It has taken her a while though. Before “the putt,” Kim racked up as many as eight top-10 finishes in the five majors that constitute the female Grand Slam. Since then, and before this week, she has been in similar contention on only three occasions. Twice as often, the 29-year-old South Korean missed the halfway cut.

Now though, all the close misses and one particular miss from close-range can be consigned to Kim’s personal rubbish bin. Especially as her maiden major win was achieved in a dominant style reserved for only a special few. Six-strokes ahead after a brilliant third-round 66 compiled in the worst of Saturday’s squally weather, the now seven-time LPGA champion strolled round the Kingsbarns links in 71—15 pars, two birdies and one bogey—to win by two strokes from Jodi Ewart Shadoff.

“I cannot describe my feelings,” said Kim, who has now won three times on the LPGA since the beginning of June. “I just tried to have some fun, but it wasn’t fun on the back nine. I got really inspired playing here in Scotland. So many people come here just to play golf and I feel so lucky. I didn’t have too much fear and just gave my best.

“The birdie at the first was a bit lucky, but I hit some really great shots today. I almost cried when I won, winning is great. It’s been a long process to get over 2012. A lot of people helped me. Now I enjoy playing golf again. What it did teach me is to to give the same effort to every shot, even the shortest of putts.”

It was as smooth as that sounds. Only briefly did any of those who might have imagined themselves challengers get close enough to even remotely threaten the leader. Best of those was Ewart Shadoff, whose eighth birdie of the day at the 17th took her to 16 under par and two back.

“I didn’t think starting the day that I would have a shot,” said the 29-year old Florida-based Englishwoman. “I had a great stretch in the middle of the round to get me going. My plan at the start was just to take the opportunities when I got them and that’s what I did.”

Michelle Wie almost matched that feat. After a stunning outward 30, the American’s seventh birdie of the day at the 12th left her four behind before a disappointing finish ended her slim hopes.

In truth, for all that the likes of Wie, Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis and Ewart Shadoff performed with something akin to distinction over the final 18 holes, each shooting under par—their play represented nothing more than skirmishing for the minor places on the podium. And through it all, Kim went along serenely. Par after par, with the odd birdie thrown in, just to break any monotony.

Indeed, not once did soon-to-be champion look to be in any kind of real trouble, an early birdie at the par-3 opening hole, where her tee-shot finished 18-inches from the cup, quickly displaying the lofty level of her confidence. And no wonder. When Kim eventually did make a mistake, the three-putt bogey she recorded on the ninth was her first in 44 holes. Just one more impressive statistic that provided her pursuers with little or no encouragement.

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Park’s 64 had taken her to 10-under par, with Lewis one back after her 65. Kim’s lead – and her 11-under par total – looked vulnerable, especially if conditions continued to worsen.

As it turned out, they didn’t. In fact, the weather mostly improved. But that break from above takes nothing away from Kim’s performance. The 29-year old South Korean shot a bogey-free 66, converting a string of birdie putts. With one round to play, Kim is on 199, 17-under par, and holds a six-shot edge over Hall and Moriya Jutanugarn, older sister of 2016 champion, Ariya.

Such a lead makes Kim a strong favorite to win her first major title. But memories being what they are, mental images of her infamous miss from 14 inches to win the 2012 ANA Inspiration will be part of what she must overcome during the final 18 holes over the Kingsbarns links. And, to her credit, Kim was not denying the image of that putt remains in her head, albeit she is lot more philosophical about what could have been a career-wrecking moment.

“I have finally been able to let go of that putt,” she said. “I was disappointed with my golf after 2012. I criticized myself too much, which is not healthy. So it was tough. I never stopped liking the game, but what happened did take away some of the joy. I certainly don’t get surprised by anything any more.”

That golf can always throw up even the most unlikely scenario will surely be part of the pursuing pack’s motivation over the closing 18 holes. Certainly, the experienced Park and Lewis will know that, should either go low again, the pressure on the leader will be multiplied. But before that, both will need to replicate the form they showed on day three.

