Women’s Open: Royal Melbourne mind games

BY BRENDAN JAMES AT ROYAL MELBOURNE GOLF CLUB

Royal Melbourne’s Composite course is rated the premier course in Australia. Taking 12 holes from the West Course and six from the East, the layout has won plaudits far and wide from the likes Jack Nicklaus, to Greg Norman, to Tiger Woods and Karrie Webb.

Its wide fairways invite you to favour one side or another from the tee to leave the best approach into the flag and avoid flying an iron shot over the often deep and hazardous greenside bunkering. The firm, fast rolling greens present a game within a game and test your nerve and stroke like few other courses on the planet.

Some of the biggest crowds were out to follow defending champion Karrie Webb, who made the cut on the number. PHOTO: Getty Images.

It has already claimed some high profile victims at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open. South African Lee-Anne Pace (82-83), Laura Davies (81-80), Ladies Masters champion Su Oh (79-78) as well as former World No.1 Yani Tseng (79-82) are all having the weekend off.

Defending champion Karrie Webb came within a shot of joining the casualties. Having started the second round at even par, the five-time Open winner struggled again with her putter and combined her problems on the greens with some wayward iron shots in her five over 78. Her only birdie of the day came at the par-4 6^th hole when she holed a miraculous downhill bunker shot. Her stats tell the tale – she hit just nine greens in regulation and had 32 putts.

For the 70-plus players who made the cut and will chase the Patricia Bridges Bowl over the weekend, their biggest test is yet to come with temperatures expected to rise into the 30s, baking harder the already firm and fast rolling greens.

Lydia Ko lines up a putt on the 9th green. She says the greens are getting much firmer. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Even the leaders are wary of what lies ahead and are conscious of not being too aggressive in taking on the ‘Old Dame’ because when she bites, she bites hard.

“This course makes you think more and you need to try and play smart,” says World No.1 Lydia Ko, who is the joint 36-hole leader at six under with Korea’s Ha Na Jang and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn.

“I was talking to David Leadbetter (Ko’s coach) yesterday and he was telling me just to play smart and I think that is a big key to playing well around here.”

The Kiwi teenager matched her opening round score of 70, with the highlight being an eagle two on the par-4 15^th hole. Angered by missing a birdie opportunity on the previous hole, Ko unleashed a driver down the fairway, leaving 125 metres to the front of the green. She punched a 9-iron towards the green and watched as it banked off a slope and rolled into the hole.

“Hitting driver was risky because you can be easily blocked out by the trees on the left. But it was a good choice,” she smiled.

“I get angry but sometimes my anger is good, just to let off steam. I have had the experience where I have packed it inside and its definitely not helping me because I’m still mumbling ‘you’re an idiot or whatever’.

“But you really have to be patient out here … my caddy Jason (Hamilton) said ‘you have to try and not get frustrated around a course like Royal Melbourne. Par is a good score on some holes and you don’t lose anything making par.”

Her position at the top of the leaderboard suggests she’s handling the mental challenge better than most, mainly because she enjoys the style of golf Royal Melbourne demands.

England’s Charley Hull, who is two shots back from the leaders at four under, says she also likes the challenge the layout presents.

England's Charley Hull reckons longer-hitters will have an advantage over the weekend at Royal Melbourne. PHOTO: Getty Images

“It reminds me of Sunningdale and The Berkshire back in England,” she said. “Those types of golf courses with the heather and stuff. I like to play those courses.

She said the course required a different strategy to most that are played on Tour.

“Because the greens are quite bouncy, you've got to bounce the balls in sometimes, you have to strike it quite good at times to get it to stop on the greens,” Hull said. “You've got to have a good imagination.”

She said the increasing firmness of the course would start to favour the long hitters, who could hit shorter clubs with a higher trajectory into the greens.

“It's nice to position shots and come in with a shorter iron,” says Hull, who is one of the longest hitters on the Ladies European Tour. “I definitely think if you're a bit longer, you're coming in with shorter clubs and you can stop them on the greens and get at the flags.”

As for a winning score, the halfway leaders believe there are still more shots to be gained despite the scoring average for the opening two rounds hovering just over 76 against a par of 73.

“I think the scores are better than what I expected. It’s a pretty tough track and some holes, when you’re coming up with a par, it’s a good score,” Ko said. “If it’s two digits (under par), it will be a pretty impressive winning score.”

Let the mind games (and fun) begin.

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