After dealing with rain delays, an airline losing her clubs, surviving a marathon Saturday, overcoming a lost lead (and no ordinary lost lead, but a seven-stroke lost lead at that) and emerging the U.S. Women’s Open champion after a four-hole playoff, you might be surprised with what Ariya Jutanugarn said she is most proud of herself for doing on Sunday.

Try hitting it in the rough on the first hole.

Before explaining what that has to do with the 22-year-old from Thailand becoming a player capable of winning the most prestigious event in women’s golf, we have to look at her professional golf career from the beginning. In 2016, Jutanugarn’s second year on the LPGA Tour, she won three straight tournaments, becoming the first player to win their first three events in back-to-back-to-back fashion. Jutanugarn is strong and powerful, powerful enough to rarely hit driver, but has a delicate touch around the greens. Early then in her pro career, it looked like she had all the tools to become a dominant player.

But as often as she won—eight times on the LPGA prior to this week at Shoal Creek—she’s faced disappointing losses, defeats that undermined the idea that she might become the next Nancy Lopez, Annika Sorenstam or Lorena Ochoa.

The struggles of missed cuts and blown leads brought Jutanugarn’s mental game into question more than a few times. The most notable instance was the 2016 ANA Championship. Jutanugarn hadn’t yet won a major (her first game at the 2016 Women’s British), but played herself into the lead at Mission Hills, only to stumble down the stretch in the final round, finishing bogey-bogey-bogey to go from two up with three holes to play to finishing fourth.

In part, the memory of that day is what made a tense few hours on Sunday at Shoal Creek so cringeworthy.

Jutanugarn’s past includes another stumble in a major, one that didn’t help her stay focused Sunday at Shoal Creek. (Christian Petersen)

Through 54 holes in hot and humid Alabama, Jutanugarn appeared to be in complete control of her game and the championship. Posting scores of 67-70-67, she held a four-shot lead over a fading Sarah Jane Smith. Sunday appeared as if it was going to be pretty straightforward, if not boring. Jutanugarn was going to shoot a few under again, and no one would be able to catch her. An easy day for everyone.

RELATED: Ariya Jutanugarn overcomes a squandered lead to win the U.S. Women’s Open

What happened, of course, turned out very differently. Initially, everything was going according to plan. Jutanugarn had extended her lead to seven shots after playing the front side in four under par. No one looked like they could catch her. South Korea’s Hyo Jo Kim was lurking, for lack of a better term, as the next person down the leaderboard after shooting an opening 33 of her own.

But then things changed, slowly at first, only to pick up steam along the way. It started when Jutanugarn found a hazard off the tee on the par-4 10th and wound up making a triple-bogey 7. Then Kim dropped a 50-foot putt for birdie on 12. Then Jutanugarn made bogey at 12. Then Kim made birdie at 15.

All of a sudden, an almost certain blow-out was a one-shot golf tournament.

After 18 holes, it was a tie, Kim finishing the day with a 67 to match Jutanugarn (closing 73) at 11-under, 277 total.

“I’m really proud of myself for the front nine. I did everything I wanted to do,” Jutanugarn said. “I have really good commitment. I never think about the outcome of the front nine, but that back got me a lot.”

With her older sister, Moriya (who finished T-41) and her mother nervously watching, Jutanugarn tried to approach the playoff with new life. Yet she admitted memories of the ANA began to slip into her mind. She said she was able to push them away, however, telling herself that this wasn’t that situation. This was different.

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Instead of carrying the frustration of the botched lead and the memories of past tournaments where she’d come up short, Jutanugarn focused on detaching herself from what she wanted the outcome to be and freed herself up to play well.

“After you have like a seven-shot lead and end up with you have to go to a playoff, I have no expectations,” Jutanugarn said.

Kim (left) proved a worthy charger, shooting a closing 67 but failing to finish things off in the playoff. (Christian Petersen)

To get herself to a place where she can let go in the high-stress, an extremely emotional moment of a U.S. Women’s Open playoff, Jutanugarn leaned on the work she’s been doing with sport-psychology gurus Pia Nilsson and Linn Marriot at Vision54.

Jutanugarn talks about it a lot. The overarching theme of their work is how to release the hold that focusing on results has on her game. It’s the easiest mentality to slip into. You want to do well, and the most obvious measure of that is by results, your score. But thinking like that can be seriously detrimental. If the only thing you value is results, you’re suddenly a complete failure when the results don’t happen. That’s a tough way to live if you’re a professional golfer, where winning is a rare occurrence, even if you’re playing very well.

Instead, Jutanugarn says that all of her work boils down to two main things: committing to the shot and being proud of herself.

“I just try to be proud of myself every day,” Jutanugarn said.

It’s a simple statement, but a sign of a big shift in thinking. Instead of defining herself by how many tournaments she wins, Jutanugarn has been working to appreciate herself for the work she is doing. Regardless of winning or not, she wants to feel a sense of pride in who she is and what she is doing.

