Championships - RICOH Women's British Open 2007
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01.08.2007
The Ricoh Women’s British Open Offers a Dream Come True for Many of the World’s Leading Golfers
Wie, the 17 year-old Hawaiian admitted she had been bowled over by what she had seen after playing her first practice round over the Old Course and that was a common reaction among the world’s leading women golfers as they prepared for what is the first ever women’s professional event to be played at the Home of Golf.“I can’t believe I’m actually playing here,” said the precocious Wie who tees up at 7.25 am alongside Korea’s Grace Park and America’s Beth Daniel in Thursday’s first round.
“It’s the most interesting golf course I’ve ever played and it’s also little bit intimidating because you know all the best players have played it at one time or another.”
Many of Wie’s fellow competitors are making their first appearance at the Old Course which has meant the Ricoh Women’s British Open has been on their minds for most of the season.
“We’ve all been really excited about coming over here,” said America’s Natalie Gulbis who won last’s week’s Evian Masters in France. “I think the players have been excited all year. This is one of those golf courses that you’re not sure you are ever going to get the opportunity to play and here we are playing it in a Major.”
Defending champion, Sherri Steinhauer, is one of a number of leading competitors who has hired a local caddie during practice in order to learn the vagaries of a course widely known as the Old Lady.
“He was a tremendous help, There is no way I would have grasped how to play the golf course on my own,” she said
“He gave me targets and told me different ways to approach the golf course. I will be using my own caddie in the tournament but we would have struggled without a bit of local help.”
Many of the competitors have said how different the Old Course was to what they had seen on TV but none more so than Korea’s MI Hyun Kim who is a Play Station fanatic and arrived for her first visit to Fife believing she would have an advantage over many of her peers.
“I’ve played St Andrews a lot on my Play Station,” she said. “I know the course but on screen my tee shot is 400 yards every time so this is a little different.
A poll of the leading challengers suggests the Old Course will be a formidable test if the wind continues to blow up to 25 miles per hour.
“This is probably one of the toughest winds because it’s a cross wind left-to-right going out and right-to-left coming in,” said Scotland’s Catriona Matthew who won the St Rule Trophy twice over it while still an amateur.
“It makes all the holes pretty tough,” she added. “If it stays like this, if you’re roundabout par, I’d take that right now.”
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