“I putted great and hit the ball great,” said Park, who won this title at Turnberry two years ago. “That’s something I have been really struggling with for the last month. I have no idea where I will be by the end of the day. The weather here is so unpredictable. I’m just happy with the round for myself today. It doesn’t matter how many shots I’m back. I’ll just try to play my golf tomorrow. That’s all I can do.”

Lewis also credited her dramatically lower score to much-improved putting. And her mother.

“I really putted pretty poorly the first two days,” she admitted. “My mom told me I needed to take my putter straighter back. Mom apparently was right. I hate to give her credit but she was right. She doesn’t really understand how a putter should swing, but when we were talking technical stuff last night she said, ‘it should just go straight back and straight through, right?’ And that’s what I worked on today.

“Playing with Inbee helped too. You’re going to see putts go in. She makes it look pretty easy. She doesn’t take a lot of time. She reads putts quick and steps up and hits them. It’s refreshing to not sit there and grind so much and worry about things. She just gets up and hits it. That’s what I took away from today. You see putts rolling nicely. You see balls going in the hole. And that’s always a good thing.”

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For one thing, the pair played the vast majority of their rounds in warm sunshine, finishing before the leaders even started. For another, Park made eight birdies and no bogeys en route to equalling Michelle Wie’s course record of 64; Lewis’ nine birdies hampered only by the brace of dropped shots that saw her round in 65. And for one more, just about the time the current Olympic champion and former WBO champion were signing their cards, the temperature began to drop markedly and the rain started to fall.

Mixed well, all of the above saw Park rise from a lowly T-48 to second; Lewis to T-3. Only overnight leader I.K. Kim was still one-shot ahead of Park on 11-under par.

That situation would change when Kim and her playing partner Georgia Hall both made early birdies. But the sudden presence of two such formidable competitors in contention was sure to make things tougher for those who waited through the sunshine only to tee-off in the sort of chilly, overcast conditions Scots refer to as “dreich.”

“I putted great and hit the ball great,” said Park, who won this title at Turnberry two years ago. “That’s something I have been really struggling with for the last month. I have no idea where I will be by the end of the day. The weather here is so unpredictable. I’m just happy with the round for myself today. It doesn’t matter how many shots I’m back. I’ll just try to play my golf tomorrow. That’s all I can do.”

Lewis also credited her dramatically lower score to much-improved putting. And her mother.

“I really putted pretty poorly the first two days,” she admitted. “My mom told me I needed to take my putter straighter back. Mom apparently was right. I hate to give her credit but she was right. She doesn’t really understand how a putter should swing, but when we were talking technical stuff last night she said, ‘it should just go straight back and straight through, right?’ And that’s what I worked on today.

“Playing with Inbee helped too. You’re going to see putts go in. She makes it look pretty easy. She doesn’t take a lot of time. She reads putts quick and steps up and hits them. It’s refreshing to not sit there and grind so much and worry about things. She just gets up and hits it. That’s what I took away from today. You see putts rolling nicely. You see balls going in the hole. And that’s always a good thing.”

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Trudging through the worst of the conditions towards the end of a day even the hardiest of Scots might mistake for winter rather than summer, Kim played some beautifully steady golf. Only once did she drop a shot, three birdies and an eagle at the 538-yard par-5 11th more than compensating.

“The eagle was very unexpected,” she said while sipping on what had to have been a welcome hot coffee. “I think this was kind of as bad as the weather could get. I expected rain, but not like this. It’s not easy to play in this kind of weather. But I feel really good about my game. I’ve been hitting the ball very well and I’m starting to make some putts. That’s when I shoot low scores.”

Kim was not alone in doing so, of course, although many were those who struggled. First-round leader Michelle Wie was one, her 76 leaving her back in a tie for 21st place.

There were no such problems for Thompson, although for a while it appeared as if there could be. Her 68 was, in Scottish football (soccer) terminology, “a game of two halves.” Out in a disappointing two-over par 38, the world number-two raced home in 30 blows.

