Allisen Corpuz set the expectations for how she would approach the final round of the 78th US Women’s Open on Saturday night. With the sun setting over Pebble Beach Golf Links following her third consecutive under-par round, the 25-year-old Hawaii native explained that while one stroke off the lead with a chance to win her first LPGA event, her goal was still the same as it was at every tournament to date in 2023, her second year on the LPGA: become more comfortable with how it feels to be in contention. Nearly three months earlier, Corpuz went through a similar learning experience at the Chevron Championship, when she shared the lead through 54 holes only to finish T-4 with a closing 74. She didn’t win, but she did mature, preparing herself for the next time.

Come Sunday, however, Corpuz surpassed what even she believed she could accomplish with a dominant closing three-under-par 69, overcoming a one-stroke deficit to win by three shots with a nine-under 279 total. “My mind is racing,” Corpuz said. “Like I said yesterday, this is really a dream come true. It was something I had dreamed of, but at the same time kind of just never really expected it to happen.”

Corpuz’s journey from “sucking” at golf, as she described when she started playing at age 4, to becoming the first female to win a major championship at Pebble (and claiming the $2 million first-place prize money payout) has been built on a foundation of self-reflection. Since picking up the sport, Corpuz says her motivation has come from focusing the simple notion of improving every time she plays.

Not wanting to be terrible drove her to continue playing alongside her father, Marcos. Corpuz developed her game during a junior career that included 17 USGA championship appearances and a record performance as the youngest golfer (age 10) to play the US Women’s Amateur Public Links in 2008, breaking the mark held by fellow Hawaiian Michelle Wie West.

Fitting, then, Corpuz applied the lessons of losing at the Chevron in April for her breakthrough victory Sunday. After giving her mom, May, a hug on the first tee box, Corpuz implemented her newly honed approach.

“I think I’ve just played a little conservatively in the past, and just really went out there and told myself I had the game to do it today,” Corpuz said.

Corpuz made six birdies as she played her way around Pebble Beach. Her third birdie came on the par-3 seventh, where her caddie Jay Monahan said that Corpuz suggested taking a wedge straight at the flag on the short downhill hole. If the wind took it left, so be it. Their process, honed over two seasons of working together, involved Monahan pushing back if he felt differently. Happy with the aggressive choice, Monahan signed off. Corpuz’s wedge flew true, leaving herself a 10-footer.

“This course does offer those [birdie] opportunities if you can get them,” Monahan said. “It’s just little things like that. But she took the strides that she needed to [in order to win].”

The rapport between Allisen Corpuz and her caddie Jay Monahan help her stay calm during Sunday’s final round. Harry How

Corpuz wound up being the only player in the field to shoot under par all four days at Pebble with scores of 69-70-71-69. Tied with Hataoka with nine holes to play, Corpuz played a sublime back-nine, taking a four-shot lead at one point and leaving little room for doubt as to who would be the winner.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t moments of nervousness. Corpuz explained that at times, she did get ahead of herself, imagining the Harton S. Semple Trophy in her hands early in her round.

“I made the birdie at 1, 3, and just kind of told myself, stay in the moment,” Corpuz said. “It’s obviously not done yet. Still a lot of golf to play. I think that was the moment when I kind of knew I just need to get home.”

To ground herself back into the present moment, Corpuz leaned on work she has been doing with her mental coach, Bill Nelson. That involves trying to keep things slow while on the course. Corpuz reminded herself every few holes she was at Pebble Beach, soaking in the sun-splashed views that golf fans dream about.

While Corpuz faced the prospect of slowing down too much—she and Hataoka were put on the clock early on the back nine and Corpuz was one more slow time away from getting a penalty shot—she stuck to the routine she had followed since childhood. Before each shot, Corpuz leans slightly to the left, closes her left eye, raises her club, and stares down her target. In a brief moment, Corpuz plans out what she wants the shot to do, steps up to the ball, and executes.

Learning how to win was a process for Corpuz in college as well. Justin Silverstein, the women’s coach at USC who secured Corpuz’s commitment to play for the Trojans when she was heading into ninth grade, explained that she diligently journaled each day. Corpuz jotted down what went well and what didn’t. However, early in her collegiate career, Corpuz would almost adjust too quickly, trying to make constant adjustments rather than give herself the space to simply recover from a bad shot. While Corpuz won for the first time as a sophomore, it took until her fifth year on the team to become more consistent player. Corpuz won twice in 2021, her final season before turning professional.

With a successful drive off Pebble’s 18th tee, Corpuz claimed her first career LPGA Tour title without much 72nd-hole stress. Harry How

“[Her thoughtfulness] helps a majority of the time,” Silverstein said. “But I think also, at times in her past held her back a little bit with just a little too much analysis.”