“She has learned that the most important thing is to feel proud, by fighting on every shot no matter what,” Nilsson said. “She wants good scores, but she has learned to make it happen, she needs to trust and feel her decisions be focused and committed during the swing or stroke and have a productive reaction after shots.”

That’s why Jutanugarn said the word “commitment” more than any other word U.S. Women’s Open week. She’s constantly telling herself to think about the shot she’s making, not where that shot is going to go. Of course, she’s not perfect at it. There were moments on that back nine Sunday where she admitted she lost her commitment. That’s where some of those squirrely shots came in, that’s where the lead was lost. But working on your mental game and getting good at it won’t keep you from getting into difficult situations. Instead, it gives you the tools to get yourself out of them.

Jutanugarn’s entire team has been working together to help elevate her game. Her caddie, Leslier Luark, is on-board, constantly giving her positive reinforcement that’s in line with what Nilsson and Marriott have taught her.

Jutanugarn is a more controlled player than even just two years ago. (Christian Petersen)

“My caddie helps me because first few holes, of course, I tried to like make some birdies, or play good, but he’s just like just, Go, do your best. That’s all you can do,” Jutanugarn said after the third round.

Her swing coach, Gary Gilchrist, is impressed with the work she has put in to get herself into this position.

“She’s been totally open to learn and grow, to face her fears face on,” said Gilchrist, who says when they work on her swing, they just focus on making sure she’s in a position where she doesn’t have to overthink anything. “It’s been amazing to watch her.”

It’s hard to change the way someone thinks. It takes guidance and time, and a lot of effort. But Jutanugarn has put in the work. Having gone the majority of her career thinking about results, she’s finding pride in the moments that happen before you even get to see what the result is.

That’s why even though she recovered in the playoff and got to raise the U.S. Women’s Open trophy, the first female from Thailand to do so, Jutanugarn pointed back to that first hole when asked which moment she was most proud of over that long, hard day.

“My tee shot on the first hole because I’m so nervous and excited. And I look at my caddie, I’m like no 3-wood today so I hit 2-iron, in the rough,” Jutanugarn recalled.

Of all the moments that day, why was that the one she’s most proud of?

She committed.

The post Ariya Jutanugarn changed how her mind works, and it’s made her a U.S. Women’s Open champ appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Keely Levins

On a day where Shoal Creek was playing hard, Ariya Jutanugarn made it look easy. Jutanugarn started the third round three shots behind Aussie Sarah Jane Smith. By the end of the day, she was on top of the leaderboard, ahead by four.

The drastic flip-flop hadn’t come from an implosion by Smith, either – she shot 74, which, while not spectacular, was the field’s average. The shift came from Jutanugarn’s dominant play.

There were 238 bogeys made by the field during the third round. The 22-year-old from Thailand was responsible for one of them. With a 5-under 67, she vaulted to 12-under for the tournament. With a comfortable lead and what appears to have complete control of her game, her lead, if not insurmountable, hints at it. And this, only the second time she has made the cut at a U.S. Women’s Open.

When asked if she has any weaknesses after the third round, Jutanugarn said, of course, everyone has weaknesses. But when asked what those may be, Jutanugarn struggled to identify one.

“I mean I have — wait,” Jutanugarn said, smiling. “I’m thinking. I’m not sure what – but I’m pretty sure I have [weaknesses].”

It might have been hard for her to come up with any because, at the moment, there really aren’t any.

She’s averaging 243 yards off the tee this week – and she doesn’t carry a driver. She hit 13 greens in regulation in the third round and only needed 27 putts. The only issue you could point to would be accuracy off the tee. She missed five fairways. Even then, with her power, missing the fairway isn’t a significant penalty.

What makes her push on Saturday even more impressive is that Jutanugarn looked to be at a disadvantage before the day began. Her second round had been interrupted by a thunderstorm – as were those of the 77 other players in the afternoon wave. She had to wake up at 4 a.m. to get back to the course early Saturday to finish the second nine holes of her second round. Then she had to turn around and play another 18 holes on the hottest day of the week, while Smith was able to rest. An exhausted player is usually not the one you’d pick at the U.S. Women’s Open, but Jutanugarn hung tough throughout the marathon of a day.

That’s not to say she didn’t feel it. She literally stumbled while walking on both 17 and 18, the obvious effects of exhaustion after playing 28 holes of championship golf in one day. The one benefit of the gruelling day? She’s should sleep on the lead just fine.

As for the rest of the players, they have their work cut out. Looking on the leaderboard for a player who could make a move on Jutanugarn, it would likely be Inbee Park. She has the ability to go low and has the experience of having won eight major championships. But she’s T-5, eight shots back. It would take a strong effort – but she says she’s feeling good with her putter lately, which is always dangerous.

