Newport, R.I. – The battle of attrition that is part of any U.S. Women’s Open became a little more grueling Thursday, when the opening round of play was lost to a thick fog. As a result, players will return to the course today for their first 18 holes; the second round will be played Saturday. Assuming the weather holds up, the tournament will conclude with a 36-hole marathon Sunday.
“Well, the Open is about grinding and having patience,” Laura Diaz said. “Going through 36 holes on Sunday just adds another element to that.”
Thursday was certainly all about patience; tee times were scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. locally. Throughout the day, the USGA kept putting off the start of play in 30-minute increments; however, it wasn’t until about 2:45 p.m. that the postponement was announced.
Veteran Wendy Ward was one of the players in the first pairing of the day; after a 4:30 a.m. wake-up call, she arrived at the Newport Country Club at 5:15.
“The Open is tough enough as it is,” she said. “Now, you’re sitting around all day, thinking about how long the course is going to play, how long the days are going to be. The trick is to try and find a way not to get yourself all worked up over things you can’t control.”
Which, for Ward and many other players, meant eating.
“I ate at 5:30, and then at 10 and I just had lunch,” Ward said right after play was called. “At one point I thought we were real close, I was licking my chops to get out there.”
For most of the day, according to USGA officials, the maximum visibility was less than 100 yards; however, around 2:15, things cleared up to the point where it was thought play could begin. Instead, less than 10 minutes later, the fog rolled back in.
“The standard we use is whether the player can see where she is trying to hit the ball,” said Mike Davis, the USGA’s senior director of rules and competition. “The player wouldn’t necessarily be entitled to see the flight of her ball the whole way, nor in some cases, where it lands. But if she were hitting driver off the tee, we’d want her to see the drive zone.”
Following Saturday’s second round, the cut will be made from 156 players to the top 60 and ties, as well as anyone within 10 shots of the lead. It is anticipated that will leave somewhere between 60 and 70 players. Sunday morning, they would go off in threesomes from the first and 10th tees; while the pin locations would be switched between the third and fourth rounds, there won’t be any re-pairings, meaning the eventual winner could be finished with her round long before play is done for the day.
Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-820-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