With her first professional win in hand, a major no less, Corpuz kept her aspirations low for the future. Instead of imagining becoming a top 10 golfer in the world, a Solheim Cup player and being included in the conversation with the likes of Jin Young Ko and Nelly Korda, Corpuz envisioned a simple wish as she was standing alongside the glistening Pacific.

“I love it,” Corpuz said of Pebble Beach. “I hope I get a chance to come back.”

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On the Monterey Peninsula, and particularly at Pebble Beach Golf Links, everything just feels better when the sun shines. The changing shades of blue and green in the water are more stunning. The sand on the beach looks whiter, the grass on the course greener.

For the first two days of the first US Women’s Open played on this historic seaside locale, the mood was dampened somewhat by the clouds that refused to give the sun a peak until it was about time to set. It’s not overstating to say it was gloomy, and the play seemed to mirror that at times, with some of the world’s best players looking cold and glum.

That all changed when Saturday dawned with bright skies and the prospects for a memorable weekend. Pebble Beach truly emerged as the wondrous golf jewel it is, each turn on the course more stunning than the next (as the drones so masterfully captured), and the players responded with their finest golf.

Allisen Corpuz, an accomplished amateur and second-year LPGA player who, on the outside at least, seemed almost too meek to make a huge statement, did exactly what you need to do in a US Open. She steadily and without disaster shot 71-69 on the weekend, bleeding the resolve out of her chasers, including final-group playing partner Nasa Hataoka, who led Corpuz by one at the outset and ended up six shots behind her.

The golf got more compelling as the weekend went on. We should always remember that Hataoka took her lead with a stunning Saturday 66 and that Charley Hull on Sunday missed a birdie putt for 65 that would have tied her with Tiger Woods and Gary Woodland for the lowest round in US Open history at Pebble.

And, finally, as Corpuz stood on the 18th green with the trophy, the first woman to hoist the prize on this shoreline, the sun shone on her face, just as everybody envisioned.

In this case, Pebble Beach won, too.

The expectations for the week were incredibly high, and both the players and the course rose to the occasion. A winning score in the mid-single-digits under par seemed reasonable, and Corpuz did even better at nine-under 279. She left the rest to scuffle at finishing in red numbers, with only seven players pulling that off.

It was by no means a blood bath, and that’s exactly as the USGA hoped. The setup, with nasty rough for the women’s game but manageable yardages and green speeds, drew nearly universal praise, other than maybe some quibbles with most of the par 5s not being reachable in two. But considering that’s seen virtually every week on the LPGA, that extra challenge was absolutely necessary for the national championship.

The biggest buzz beforehand was how this first US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach, shown in primetime on the east coast, might attract fans and viewers who hadn’t connected with the women’s side of the game. On-site, the event drew 45,000 spectators over five days, including 11,000 on Saturday. The USGA was happy with that, as it was with the overnight ratings for Thursday’s first round on USA Network. The average total viewership over six hours was 367,000—making it the most-watched first round of the Women’s Open since Pinehurst in 2014 and 119 per cent better than Thursday last year at Pine Needles.

The television ratings numbers for Friday aren’t expected to be released until Monday, and the weekend numbers should be out on Tuesday. But the USGA’s belief is that they will be among the best in the history of the event.

Other takeaways from the week:

The Rose Zhang factor is real

Rose Zhang signs her autograph for a young fan prior to the 78th US Women’s Open. Harry How

We could chalk it up somewhat to the fact that Rose Zhang went to college 90 miles north of Pebble Beach at Stanford, but the large galleries that followed her—by far the most for any player during the week—say something much more. Zhang has become the “it” player in the LPGA after opening her professional career with a victory at Liberty National and contending into Sunday in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship earlier this month.

Pebble is not an easy walk, but parents dragged their little ones, or put them on their shoulders, to follow Zhang from hole to hole, probably so they could say that they saw her before her popularity truly exploded. At least it feels that way, with Zhang not winning, but once again showing that all of her top-level amateur success will translate beautifully on the pro circuit.

Zhang wasn’t able to create a true buzz at Pebble because she opened with a 74, got somewhat back into the mix with a 71 but fell back again with a 72. Eight shots off the lead heading into Sunday was a bit too much to ask, even after she came from six back at Liberty National, and Zhang closed with another 72 to finish at one-over 289.

Still, that’s now a win, and T-8 and T-9 in subsequent majors in Zhang’s first three pro starts. Happily, for women’s golf, this is just a palate cleanser for what we’re going to see for weeks and months to come.