The long-hitting Floridian also found time to introduce a new phrase to golf’s already over-flowing lexicon. In response to a question regarding the extent of her pleasure at her challenging position, Thompson claimed to have “ball-striked it out there.” Grammatically questionable Thompson may be, but there was no doubting the veracity of her obvious meaning. Even on her less then satisfactory front-nine, she put on something of a clinic tee-to-green.

“I actually hit it the same throughout both nines,” she confirmed. “I just left myself with 30-40 feet on my two bogeys and three-putted them. I hit great shots. Going in, they were going right at the flag, but they both got bounces that went sideways. Then I didn’t make the second putt. But I hit it great the whole day and just got on a roll there on the back.”

That “roll” included five consecutive birdies from the turn, a run that was, ironically given the power Thompson routinely displays from the tee, broken by a par on the 539-yard par-5 15th.

Still, it wasn’t her distance off the tee that Thompson felt had been the biggest key to her success. Most of the credit, she felt, should go to her caddie, Kevin McAlpine. The former Scottish Amateur champion – the son of a famous Scottish footballer, the former Dundee United goalkeeper, Hamish – worked four summers at Kingsbarns and so knows the course well.

“Kevin has helped with my decision-making on basically every hole,” said Thompson. “His input going into the greens is especially valuable. He tells me where to land the ball and he’s been spot on every time. He knows the greens like the back of his hand, as well. He’s helped me out a lot out there.”

As for Hall, the 21-year old – who is already all but assured of making her Solheim Cup debut later this month – underlined her enormous promise with a second round 67 that included as many as seven birdies. Four of those came in succession, a run the former Curtis Cup player claimed as her longest-ever visit to the land of red numbers.

“I try to play level-headed all the time, whether I get a birdie or a bogey,” said Hall, who intends to compete at the LPGA qualifying school later this year. “I’m just trying to get as many birdies as I can out there. The course is quite ‘scoreable’ today because it wasn’t that windy. It was a bit tougher yesterday, so I tried to get off to a good start. Which I did. And I managed to hole a couple of good putts on the back nine.”

A word too for the defending champion Ariya Jutanugarn. Cruising along at three-under par for the tournament after 29-holes, the 21-year old Thai came unstuck at the diminutive 135-yard par-3 12th. Her first shot found sand by the green. Her second shot finished in the same bunker. As did the third. And the fourth. And the fifth. And the sixth. The seventh emerged onto the putting surface and two-putts later a big fat ‘9’ was on the card.

Five pars and a bogey later, Jutanugarn finished on four-over par, a figure that will comfortably allow her the luxury of finding something else to do over the weekend.

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Sorenstam recently joined to talk about her role as captain for this latest edition of Golf Digest Podcast. Among the topics discussed is that of the unusual year it has been for the LET. Five tournaments were taken off the schedule this year, for various reasons, making the qualifying process more of a challenge. Just getting their game’s in shape has been tougher for Sorenstam’s charges, but during our conversation she insists she’s not worried about what it does for the competitiveness for her team when they get to Des Moines later this month for the three-day clash.

At 46, a mother of two and nine years removed from her playing days, Sorenstam is in an interesting place in her career and life. She continues to be a presence in golf, through work she does with junior golf through the ANNIKA Foundation, her role as a captain and mentor to professional players, as a part-time TV commentator and through her women’s golf clothing line. On the podcast, we get her perspective on the state of the women’s game, why the new LPGA dress code got so much attention, and what it takes to be a player who wins consistently over a long period of time, not just a player who wins once.

https://soundcloud.com/user-96678684/episode-98-annika-sorenstam

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Indeed, that early dropped shot was merely the harbinger of greater things ahead. And lots of “fun.” Such was her peace of mind, the 27-year-old Hawaiian even had time to take in the stunning vistas across the “ocean” that is actually the indeterminate border between the Firth of Tay and the North Sea known as the Tay Estuary.

“It’s so gorgeous here,” Wie said. “When the weather is nice, it almost felt like I was playing back home in Hawaii with the views and everything. I feel like I got extremely lucky with the conditions out there.”

Maybe, but no one else was going quite so low or making quite as many birdies. The first of the nine appeared at the 399-yard fourth and two more were on the card before the turn. At which point the floodgates sprang apart. Six more red numbers translated into a back-nine 30 and an early three-stroke lead over England’s Mel Reid that was soon enough usurped by I.K. Kim’s 65.

