Charley Hull could also be 5 photographs again however she will be able to completely win the AIG Ladies’s Open Sunday.
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ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — It’s successful time, of us. Or as Rory McIlroy likes to name it — the enterprise finish of the match. The place rivalry really takes place. The ultimate spherical, 18 holes left, Sunday afternoon on the Outdated Course.
It feels good. It additionally feels chilly. It’s genuinely frigid within the late August evenings right here in St. Andrews. With the fixed, 25 to 30-mph wind, the looks like temp dips into the 40s as golfers are ending their rounds. However sympathetic we’re not. That is the house stretch! It’s going to be grind Sunday, and a lot of 1 that solely seven golfers can win it. Positive, there are Solheim Cup factors on provide and loads of cash to attempt for, however as for the precise successful, we’ve trimmed the sector to simply seven. And we’ve supplied up why under.
Sure, this implies apologies to these not included. Sorry, Jenny Shin. Sorry, Alexa Pano. Apologies to Jinhee Im and Esther Henseleit and any others not included under — we’re counting you out (But in addition, show us flawed).
1. Lilia Vu
Why? She’s the defending champ, duh. She’s performed it earlier than. She seemed like she was breaking down Saturday afternoon early on the again 9, however her caddie stepped in and advised her to chill her jets. “I believe he was principally saying, like, you’ve missed each single [bunker] the previous two days,” Vu advised us Friday, “so that is your flip to go within the bunker.”
This golf is about acceptance. Vu has had a full yr of acceptance, battling a again harm. Additionally, she putts it nearly as good as anybody within the area. And he or she’s going to maintain that going Sunday.
2. Lydia Ko
Why? She hasn’t made a double bogey. It could not appear important to keep away from double bogeys, as long as you make a bunch of birdies, however avoiding chaos is every part on the Outdated Course proper now. These three leaders getting into the day — Vu, Nelly Korda and Charley Hull — all of them bought handed as a result of all of them made double or worse at this time.
Ko isn’t going to be aggressive tomorrow. She promised the media that after her spherical. However she’s going to plod alongside and take what the course provides her, kinda like what she did in France two weeks in the past. Will it’s sufficient, although?
3. Nelly Korda
Why? She’s Nelly Korda. She’s gained every part this yr. And he or she hasn’t been in a bunker but this week.
As acknowledged above, everybody up high bumped into hassle at this time. However Korda did it with one unhealthy swing that ended up O.B. on 16. However Korda has one way or the other averted all 112 bunkers on the Outdated Course this week — so far as we all know — and will replicate Tiger Woods’ trap-free feat from the 2000 Open Championship. It could really feel humorous to whittle this all right down to avoiding traps, however Charley Hull made triple at this time just because she discovered two bunkers. Lilia Vu’s double bogey was bunker-ridden. That’s going to occur to among the leaders tomorrow. If it doesn’t occur to Korda, she’s going to completely be within the hunt.
4. Jiyai Shin
Why? She’s within the lead. And that issues! In case you shoot the identical rating as her tomorrow, you’re not successful. She’s additionally performed it twice earlier than — successful the Ladies’s Open in 2008 and 2012. However that was 12 years in the past. At what level does expertise exit the window in favor of youth? Possibly we’ll discover out tomorrow.
5. Ruoning Yin
Why? She’s shot one of the best spherical this week. The wind has been a relentless all week — identical route, identical form of cross-wind, identical form of power. And nobody has made that look much less related than Yin on Thursday. She was six underneath (one way or the other) via 14 holes and cruising. Even when she tripped up, her 68 within the brutal morning situations needed to beat the sector common by eight or 9 strokes. So she’s able to firing a 66 in there, coming from behind and successful from the clubhouse. I believe …
6. Jeeno Thitikul
Why? She’s due. Thitikul has been contending throughout in Could, June and July, however her solely win this summer season got here within the group occasion in Michigan. Group wins are nice and all, however they only don’t fairly hit like solo victories. Thitikul then confirmed as much as the Olympics and bought into podium rivalry earlier than ejecting out of the ultimate spherical. And all week in St. Andrews, barely anybody has paid her consideration. She’s performed zero press. She’s hovered on the perimeter of the leaderboard. However she’s 4 again, and has contended in each single main on the rota. She’s going to interrupt via in some unspecified time in the future, proper? Proper???
7. Charley Hull
Why? She’ll have the gang. Hull has a pure electrical energy to her that the majority different execs don’t. Partly (and maybe largely) as a result of she’s so unapologetically herself. She brings you in. She has a robust sport with a slashy swing and he or she’s going to be aggressive as ever, seven teams forward of the ultimate pairing. If she will be able to exit in 33 on the tougher 9, the gang will let you recognize about it.
After all, should you’ve learn this far, you’re in search of a prediction, proper?
Good! It’s Lilia Vu, the defending champ doing a little bit of defending. Her third profession main. She putts her strategy to a 69 and golf immortality on the sport’s birthplace.
