Year’s first major a memorable start for LPGA
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – The ANA Inspiration was an unusual chapter in the LPGA tournament’s 50-year story.
No fans were allowed on the course. The 18th green seemed naked with no grandstand or wall. And it’s rare when the champion runs away and hides.
But as always, there were plenty of memorable moments, and since it’s 2021 and the champion is 21 years old, these are the 21 memories I’ll take away from golf’s first major of the year.
1. I mean, the long drives. The focused stare. The laughter and smiles. I don’t think I’ll ever forget this year’s champion Patty Tavatanakit. What a show.
2. A 29? Lydia Ko set a tournament record with a 7-under 29 on the front nine Sunday. No one had broken 30 at this event before. She didn’t stop there, though. She was 10 under through 15 holes and had people on 59 watch, but pars the rest of the way left her with a 62 and a tie for the greatest round ever here, matching Lorena Ochoa.
3. With no grandstands and without the “Great Wall of Dinah” behind the 18th green, almost no one went for the par-5 green on their second shot throughout the four days of the tournament. I was afraid that might happen. Without that option, some drama and swashbuckling decision-making was taken out of the tournament . ...
4 . ... That being said, I hope the 2022 event will see a return to the grandstands behind the green and, even more important, the fans who fill them.
5. Double dousing: Not only did Tavatanakit do the traditional leap into the pond, about three minutes before that she got doused by a gaggle of friends, family members and competitors spraying her with champagne. She reveled in the moment, grabbing the bottle and taking a swig. I like her style.
6. Engine failure. Lexi Thompson inadvertently bonked one of the model airplane-style tee markers on the 11th hole while watching her ball, and the right front engine fell off. Embarrassed, she tried to reattach it to no avail. After a few seconds she gave up, but her caddie,
Jack Fulgum, was able to reattach it. “This flight is canceled,” joked playing partner So Yeon Ryu.
7. As I nuzzled in between the TV camera and photographers to shoot video of the winner’s leap into Poppie’s Pond, a non-media person crouched beside me with her smart phone and was recording Tavatanakit’s postmatch interview. Being territorial, I thought, “I don’t think she belongs here.” Then all was revealed. It was Tavatanakit’s sister with their mom on FaceTime live watching the leap. You could hear her mom’s voice, so proud. OK, she belongs.
8. Thailand becomes the eighth international country to boast a champion here. The others? South Korea (6), Sweden (3), Australia (2), France (1), Mexico (1), New Zealand (1) and Taiwan (1).
9. Defending champion Mirim Lee was the only player to wear a mask while playing this week. It didn’t seem to slow her down; she finished in a tie for 10th at 9-under.
10. Quietly, it was Nelly Korda, who lost this event to Lee in a playoff in September, that was the top American player this week. She fired a sizzling 66 on the final day to move all the way up into a tie for third.
11. Quote of the tournament goes to Shanshan Feng on how she spent her days during quarantine: “First I think about what to have for breakfast, have breakfast, then think about what I’m going to have for lunch, have lunch, then think about what I’m going to have for dinner.” Me, too, Shanshan. Me, too.
12. I really liked the wall of champions the tournament set up for the players to walk past as they approached the 18th green. I watched Brittany Lincicome and Stacy Lewis both look at the photos of themselves and smile as they walked past. A well-done tribute for what was unfortunately an otherwise muted 50th-anniversary celebration due to COVID-19 protocols.
13. Shoutout to Dottie Pepper, whose 19 under tournament record in 1999 was challenged but not bested this week. In fact, Tavakanavit’s 18 under and Ko’s 16 under are now the second- and thirdbest rounds shot at this event. Until Sunday, 15 under was the best score anyone ever had other than Pepper’s.
14. I got to do a story about the volunteers, and I learned there is a “Nomadland” style caravan of retirees that travels from event to event to volunteer at pro golf tournaments by day and hang out around a propane fire pit at the RV park at night. I may very well join them in about 25 years. Sounds fun!
15. Here’s something weird to ponder as we think about the three pro events in the desert: The American Express PGA event, the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament and the ANA Inspiration. As crazy as it seems, we’ve now had three ANA Inspirations and two American Expresses since the last time we had the BNP Paribas Open.
16. Cute touch on Sunday as many of the volunteers were wearing rabbit ears.
17. Thanks, but no thanks, mask department. Ally Ewing’s caddie dropped his mask and it started blowing away. Ewing’s playing partner Jennifer Kupcho scampered after it and stepped on it to stop it from getting away further. She picked it up and handed it to him. He laughed, and decided not to use the stepped-on mask, reaching into his bag for another one.
18. The number that probably meant the most this weekend is 323.0. That was the length of Tavatanakit’s average drive during this event. Wow!
19. “I’ve taken vacations shorter than this,” quipped an on-course worker as he hustled ahead to measure one of Tavatanakit’s drives for the TV broadcast.
20. It was fun to see Michelle Wie West back out on the course and shooting an excellent opening round before fading on Friday. Even without winning, she is a big part of this event’s history; that’s not easy to do.
21. Final word goes to Ko on the ANA Inspiration: “It’s one of our favorite stops. I love California. I know this is the 50th year the LPGA has played here, but hopefully we’ll be here for 100 and 150 years and 200 years, even though I will not be playing in 100 years.” We hope so, too, Lydia.