It was a lighter week for the golf fantasy schedule as the PGA Tour cancelled the Greenbrier Classic this past week. As you might recall, this was due to heavy flooding in the White Sulpher Springs, West Virginia region. They felt that the state of West Virginia had bigger things to deal with and also that the course might not be in best standing.
That left the EPGA Tour and the LPGA Tour as the only options on the golf fantasy schedule. That left the Scottish Open was the final stop on the men’s side before The Open Championship from Ayrshire, Scotland this week. Meanwhile, there was some incredible drama from the U.S. Women’s Open as the U.S.G.A struck again with another controversial call that significantly impacted the final result at this year’s tournament. Here is a recap of the events from around the golf world this past weekend.
U.S. Women’s Open
LPGA Tour
A three-hole playoff at the U.S. Women’s Open was all but decided by a two-stroke penalty assessed to Anna Nordqvist on Sunday. Nordqvist and Brittany Lang were deadlocked in the playoff when Nordqvist was penalized for grounding her club in a fairway bunker by the absolute slimmest of margins. She just barely touched the sand. Nordqvist was told about the penalty after taking her second shot on the third playoff hole while Lang was informed of the penalty before she took her second shot on the third playoff hole, which led to her switching clubs and taking a more cautious approach to finish off the playoff knowing that as long as she didn’t make a mistake, she would win.
Lang parred all three playoff holes to capture her first major title in what was undoubtedly an anticlimactic finish. The two had ended regulation two shots ahead of a group that featured world No. 1 Lydia Ko, Amy Yang, Sung Hyun Park and Eun-Hee Ji. Other notable finishes included Stacy Lewis finishing seventh at three-under and rookie sensation Ariya Jutanugarn finishing tied for 17th at even par. 18-year-old Canadian Brooke Henderson struggled this week as she placed tied for 64th at 11-over for her worst result of the season to this point. She was coming off a win and many people felt that she would be a good option in golf fantasy. Instead, she wasn’t even competitive. From a betting perspective, she was one of the top options on the board along with Ko. Ko was closer but she didn’t deliver either.
The next stop on the LPGA Tour is the Marathon Classic this week from the Highland Meadows Golf Course in Windsor, Colorado. Check out the golf section in GMS on Wednesday for our golf fantasy preview of that event.
Top 10 Results From The U.S. Open
Brittany Lang -6
Anna Nordqvist -6
Amy Yang -4
Eun-Hee Ji -4
Sung Hyun Park -4
Lydia Ko -4
Stacy Lewis -3
Gerina Piller -2
Jodi Ewart Shadoff -2
Cristie Kerr -2
Scottish Open
Alex Noren carded a final round 70 to win the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Castle Stuart over the weekend. Noren, who turns 34 on Tuesday, finished at 14-under for the tournament to place one stroke ahead of Tyrell Hatton for the victory. Nicolas Colsaerts, Matteo Manassero and Danny Lee tied for third at 12-under while Richie Ramsey and Andy Sullivan finished one shot further back. Noren, who won the Nordea Masters in his native Sweden in 2011 and 2015 admitted after the tournament that it was the biggest win of his career and something he only dreamed about growing up. Other notables included Patrick Reed finishing tied for 10th at nine-under while Phil Mickelson finished tied for 13th at seven-under. The focus on the men’s side will shift dramatically this week with a much deeper field of talent making the trip to the Royal Troon Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland for the next major event on the year in The Open Championship.
Top 10 Results Scottish Open
Alex Noren -14
Tyrrell Hatton -13
Nicolas Colsaerts -12
Danny Lee -12
Matteo Manassero -12
Richi Ramsay -11
Andy Sullivan -11
Jorge Campillo -10
Callum Shinkwin -10
