Moving Day at the US Women's Open

Saturday at the US Women's Open, the galleries are swelling
Photo credit: USGA

I was sitting in the stands watching Stephanie Meadow and Karrie Webb warm up on the range this morning.  Behind me, a thirty-something thoughtful and patient daddy was identifying golfers and explaining the nuances of pro golf tournaments to his endlessly curious 10-year old daughter --

. . . that's Catriona Matthew, she's a mommy too and has little girls your age . . . and that's Michelle Wie, she might win the Open tomorrow (it was actually Azahara Munoz), and that's Karrie Webb, she's very, very famous because she's won so many golf tournaments, and that one in the pink shirt with the ruffles on her skort, that's Stephanie Meadow -- she's a college student . . .

A Walk Around Pinehurst No. 2

US Women's Open Trophy

In many respects Lucy Li and I are polar opposites -- she is young and I am old, she lives on the West Coast and I live on the East Coast, she is an amazing golfer and I struggle to occasionally break 90 -- but on one core matter we are rookie sisters.  This is our first US Women's Open, and as I walked the course today, beginning my day by following Laura Davies, then turning to Lucy's group for a time, and finally picking up Stacy Lewis, Inbee Park, and Emma Talley, I reflected on the extraordinary power emanating from the tee boxes and fairways and greens at Pinehurst No. 2.  Perhaps this is an artifact of my rookie blogger status, but I think not.

The Mighty Lucy: Lucy Li's Very Big Day

Lucy Li.

The sun was still low in the eastern sky above the North Carolina Sandhills when The Mighty Lucy, oblivious to the debate among players and pundits and aficionados that has swirled across the ether for days about the wisdom of allowing an eleven-year old to compete in the grande dame of American women's golf competition that is the US Women's Open, current darling of the press corps, teed off promptly at 7:07am Thursday morning for her first round.

On Laura Davies and Lucy Li

There's something magical about a competitive sport in which a seasoned, experienced 50-year old professional athlete and an 11-year old amateur can meet on the playing field as equals.   That's the nature of golf, and that's the nature of the US Women's Open.