A caddie and husband’s big payday

It’s definitely a unique arrangement. Jennifer Kupcho is one of the top players on the LPGA and her husband, Jay Monahan, is the caddie for Corpuz. Monahan never saw himself as a full-time looper, but then Corpuz needed him in a pinch at the end of January 2023, and they have been a team ever since.

That’s all well and good, but how about when the husband is the first to be part of a major championship win? While Monahan figures to make about 10 per cent of Corpuz’s winnings—or $200,000—Kupcho didn’t make the cut at Pebble and was paid only $8,000 by the USGA for expenses.

“This is obviously incredible, but I think it’s going to take a while to settle in,” Monahan said on the edge of the 18th green after he’d accepted a sliver plate from USGA CEO Mike Whan. “I felt like since I started working with Allisen I’ve been pretty lucky. She’s a joy to work for and a great player. She’s had a few close calls now, and to see her get over the hump today was remarkable.”

An Irish delight

Amateur Ãine Donegan waves after making par on the second green during the third round of the 78th US Women’s Open. Harry How

The breakout “discovery” of the week was Irishwoman Aine Donegan, an upcoming junior at LSU whose early play—she opened with a 69—and good-natured interviews (and playful brogue) won many hearts. Even when Donegan closed with a 77 on Sunday while battling an illness to finish with a nine-over total, she was exuberant on the 18th green, waving an Irish flag and shedding a few tears.

This is a woman who completely took in stride making a quintuple-bogey 9 on the eighth hole in the third round.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better week,” Donegan said. “My goal was to make the cut.”

What’s up with Lexi?

Lexi Thompson stands on the sixth green during the second round of the 78th US Women’s Open. Harry How

Lexi Thompson has lived for nine years with the question of when she would win her second major. But at only 28 years old, she now seems to be facing a more existential crisis about her golf.

When Thompson dejectedly walked off Pebble Beach’s 18th green on Friday, with no shot at making the weekend after shooting 74-79, she left behind big questions about where she goes from here. She still is ranked 13th in the world, but that’s a precarious position, considering that the 11-time tour winner has played only seven times in 2023 and missed four cuts.

Worse for Thompson, she is ranked 137th in the CME Globe season race after the US Open and a long way to making the top 60 who’ll compete in the November’s Tour Championship.

The top 100 in the CME standings earn their tour cards for next year, and with Thompson possibly not among them, she will have the option to use her tournament winner status or career money list exemption. She’s 10th all-time.

The question is: What’s her desire to play at this point? She has spoken of no injuries, but her play has continued to be mediocre. Maybe she’s reached the burnout stage, or is it just too many disappointments in majors that have taken their toll. She coughed up the 54-hole lead in the 2021 US Women’s Open at Olympic Club and twice finished top-four in majors last season, including losing a two-shot lead with five holes to play in the Women’s PGA.

Maybe the time comes when it’s all just too much to care so deeply about. We’re not saying that’s the problem, but the rest of the season might provide more answers.

The post Pebble Beach a major winner, Rose Zhang’s star quality and 3 other takeaways from US Women’s Open week appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Corpuz, 25, a University of Southern California graduate and twice an All-American, began the final round trailing by one and wrested control of the national championship on the back nine, beginning with a birdie at the 10th hole. She added birdies at 14 and 15 en route to a three-under-par 69 and a three-stroke victory.

“Unreal. This week has just felt like a dream come true,” Corpuz said. “It’s been awesome to be out at Pebble this week. Every few holes I kind of looked out and said, ‘I’m out here at Pebble Beach. There’s not many places better than this.’ I just tried to keep grounded and play my game.”

It was her first victory as a professional and came on one of golf’s grandest stages, earning her a payday of $2 million, the largest in women’s golf. To say it was an upset is only marginally an understatement. She came into the US Women’s Open 29th in the Rolex Rankings, and in two previous major championships this year, she tied for fourth in the Chevron Championship and tied for 15th in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

She completed 72 holes in 10-under-par 278 with rounds of 69, 70, 71 and 69. England’s Charley Hull had the round of the day, a six-under-par 66 that enabled her to climb to a tie for second with Korean Jiyai Shin.

On Friday, Wie West, who won the 2014 U.S Women’s Open at Pinehurst, played what she said was her final competitive round and missed the cut. Corpuz did not arrive with the same fanfare as Wie West, but she was among those Hawaiian junior golfers to draw inspiration from her.

“I think she was just old enough where I never really interacted with her too much,” Corpuz said on Saturday. “But she’s done so much to put Hawaii golf on the map, women’s golf. Yeah, I have always been inspired by her. Definitely grew up watching her kill it out here, and it’s awesome to see her transition into the next phase of her life.”

