Cherry Hills Village – USGA officials planned to make the finishing hole at Cherry Hills Country Club a beast.
They did more than that by converting the par-5 to a par-4. Easily the most difficult throughout the tournament, No. 18 yielded only four birdies for the week and only one Sunday – the Birdie Kim birdie that won the U.S. Women’s Open.
The length was a challenge. Teeing off over Greenwood Reservoir brought its own pressure. And hitting a second shot on a sidehill lie uphill to a treacherous green with a pin placed near the front made it even more difficult.
For the tournament, the field averaged 4.667 on No. 18. On Sunday, the average was 4.571.
With favorite Annika Sorenstam long out of contention, it was left to Lorena Ochoa, Morgan Pressel, Brittany Lang and ultimately Kim to win or lose the tournament on No. 18 in the final hour.
Ochoa was first up, thanks to a terrific back nine. The 23-year-old started the day in a 10-way tie for 16th at 6-over-par 219. A birdie run at No. 10, 11, 13 and 16 put her in prime position to win her first major.
But the wheels came off at No. 18 when she chunked her tee shot into the water and wound up with an 8.
“I just gave the tournament away,” Ochoa said. “I really feel sad.”
Lang was next up. She also finished at 289 but minus the drama. She played five groups in front of Kim and posted the top finishing score at a time when the leaders were crashing around her.
She hit a perfect tee shot and had a chance to put pressure on the field by finishing with a par. But she bogeyed after her approach shot missed the green and she needed two putts.
Pressel, meanwhile, nearly took the outright lead, but her birdie putt on No. 16 stopped an inch short. Then on No. 18, she could only watch from the fairway as Kim pulled off the shot of the year in women’s golf.
Suddenly, Pressel had to change her strategy from playing for par to going for a birdie and forcing a playoff.
“On that hole, on any hole out here, you have to force yourself to make birdie,” Pressel said. “But especially on that hole, when you’ve got a long shot up a steep hill and that green has been firm all week. So you have to force yourself to have to hit it on the front of that green, and that’s pretty tough.”
Pressel chose a 5-iron and did not get enough arc. It landed on a slope in front of the green and dropped into the thick grass.
“Maybe I hit a little skinny,” she said.
From there, she chipped on and two-putted, finishing two strokes behind Kim.
