75th Women’s U.S. Open: This December Major Seems Very Strange

It would be nice to know who is leading the 75th playing of the USGA’s Women’s U.S. Open but with a historical first-ever, the “real” leader of this major championship won’t be known until late Friday afternoon.

A major championship field playing over two courses for the first 36-holes, isn’t just strange, it’s a reality at The Champions complex outside Houston where the world’s best women golfers take a look at the Cypress Creek and Jackrabbit courses.  That’s another strange one — a major championship on a course named “Jackrabbit.”

A balmy winter day in Texas set the stage for some different names at the top of the 18-hole scoreboard.

At the end of the day, it was Amy Olson, a former North Dakota State Bison with the best round in the books.  Olson, who has never won on the LPGA Tour, did a remarkable job of handling the Cypress Creek course, which is the more difficult of the two and the stage for the all-important final 36-holes.  It was a day to remember for Olson, especially at the 138-yard par three 16th where her tee shot landed about 12 feet short of the hole then started rolling like a putt.  The line was perfect and Olson’s ball dove right into the cup for an ace.  Aces look good on the scorecard and they can help you get to the top — as Olson’s did.

Olson was ecstatic on the tee and calmed herself enough to fashion a really nice opening round — a four-under par 67.  “I made some really good putts,” she admitted after her round.  “Really pleased with how I was putting.  It’s obviously important to stay in it (the tournament) — there’s birdies out there.  The Jackrabbit is a little shorter — you have some wedges into some of the holes but we’re gonna have some rain so I’ll just try and do (tomorrow) what I did today.”

Olson was a shot better than three players — Moriya (the other) Jutanugarn, A Lim Kim and Hinako Shibuno.  Jutanugarn and Kim played on “the Rabbit” while Shibuno was at Cypress Creek.

We won’t know who the real leader of the tournament is until the entire field has played both courses.

This first round was very, very unkind to the world’s top 10 for some unknown reason.  You won’t find any of them at the top or near the top.  No. 1 Jin Young Ko signed for 73 at Cypress, Sei Young Kim, the pretournament favorite — was one-over (72) on “the Rabbit” while Nelly Korda settled for a two-over 73 on Cypress.  Danielle Kang, after nearly a month off, made 16 straight pars at Cypress until she three-putted 17 for her only bogey.  A finishing par gave her 72.  No. 5 Inbee Park shot 71 at “the Rabbit” while Brooke Henderson recorded a 72.  The only top 10 player under par was 10th-ranked Sung Hyun Park, who had a 70 on “the Rabbit.”

The much ballyhooed caddie-player pairing of Tim Tucker (caddie) and Lexi Thompson (player) was much ado about nothing.  Caddies don’t hit shots and Thompson isn’t Bryson DeChambeau and thus Tucker witnessed a three-over par 74 by Thompson, due mostly in part to her poor putting over the first nine holes at Cypress Creek.

The biggest missing piece of the puzzle was U.S. Open rough.  What you saw out there was brown, wispy, dormant Bermuda grass which produces pretty decent lies and a little extra distance with the irons.  Nothing difficult about it.

But conditions are supposed to take an about face for Friday’s second round.  A front is coming bringing rain and some wind that could gust up to 20 miles per hour.

The rain might slow those slick greens a bit and that’s the only U.S. Open component that is present.  The greens are FAST, really FAST!

So by late Friday, there will be an actual, bonafide leader.  Those who survive the Friday weather and the 36-hole cut can get down to business and leave that “Jackrabbit” course behind and settle things over the tougher Cypress layout.

And by Sunday, we’ll have the final major champion of this very strange 2020 golf season.

U.S. Open Scoreboard: