Mr Science Reports:
I kept score today for
Morgan Pressel http://www.lpga.com/player_results.aspx?id=5431
Kyeong Bae http://www.lpga.com/player_results.aspx?id=5405 .
Both started the day at -3, and Morgan shot 68 to finish T7 and win some money for her Foundation. KB had 71 and was T13. KB had some sort of iPad or something built into her golf bag. Check it out on the link above.
It was an exciting finish.
Angela Stanford http://www.lpga.com/player_results.aspx?id=107 started the day at -12 with a 3 shot lead, after two 66's, but stumbled to a 75.
Paula Creamer http://www.lpga.com/player_results.aspx?id=3438 birdied 8 of her last 14 holes, shot 31 on the back nine, and finished at 66 and -11, taking the lead in the clubhouse (which Morgan had held).
Karrie Webb http://www.lpga.com/player_results.aspx?id=200 shot 66 and finished at -12.
Cristie Kerr http://www.lpga.com/player_results.aspx?id=127 was also among the leaders, and ended up 4th. She had received the Muhammed Ali Award for Sports Achievement on Saturday night, presented by The Greatest himself. http://thegolfgirl.blogspot.com/2011/03/cristie-kerr-honored-at-celebrity-fight.html
Morgan was there, and during the round was explaining to KB who Muhammed Ali is. Lee Greenwood was there, and Morgan was talking about how she got chills listening to him sing "God Bless the
Morgan is fun to be with. She's not a long hitter by tour standards, 2nd longest in her twosome today, but on the 15th hole (one of two where they measure the drives) she hit it past KB, 258 yards, about 15 past her normal shot. The 15th is a par 5, and when Cactus Dave and I played it from the back tees it was 607 yards, but for the tournament they played from 485. As we walked up to their balls, both in the fairway, I said loudly enough for the gallery to hear "Nice shot, long-ball", and Morgan smiled and made a muscle for the crowd.
Then she hit one of her best shots of the day, onto the green. She was quite pleased with herself, and said that didn't happen very often.
On 14, a par 3, Morgan had hit her tee shot about 2 inches from where the previous day's cup had been cut. She pointed it out to her caddy. The 15th green is about 40 yards deep, and the pin was in the back. Morgan's ball was on the front, about 10 feet from where Saturday's pin had been. As we walked up, I told her she was going to be close to yesterday's pin placement again, and she said "Thanks for reminding me. That's about the 4th time today."
On every tee there is water, gatorade, and soda for the pros, if they want something to drink. So when we crossed the street between holes, where some neighborhood kids had set up a lemonade stand, Morgan went over to buy a cup of lemonade. A few holes later, as we were waiting to tee off, she signed three gloves and gave them to 3 kids in the gallery. I have had very pleasant times with other players, and there are many who, like Morgan, realize that they have the best job in the world, and they do things to express their appreciation to their fans and volunteers. Maybe some of them bought lemonade from those kids. Surely some of them tossed a ball to a fan from time to time, and some may have even signed a glove for a fan (Phil did it once on TV, but only after he had hit the guy with a golf ball). I've never seen or heard of three at a time, but it could have happened. I know one thing for sure, though, at the volunteer party after the tournament, only one player came by to say thanks to us, and sign autographs, and pose for pictures.
Ms. Pressel is a very special person.