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The 78th US Women’s Open, in another first this week, moves to six hours of primetime coverage on NBC for the third round Saturday. With rookie Bailey Tardy holding a two-shot lead at seven under, here are seven storylines to follow at Pebble Beach:

How will the final pairing handle the pressure?

It’s a winless pairing anchoring the third round. Neither Tardy nor Allisen Corpuz have won yet on the LPGA Tour. Tardy, in her rookie season, has a best finish of T-23 in Hawaii back in April. Corpuz, at five under par going into the weekend, has limited experience with two top-fives in 2023.

She posted a T-3 in Singapore back in March and a T-4 at the Chevron Championship in April.

Allisen Corpuz putts on the seventh green during the second round of the 78th US Women’s Open. Ezra Shaw

“I honestly still need to get a little more comfortable, I think, in contention,” Corpuz said. “So that’s really been the focus this year, just really trying to put myself into that spot and then hopefully learn how to convert as it keeps happening.”

Tardy planned to spend time with her family, heading up the coast to Big Sur for a dinner before the 455th player in the Rolex Rankings starts the third round at 1:36 p.m. Pacific.

“This is a dream, being at the top of the leaderboard in a US Open,” Tardy said.

Can defending champion Minjee Lee make a run?

The Australian is one of 10 players sitting eight behind Bailey’s lead at T-11. With the experience of seven LPGA victories, including two major titles, Lee maintained perspective on her opportunity to move up the leaderboard Saturday.

“I feel like I’m probably in a pretty good position right now,” Lee said. “Just I can be maybe a little bit more aggressive and, you know, maybe put up a score earlier than the girls. Maybe it won’t be as windy. Then see where I am after that.”

If Lee can cut into Tardy’s lead, she could position herself to become the first player to defend a US Women’s Open title since countrywoman and Hall of Famer Karrie Webb did it in 2000 and 2001.

Will the top players continue their turnaround?

Even with a testing Friday setup, some of the tour’s best players turned their tournaments around. Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko followed their first-round four-over-par 76s with a 73 and 71, respectively.

“I think just played a little bit better, but that’s weird,” Ko said. “That’s golf.”

With more difficult conditions expected over the weekend, the Nos. 2 and 3 in the Rolex Rankings have momentum heading into Saturday to claw back into contention.

How will the wind impact play?

Pebble Beach is already playing a tough, averaging almost four over par. Another challenge will arrive over the weekend, with possible wind gusts of up to 25 mph. Temperatures aren’t supposed to get out of the low 60s.

“You’re going to have to wear your jacket this weekend,” USGA CEO Mike Whan said.

The USGA’s Shannon Rouillard, who sets up the course, pointed out that the 13th and 14th tees may need to move up. Those two holes, in particular, play straight into that wind.

Can an amateur climb up the leaderboard?

Amateur Ãine Donegan plays from the rough after taking a drop on the second hole during the second round of the 78th US Women’s Open. Harry How

An amateur has finished in the top 15 in the last six US Women’s Opens. Ingrid Lindblad won the low honours at Pine Needles in 2022 with a T-11 finish. Four amateurs made the cut at Pebble, with Ireland’s Aine Donegan leading at T-11 with a score of one over par. The LSU sophomore shot four-over 76 Friday.

“I’m pleased with how I finished,” Donegan said. “I finished with three pars and that was my goal, just try and get in with the same score, and luckily I did.”

The other three playing the weekend, Monet Chun, Benedetta Moresco and Amari Avery are all at T-26 and three over par.

Will Rose Zhang move into striking distance?

This week’s betting favourite sits eight strokes behind the leader at one over par. Zhang finished her morning wave one under 71. At that point, Zhang was T-22, aware of the weekend task ahead of her.

“I’ve been in this position before where you have to chase and it’s nothing new to me,” Zhang said after her round. “I’ll just be trying to do the same thing: Get my game plan and try to hit as many fairways and greens, because that will allow you to gain more birdie opportunities.”

Yet without taking a stroke, Zhang found herself finishing the day at T-11 when the afternoon wave fell back. There are now 10 players between Pebble’s women’s competitive course record-holder and the lead, a surmountable gap with another solid round.

Will the first seven holes be the easiest again?

As the wind picked up Friday, the front nine proved a more straightforward test for the field. Six of the easiest holes were from Nos. 1 through 7. The only one missing, the fifth, was the eighth easiest. The only two holes to play in red figures are the par 5s, the second (4.89) and the sixth (4.82).

Chasers must make hay at the start to chip away before hanging on through the difficult back nine to climb back into contention.

