Lucy Li

[AdamSmith]

I care about professional sports slightly less than I care about -- hard even to think of any comparison. But is anyone else here glancing at the headlines or TV coverage of the LPGA golf tournament taking place right now in Pinehurst, NC? The 11-year-old golf prodigy Lucy Li has charmed my heart away.

Yesterday she shot an 8-over-par 78 on the fiendishly difficult Pinehurst No. 2 course, designed by legendary golf course architect Donald Ross. His putting greens are what the biz calls "turtle-back greens" -- they are hump-shaped, with only a few select spots where you can put the ball so that it will not roll right off the green. Li remarked to her caddy when he first met her, "Of course Ross's greens are designed to repel golf balls, not receive them." And the rest of the course is similar -- in each fairway shot for instance, as Li remarked in a press conference, if you land the ball just 3 feet to the left or right of the correct aim point, the next shot becomes all but impossible.

Her post-game interview with the press yesterday...

Some of the press coverage...

http://deadspin.com/meet-lucy-li-the-11-year-old-golfer-playing-this-years-1593207439

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/06/20/lucy-li-11-steals-the-show-at-womens-open/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2014/06/19/lucy-li-shoots-78-us-womens-open-pinehurst/10886707/

[AdamSmith]

USA Today's coverage...

Lucy Li shoots 78 in first round of U.S. Women's Open

Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY Sports 3:33 p.m. EDT June 19, 2014

(Photo: Rob Kinnan USA TODAY Sports)

911 CONNECT 85 TWEET 2 LINKEDIN 8 COMMENTEMAILMORE

PINEHURST, N.C. – Decked out in red, white and blue, a smiling 11-year-old Lucy Li arrived at the 10^th tee to begin her historic round Thursday in the 69^th U.S. Women's Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

With an opening drive that found the native area rimming the fairway, Li, all 5-1 of her, went on her merry way.

The sixth grader, the youngest player to ever qualify for the U.S. Women's Open, turned in a respectable 8-over-par 78 that included birdies on No. 1 and No. 5.

USATODAY

Tiny pre-teen golfer big attraction at U.S. Women's Open

The round was marred by double-bogeys on her opening hole and the 16^th hole and a triple-bogey 7 on the third hole when she tangled and lost with the turtle back green.

Then she ate a watermelon flavored ice cream bar at her post-round interview.

"I'm happy with how I played," Li said. "I mean, it's 8 over, it's not bad. But I was 7 over in three holes, so that's 1 over in 15 holes. I just need to get rid of the big numbers. … I learned that you've got to be patient. One shot at a time. Try to get rid of the big numbers. And, yeah, I learned a lot."

Her playing partners – Catherine O'Donnell and Jessica Wallace – learned Li can flat out play. And is a delightful girl.

USATODAY

Five things to know about Lucy Li before the U.S. Open

"She's way better than I was expecting," O'Donnell said. "She's a great player. She hits it out there farther than I was expecting, too. She hit it by me twice, I wasn't really happy about that. But, no, she's a joy to play with. Couldn't have been nicer. Very intelligent girl.

" … She was out there having a great time. She's sitting on the ground, having a snack or waiting. I struggled on the back nine because we waited 10 minutes on every shot. And she was like, all right, this is great, another stroll in the park kind of thing. And she just chitchatted with us all day."

LUCY LI PHOTO GALLERY:

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Lucy Li at the U.S. Women's Open

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Lucy Li tees off on the fifth hole during the first round of the U.S. Women's Open at the Pinehurst Resort and Country Club. Rob Kinnan USA TODAY Sports

Added Wallace: "She is so mature for her age. There were times when I felt more immature than she is. She is mature beyond her years. I thought she handled herself really well out there. Her first U.S. Open, she's 11 years old. Who knows what people were expecting out of her this week? And I thought she played the course well. She's capable of playing well on this course. She hits the ball a good distance. So it was a pleasant surprise playing with her."

Li hit all but one fairway, nine greens in regulation and had 32 putts. She had the longest drive on the second hole – with a big kick it went about 260 yards – and gave some fist pumps when she made key par putts and her birdies. She acknowledge the crowds with a quick wave of her right hand throughout the round.

