LPGA Ginn Open: Gone with the wind

I got a chance to watch the ending of the Ginn Open today. For those who missed it, it was a train check. Absolute carnage. The wind, at gusts of 20 to 40 mph, blew away most of the field.

First, there was poor Natalie Gulbis. She started the day at -10, near the top of the leaderboard, but finished it at -2. Yep, that's 8-over for the day, with an 80. It's hard to understand what happened to Natalie, who lives and plays in windy conditions in Vegas. Had Natalie shot even par, she would've made a playoff.

Then, there was the final group of Laura Davies, Lorena Ochoa, and Brittany Lincicome. The carnage was almost as bad. Ochoa shot 77 after going 6 over for the last 6 holes, including a painful bogey on the last hole after being tied for the lead. Had Ochoa won, she would've been the No.1 player in the world.

But even worse was the plight of Laura Davies who had a 1 shot lead at the 17th. Davies missed a 5-foot par putt, missed the comebacker, and double bogeyed the hole, to drop out of the lead. She then blasted her drive on 18th (basically putting all her weight into it), but got a bad bounce into a bunker. Going for broke, Davies hit a 3-iron from the sand, even though she had to get the ball over a 5-foot lip. No dice. The ball hit the bank and floated helplessly into another bunker only 20 yards up. From there, Davies whick-whacked her way to triple bogey. Ouch.

Meanwhile, Brittany Lincicome shot even par for the day, and saw the leaders come back 4 shots from the start of the day.