The post Bailey Tardy sets the pace, Rose Zhang in the hunt and 5 other things to watch for Saturday at the US Women’s Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Rose Zhang had quite the afternoon in the US Women’s Open, and she didn’t hit a golf shot. She was probably relaxing on a comfy couch somewhere.

It was 2:15 p.m. in California when Zhang putted out for par on her last hole, the ninth at Pebble Beach, in the second round. The 20-year-old sensation recorded a 71, a three-shot improvement from the first round, and stood at one over to be tied for 22nd place as the morning wave players finished.

“Really grateful that I was able to make the cut,” Zhang said after she signed her scorecard.

How does she feel now that she’s in contention?

As the temperature dropped and the wind picked up on the Monterey Peninsula coastline, the scores climbed. So much so, that it seemed Zhang was making up ground by the minute. And by the time the clock struck 8 and the sun set, there was Zhang on the first page of the leaderboard, tied for 11th place.

Week 3 as a Pro ? #USWomensOpen

Getting adjusted to life as a professional, Rose Zhang sits inside the top 20 after her second round. pic.twitter.com/El0GqDaDj7

— U.S. Women's Open (USGA) (@uswomensopen) July 7, 2023

Heading into the weekend, Zhang still trails leader Bailey Tardy, who was in the first group out on the back nine Friday morning during easier conditions and shot the day’s best score of 68 to be at seven under. But the margin of eight off the lead with 36 holes to play and gusty winds in the forecast will give the fans of Zhang—and probably TV executives—hope for a compelling weekend after the gloomy skies and challenging conditions on Friday afternoon turned the play into a bit of an undramatic slog.

Tardy, whose best finish this season is a T-23 in Hawaii while missing five cuts, was two shots ahead of Allisen Corpuz and Hyo Joo Kim, who shot 70 and 71, respectively, also in the morning. The point being that anybody in the top 11 going into the weekend can believe they have a chance to lift the trophy on Sunday. It’s very possible that the scores will only come further back to level.

Zhang, in her US Open debut as a pro, managed only three birdies in her second round but avoided the big number that bit her on Thursday when she double-bogeyed the eighth hole. Starting on the difficult ninth hole, Zhang got off slowly with bogeys at 12 and 16, and that point she was hovering around the early cutline of four over.

But she stripped her tee shot to 10 feet on the par-3 17th to make birdie and then played her second nine in two under with birdies on the two par 5s, Nos. 2 and 6.

A perfectly played hole by Rose Zhang. ?#USWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/pZRoblStFj

— U.S. Women's Open (USGA) (@uswomensopen) July 7, 2023

“I was able to hole a really, really good putt on 17 and that kind of shifted my momentum into the back nine,” Zhang said. “Felt very solid with my game in general. I knew that I had some errors yesterday that I wanted to prevent, so today I tried to work on those things and figure out how to play the course better.”

Of the 10 players ahead of Zhang, only In Gee Chun and Hyo Joo Kim have won major championships. Her trouble, however, is that, with the tough conditions levelling the playing field, there are 11 players tied at one over.

The post Rose Zhang slides into contention at US Women’s Open, improves 11 spots during afternoon without hitting a shot appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

It is a shot so rare and bold that Rose Zhang had never used it in a tournament. And that makes it all the more impressive how she pulled it off in the first round of the US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach.

Late Thursday, with the skies dark and a light drizzle in the air, Zhang missed her target on the par-3 17th, coming up short and right of the back-left pin placement. When she arrived at her ball, a putt just didn’t seem feasible, since she’d have to navigate the ridge by rolling her ball over the fringe.

MORE: Rose Zhang suffers a disaster at Pebble’s difficult eighth hole

Leave this one to the pros. ?@rosezhang #USWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/H7k6PfbeBX

— U.S. Women's Open (USGA) (@uswomensopen) July 7, 2023

So Zhang decided to use a wedge on the green—something golf fans saw once over a few years while watching golf. It’s one of those shots that make superintendents cringe because nobody wants to see a dollar-size divot taken out of green. Particularly not on the first day of a major championship. It requires the most exacting of swings.

“Funny thing is I’ve never done that before in competition. Yeah, the first time. So there is always something new,” Zhang, standing behind the 18th green, said with a laugh after her round of two-over-par 74, which left her tied for 39th, six shots off the lead of Xiyu Lin.

How about in practice?

“I definitely have,” she said. “When I’m practising with my teammates, we all have a bit of fun, and we like to practice wedges on greens. So it’s a bit of a fun game, but it’s weird that it’s actually in practice when I’m not playing.”

So on Thursday, with 53 feet to the hole, Zhang executed her pitch to near perfection, with the ball looking like it was going to drop in before drifting less than an inch to the left. Zhang picked it so cleanly that the only thing she disturbed on the green was gathering dew.