She also sat down on more than half the holes – a perfect way to deal with the delays on the course.

"Yeah, I normally sit down even more than that," she said with a laugh.

"I was just trying to have fun, go out and play my best," she added. "I'm happy I broke 80, because I got two doubles and a triple and that can really ruin a score. But I'm glad I got it back after that.

" … I guess I am glad that I got it over with, but I'm also excited for tomorrow."

As for the rest of her Thursday, Li had a quick response when asked what she would do.

"Eat some more ice cream," she said.

[RA1]

I have nothing negative to say about Lucy Li. I wish her only the best. What I do have to say is, isn't it amazing how many flash in the pans there seems to be among not only young players but first time or early success players of every description?

We have a young golfer here in the MEM area who was economically supported by many FEDEX pilots (his father was a FEDEX captain) but who has not made substantial progress lately. Ditto many others and, dare I mention Tiger Woods? Not exactly a flash but more like a meteor who emblazed the heavens and then fell to earth. I guess meteors are not a who but Tiger is.

I suppose the bottom line is, call me after 10 or 20 or more years of substantial accomplishment and then, we can talk.

Best regards,

RA1

[AdamSmith]

She is way cool with saying in an interview (paraphrasing) that she has no idea right now if she wants to chase a career in pro golf, she's just playing and enjoying it now, and will see where golf takes her.

I think that Zen attitude, and the extreme coolness and in-the-moment "mindfulness" she's shown in this tournament -- not getting rattled at all by really horrible holes but coming right back and just focusing on each shot -- augur a long and steady career, if she chooses to pursue it.

Some commentators are already noting the contrast between her attitude and the agony-and-ecstasy, sturm-und-drang of so many players. And are saying, This is what golf should be about.

So a little over-reaction to her, including on my part, sure. But what a delight nonetheless.

[MsGuy]

Not to pop any balloons, AS, but one must always take into account the possibility that the little darling has simply been well coached by her agent's media experts.

Just saying...

[AdamSmith]

Not to pop any balloons, AS, but one must always take into account the possibility that the little darling has simply been well coached by her agent's media experts.

Just saying...

I must say, you channel Jimmy Byrnes awful well.

As Truman wrote of Byrnes in Truman's private dairy (quoting from memory):

"Like all Southern lawyers, he sees duplicity and deceit in everyone and everything -- sometimes an accurate viewpoint."

[Guest zipperzone]

Ditto many others and, dare I mention Tiger Woods? Not exactly a flash but more like a meteor who emblazed the heavens and then fell to earth. I guess meteors are not a who but Tiger is.

Best regards,

RA1

If only I could "fall" as well as Tiger. My heart bleeds for him. It must be tough having to count all that $$$

[AdamSmith]

Not to pop any balloons, AS, but one must always take into account the possibility that the little darling has simply been well coached by her agent's media experts.

Meant to add: As I noted above, her self-presentation is of a piece with her style of play, something rather beyond the reach of media coaches.

[RA1]

Nothing personal against Lucy Li but why and how is she a pro? She cannot legally execute contracts or even drive a car so she has to be "completely" taken care of by a parent or guardian. Of course, it is interesting that she has talent and a big personality/attitude.

Underlying these types of questions is the money aspect. The US Master's allows qualified amateurs to play and maintain their standing. If Miss Li is having so much fun, why is she a pro?

Of course, here in the US, we tend to glorify athletes with money rather than simply fan support. As has been said many times before, there is no way "playing a game" is worth that kind of money EXCEPT the public is willing to pay it.

Best regards,

RA1

[AdamSmith]

why and how is she a pro?

I don't really understand the question. I don't know anything about how pro vs. amateur standing is determined in the U.S. Open, or what it means. More detail?

[AdamSmith]

Lucy Li misses cut at US Women's Open but has amazing week

By Kyle Porter | Golf Writer

June 20, 2014 7:18 pm ET

Lucy Li shot two 78s at wicked Pinehurst. (Getty Images)

Lucy Li backed up her first-round 78 with another one of them on Friday to put her at 16 over for the US Women's Open, just seven strokes outside the cut line and just two worse than Tiger Woods' niece, Cheyenne.

