|
Tuesday, 02 February 2010 |
I can win a major says Lindsey
BY LIZ WHITE | ALPG TOUR | 2010 ROYAL CANBERRA CLASSIC | PREVIEW | 25 JAN 2010
Just about to start her sixth year on the US LPGA, Albury’s Lindsey Wright believes her game is on track to win a major. Australia’s number two went very close last year, finishing four shots behind winner Anna Nordqvist at the McDonalds Championship and fourth in the Kraft Nabisco.
“I am in good shape, having looked at last year and where my game is now and mentally, absolutely, I don’t think there is any reason why I can’t contend or be leading a major in the last round,” she said.
“I came so close at the McDonalds’s I am determined this year. I was very disappointed I was like “bugger” I really wanted to win that."
After five years on tour Lindsey says she knows where she is going and feels now it is all down to the mental side of things. “The difference between last year and say 2008 was that I knew I could win,” she said.
“Before I would say: ’yeah I can win,’ but not really deep down be overly confident that I could win, I was kind of just saying it, whereas last year I did feel that I could win and I didn’t feel that I was like the new kid on the block.”
Lindsey’s 2010 season kicks off this Friday when the first of four major Australian Ladies Professional Golf events, the Actew AGL Royal Canberra Classic, gets underway.After enjoying a five-week break from the sticks _ her longest since turning pro in 2003 _ Lindsey says she is excited about competing again.
“I am really looking forward to playing,” she said.
“I have just spent some time with my coach Peter Murphy down in Melbourne and we have worked on a few things. I have changed my putting around quite a lot, I have changed my set up and my ball position, so I am looking forward to testing it in Canberra.”
The Actew AGL Royal Canberra Classic is a new addition to the ALPG tour and the $125,000 prize purse has attracted a quality field including Katherine Hull, Nikki Campbell, Sarah Kemp and perennial ALPG supporter and current Australian Open Champion, Britain’s Laura Davies. “The ALPG have done a great job getting tournaments because there is not a lot of tournaments with things falling apart financially all over the world, so it’s awesome that they have picked this up,” Wright said.
“From what I have heard this could be a regular thing and I think it is great that this is in the country as well because usually it is in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.”
Wright finished 18th on the money list last year and is keen to improve on that in 2010. But having recently turned 30, it is wise not to call Wright a tour stalwart just yet. “Please don’t call me a veteran, the 30-year-old thing is getting a bit testy with me,” she joked.
“I had my 30th on New Years Eve and it stressed me out, but it hit me even harder a few days later.”
One benefit of entering her fourth decade, Lindsey admits, is that she has learnt so much along the way. “You are like a deer in the headlights for the first two years and it is quite tiring and overwhelming,” she said.
“There is so much going on but I suppose it’s like anything, you just get used to it and it becomes more natural.”
Experience has also taught Lindsey that perhaps she needs to change her season playing schedule as well. “I come out of the gates really good and then I get to July and like I have done every year, I have just fallen and I haven’t performed as well,” she says.
“Mentally I think I get, I don’t want to say I am bored with it, but the lifestyle it just wears on you a little bit, not seeing family and friends. I think I just got a little bit fed up with it and I probably could have done with a two week break from everybody, because it is like a circus out there.”
The 2003 Pepperdine University graduate has spent the past few years living in Texas to be close to her American based Aussie coach Peter Murphy but is hoping an upcoming move to Orlando, Florida will see her beat the post July blues. “I think that will be a big thing for me because I have more friends there, I will have more of a social life and that is important,” she said.
“Balance in sport is everything and I haven’t really balanced it well at all. I get to the middle of the season and I fall apart whereas at the start of the year I come out all gung ho because I have been at home and had some fun, so this move is going to make a massive difference I hope.”
