championship will be staged on two golf courses. With reduced daylight due to the move to December and with 156 players still in the field, both Cypress Creek Course and the Jackrabbit Course at Champions Golf Club in Houston will split up the action in the first and second rounds. The third and final rounds will then be at Cypress over the weekend.

The tournament was originally scheduled for June 4-7. This is the first-ever December U.S. Women’s Open and the second time it will be played in Texas.

Champions Golf Club previously hosted the 1967 Ryder Cup, the 1969 U.S. Open and the 1993 U.S. Amateur.

In the event there’s a tie after four rounds, a two-hole aggregate playoff will take place immediately following the final round, followed by sudden death, if necessary.

Jeongeun Lee6 is the defending champion. The winner of the U.S. Women’s Open earns $1 million.

Champions Golf Club Cypress Creek Course
The 12th hole of Champions Golf Club Cypress Creek in Houston. Photo by Russell Kirk/USGA

Wednesday, Dec. 9

Practice round, 2-3:30 p.m., Golf Channel

Thursday, Dec. 10

First round, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Peacock

Golf Central Pre Game, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Golf Channel

First round, 12:30-6 p.m., Golf Channel

Golf Central, 6-7 p.m., Golf Channel

Friday, Dec. 11

Golf Central Pre Game, 10-11 a.m., Golf Channel

Second round, 1-3 p.m., Peacock

Second round, 3-6 p.m., Golf Channel

Golf Central, 6-7 p.m., Golf Channel

Saturday, Dec. 12

Golf Central Pre Game, 10-11 a.m., Golf Channel

Third round, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Golf Channel

Third round, 1-2:30 p.m., Peacock

Third round, 2:30-6 p.m., NBC

Golf Central, 6-7 p.m., Golf Channel

Sunday, Dec. 13

Golf Central Pre Game, 10-11 a.m., Golf Channel

Final round, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Golf Channel

Final round, 2-5 p.m., NBC

Golf Central, 5-6 p.m., Golf Channel

[lawrence-related id=778079520,778079512,778079187]

Opinion: It’s time for the golf world to blow the roof off the U.S. Women’s Open

Every major feels like a miracle in this year of uncertainty, Beth Ann Nichols writes. Golf should take this opportunity to celebrate women.

In the afterglow of victory at the Volunteers of America Classic, 43-year-old Angela Stanford referred to her seventh career LPGA title as a “bright spot.”

In this year of overwhelming hardship and uncertainty, we cling tighter than ever to bright spots. It’s the silver linings that are keeping us sane.

On Wednesday of last week, Stanford’s mother, Nan, finished radiation for a spot found on her liver. Nan has battled breast cancer for more than half of Stanford’s 20-year career. While Angela’s father, Steve, watched every shot at the Old American Golf Club, Nan was there when it was over, waiting just off the 18th green with a warm embrace. It marked the first time Stanford’s parents have been able to watch her win on the LPGA in person, and it happened just down the road from their Saginaw, Texas, home.

It’s hard to imagine a better scene than that one unfolding on the eve of the 75th U.S. Women’s Open, the crown jewel of women’s golf. Every major that takes place these days feels like some kind of miracle. The USGA’s commitment to provide an opportunity for 156 women to compete for a purse of $5.5 million, life-changing paychecks in some cases, as a global pandemic rages on is no small thing. I am reminded of Sarah Jane Smith, who decided after a fifth-place payday of $182,487 at the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open that she felt financially secure enough to start to a family.

There are no automatics in women’s golf. No guarantees.

LPGA Hall of Famer Karrie Webb told some of the younger players on tour that if a pandemic had shut down the world earlier in her career, there probably wouldn’t have been any kind of LPGA season. That’s a testament to LPGA commissioner Mike Whan and the kind of relationships that exist between the tour and its sponsors.

A first-ever December U.S. Women’s Open presents a unique opportunity for the women’s game. This year the championship, to be played Dec. 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, isn’t competing against a marquee PGA Tour event or backed up to a men’s major. It’s an ideal time for the golf world to hype up the women’s tour. Make it the talk of twitter and top-of-mind on television segments and websites rather than just an afterthought.

Let the women lead this week.

USGA social channels have been promoting a #womenworthwatching hashtag and shining light on a stat that makes something we all know to be true look even worse than we thought.

Only 4 percent of sports coverage includes women’s sports or female athletes. Yet, according to Minnesota’s Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, 40 percent of all sports participants are female.

It’s impossible to justify 4 percent.

Not when the best story in golf this year came from Sophia Popov, the little-known German who scripted that unbelievable tale at Royal Troon. The wiry player who oozes personality backed up that AIG Women’s British Open victory too, making six straight cuts and posting three top-25 finishes since then.

Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau and Max Homa are among the PGA Tour players who have tweeted their support for the Women’s Open. This simple act from male athletes can’t be done enough, and should be done by all influencers until the stars of this tour are household names.

The USGA’s switch from Fox back to NBC benefits the women’s game most. TV ratings for last year’s final round of the U.S. Women’s Open were the worst on record. Golf Channel’s coverage of the event not only tournament week but also in the weeks leading in are critical to drive interest. The U.S. Women’s Amateur ratings last August, for example, were the highest in history, up nearly 300 percent versus 2019 on FS1.

While there’s no men’s major to compete with, there is football. And, as the Masters showed us, nothing can compete with the NFL’s monster ratings.

But there’s still a chance for something special to happen this week. There’s still reason to blow up the golf space with wall-to-wall women’s coverage and try to lure in some of the new golfers who have caused participation rates to soar in 2020. The National Golf Foundation says recreational golf hasn’t enjoyed a surge this big (around 50 million rounds) since Tiger Woods burst on the scene in 1997.

Women’s golf doesn’t have the luxury of an iconic American player like Woods to send interest and purses into another galaxy. Not yet anyway.

Instead, it will take the purposeful actions of an army of supporters to turn the story of a pitiful 4 percent coverage rate into something meaningful for future generations.

The world can’t have enough bright spots.

[lawrence-related id=778079187,778079259]