“It was a bit risky,” Zhang said, then converting the tap in for par, “but I felt like it was my shot of the day.”

When he needed it most.@GaryWoodland wows with the wedge.

He'll take a 2-shot lead to 18. pic.twitter.com/H522Q3AUFx

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 17, 2019

What Zhang didn’t know, or had forgotten, was the history of that very wedge shot on the 17th green. In the final round of the 2019 US Open, with eventual champion Gary Woodland leading by two shots, he ended up in a similar shop to a similar pin. He too pulled it off, with the commentators raving about how remarkable it was under pressure. Frankly, Zhang’s was probably executed better. But no matter. Both were examples of skills not owned by mere mortals.

MORE: Rose Zhang—The secret behind the sweetest swing in golf

Talking to reporters, Zhang was trying to place the Woodland shot in her mind, and then her agent quickly found it on his phone. She beamed while watching it.

“Dude, that’s crazy,” Zhang said. “Oh. Wait, wait, wait. I did see this shot. … It’s all coming back. Yeah, I don’t know where I was, but it was definitely on TV.”

And now Zhang has her memorable clip at 17, just like Woodland and Tom Watson. That’s a pretty sweet club to join.

The post Rose Zhang pulls off this boss move using a wedge on Pebble’s 17th green, and learns the lore about it later appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Bailey Tardy nearly didn’t get into the US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach for one reason—procrastination. She almost didn’t sign up for the final qualifier, saying she had no interest in battling through 36 holes in one day. It took pushing from her mother to sign up.

“My mom would tell me you need to sign up, you need to sign up, you need to sign up, and then I just never did,” Tardy said. “That’s just kind of how it happened. Big ol’ procrastination.”

After grudgingly signing up, and then surviving a four-hole playoff at the qualifier, Tardy has put in an out-of-nowhere 69-68 performance to lead the second round of US Women’s Open at seven under par. She’s done so on the strength of making an eagle both days on the par-5 sixth hole.

To appease her mom’s wishes, Tardy, 26, searched for a qualifier in the spring. She settled on Somerset Country Club in Mendota Heights, Minn., where two players would advance. When Tardy bogeyed the 36th hole to finish with a four-under total, she figured she’d be one of the alternates and returned to her hotel room.

After packing, showering and changing, Tardy received word that fellow LPGA player Jennifer Chang three-putted the last hole to end up tied with Tardy, while a pregnant Amy Olson took the top spot at six under. Tardy scrambled to get back to Somerset for a playoff.

“I threw golf clothes back on, found my golf shoes, hit about 15 balls, and just went and played four more holes, which felt like an eternity,” Tardy said.

Solo leader Bailey Tardy put on a spin show at Pebble Beach. ? #USWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/Yts17kL3of

— U.S. Women's Open (USGA) (@uswomensopen) July 7, 2023

She prevailed over Chang by making a 20-foot birdie on the fourth playoff hole to get into her fourth US Women’s Open. Tardy played in 2014, 2016 and 2017, missed all three cuts and only shot one round under par.

Tardy has had a challenging rookie LPGA season, missing five cuts and withdrawing one week after shooting 85. The 455th player in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings has posted seven rounds of 75 or worse over the last two months. Her best finish is a T-24 at the Lotte Championship in April. It doesn’t exactly signal someone who would be at the top of a major leaderboard.

“Other people might not, but I’ve always believed in myself to win any tournament that I enter,” Tardy said. “I’m good enough to be here, and I’ve been on the LPGA, so I feel like I definitely have the game to hang with the best in the world.”

Tardy is not only hanging with but has surpassed the best in the world on just two of Pebble’s most iconic holes. She is six under on the par-5 sixth and par-3 seventh combined, eagling No. 6 on Thursday and Friday. That’s half of the eagles recorded on the cliffside par 5.

Tardy has leaned on the knowledge she received from playing Pebble Beach for the first time last November before going to the LPGA’s Q-Series to earn her tour card for the first time.

Bailey Tardy made the most of Friday at the #USWomensOpen. ? pic.twitter.com/QGpMRHsXrb

— U.S. Women's Open (USGA) (@uswomensopen) July 7, 2023

Instead of imagining what could be after making the first major cut of her career, Tardy is soaking in the serenity of Pebble Beach. She said she pauses to smile at the dogs along the ninth and 10th holes and points out the sea life. Tardy said she will head to Big Sur with family for dinner, soaking in all she can of the Pacific coastline.

