Golfers at this week’s Colorado Women’s Open aren’t just talking about tournament pressure when they say the heat is on.
With temperatures expected to reach into the 90s, the three-day, 54-hole event at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club could require a test of wills, in addition to the usual test of skills.
The first round begins today at 7:30 a.m., but half the field of 139 will draw afternoon tee times under the sweltering sun. The $55,000 purse for the professionals includes a first-place check of $10,000.
“At least when I play golf, the heat doesn’t seem as bad because I’m distracted,” said Aspen native Kristin Walla, a sophomore-to-be on the University of Texas women’s golf team.
While spending a year in Austin, Walla became accustomed to playing in the heat. It’s a matter of adapting and adjusting.
“If you start to see the ball skipping over the baked greens, you’ll hit your approach shots a little shorter and let them run up,” Walla said.
Staying hydrated is another challenge. Taya Battistella, a mini-tour player from Bend, Ore., plans to consume a bottle of water every three or four holes. She tees off today at 1 p.m.
“Some women don’t like to drink that much water,” Battistella said. “But I’ve found you can go brain dead out there if I don’t. You can lose your concentration a little bit, and that’s not a good thing.”
Course superintendent P.J. Ringenberger said this is “by far” the hottest, driest June in his five years at Green Valley Ranch. This comes after a difficult winter that posed the double whammy of little precipitation and high winds.
Five greens still show some effects of winterkill and won’t be fully healed for another month or so, Ringenberger said.
“With our greens being native soil, they tend to get very firm when they dry out,” he said. “There are a few thin spots, but the players I’ve talked to say putts are rolling true. Everybody wants their course to look like Augusta National. That’s not going to happen.
“But players tell me it’s playing fair.”
Not everybody is concerned about the heat. Anna Yu is a mini-tour player from Hong Kong.
“Compared to playing in China, this is great weather,” Yu said. “No humidity here. I like that.”
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
