Tuesday At The 2024 Women's Open
Women's majors need to jettison pro-ams. Plus, Monday qualifying results, tee times released, Old Tom statue approved, celebrating the first Ladies Golf Club and an updated (iffy) forecast.
Scott Macpherson’s St Andrews: The Evolution of the Old Course
AIG Women’s Open Tuesday is in the books and you know what that means?
Only one more pro-am to go!
Playing in a major is hard enough without having to deal with the awkward inconvenience of professionals who have spent countless hours fine-tuning their craftsmanship only to humor hacks for five hours in the name of securing a fully funded purse.
It’s a bit like studying for the bar exam while spending all weekend entertaining distant relatives you vaguely remember meeting and don’t really want to know.
Everyone appreciates AIG’s commitment to reaching new heights with the R&A-run championship. Particularly as the purse nears double-digit eight figures. But as with four of the other five women’s majors, this week’s title sponsor still insists on holding a pro-am. Only in this case, two of these miserable slogs. Unlike the other four women’s majors holding pro-ams, this week’s Open doubles down in an act of extreme cruelty after a long women’s season.
On Tuesday, am’s and one pro in each group clogged up the Old Course first tee sheet from 9:00 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. They will do so again from 6:30 a.m. to 11:06 a.m. on Wednesday. This hardly screams “major championship.” Particularly when the golf course in question is not an easy one to procure a tee time outside of championship week. It’s also the only course on Planet Earth that can never be played enough to absorb all of its intricacies.
Just 29 players played in the five-hour pro-am window Tuesday and only 24 Wednesday. Sure, there are opportunities on either side of the pro-am for the rest of the 144-player field to get a look at the Old. But navigating the chops, gasbags, token influencers, assorted wannabes, and the dreaded Vuitton set should never be a concern during a major week. Unless Louis Vuitton his ownself decides to appear and write a massive check.
Some might even argue that major status depends on quiet practice rounds followed by intense championship conditions. The U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally offers the only week where the world’s best women can focus on preparing for the intense exam that awaits. While purse equity is frequently mentioned as a huge goal for women’s golf—at least in pre-Saudi Arabia times when H.E. had an open checkbook and dreams of an Augusta National membership—practice round peace should be just as urgent of a demand.
Less important in the grand scheme but still an odd flex: fans are not allowed on site until Thursday’s opening round of the AIG Women’s Open. The same silly policy exists at the KPMG Women’s PGA. You’ll be shocked to know this trend of waiting to open the gates until Thursday started where most turd-scented ideas are hatched: the PGA Tour.
We all understand how keeping the plebians away saves money on shuttle buses while alleviating the pressure to staff the course with volunteers. The policy allows amateurs—who shouldn’t be on the golf course hours before a major—to whap it everywhere and not injure a spectator. Joy.
Keeping fans away from pre-championship rounds is not conducive to atmospherics nor is it sensible in “the children are our future” world of grow-the-game golf. Practice rounds are the best days for kids to get autographs, take selfies with their logoclad heroes, and for the aspiring types in those dreaded teenage years to watch a favorite player prepare in a relaxed setting. With the youngsters still on summer holiday and the event at the Old Course, the decision to keep fans away is terrible.
All rants aside, most eyes are turning to a 2024 championship forecast now pointing to “moderate confidence” for heavy rain and high winds early into Thursday morning’s first round. So in anticipation of possible extreme conditions, the Old Course greens are Stimping under 10 to prevent a play-stoppage repeat of past majors on the Old Course—including the 2013 Women’s Open.
Let us pray…for a little weather but not enough to turn the golf silly.
Meanwhile…
Tee Times Announced
Tee times have been released and I.K. Kim will hit Thursday’s first tee ball at 7:00 a.m. while last week’s winner, Lauren Coughlin, is out in the second group.
The first-round afternoon wave appears to feature a few more name players, including U.S. Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso, defending champion Lillia Vu, and Chevron Championship winner Nelly Korda. Groups are going off of split tees in three.
Other notable groups:
7:11 am (10th tee) – Amy Yang, Hannah Green, Brooke Henderson
7:33 am (10th tee) – Stacy Lewis, Karrie Webb, Catriona Matthew
7:44 am (10th tee) – Minjee Lee, Lexi Thompson, Gemma Dryburgh
7:55 am (10th tee) – Georgia Hall, Ayaka Furue, Rose Zhang
12:26 pm (1st tee) – Celine Boutier, Lydia Ko, Ally Ewing
1:21 pm (1st tee) – Yuka Saso, Megan Khang, Alison Lee
Field Filled Out At Crail
Twelve players secured their place in the Women’s Open at St Andrews through Final Qualifying Monday, with another 12 having to decide the final three spots.
Weiwei Zhang of China led the qualifiers with five-under-par 67 at Crail Golfing Society’s Craighead Links. She finished one clear Casandra Alexander, Annabell Fuller, Kristen Gillman and Emma Grechi, who each posted four-under-par 68’s.
Lauren Hartlage, Noora Komulainen, Lee-Anne Pace and Patricia Schmidt tied for sixth with 70’s that put them in this week’s field.
A sudden death play-off of 12 players saw Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Stephanie Meadow and Ursula Wikstrom prevail.
St. Andrews Approves Old Tom Statue
A statue honoring Old Tom Morris has received final approval with hopes of the David Annand creation to be erected in time for October’s Dunhill Links.
The Old Tom Statue Project Group has spearheaded the effort to get the six-foot bronze displayed overlooking the 18th green and R&A clubhouse where Morris’s likeness is on the golf course side but often goes unnoticed. The OTSPG is made up of St Andrews locals including Chair Ronald Sandford, David Sandford, Callum MacLoed, David Strachan, along with golf historians David Hamilton and Roger McStravick and Past Captain of New Golf Club of St Andrews, Chic Harper.
Donations to help complete the cost of the statue can be made here.