“This is a dream, being at the top of the leaderboard in a US Open,” Tardy said. “Just being able to take in all of this. I have got my family here, so just having them to keep my mind off of golf at night, it’s just fun. I’ve really enjoyed all of this.”

In regard to her performance this week, Tardy points to a putting overhaul last week. She put her putter in a three-day timeout after a missed cut at the KPMG Women’s PGA, frustrated with a first-round 36-putt effort that led to a three-over 75 despite hitting 14 greens.

She then did short game work with Gareth Raflewski. To get some better mojo, Tardy swapped putter covers, using a special Callaway putter cover from a Korn Ferry Tour event from Springfield, Ill. She chuckled while recalling the unique design, with the famed cartoon character Homer Simpson alongside his favourite food.

“I love doughnuts,” Tardy said.

No, she did not procrastinate with that answer.

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1. The right “approach” pays off

Hyo-Joo Kim and Xiyu Lin shared the Day 1 lead with matching four-under 68s. Kim and Lin were also first (4.48) and third (3.77), respectively, in SG/putting. Only Nasa Hataoka (eighth) of the six players at T-3 is in the top 10 of SG/putting.

However, the majority of players in the top 10 on the leaderboard are also in top 12 in SG/approach with amateur Aine Donegan in first (4.35), Allisen Corpuz in fourth (3.78), Bailey Tardy in fifth (3.58), Hae Ran Ryu in sixth (3.58), Leona Maguire in eighth (3.28), and Hataoka in 12th (3.05). Surprisingly, the leaders trail by a decent margin, with Kim in 25th (1.9) and Lin in 38th (1.43).

2. Annika Sorenstam’s still got it … around the green

Ezra Shaw

Posting an 80, even for Sorenstam at 52, seems inconceivable for one of the game’s all-time greats. Sorenstam finished in last in SG/off the tee, making sense, given she only hit one fairway. A lone bright spot was ending up with 2.51 SG/around the green, the sixth-best in the field. While her capabilities on a major venue are different from what they were in her prime, the 72-time winner needed no data to know the best part of her game Thursday.

“I’m disappointed in that [80], but I fought really hard,” Sorenstam said. “I thought I made some great saves. It sounds funny when you have this score, but I did.”

3. An amateur leads the field in this SG stat

Donegan, an amateur from Ireland who plays college golf at LSU, posted a 69 despite her clubs not arriving until Tuesday. That makes her 4.35 SG/approach stat even more impressive, particularly too considering she hit only 12 greens in regulation. The Irishwoman bested defending US Women’s Open champion Minjee Lee in the category, with the Australian sitting at 4.05 SG/approach.

Donegan’s driver clubhead also arrived smashed to Pebble Beach, but she raved about the replacement one she put into her bag this week, saying it fueled her ability to play well into the greens by outperforming the field from the tee box as well. Donegan sits in second in SG/off the tee (1.58).

4. One of the most consistent US Women’s Open performers leads SG/off the tee

Harry How

Megan Khang has rattled off three consecutive top-10s at the US Women’s Open and is lurking at five shots off the pace after the first round. Her secret sauce might lie in her ability from the tee, as finding 13 of 14 fairways contributed to her leading 1.84 SG/off the tee. That’s .26 ahead of Donegan. In a reminder of how distinct SG/off the tee is, compared to driving distance, the longest player in the field Thursday, Amelia Garvey, sits in 114th in SG/off the tee at -.39.

5. Michelle Wie West didn’t lie—she doesn’t like putting drills

Entering Wie West’s final competitive start, she shared the thing she won’t miss the most.

“The putting drills that I’m doing, you’d best believe I’m not going to do another putting drill for the rest of my life if I don’t need to,” Wie West said.

Fitting, then, that the 2014 US Women’s Open winner finished last in the field in SG/putting at -4.18. Wie West carded a 79, sitting T-126. Impressively, she kept her touch, finishing 11th in SG/around the green (2.01).

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It is the most knee-knocking, white-knuckle shot in all of golf. None other than Jack Nicklaus deemed it the “most dramatic.” And why not? On the eighth hole at Pebble Beach, players stand on an outcropping of land, the Pacific Ocean 70 feet below.

In 2022, Jordan Spieth created the most news about the eighth in years when he chose to hit a shot near the precipice. Spieth would later admit, “I wish I hadn’t done it. In fact, I regret doing it.”

On Thursday in the US Women’s Open, there was a different kind of drama with one of the game’s young stars. With the players forsaking their longest shots for fear of driving over the cliff’s edge, they were laying back off the tee. Rose Zhang, who had just birdied the seventh to get to two under, hit a 189-yard tee shot that left her with a long carry, 202 yards to the flagstick. The air was damp and cold, and the wind seemed to be crossing across the players’ faces.

