Take a mulligan: Morgan, stop crying, dear
I caught the final round of the 2006 Fields Open in Hawaii, won by Meena Lee over Seon Hwa Lee in a playoff. It was an exciting back 9, with many of the talented young guns in contention. Michelle Wie, who was tied momentarily for the lead on the 17th, missed the playoff by 1-stroke, shooting an impressive 66 in her final round. Michelle had a makeable 8 footer on the final hole, but completely misread it. Still, an impressive debut.
Natalie Gulbis never could get it going in her final round and tied for 4th with a final round 72. I blame it on Douglas, who gave Gulbis The Golf Blog jinx by asking this question, Is Natalie ready to break through and win? Doug, man, that's the kiss of death. Sorry, Nat.
Then, there's Morgan Pressel, who was playing with Michelle Wie, but shot a 71 in her final round to finish tied for 11th. After her round, Morgan started crying uncontrollably during her interview with The Golf Channel because she felt that she failed to meet her high expectations and needed to go back and work on "everything" -- all aspects of her game, especially her putting.
I like Morgan Pressel. How can you not root for a 17-year-old who lost her mother to breast cancer only two years ago (here)? Contrary to her own harsh assessment of her game, I think Pressel has a lot of game right now. Finishing close to the Top 10 this week and 5th last week in her first 2 tournaments as a pro -- well, that ain't bad. Sure, Morgan probably wanted a better head-to-head showing against Michelle Wie, who had an impressive 66. But Michelle had home court advantage and half the state of Hawaii rooting for her. Morgan showed the grace and sportsmanship in giving Michelle a hug after the round. Morgan, you have nothing to cry about. We know you played your heart out.
13 Comments:
Caught that also. Of course, you give the kid a pass. I was watching her a little during the match. Makes you appreciate how the great professionals are able to control their aggression. Morgan has the intensity, that's for sure. Now she just has to learn how to manage it.
How did Wie miss that putt on 18? Her home course! Even at 16, no way Creamer doesn't bury that. The LPGA must be pulling there hair out. A chance for a playoff between babes Wie and Gulbis. Anyway to pass a rule that short stocky masculine girls have 5 strokes added to their scores at the start of a tournament?
I wonder if MW would be given the same pass' if she had started bawling after not winning the tournament?
I think it's likely that many of the comments would be more along the lines of: "Her crying shows that she doesn't have the right-stuff and that she's immature and shouldn't be playing as a pro yet. Her reaction shows why she hasn't won more...blah blah blah".
BTW, I'm not saying this is the case about Pressel, it's just that I think if MW had reacted the same way, the reaction to the crying would be very different. MP is very competitive and she was upset about how she finished...I agree that it isn't a big deal.
Exactly. Jealousy, that's all. People should realize the only reason Wie can't go the normal junior golf circuit route is because she lives in Hawaii. Way too much traveling for a kid. I think the family had some money, but it would be incredibly expensive to fly all over the US from Hawaii to participate in the junior circuit. Given the level she's already playing at, it would have been incredibly stupid and pointless.
This is great. I love the competitive nature. MP and MW will bring more attention to the LPGA than it has ever seen. I think the future of the LPGA looks very promising.
OK where are all of the MW bashers and MP pumpers? I need a lecture on how MW shouldn't get exemptions into tournaments. Oh my, I just realized that Tiger Woods didn't attend Q school, he got onto the tour via exemptions. That's terrible! I think Tiger should be kicked off of the tour for that and forced to play on the Nationwide Tour until he can go to Q school next year.
the girl has a lot of game just hopes she takes the responsibility that comes with it.
What is this responsibility you speak of?
Responsibility? What a weird comment. Do you mean MW or MP?
Not normally one to play the race card, but isn't it possible that some of the pro-Pressel contingent prefers her over Wie due to the fact that she looks more like us "normul mericans"? Kind of reminds me of those yahoos who think Phat Phil is the second coming and Tiger is overrated.
I think there is an element of racism in some of the attitude in the golf world regarding MW. It's the same crowd who gets frustrated about 'All those Asians winning on the LPGA' e.g. Jan Stephenson.
Pressel isn't exactly short on getting hyped herself. If I hear Dottie Pepper tell us one more time about what a 'competitor' she is, about her grandfather's tennis connections and that her mother passed away recently I'm going to puke.
All the while, the newer Asian players who have been winning a lot are largely ignored. I've never heard Dottie Pepper or any of the other commentators go on and on about the back-stories associated with Meena Lee or Joo Mi Kim - both of whom played like golf studs, knocking it close and canning puts right down to the end!
These performances aren't getting the credit they deserve, it's as though it's some strange mystery of the universe who these people are and why they show up and annoyingly win tournaments.
Great insight, SS. Can't say I'm overwhelmed by most of the Korean's personalities, but no doubt their golf skills deserve serious respect and kudos. Dottie Pepper is a dingbat whose habit of repetitively stating the obvious cannot be matched by many. In fact, I have programmed my TV to go to mute whenever it senses her voice during a broadcast.
RickPDT,
I was in Hawaii and played both the Turtle Bay Palmer course the Ko Olina course. Each 4 days before the tournaments started. One thing Morgan needs to realize is that the greens are completely different between the two courses. To play on one and then the other is night and day. Also, the grain and brake on the Hawaii courses is like no other. Judging speed and brake comes only from lots of practice and even someone with that kind of practice (Wie) has a hard time.
I played the Palmer just before the SBS tourney and loved the greens and they loved me. I (a 16 handicap) had 26 putts for my round but at Ko Olina on 2/18 I shot 40 putts.
I do have to brag a little and tell you I played my round at Ko Olina with Shinobu Moromizato. It was a very nice experience. She also found the greens to very difficult to read, but after a few local pointers that were given to me weeks before, she started catching on.
Sure Morgan cried and that's OK but for her to go away from the tournament thinking her putting was her fault is not completely true. Something she may want to do in the future is find out what kind of grass is used and really study and practice that part of the game before a tournament. Getting a local caddy or playing with a local early on could help too.
Morgan is a good payer and has a lot of game that will only get better. She’s definitely someone to watch for a long time to come.
If my handicap was 16 I wouldn't brag about anything :)
Hey playah,
Unless you're out there giving Tiger, Ernie, Phil + Vijay a spanking I wouldn't comment on anyone else's handicap. There's always someone out there who'll make even you look like a hack :) even if you're a 'playah'.
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