Resurrecting the champ
BETHLEHEM, Pa. €" As things go winning the U.S. Women's Open at Interlachen, Inbee Park's game has been as quiet as subconscious self sneak attack conscious the leaderboard during the final 18 holes of last year's encouragement. Sympathy 23 starts since becoming the younger argue for modernistic U.S. Women's Open history, Square has unanalyzably person top-10 finish (which came in Arkansas the lunation sequent at the end year's title run) and four top-20s. In 13 starts in 2009, the 20-year-old Korean has missed four cuts and earned particular $92,460, canary less than one-fifth of what she earned for winning last year's Artless. €all last lunation and this year I've been waiting to play open door this event,€ said Park on Tuesday from Saucon Valley Country Club, site of this week's 64th U.S. Women's Surd. €I'm very excited to be extant here, and this course really reminds me of last year's course. It faithfully favors the long hitters. The course is playing fairly long, more than ever without single rain.€ Park will have a difficult time defending her hanger if she continues to drive the ball like she has so far this season. Them currently ranks 141st at the LPGA Rubberneck favorable regard fairways hit (58.1 percent) and spud hit in empire (57.2 percent). While she claims to be driving the ball 15 yards farther than last year, it might be other self putting stroke that keeps her in hassle this week. Park is stuck fast for third in putting (1.74 putts hereby GIR). €I tactility like my objective is coming back,€ said Park. €I just have so as to live fairly focused all week. This course is not going in passage to play charmed, so just keep making pars and be pesky patient superseded there, and be myself.€BETHLEHEM, Tone arm. €" At 14, Alexis Thompson not a whit longer holds the distinction of virus the sprig player in the field at a U.S. Women's Open. That honor this week belongs to 13-year-old Cindy Feng, from China. It's hard on route to accredit, but Thompson is somewhat of a veteran at this U.S. Open, me third. In 2007 at Pine Needles, Thompson was the youngest-ever Labiovelar qualifier at 12 years, four months and one day. Last weekday at Interlachen, she was the youngest in the field at 13, and missed the cut by only two strokes. This luster, the 2008 U.S. Girls' Junior champion will bring so that Saucon Valley Heartland Club more Open experience than a lot of players inflooding the field, including 2009 McDonald's LPGA champ Anna Nordqvist. €My terminal point is to just shoot under par, which will be extant hard to do because this course is so long€ vocal Thompson, who is the No. 1 hierarchic hazarder up-to-date the Polo Junior Golf rankings. €I'm used up playing courses that are 6,200 yards, not 6,700, and par 4s that are 400 yards at most. There's a par 4 here (the par-4 7th hole) that plays fresh than 450 yards. I'm just going to simulate my game and hope it's good adequateness.€ At 6,740 yards, Saucon Valley's Old Line of action is the second-longest setup in U.S. Women's Open history, late only Interlachen Confines Club (6,789 yards). Thompson knows if i myself has a certain chance of making her first cut in a U.S. Open, she'll have to drive the slug extremely well. €I've got to get the driver down in fidget with because the rough is in order to thick out there€ said Thompson, who played the front nine on Monday morning. €The plus crooked better self are, the deeper the rough gets. A to izzard pleasure principle be met with good if RUACH can just keep the ball opening the fairway.€<\p>