Although all distractions other than the golf finally left Turnberry yesterday, the misery at the Ricoh Women’s British Open continued in the shape of this dreadful high summer in Scotland.
Heavy rain and driving wind, the recurring motif of this four week stretch of top class golf across the country in July, swept in again. No sooner had the women got their chance to shine without something or someone – else obstructing the view than the clouds rolled in.
Norway’s World No 7 Suzann Pettersen was a shining light, but with a dawn chorus tee time she was done and dusted well before lunchtime. The rest of the day was a gruelling slog with only the most resilient surviving.
Everyone who knows the game knows that links golf can turn on a change of weather conditions, but the extent sometimes still surprises even experienced observers. In the early morning of yesterday’s second round, some people those who hadn’t seen the weather forecast mostly – were talking about a cut mark of level par.
At lunchtime, Catriona Matthew, conducting a question and answer in the sponsors’ pavilion having just finished with a 77 for a four-over total, sounded none too convinced when it was suggested that the worsening weather might possibly get her inside the cut mark.
Four hours later, the 2009 champion was comfortably in for the weekend with two shots to spare, although 11 behind halfway leader Pettersen at seven-under.
In yesterday’s circumstances, Pettersen’s 69 one of only round two rounds under par all day might even be compared to Greg Norman’s legendary 63 in the storm in the Open of 1986 that turned that championship into a stroll for him.
It wasn’t nearly that good; the Norwegian was safely indoors before the rain added to the wind and made playing conditions truly dreadful. One might even argue Mika Miyazato’s 72 and Lydia Ko’s 73 later on, both compiled deep in the worst of the weather, were actually better.
But no-one else came close to Pettersen even in the dry, especially on the key stretch from the 12th, which she called “hitting the wall”.
“The first holes play a fraction easier than yesterday, but after 12, it’s really tough,” she said. “The yardage didn’t matter.
“On 12 I had 156 yards left and knew I couldn’t get there with a 4-iron. So I hit a stinging hybrid 150 yards.
“I said to my Dad, `I just hit a hybrid 150!’, he said `Did you hit it solid?’, and I said `Flushed it!’
“On days like today, you can’t think about technical stuff. You’re only trying to be in control of every shot you hit. If you try and play pitch-perfect golf out there today, it’s not going to work.”
This freer style now comes naturally to Pettersen, she believes, since she switched from David Leadbetter to Butch Harmon.
“My thoughts and especially swing thoughts don’t change from day to day,” she added. “I play a bit smarter, and he’s brought back the simpleness. I’m trying to mess it up best I can, but he’s pretty good at getting me on track.”
Ko ended up only two off the lead , a rally for two birdies after three successive bogeys on the toughest part of the course, holes 12 through 14.
“It was actually tougher in practice on Monday,” she said. “I walked out to the tenth that day and played in some bad weather just to get used to it.
“It was a totally different course. At 16 I was 5-wood, 8-iron to reach yesterday and today it was 3-wood, 3-wood and short.
“Seeing Suzann make 69 you know it just what a great round it is. Just one bogey in that is seriously impressive.”
There were plenty of casualties. Michelle Wie, limping with her hip and knee problems that putting stance cannot help retired after dropping her tenth stroke of the day.
Brittany Lincicome actually played surperbly in the conditions for 15 holes, standing at three-under for the day, only for a quintuple bogey 9 at the 16th sending her reeling, missing the cut by one.
First round leader Hyo Joo Kim had warned us she didn’t like bad weather, but she managed fairly well until the 11th, standing at eight-under. After that she went into sharp reverse, six shots going in the next six holes and back to two-under.
The best round of the afternoon wave came from England’s Mel Reid, who was two-under for the brutal back nine, enough to push her to one-under for the championship. That also promoted her to top Brit in the field, with only Matthew and Carly Booth, both of whom recorded 77s, making the cut of the Scottish contingent.