It's a figure she likely would have (or should) have taken when the week started, and Friday's round included a double bogey, a triple bogey, five bogeys and two birdies.

"Yeah, it's been a great week," she said after her round. "I had a lot of fun. I learned a lot and, yeah, I guess it has exceeded my expectations."

Li's caddie, Bryan Bush said she was pretty amazing, not for a 11-year-old, but just as a golfer.

"She would hit -- we would have an uh-oh hole and next thing you know she would hit a hybrid or a fairway wood inside eight feet," he said. "You don't see many of the adult pros doing that. That's what really impressed me."

"She's by far the headline, I'm just the guy carrying the bag."

Li also said she never really thought about her score all week.

"It's definitely helped because if you care about your score, then the numbers get bigger and bigger and if you don't care about it, it actually helps you play better."

Bush concurred.

"Never was. She was here for the experience and the opportunity to play with the best players in the world. She proved that she can. So it was never about score. The best part, she didn't even know what she made on 13 when we walked off the green."

My favorite part of the entire week might have happened away from the course on Friday after she broke 80 for the second straight day.

As Li made her way to her post-Friday press conference one reporter stated to here, "you broke 80 again."

Her response? What any 11-year-old who just accomplished a feat of that magnitude would say.

"Yeah."

http://www.cbssports.com/golf/eye-on-golf/24593399/lucy-li-misses-cut-at-us-womens-open-but-has-amazing-week

[AdamSmith]

One more...

At 11, Lucy Li's success is joyful and anything but elementary

By Michael Bamberger, Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated

Published: Friday, June 20, 2014 | 09:16:38 PM | Comments (27)

PINEHURST, N.C. – Before Lucy Li, 11-year-old golfing sweetheart, hit her first shot in the U.S. Open, Stacy Lewis took it upon herself to play the role of spoilsport. The No. 1 player in the women’s game said, “If it was my kid, I wouldn't let her play in the U.S. Open qualifier at 11, but that's just me."

It seemed so needlessly negative. As for the 36-hole one-day qualifier Lewis referred to, Lucy was the medalist in it. She won by seven, in a field of 84 golfers, held at the Old Course at Half Moon Bay. She shot rounds of 74 and 68.

Then Lucy came into the press tent for a group interview. She was so smart and charming and giggly and Lewis’s comments seemed even more unnecessary. In that Wednesday press conference, Lucy Li likely became the first golfer in the history of press-tent interviews to cite Sherlock Holmes as a favorite literary figure. Sherlock Holmes! Sir Arthur Conan Doyle on the summer reading list of an elite junior golfer!

The hits just kept coming. When she was asked if her father, a Chinese-born financial analyst with a PhD in computer science, can beat her in golf, she paused, said, “No,” and convulsed into giggles.

PHOTO GALLERY: Lucy Li at Pinehurst No. 2.

Then on Thursday, in the first round of this 69th U.S. Women’s Open, Lucy Li went out and shot a credible round of 78, putting herself in position to maybe - maybe -make the 36-hole cut. She sat, yoga-style, cross-legged in the shade between shots. After the round, she earned praise from her playing partners for her poise, good cheer and solid play. When Lucy explained her three bad holes to reporters she sounded almost like a pro. But she licked a pink Strawberry Starburst Sorbet popsickle all the while, still in touch with her inner 11-year old. And by that point Lewis’s comments - even though they were nothing more than her honest response to a reporter’s question - started to seem almost mean.

And then came Friday, and the second round.

PHOTO GALLERY: The best photos from the 2014 U.S. Open

Lucy looked to need a round of even par or one over to make the cut, a considerable task, but doable, based on what she had showed on Thursday. She practiced early, to avoid the heat, took off a few hours, hit some wedge shots and got herself to the first tee for her 12:52 p.m. tee time. All morning long, the heat and humidity had been rising. She had so much white sunblock on her face (as many players did) she looked almost like a Kabuki performer.

She needed her big red umbrella for protection from the sun and, briefly, to keep her dry in a passing rain shower. A TV camera was often right in her face. After a double-bogey six on her first hole of the day, putting her at 10 over par through 19 holes, making the cut had become just about impossible.