MORE: LPGA rookie DQ’d from Open for caddie using range finder

Zhang chose a wood, but from the moment she struck it, she watched anxiously as her ball dipped like a seagull into the brush on the bank in front of the green. From the movement of the marshals (or lack thereof), they clearly didn’t see where the ball flew in.

The trouble, in this case, was that Zhang had to walk to the hole and look for the ball. Maybe this wasn’t quite as daring as Spieth’s move, but Zhang did climb several feet down looking. Not able to find her ball, she had to take the ride of shame in a golf cart back to the top of the cliff to play what would be her fourth shot after the penalty.

From 172 yards, Zhang hit a beautiful shot onto the green, giving her a 13-foot putt for what would have been a very impressive bogey. But she missed on her roll and suffered a double-bogey that knocked her back to even par and off the first page of the leaderboard.

This would be no solace to Zhang, but she was not alone in her misery at No. 8. For the day to that point, there had been seven other double bogeys and one 7 to go with 34 bogeys. The hole was playing as the fourth-hardest in the round.

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Smashing drivers down the centre of Pebble’s fairways are crucial to succeeding on the trouble-filled course. Irish amateur Aine Donegan, 21, playing in her first-ever professional tournament at the US Women’s Open, hit 12 of 14 fairways on her way to a three-under-par 69 Thursday, a stroke off the lead.

Before the start of the tournament, however, after a 30-hour travel day from Scotland to San Francisco, Donegan dealt with another smashed driver — the clubhead on hers was broken when it finally arrived with the rest of her clubs Tuesday.

“It’s like everything happens for a reason, that the clubs were late, and then the driver came, and it was broken, and all of a sudden, I have no choice but to put this Ping driver in,” Donegan said.

When Donegan arrived at Pebble Beach, the LSU sophomore went to the Ping truck to get replacement clubs. She and Gary Madden, her coach and caddie this week, knew they’d have a tough decision to make with how well she practised with the new driver. In a fortunate outcome from a trying twist of fortune, the decision was made for them with the broken club.

@united I am not happy with you. My clubs finally arrived to Pebble Beach for the @uswomensopen and my driver is destroyed pic.twitter.com/hF0kwMK7oz

— aine donegan (@DoneganAine) July 4, 2023

The rest of her preparation felt storied. Donegan signed autographs for young fans who provided a mirror of her younger self. She had a practice round with Annika Sorenstam, who casually answered that she won three US Women’s Opens when Donegan inquired. She called LSU teammate Ingrid Lindblad, who was low amateur at last year’s US Women’s Open and carded a 65 in the first round to sit in second place, for advice on how things worked, particularly getting tickets to her family.

Donegan kept her Ping driver, three-wood, and hybrid in her bag, turning back to her old irons. Still, her opening round began nervy, reflecting her week. Donegan, starting on the difficult No. 10, bogeyed the first two, scrambled to save par the next two, and jarred a 96-yard 50-degree wedge for eagle on her sixth hole. It all amounted to even par, settling Donegan before posting five more birdies over the rest of her round.

“That’s one thing we talk a lot about with the team is competitive toughness,” LSU Women’s Head Coach Garrett Runion, who was at Pine Needles and on the ground at Pebble this week, said. “She just kept her head down and kept her composure and had a few things go her way and was able to post an excellent round.”

Donegan’s three under marks back-to-back US Women’s Opens with an amateur Tiger near the top of the leaderboard after the first round. Lindblad, now a senior at LSU, carded a 65 at Pine Needles last year to sit a stroke off the lead. Donegan leads three amateurs in the top five of the leaderboard through the morning wave.

“It’s been great,” Runion, said. “I think Ingrid was obviously the number one amateur in the world. That [performance] was less surprising maybe, to see.”

The top-of-the-leader board performance may be a shock, given Donegan’s 144th spot in the Women’s Amateur Golf Rankings. Her recent amateur performances, however, speak otherwise. She finished in the top 15 in all but one of her spring events and finished T-6 at the R&A’s Women’s Amateur stroke play. Donegan beat Lindblad in match play, 2 and 1, at the Vagliano Trophy in Scotland last Saturday.

The extensive travel across the world to Pebble didn’t change the style of golf much for Donegan. The wind reminds her of the Irish links courses. For now, Donegan’s basking in the opportunity to be in contention in her first professional tournament.

“The whole thing has been a bit surreal, to be honest,” Dunegan said. “Nearly every five minutes it’s a pinch-me movement. Even just walking to the putting green and young girls asking for autographs and stuff. It’s like, that was me. And to do it at a place like Pebble Beach is something I’ll never forget.”

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