U.S. Women’s Open – Final-round Notes and Interviews

U.S. Women’s Open conducted by the USGA
The Broadmoor, East Course
Colorado Springs, Colo.
July 10, 2011
Final-round notes

Hee Kyung Seo -3, Rolex Rankings No. 30
So Yeon Ryu -2, Rolex Rankings No. 40
Cristie Kerr -1, Rolex Rankings No. 2
Angela Stanford E, Rolex Rankings No. 23
Yani Tseng +6, Rolex Rankings No. 1
Amy Anderson (a) +17

LPGA Tour rookie Hee Kyung Seo held a one-shot lead over So Yeon Ryu in the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open conducted by the USGA when play was called due to darkness at 8:00 p.m. MT. A total of 42 players finished their final rounds on Sunday while 30 golfers remained on the course when play was called. Final-round play had been suspended earlier in the day at 3:18 p.m. MT due to inclement weather and resumed at 5:54 p.m. MT.

It was a long day of golf for most of the competitors, who experienced delays in play for the fourth straight day. Third-round play at The Broadmoor’s East Course had originally resumed at 6:45 a.m. MT on Sunday morning after being suspended due to inclement weather on Saturday night. Only 19 of the 72 players who made the cut had recorded scores in the third round when play was halted.

On the cusp of winning? Seo, who celebrated her 25th birthday on Friday, shot a final-round, 3-under 68 to post the clubhouse lead at 3-under par for the tournament. She is attempting to become a Rolex First-Time Winner and the first player from South Korea to win an LPGA Tour event this season. An 11-time winner on the KLPGA Tour, Seo earned her LPGA Tour card for the 2011 season by capturing the 2010 Kia Classic while she was a non-member. So far this season she has one top-10 finish in nine LPGA Tour events, which was a tie for sixth at the Avnet LPGA Classic. Seo’s career best finish in a major championship was a T5 at the 2010 RICOH Women’s British Open.

The 5-foot-7 Seo, whose nickname from her time on the KLPGA is Supermodel of the Fairways, was an elite swimmer from age 4-9. But she had to quit swimming due to chronic sinus infections. She then turned her focus to golf, picking up the sport in the fourth grade. Seo started competing on the KLPGA in 2006 but she didn’t pick up her first win on the Tour until 2008.

On the KLPGA Tour, there is one-month break during the summer because of the rainy season. During that break in 2008, Seo trained with Jiyai Shin and has credited Shin with helping to improve the mental part of her game as she started winning on the KLPGA shortly after. Shin was in Seo’s group for the third and final rounds of this U.S. Women’s Open championship.

Now with a few players chasing her as they have a few holes remaining in their rounds, Seo will have to wait overnight to find out if she will become a Rolex First-Time winner at this U.S. Women’s Open. Seo was asked if it will be difficult to sleep knowing that it’s possible she could capture her first official win on the LPGA Tour and her first major championship on Monday.

“Nobody knows what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Seo said. “I think they’re going to have no wind in the morning, so I will just pray and wait.”

“I did my best and I did all my things, so even if I could not be winner, I don’t mind,” she said. “I just did my best, and that’s all.”

Fam