Southern Pines, N.C. – There are times, such as when she is winning major championships or discussing the merits of drug testing on the LPGA Tour, that Morgan Pressel seems wise beyond her years. Other times, like when she is text-messaging from the putting green at Pine Needles Golf Club, Pressel seems like the teenager that you’ll never understand.
Then there was Sunday at the U.S. Women’s Open: Pressel entered the day with a chance to make history.
The winner of the Kraft Nabisco Championship this season, the 19-year-old could have become the first woman to earn her first two career wins in major championships.
However, playing in the final group with eventual winner Cristie Kerr and runner-up Lorena Ochoa, Pressel suffered down the stretch, shooting 5-over par during the final five holes to fall from a tie for second at day’s start to a tie for 10th.
Pressel’s last happy moment came when Kerr, who asked her to be a bridesmaid at her wedding last winter, hit an approach shot to the green, effectively clinching the championship. After Kerr putted out to win, Pressel retreated to under the grandstands, where she fell to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Eventually, Pressel arose to sign her scorecard, but when she left the scoring trailer, her emotions once again took over.
After another lengthy crying jag, Pressel’s grandmother Evelyn moved in, alternately comforting and rebuking the player.
“You always want to see the people you love play well, but she had a very tough day,” Kerr said. “It’s disappointing, but I know how good she is. I know how much fire and passion she has.
“She’s very emotional. I think she’s learning how to handle that better, but when I was (19), I can tell you I was just like her – maybe that’s why we get along.”
Bargain basement
Fans often wish they could be like the pros, especially when it comes to the equipment they use. So it might be of some comfort to know that, more and more, the pros are trying to be like us common folk.
Mark Calcavecchia won this season’s PODS Championship on the PGA Tour not long after buying a putter from a pro shop in Palm Harbor, Fla. On Sunday, Kerr won the U.S. Women’s Open with a putter she bought in a pro shop in South Korea.
Struggling on the greens during an appearance at the Korean Open in May, Kerr bought a new flatstick. Since then, Kerr has been no worse than 18th in the four tournaments she has played, including her victory Sunday.
“I’d bet we’re about 25- or 30-under par since she bought it,” said Jason Gilroyed, Kerr’s caddie.
For the week, Kerr was third in putting, trailing In-Bee Park and Amy Hung.
Good omen
Kerr was the low amateur when the Open was first played here. This year, that honor went to Jennie Lee and Jennifer Song, who finished in a tie for 39th.
“It’s definitely one of the proudest moments in my career,” said Lee, a student at Duke and one of just four amateurs to make the cut. That group also included another Blue Devil, Amanda Blumenherst.
In Sunday’s final round, Lee, 20, played with Sherri Steinhauer. Steinhauer, the 2006 Women’s British Open champion, has been on the LPGA Tour for 22 years.