RELATED: How a team of Aussies turned a talented Korean golfer into the new World No. 1

Ever the iconoclast, Wie compiled her unprecedented round in a manner best described as “eccentric.” While conventional wisdom has it that lon irons are generally more useful on a links than lofted woods, the former U.S. Women’s Open champion made good use of both a 9-wood and an 11-wood that have been in the bag since the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June. Three of her nine birdies resulted from approach shots struck with those two clubs.

“Callaway has done a great job of accommodating me,” said Wie, looking only slightly embarrassed. “They had to look back into their archives to find me an 11-wood. I’ve never played such high-lofted woods before. The 11-wood goes 180 yards, the same distance as my 5-iron, and is a lot easier to hit than a blade. The 9-wood replaces my 4-hybrid and goes 190-195 yards, although maybe not that far in these conditions.”

RELATED: Jessica Korda withdraws from Ricoh Women’s British Open due to arm injury

Perhaps just as important for Wie as she goes about trying to win for the first time since that Women’s Open at Pinehurst in 2014 is the fact that she is fully fit. A troublesome neck strain caused her to withdraw from this year’s Women’s Open in the second round last month, but all is well after a 19th-place showing last week at the Aberdeen Asset Ladies Scottish Open.

“I hurt my neck the Sunday of KPMG,” she said. “I hit one shot and started getting neck spasms. I didn’t hit a single golf ball until the U.S. Open. I was doing everything I could—three physio treatments a day—but it just wasn’t enough time. The spasms were pretty bad. But I got to see my doctors in New York City after that, got a couple injections, and I feel pretty good.”

Apparently so.

The post A pain-free Michelle Wie jumps to a fast start with 64 at the Women’s British Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Korda had shot a four-over 76 in the first round on Thursday, which left T-131, 12 strokes behind Day 1 leader Michelle Wie. Dropping out of any event is never an easy decision, but dropping out of a major is even harder. Add in the fact that she was removing herself from the last event used to qualify for the U.S. Solheim Cup, and the decision was that much more difficult.

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Korda played in the 2013 Solheim Cup and missed making the 2015 team. The 24-year-old is currently No. 5 on the Solheim Cup points list with 323 points. Eight players make the squad, captained by Juli Inkster through the points list. For Korda to miss out on the team, it would require at least four players ranked below her to play well this week to unseat her, an unlikely scenario even with the points being worth double this week because the tournament is a major. The 12-player U.S. team will be finalized on Sunday night after the conclusion of the tournament at Kingsbarns.

Korda didn’t mention anything about the upcoming Solheim Cup in her statement to withdraw from the Women’s British Open. The focus was on getting rest now so she’ll be healthy enough for the end of the season. With the Solheim Cup only two weeks away, the healing is going to need to be fast.

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Coming off a T-13 in the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open, her second-best finish of the season, Creamer went straight from her Sunday round to the qualifier at the Castle Course at St. Andrews. Her 68 was good enough to tie for second, easily grabbing one of 22 available spots for the 111-player field.

World Golf Hall of Fame member Laura Davies, who has played in the championship 36 previous times, also made it through the qualifier, thanks to a playoff for one of the final spots after shooting 70 in regulation. Davies and Creamer will tee it up at Kingsbarns Golf Links in Fife, Scotland on Thursday.

This will be Creamer’s 13th British Open, and she’s found some success in the event in the past. She finished third in 2009 and T-3 in 2012.

The timing of the event is critical for Creamer with the U.S. Solheim Cup team being announced after its completion. With Creamer well down in the points standings, her only hope of making the American squad is via a captain’s pick by Juli Inkster.

“Would I like Paula and Morgan on the team?” Inkster said in a phone conference the week before the Ladies Scottish Open. “Yes. I know they are passionate, and I know their games, but they just haven’t shown me anything. I have to at least see something from them.”

It took an extra round just to get into this week’s tournament, but at least Creamer will have that chance to show Inkster something.

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