Pinehurst No. 2 is one of the most difficult courses in the world, and she was playing in the same field as the best players in the world. At age 11. Her front-nine score, 38, could not have been fun. Then a bogey on 10. Another on 11. The temperature getting well over 90. Problems in a fairway trap on 13 including one swing that moved her ball maybe a yard followed by an unplayable lie. As she came off the green, she asked her caddie, Bryan Bush, a Pinehurst regular, “What’d I make there?” The answer was a seven, on a 340-yard par-4.

And then it looked like the wheels could come off. Then it looked like she might go for a number. Worse than that, then it looked like the drain of playing world-class competition on a world-class course with cameras might suck the life right out of her. And you wondered right then and there: was Stacy Lewis right?

She was not.

Lucy Li played the last five holes in even par, for another 78. She walked across that 18th green with her shoulders forward, using her putter as a walking stick. She exuded joy.

She answered post-round questions with her hands on her waist and her married parents, Warren Li and Amy Zeng, nowhere in sight. (Zeng, who has a masters in computer science, works for Hewlett Packard.) Lucy ended a lot of her sentences with that classic tweener sign-off of, “So, yeah.” She talked about how her friends at home had responded to the whole thing, raising her voice in imitation and saying, "'So you’re famous now.’” When she tried to search her memory for a shot-of-the-day, she flashed her eyeballs north in the direction of her considerable brain, came back empty and said, “I’m kind of tired now.” Tired, but happy. She was the youngest golfer to ever qualify for a U.S. Open.

Her play brings to mind the astonishing thing Guan Tianlang of China did in the 2013 Masters, when he made the cut as a 14-year-old. Lucy’s swing is far more fundamentally sound, but Guan’s short game was world-class by any standard. Lucy’s is a work-in-progress.

Her play at Pinehurst also brings to mind what Michelle Wie, the 36-hole leader at four under par, did in her first U.S. Open, in 2003, when she was 13. She finished in a tie for 39th. Also astonishing. She was better at 13 than she was at 20. Now she’s 24 and better than she’s ever been. Golf is hard to predict.

Guan Tianling demonstrated tremendous maturity as a 14-year-old. Michelle Wie at 13 seemed like a golfing Mozart with a magical swing but what joy the game gave her was hard to detect. Lucy Li, at 11, is a poised prodigy and joyful one. Plus she’s so smart.

Friday night, somebody gave Lucy’s parents an obscure novel written by a Canadian named Bob Jones, writing in the voice of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, called "Sherlock Holmes Saved Golf."

"Oh, she will love this,” Amy Zeng said. “She will read anything with Sherlock Holmes in it. She goes to the library and gets all the Sherlock Holmes books."

“She loves American history,” Warren Li said. “World War I, World War II, all American history.”

“And Egyptian history,” the mother said.

They headed off. Bryan Bush, the caddie, was waiting to get paid. Lucy stayed behind, the cool comfort of the player hospitality tent, watching Lexi Thompson put the finishing touches on a round of 68. Lexi Thompson played in a U.S. Open when she was 12. But that was years ago. That was in 2007. Now she’s 19. Nineteen! Michelle Wie is 24. Juli Inkster is 53 and playing in her 35th and likely last U.S. Open. It’s a long road. Out of the gate, Lucy Li was nothing but great.

Read more: http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/lucy-li-us-open-pinehurst-no-2#ixzz35ICbZavZ

[AdamSmith]

"Like all Southern lawyers, he sees duplicity and deceit in everyone and everything -- sometimes an accurate viewpoint."

P.S. On reflection I believe what Truman actually wrote was "Like every small-town Southern lawyer..."

[RA1]

Simply from a legal standpoint, LL has not reached her majority and therefore must be under the care and protection of a parent or guardian. How can a minor be a professional anything? Certainly not escorts.

Again nothing personal about MS. LL.

Best regards,

RA1

[AdamSmith]

Ah. Well, just that the various golf tournaments have long accepted underage players into their pro tournaments on equal footing with other players. They would seem to be the defining bodies, if they are willing to award their prizes to whomever wins.

[AdamSmith]

So a little research indicates that Lucy has indeed been competing as an amateur to date. But the U.S. Open, being as it says "open," simply makes no such distinction. You qualify, you play.

