Cherry Hills Village – Morgan Pressel, Brittany Lang, Paige Mackenzie and Michelle Wie didn’t have a dime at stake in the U.S. Women’s Open, unless they made private side wagers in the clubhouse. Instead they had youth, enthusiasm and perhaps a bit of naivete on their side.
And while their collective performance – claiming two of the top three spots and four of the top 30 – might represent something of a wake-up call to the pros, it adds up to a promising future for women’s golf.
The charge of the amateurs became the story at this year’s Open, drowning out talk of a Grand Slam as Annika Sorenstam was bypassed by the youngsters.
“It brought a lot of attention to the Tour, a lot of attention to women’s golf,” Pressel said. “If we can keep playing well, I think that it’s just going to get younger and younger, and it’s going to be tougher to win. I don’t know if you’ll see anyone dominate like Annika.”
Pressel, 17, and Lang, 19, tied for second at 5-over-par 289, two shots behind South Korean Birdie Kim, whose miraculous bunker shot birdie on No. 18 came as Pressel watched from the 18th fairway.
Mackenzie, 22, tied for 13th at 293. And Wie – the celebrated 15-year-old from Honolulu who will play in the John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour next month – struggled to an 82 after opening the day as a co-leader at 1-over with Pressel and Karen Stupples.
While Wie was the big story going into Sunday, Pressel nearly took the tournament in her bid to become the youngest champion in professional golf history.
Pressel shot a final-round 75 but walked onto the 18th tee tied with Kim. As she walked up the final hole, she had to feel even better. Her drive was in the middle of the fairway and Kim was in the bunker, staring at a difficult up and down. Pressel then heard the huge crowd ringing the 18th green roar as fans watched Kim’s bunker blast go into the hole.
Pressel showed her dismay to the national television audience, then regrouped to focus on the task at hand, making birdie and forcing a playoff. She went at the pin with her second shot, but it kicked right and short of the green. From there she need three shots to get down, putting her in a tie with Lang.
That got a lot of attention in Durham, N.C., because Lang has played two years at Duke and Pressel has said that if she decides to attend college, her choice will be Duke.
Wie, meanwhile, collapsed to a final-round 82 and a four-day total of 296, all the way to a tie for 23rd.
She had the biggest galleries on Sunday but could not get her game under control.
Because only the 20 positions earn automatic spots for the 2006 Open, Wie will have to qualify next year.
Wie called the day “a bummer.”
She added: “I haven’t played this bad for a long time, so I definitely learned a lot of things. One of the things is, I definitely have to get a GPS for my ball, because it was lost out there today.”
Wie double-bogeyed the par-4 first hole, setting the tone for the day. She said that didn’t throw her off.
“I knew under par was not going to win this tournament,” she said. “I knew a couple over was going to win. Even though I made a double on the first hole, I knew if I just got back on track a little bit, (but) it didn’t work out.”
Lang had a sensational day, finishing at even 71 and 5-over for the tournament, an hour ahead of the final twosome. She then watched as the possibility loomed that the leaders could come back to her and she could at least end up in a Monday playoff.
“I didn’t look at the leaderboard until I got finished on 18 and I saw that Birdie Kim was 2 (over), so I figured there was no way,” Lang said. “I figured it was a good week – top five, top three, whatever.”
Given the recent storm in the NBA over a minimum age limit, and the clause in the new collective bargaining agreement that will prevent players from turning pro directly from high school, the discussion about Lang, Pressel and Duke was how soon they’ll turn pro.
If Pressel turns pro in the next year, that would mean she would give up a Duke scholarship and the chance to play with Lang.
“Morgan is a great player,” Lang said. “She could turn pro right now and be very successful on the Tour. I’m glad I went to two years of school.
“I was not ready when I was her age. She’s a better golfer than I was when I was 17 years old. I mean, if you are going into Duke, with that kind of program, you can’t really lose.
“If she went for a year or two, she’d only get better. But if she went out right now, she’d do great. So it’s a win-win situation.”
Terry Frei can be reached at 303-820-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
