Michelob Ultra Open Special Report

You're in for a treat this week, Sisters fans! Scott Sturycz is a super Se Ri Pak fan who has followed her the last couple of years at the Michelob Ultra Open. When he was in the army, he took their Korean language course, and ended up becoming a translator over there during his hitch. After that, he lived for three additional years in Korea, improving his language skills all the while.

At last year's event, he and his lovely wife followed Se Ri during her triumphant rounds on the weekend that led to her victory and qualification for the Hall of Fame (lucky guy!). After the Saturday round, they went to the scoring tent to get his wife's hat autographed. They spotted Ae Ri, Se Ri's younger sister, who was trying without much success to carry on a conversation in English with some fans (Ae Ri does not live over here and does not speak the language well). Scott went over and struck up a conversation with her in Korean.

Se Ri poses with Scott Sturycz and his wife Bo
at last year's Michelob Ultra Open

Se Ri talks to the press before this
year's Michelob Ultra Open

This year, Scott again followed Se Ri on Saturday, which, because of weather, was the second round of the event. The following are his observations of what happened:

It wasn't the old spectacular Se Ri we all love, but it wasn't as bad as the numbers suggest. She went 4 over, which sounds horrible, but she hit at least half of her fairways, and though her greens in regulation rate was low, several of them were on the collar, letting her putt, although she didn't get credit for the GIR. In my opinion, her putter was her downfall during this round. While she didn't give herself a LOT of birdie opportunities, she failed to make all but one of the chances she did get. I took a small voice recorder, and recorded notes about her round, so I'll give you a rundown here.

HOLE 1 - Par 4 - Long drive, about 40 yards past her playing partners, and in the first cut of rough, just off the fairway. Second shot is on the green, about 20 ft. from the hole. 1st putt left about 2 feet short. She tapped in for par. [0/1 fairways, 1/1 GIR, 2 putts]

HOLE 2 - Par 3 - Flag was in back center of the green, and Se Ri hits her first shot on the green, about 25 feet away from the hole. First putt about 2-3 feet short. Tapped in for par. [0/1 fairways. 2/2 GIR, 4 putts]

HOLE 3 - Par 5 - Driver off the tee, into the fairway. Second shot she laid up, about 40 yds short of the green. Third shot she hit the green, but it hit and released quickly and ran all the way to the far back of the green, 40+ feet from the hole. I think that she was on the collar, so I don't think it counted as a GIR. 1st putt is firm, turned left and missed the hole, and stopped 4-5 feet away. She made the knee-knocker for par. [1/2 fairways, 2/3 GIR, 6 putts]

HOLE 4 - Par 4 - She hits driver off the tee, but it goes far right, over the spectator ropes, and down near some water and marshy area. She hit a provisional, and when she checked out her first shot, it turned out to be just outside the out of bounds marker. So, she was lying 3, hitting 4 from where her provisional drive landed (which was in the fairway). Her approach shot lands on the green, about 20 feet from the hole. Her first putt goes about 2 inches right, and ends up just a couple of inches short of the hole. She taps in, but ends up with double bogey. If she had hit her first shot the way she hit the provisional, she would have had a fairway, a GIR, and almost a birdie putt, but with the penalty, she gets none of it. [1/3 fairways, 2/4 GIR, 8 putts]

HOLE 5 - Par 3 - She hit the green off the tee, leaving the ball 20-25 feet short of the flag. First putt breaks left more than she anticipated, and the ball goes about 3 inches to the left, but she had perfect speed, and the ball stops about 3 inches past the hole. She taps in for par. [1/3 fairways, 3/5 GIR, 10 putts]

Se Ri from a bunker in last year's event

This year's event was mostly frustration
for Se Ri

HOLE 6 - Par 4 - Driver off the tee, center of the fairway. Approach shot she hit fat, so the ball shot across the green and stopped about 10 yards off the back of the green. She chipped up for her third shot, which hit and released, but still came up about 10-12 feet short of the pin. Putts to save par, perfect speed, it hangs up on the lip for half a second, then falls in. [2/4 fairways, 3/6 GIR, 11 putts]

HOLE 7 - Par 5 - She hits driver off the tee, and goes right a little bit. She cleared the two fairway bunkers on the right, ending up on the crest of the hill just past the second bunker. Second shot gets her back into the fairway, about 60 yards short of the green. Her approach shot hit the green about 4 feet in front of the pin, then released and ran to end up about 20-25 feet past the hole. First putt misses about 6 inches left, and goes about 4 feet past the hole. She makes her second putt for par. [2/5 fairways, 4/7 GIR, 13 putts]

HOLE 8 - Par 4 - Off the tee she finds the left center of the fairway. The flag was pretty much in the center of the green. Her approach shot hit about 5 feet past the flag, released, and ran onto the first cut on the back left of the green, about 35-40 feet from the hole. She hit a great putt from the collar, just missing to the right edge of the hole, and ran it about a foot past. She tapped in for par. [3/6 fairways, 4/8 GIR, 15 putts]