P.P.S. One more note on her coolness. One reason she specifically wanted to be in this Open was because of its being played on this absurdly difficult Ross course, whose designs she came to love from playing one of his courses out West where she lives. In one of the press sessions, remarking on what makes for a good game, she observed, "You've got to like the course, man."

[RA1]

Thanks for your research. I am not too lazy to do some research myself but I am in the process of moving, my sister is in town to help me and so are her two dogs. You can imagine how much help the dogs are.

Best regards,

RA1

[AdamSmith]

Ah! Good luck. The dogs are essential.

[AdamSmith]

Some notes on the course...

Fifth hole, 475/425 yards; When this hole opened as the 445 yard ninth on the Employees’ Course, hickory golf was the norm and it played as a par five. Nothing has really changed! Yes, it was labeled a par four in the 1930s while Ross was alive but many more fives than fours are carded here, so much so to that some consider it the most difficult two shot hole in American golf. The player can’t see where his tee ball finishes but the line off the tee is less a problem than the resulting fairway stance as the ball sits above a right handed player. From this hook stance, the player must flight the ball some 200 yards to a green featuring a steep false front, a false side and a savage left greenside bunker. Nothing within seven paces of the perimeter of the green allows for a cup, such is the manner in which this green slopes away on all sides. The statistics on this green are fascinating as it only features 1,976 square feet of putting surface with a slope less than 3%. Another 896 square feet of green is between 3% and 4% and might be cup-able under certain (i.e. non-U.S. Open) conditions. The remaining 2,925 square feet of the green features slopes greater than 4%. From well back in the fairway, the target area is minuscule at ~2,900 square feet. While it is rare to find a hole this difficult without water, this most challenging approach is mitigated by the reinstated firm conditions which allow for a run up. Unlike less artfully crafted courses, there is a reasonable bail out area short and right, providing lots of ways to card a five with dignity.

During the 2008 U.S. Amateur, Pinehurst No. 2 featured lots of green grass in the form of narrow fairways and wall to wall bermuda rough. Give owner Bob Dedman credit for calling in Coore & Crenshaw to restore the rough edged look and rustic flavor that Ross and Frank Maples carefully cultivated. (Photograph courtesy of Tufts Archives).

Sixth hole, 225/180 yards; Even as late as the 1910s, the No. 2 course wasn’t acknowledged as the best course at the resort as many considered No. 3 to be superior. At that time, No. 2 was very much in an evolutionary process that lasted over thirty years resulting in the layout we see today. Ross first expanded it to eighteen holes in 1908 to accommodate the boon in winter golf. Then No.2 received a big boost when Ross replaced two holes elsewhere with the third and sixth holes in 1923. The third requires finessee while the long one shot sixth calls for some sort of long iron to a green set on a diagonal along a front left bunker and swale. Like Oakmont and National Golf Links of America, Pinehurst No. 2 took several decades to obtain its final level of refinement and excellence. The location of Ross’s own home only a scant 150 yards from the sixth tee meant that Ross himself oversaw all major course developements, from transitioning sand to grass greens to moving the course from the era of hickory to steel shafts. We aren’t left to wonder what Ross would have done as he did it!

Seventh hole, 430/385 yards; Many restoration projects involve felling trees, recapturing numerous lost bunkers and expanding putting surfaces back to the edges of the green pads. Such was not the case with Coore & Crenshaw’s work. Indeed, the most significant design change to the course occured here at the seventh. Why? Because it was the most altered hole since Ross’s death. Richard Tufts had built up the seventh tee pad, added mounds to the outside of the dogleg and pinched in the fairway at its turn to a mere fourteen yards. Off the elevated tee, contestants during the 2008 U.S. Amateur were blowing tee shots over the trees on the inside of the dogleg and almost driving hole high. Coore & Crenshaw restored the hole’s compromised playing qualities.

Eighth hole 490/440 yards; Ross captured some of the most pleasant undulations on the property within this hole. All but the longest drivers play into a valley from where they face an uphill approach to one of the most built up green pads on the course. John Daly famously lost control to the left of this green during the 2005 U.S. Open. Having putted from off the green once too often for his satisfaction, he elected to hit a moving ball and was disqualified. A sad ending for a man with such a gifted short game but the banks that feed balls off the greens can elicit such frustration. A clip of John Daly is found on the Facebook page of GolfClubAtlas.com. Despite its length, the hole plays just fine as the green is open across its front and accepts a wide variety of approach shots.

