Gary D’Amato: Wisconsin.Golf Senior writer recaps the first two rounds of the US Women's Open golf major

Dangerous weather and then darkness has forced an end to play on day two of the US Women's Open golf major in Wisconsin. 

A number of players were still on the course at Erin Hills, so they'll resume overnight. 

Kiwi great Dame Lydia Ko's managed to finish her second round but is eight shots off the pace on even par, with the projected cut line on two over. 

Ko's carded a one-under 71 and is sitting in a tie for 37th. 

Senior writer for Wisconsin.Golf, Gary D’Amato joined Piney to recap the first two rounds of the major. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
To do if she's to compete at the pointy end
of the latest LPGA Golf Major at Aaron Hills in Wisconsin.
The reigning Olympic gold medalist has made the cut at
the US Women's Open, but she is eight shots off
the lead. Lydia Co shot one under. Today, she's even
par overall in a tie for thirty seventh. Japan's Mole
Saygor tops the leaderboard eight hunderd par, three shots clear

(00:35):
of a group of six players at five under, including
current world number one Nelly Quarter. Great pleasure to welcome
to the show. Senior writer for Wisconsin Dot Golf, Gary Demato, Gary,
good to have you on the show. Play was suspended
for a time today due to dangerous weather. Did they
get the entire second round completed?

Speaker 3 (00:57):
They did that. Unfortunately, there are I believe twelve players
who were stranded on the course. There was a weather
delay of almost an hour. They got back out on
the course toward the end of the night, but then
darkness fell and there were some women still on the course.
So they're going to rezoom play at I don't know
what time it is for you guys at eight thirty
a m. Central time in Wisconsin here tomorrow. You figure

(01:19):
it out from there.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Look, I'll do the maths at our end. We'll work
it out. Gary, no problem. So I guess there must
have been a risk lightning struck. So I heard an
unconfirmed report that a tree on the course was hit
by lightning. Is this right?

Speaker 3 (01:36):
I believe a tree was hit. Someone texted me a
picture of the tree that it looked like it was
struck by lightning on the cifth fore, and it's really
funny because there's only five trees on the inside perimeter
of the golf course. There are virtually no trees in play,
and only five on the entire golf course, and one
of them apparently was struck.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
All right, well, let's look at what happened on the course.
Dame Lydier cow who, of course we're very interested in
here in New Zealand. Eight strokes back? Is that too
big a gap to contain? For the one?

Speaker 3 (02:09):
I would say if there was one round left, I
would say yes. But with thirty six holes left, I
think she's got a chance. I mean, I don't think
it's a good chance. But I like what she did
in the second round, and she was outside the cut
line and then played a great back nine with she
made a twenty foot birdie on number ten, a nine
footer on eleven, and a seven footer on fifteen. So

(02:29):
she finished very well and I'm sure that's going to
bode well for her going to the third round.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Mause IgA shot the low round today six under. She
has a three stroke laid over a chasing pack. What
did she do particularly well today?

Speaker 3 (02:46):
You know, she's just got a really solid game, and
of course, she won the season's first major championship, the
Chevron Championship, first major of the year, back in April,
so obviously she's riding a wave of confidence. Came in here,
you know, feeling really good about her game, and I
think she's just doing everything well. She's not she's not
making bad mistakes, she's keeping her ball in play and

(03:09):
you know, making a lot of powers, grinding out a
lot of powers.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
And I guess, of the chasing pack, your eyes naturally
land on the current world number one in Nellie quarter.
Does she appeal as the most likely challenger in rounds
three and four?

Speaker 3 (03:25):
I would say definitely Yeah, Nelly has not has yet
to win the US Women's Open, just like Lydia Cole
has yet to win it. Now he's got a lot
of time though. She's twenty six years old, but she is.
She's playing very well. She made one hundred and twelve
feet worth of putts today, but oddly she missed two
very short puts, two puts under three feet. Had she

(03:45):
made those two, you know, she'd be one stroke off
the lead. But I believe she'll definitely be the player
to watch over the final thirty six goals.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
Who else then, Gary? Who else is well placed to
make a bit of a run at this.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
Yeah, it's really interesting. There's a woman named Sarah Smelser
who is thirty one years old, has never won on
the LPGA tour. She's been around a while and she
played great today and she's one of the women that
are three throws back. But you know, you come to
the pressure of the US Women's Open and some of
these women who have yet to win or to win

(04:18):
a major championship or any tournament, you know they're going
to be under a lot of pressure on the final
thirty six souls. But there are several women from Japan.
They're the top and a very strong Japanese contingent. But
I think really, you know those six types per second
place and Mount Saigo and the league, I think you know,
the winner probably will come from that group, would be

(04:40):
my guest.

Speaker 2 (04:42):
Tell us about the course at Aaron Hills, what are
specific challenges.

Speaker 3 (04:47):
Yes, it's you know, as I mentioned earlier, it's wide open,
it's a Lynks style inland Link style course. There's no ocean,
but there's an ocean of sand. There's a ton of
bunkers on the golf course, one hundred and thirty five bunkers,
I believe, which is the most that the women will
see on the LPGA Tour this year. And you know,
it's a it's a long course. It's playing at just

(05:08):
a little over sixty eight hundred yards for the women
this week. And really what protects power on this course
is the slopes, a lot of green surrounds closely moaned
grass that if you miss the green, it's going to
row thirty or forty yards down the hill. And then
the wind. The wind blew pretty strong late in the
day today and I'm kind of hoping it blows on

(05:29):
the weekend a little bit, because that's what protects power.
Brooks KPCUK set sixteen under two seventy two when he
won the men's US Open here in twenty seventeen, and
Miles Sago is halfway there at eight under halfway through
this championship, so I'm hopeful we get a little bit
of I'm hoping the course defends itself and Mother Nature
comes to its rescue here.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
Okay, well likely not as much, well as much roth
as she did today. Is the full cost bit of
it tomorrow in Sunday.

Speaker 3 (05:59):
It is. It's been a very rough May in our
part of the world here. We've had a lot of
cold days and rain. But the weekend looks really good.
Sunny temperatures in the mid seventies fahrenheit and a little
bit of a breeze, you know, blowing at eight to
twelve sometime maybe gusting into the upper teams miles per hour,

(06:19):
so it should be ideal scoring conditions now. Of course,
has been shoppened by some rain tonight, so I would
suspect that we'll see some really good scores on the weekend. Again.

Speaker 2 (06:29):
Gary, it's been a great pleasure to have you on
the show with your time and your expertise. Thanks so
much for joining us across New Zealand. Really appreciate it
my pleasure.

Speaker 3 (06:37):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 2 (06:38):
All the best to you. Gary Demato there senior writer
with Wisconsin dot Golf. You can follow him on social
and in terms of the leader board, as we say,
lydia Co eight shots off the lead after two rounds.
Male Saiga has the lead at eight under in a
group of six players at five under. Lydia Co is

(06:58):
currently at one under the cart after sorry she's even
part shooting a one under round today. She's even part
of the tournament, eight shots back from the lead. Look
forward to following her progress over the next little while.

Speaker 1 (07:12):
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