Charley Hull may be five shots back, but she can absolutely win the AIG Women’s Open on Sunday.
Getty Images
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – It’s time to win, folks. Or as Rory McIlroy likes to call it – BUsINEss the end of the tournament. Where the fight really happens. Final round, 18 holes remaining, Sunday afternoon on the Old Course.
It feels good. It is also felt cold. It’s really freezing in late August evenings here in St. Louis. Andrews. With the wind gusting 25 to 30 mph, it feels like the temperature drops into the 40s as the golfers finish their rounds. But we are not charming. This is the home stretch! It will be tough on Sunday and so much so that only seven golfers can win it. Sure, there are Solheim Cup points on offer and a lot of money to fight for, but the fact is winningwe have shortened the field to just seven. And we have provided why below.
Yes, that means apologies to those not included. Sorry, Jenny Shin. We are sorry, Alexa Pano. Apologies to Jinhee Im and Esther Henseleit and anyone else not included below – we’re counting you (But also, prove us wrong).
1. Lilia Vu
Why? She’s the defending champion, duh. She has done it before. She looked like she was breaking down Saturday afternoon early at nine, but her caddy came in and told her to call her jets. “I think he was basically saying, like, you’ve missed every single (bunker) the last two days,” Vu told us Friday, “so this is your turn to go bunker.”
This golf is about acceptance. Vu has had a full year off, battling a back injury. Also, she puts it as well as anyone on the court. And it will continue on Sunday.
2. Lydia Co
Why? She has not made a double bogey. It may not seem vital to avoid double birdies as long as you make a bunch of birds, but avoiding chaos is everything in the old course now. Those three leaders entering the day – Vu, Nelly Korda and Charley Hull – were all passed because they all doubled up or worse today.
Ko will not be aggressive tomorrow. She promised the media that after her round. But she’ll commit and take what the course gives her, kind of like what she did in France two weeks ago. Will it be enough, though?
3. Nelly Korda
Why? She is Nelly Korda. She has won everything this year. And she hasn’t been in a bunker yet this week.
As stated above, everyone at the top ran into trouble today. But Korda did it with a bad swing that ended up in OB on 16. But Korda has somehow avoided all 112 bunkers on the Old Course this week — as far as we know — and could repeat Tiger Woods’ trap-free feat from the 2000 Open Championship . It might seem ridiculous to reduce all of this to avoiding traps, but Charley Hull tripled today simply because he found two bunkers. Lilia Vu’s double guy went into the bunker. This will happen to some of the leaders tomorrow. If it doesn’t happen to Korda, she will absolutely be in the hunt.
4. Yesterday
Why? She is in charge. And that matters! If you shoot the same score as her tomorrow, you won’t win. She’s also done it twice before – winning the Women’s Open in 2008 and 2012. But that was 12 years ago. At what point does experience go out the window in favor of youth? Maybe we’ll find out tomorrow.
5. Ruoning Yin
Why? She has scored the best round this week. The wind has been constant all week – same direction, same kind of crosswind, same kind of strength. And no one made it look less important than Yin on Thursday. She was six under (sort of) through 14 holes and cruising. Even if she stumbled, her 68 in the morning’s brutal conditions should beat the field average by eight or nine strokes. So she’s capable of shooting a 66 there, coming from behind and winning from the clubhouse. I think…
6. Jeeno Thitikul
Why? She should. Thitikul has struggled throughout May, June and July, but her only win this summer came in the team event in Michigan. Team wins are great and all, but they just don’t hit like solo wins. Thitikul then appeared at the Olympics and made it onto the podium before crashing out in the final round. And all week in St. Andrews, almost no one paid attention. She has done zero typing. It hovers around the perimeter of the leaderboard. But she is four back, and has struggled in every single direction in the rota. She’ll break through at some point, won’t she? Right???
7. Charlie Hull
Why? She will have the crowd. Hull has a natural electricity about him that most other pros don’t. Partly (and maybe mostly) because she’s so unapologetic herself. It brings you inside. She has a powerful game with a sharp swing and she will be as aggressive as ever, seven sets before the final pair. If she can get out to 33 on the toughest back nine, the crowd will let you know.
Of course, if you’ve read this far, you’re looking for a prediction, right?
Good! It’s Lilia Vu, the defending champion doing some defending. Her third career title. She sets her path to a 69-year-old immortality and golf in the birthplace of the game.