Ninth hole, 190/150 yards; The shortest hole on the course features the most heavily defended green. Set at an angle to the tee, the wide shallow green climbs from front right to back left with a distinct tier at its narrow waist. Similar to the seventeenth at Pebble Beach, the hole location makes a tremendous difference in how it plays. Those on the back flat plateau are difficult because the effective landing area is less than 700 (!) square feet. Front right hole locations are easier to access as the tier in the middle of the green feeds tee balls to them but conversely, the putts feature more break than on the flatter top tier. Though the green measures 6,011 square feet, only 1,880 square feet of it features 3% of slope or less. A very fine one shotter, deserving of recognition for its diversity without appearing contrived.

Today’s back left hole location requires a well struck iron to find and hold the small back plateau.

Tenth hole, 620/460 yards; Architects like William Flynn, A.W. Tillinghast and Donald Ross believed in the importance of challenging the golfer with true three shot holes. As far back as 1923, this hole measured 540 yards which was no easy feat to cover with hickory shafts. Initially, the hole played straight ahead to a green located nearer the fourteenth green and featured a Sahara type bunker complex to be carried on one’s second. Subsequently, Ross came to believe that such hazards were too one dimensional as they don’t allow an alternate route for the weaker player. As part of his massive re-do in 1935 that saw the course grow to over 6,900 yards in length, the Sahara bunker complex was eliminated. Instead, Ross turned the tenth fairway to the left at the 125 yard mark from the green. Weaker players could bunt the ball along the fairway and still reach the green in three from a far forward set of tees while the tiger worked hard to properly position himself for a pitch to the green from the new 590 yard set of tees. This is yet another example of Ross attractively engaging all classes of players.

Though this view from the back markers makes the tenth appear straightforward, …

…it isn’t. Out of bounds threatens down the left while this mound down the right ensnares many a pushed tee ball.

The tenth fairway has pivoted left around this crossbunker for over seventy-five years.

Eleventh hole, 485/375 yards; The eleventh and twelfth occupy land near the harness track/polo field where the elevation varies only a few feet. Here is what’s interesting: Standing on the eleventh tee, the golfer who turns left sees prime golf terrain with holes flowing up and down over the attractively rolling land. This is the No. 4 Course which wraps past No. 2 at the eleventh and twelfth holes. Ross could have easily embedded these two flattish holes into the No.4 course if he was so inclined. That he didn’t and because these holes have been in continuous use since 1911 tells us that Ross liked what he accomplished here. Mo less than Ben Hogan numbered the eleventh among his favorite two shotters in golf.

This photograph of Hogan could well be taken today, such is the recaptured sandy floor of Pinehurst No. 2.

Continued>>>

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/pinehurst-no-2-2/pinehurst-no-2/

[RA1]

Looks almost as tough as some Scottish courses except Pinehurst actually has some grass.

Best regards,

RA1

[AdamSmith]

Ross was a Scotsman who came over here in the early 1900s and, apparently, more or less invented golf course architecture in the US. Some commentators last week did remark that the Pinehurst No. 2 course is designed rather like the "links" layouts common in Scotland. The notes above also say he liked to use the native lie of the land wherever possible, with minimal earth moving.

[RA1]

Always a pleasure to observe and use land not overly manicured. Golf courses that resemble a public beach in their sand traps and fairways suitable for croquet are altogether too yuppiefied for me.

Best regards,

RA1

[AdamSmith]

Pinehurst today is proud of having called in Coore and Crenshaw some years back for a big restoration of the course to Ross's final design. Over the years it like many courses had been gradually modified during maintenance & upkeep -- greens had been reshaped, bunkers shifted, etc. In particular Coore & Crenshaw changed the rough from high, well watered green grass back to the indigenous wire grass and scrub that Ross had there originally. Largely as a result of not having to water the rough any more, Pinehurst has slashed its water consumption by something like 2/3 or a bit more. Plus, as you say, the natural brown rough looks a lot more interesting. The golfers apparently find it more interesting and challenging too.