US Women’s Open – The Challenge of CordeValle

The US Women’s Open will test every aspect of the players’ games. That’s the way it is with major championships. Like Pinehurst #2 in 2014 and Lancaster Country Club in 2015, CordeValle will demand the players’ best this year and punish anything less than excellence.

Tucked into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, midway between Pebble Beach and San Francisco, CordeValle is a track of stark and spectacular beauty. Robert Trent Jones, Jr., who feels the track may be his “finest golf course creation,” carved out an intimidating and alluring 18-hole, par 72 golf course that will play 6752 yards for the Championship.

This seamless blend of natural and man-made obstacles, from meandering creeks to sand bunkers, sycamore trees to strategically placed tees, takes full advantage of the terrain. Before I take a closer look at the golf course and what it will demand, let some of the players explain what they’re expecting to find when they tee it up.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0qBg2VZIJk[/embedyt]

Will Direction Trump Distance?

So what do we need to be looking for in terms of technical skill as we think about the challenge CordeValle will present? Accuracy in shot-making will be paramount. Given the punishing terrain that lies just beyond the short grass, direction is going to trump distance in tee to green play.

That could give Mo Martin a distinct advantage at CordeValle. Martin is not especially long – just about 240 yards off the tee – but she directs her ball with laser-like precision, as we know from her stunning 2014 Ricoh Women’s British Open victory.

Not far behind Martin, who leads the Tour in accuracy off the tee, are Mika Miyazato, Stacy Lewis and Pornanong Phatlum, who rank 2nd, 4th and 5th respectively in driving accuracy.  They all out-rank top-seeded Lydia Ko.

On the other hand, two top seeds at the Championship – Lexi Thompson and Brooke Henderson – both tend to get a bit wild off the tee. Those big, powerful drives of theirs could end up being a serious disadvantage if they start spending time in the rough and playing mountain goat golf.

GIR is also going to prove critical at CordeValle. Ha Na Jang leads the Tour in getting her ball to the putting surface in a timely fashion; and from among the top four on my radar Lexi Thompson has proved far more skilled at hitting greens in regulation than Ko, Henderson, and Jutanugarn. However, Anna Norqvist, So Yeon Ryu, and – again – Stacy Lewis can all be counted on to move their balls from tee to green in regulation better than 75% of the time.

So who really has the advantage? Stacy Lewis is looking better and better. I know she’s in a winless drought and hasn’t been delivering her A game, but even in her diminished capacity she’s ranked 4th on the Tour in accuracy off the tee and 5th on the Tour in getting to the putting surface in regulation. It’s her short game that’s gone soft on her and that can come back in the blink of an eye.

Don’t count Stacy Lewis out, not just yet. She could well be the horse for this course.

Putting for the Dough

Getting to the putting surface is half the battle but it’s not going to win the war at CordeValle. Lydia Ko leads the Tour in putting with an average of 28.67 putts per round, but the difference between Ko and Gerina Piller, who ranks 42nd on the Tour in putting average, is one putt per round. There are a lot of very fine short games teeing it up in CordeValle.

Alison Lee, who hasn’t been showing much game this season, and Haru Nomura, who has delivered some lights-out golf, are right up there with Ko. With her game trending in the right direction this season, Nomura in particular could pose a real threat.

Minjee Lee, Pornanong Phatlum, and defending US Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun, all have superb short games as well, as does Brooke Henderson, whose game is trending in the right direction in the run-up to the Championship. Any of them could emerge from the pack and be leading the field by Saturday. Given Henderson’s long game strength, with a few good bounces in the right direction she could easily pick up a 2nd major championship title at CordeValle.

Four members of the United States Solheim Cup team – Brittany Lang, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Gerina Piller – are experienced competitors who’ve repeatedly demonstrated that they can deliver under fire. Although they’re all regarded as long shots coming in to the Championship, they all have very competent long games and they’re competitive on the putting surface. It’s too early to count them out.

In this field where talent goes deep, the one thing of which we can be certain is that the challenges of CordeValle will be met with some memorable golf over the course of the 71st US Women’s Open.

Cover Photo via YouTube