The post Ariya Jutanugarn made it look easy on a hard day at the U.S. Women’s Open, leads by four appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Keely Levins

After two rounds at the U.S. Women’s Open, Michelle Wie is one of eight players tied for fourth at 3-under. The week has been a bit disjointed, especially for players like Wie who were playing in the afternoon on Friday. Wie’s second round was cut short when lightning came through Birmingham.

After nearly a four-hour rain delay, Wie and the 77 other players in the afternoon wave, went back out and played for an hour until the lightning returned. An inch of rain fell during that evening storm, bringing the total amount of rain at Shoal Creek since Sunday close to six inches.

Early Saturday morning, Wie, who has won once this season, came back out and finished the last 11 holes of her second round. She finished the round with an even-par 72, putting her two-day total at 3-under, seven shots off the lead.

The players who had to come back and play in the morning were faced with a quick turnaround Saturday afternoon. Half an hour after the last group finished their second round, tee times for the third round began.

“I just need to get on the right said of the wave for once,” Wie joked after wrapping up her second round. “It is what it is. You know, it’s unfortunate, looked like we were clear to go and all of a sudden things kept building up. At this time of the year, there’s really nothing you can do.”

Michelle Wie plays her tee shot on the third hole during the second round of the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open at Shoal Creek in Shoal Creek, Ala. on Friday, June 1, 2018. (Copyright USGA/Jeff Haynes)

Wie, who won the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2, has held her high position on the leaderboard thanks to some good putting. She’s T-3 in the field for putts per round, averaging 26. It’s her greens in regulation stat that needs to come up if she’s going to challenge Sarah Jane Smith, who leads at Shoal Creek. Wie hit just 52 percent of greens over the first two rounds.

Though she was dealt an unlucky hand with the draw, is dealing with nagging wrist pain, and isn’t putting herself in too many birdie positions, Wie remains positive.

“I wish I made a couple more birdies today but, at the same time, you know, I grinded it out there, I made a lot of par putts,” said Wie. “I’m really happy about the position I’m in. Hopefully, the next two days, give me a couple more birdie chances and try to make something happen.”

In her 10th full season on tour, Wie’s showing her maturity. She’s handling what has become a very atypical U.S. Women’s Open week with patience and optimism — two things that she’ll need as she heads into the final two rounds at Shoal Creek.

The post Michelle Wie hangs in through trying second round, is tied for fourth in pursuit of her second U.S. Women’s Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Keely Levins
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — If no more rain falls before Thursday morning, USGA officials says they’ll be looking at a 72-hole U.S. Women’s Open that’s starting on time on Thursday, and the ball will be played as it lies. It was the first good news offered thus far this week as Shoal Creek has taken on a lot of water since Sunday—4.76 inches, to be exact. The soggy fairways and the muddy shoes of all who walk on the grounds are evidence of it.

But the sun was shining Wednesday afternoon, and there’s the promise of ‘normal’ weather starting Thursday afternoon. (Normal weather here means heat, sun, and the chance of afternoon thunderstorms.) With the much-needed sunshine, the course has already started to dry, albeit slightly.

More importantly, players have been able to finally get on the course to see what it’s made of.

After playing nine holes, Danielle Kang came into the press room. If everything starts on schedule on Thursday morning, she’ll have yet to see the front nine before teeing it up in the most prestigious event in women’s golf. She’s one of several players in that position, which, to state the wildly obvious, it’s not ideal. But Kang’s confident, cavalier personality takes the situation in stride.

“Trey Mullinax walked me through the whole golf course from 1 to 18 on the phone,” said Kang, referring to the PGA Tour pro and former University of Alabama golfer. “I feel like I’ve played it, you know? I have the yardage book. My caddie is stressed out. He hasn’t walked it. I’m really OK.”

“I did all the work I possibly could do,” Kang continues. “My game feels really great. I like where I’m at mentally and physically and where my golf game is at. I feel more prepared than ever. That’s why I think I’m so kind of relaxed about it.”

Kang also points out that when it comes to set up, the USGA is capable of many surprises. She notes that you can feel like you know a course, and then be blindsided with the way it is set up.

John Bodenhamer, the Senior Managing Director of Championships and Governance at the USGA, said he has been out walking the course, determining its playability and speaking with players about the course’s status. As for a few of the extremely wet areas, Bodenhamer says some of that can be avoided by how the course is set up. He also noted that the greens are in good shape. The sand underneath them has proven pivotal in drainage, plus the SubAir system can get them back to what the USGA officials were originally hoping for in short order.

As for talk of potentially playing lift, clean and place, Bodenhamer doesn’t take his answers anywhere hypothetical. “It remains our intention to play 72 holes and to play the ball as it lies,” Bodenhamer said. “If we get cooperation from weather, it will keep getting better every day.”

Does everyone wish it was going to play firm and fast? Sure. It’s the U.S. Women’s Open. But the rain and changes in preparation are their own special kind of test for players, demanding a unique level of focus and grit.

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