It seems that just like a good wine, Lindsey aged all of 30, is maturing nicely. |
|
|
Monday, 15 June 2009 |
McDonald's LPGA Championship
Final Round
Lindsey posted her best finish on the LPGA Tour with a 2nd place result at the LPGA McDonald's Championship. Her 2-under par round of 70 was 4 shots back from the eventual winner Anna Nordqvist.
Third Round
With another "sub-seventy" round of 69 Lindsey finished at 9-under par after the third round, and within 2 shots of the leader. Lindsey finished the 15th hole last night before play resumed, and then came back early Sunday morning to finish with 3 pars. She will tee off later this afternoon at 2:36 pm in the final group of the day.
Second Round
With the equal low round of the day Lindsey moved into a T3 after her second round. Her 4-under 68 consisted of 6 birdies and 4 birdies. Saturday's third round will see Lindsey paired in the second last group, and just 2 shots behind the leader.
Lindsey's Friday Interview
Lindsey Wright, 70-68=138 (-6)
Hole 1, 358-yard par 4: birdie - pitching wedge to five feet
Hole 3, 160-yard par 3: birdie - 6-iron to 10 feet
Hole 4, 380-yard par 4: birdie - 7-iron to 25 feet
Hole 9, 413-yard par 4: bogey - right bunker, chip to 20 feet, two putts
Hole 12, 176-yard par 3: birdie - 5-iron to 12 feet
Hole 15, 493-yard par 5: birdie - 60-degree wedge to one foot
Hole 16, 330-yard par 4: birdie - sand wedge to two feet
Hole 17, 171-yard par 3: bogey - rescue, missed the green to the left, chip to five feet, missed putt
DANA GROSSRHODE: Lindsey, thank you for coming in. You had a great round today, so could you just talk about how you played today and how comfortable you are at Bulle Rock Golf Club.
LINDSEY WRIGHT: Yeah, I played really solid today. I probably made a soft bogey on 17, which was a little disappointing because it wasn't a difficult chip, and on nine, that was just unfortunate, I hit it great, rescue in, missed it out of the bunker and I didn't have a shot out of the bunker, so that was two bogeys today. But I played really solid golf. I wouldn't complain. Golf course is great. I love the golf course, as I have played, just had good weeks here every year, so that's exciting. Especially being the last year to be in this position.
Q. You mentioned how happy you are to be in contention the last year of this tournament; could you talk about your history here and the friends you've made, and what it's going to be like to not have McDonald's involved anymore?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: Yeah, from the first onset, I started with housing; and they live right outside the golf course and they have become really great friends, almost like family. So every time I come back here, I feel like I'm coming home. Again, the course, I really love the golf course. It's a lot of fun, some really tough holes and there are some birdieable holes. It plays well to me, because you don't have to be that long. It's just hitting the fairways and not getting too aggressive. But yeah, it's sad to see it go, obviously because I've had some success here in the past.
Q. Is that a hole that sets up really favorably for you, and what are the holes you feel you can be most aggressive?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: Yeah, 16, I actually pulled that a little bit. I think it's the type of hole, it's probably a 3wood today. I hit driver, because I've been hitting my driver so well, but that's - I would say from 14, 15, 16, really good birdie holes; and 17, too, depending where the flag is. And 10, as well. Eleven, 12 and 13 are probably a really tough stretch, because they are just mentally and visually difficult, and playing long.
On the front nine, I would say that one through four are really birdieable, and there's probably one really tough hole for me, and that would be number five. That's a really long, tough, par 4.
But again, if you hit the fairways, really that's half the battle. I suppose in any major, it's half the battle, because the rough is - forget about it. It's really tough.
Q. We spoke with Katherine Hull, your former Pepperdine teammate, and she is right up there on the leaderboard with you. She was saying the competition college, the competition between you made you better. What's the competition and rivalry like now if there is one?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: There's not really, not for me, because now I've got 144, 143 other Katherine Hulls I play against. I'm just playing against the golf course and myself. It's really exciting, though, to see Katherine playing well, and to an extent, it's encouraging for me, as well. Particularly if you're having bad weeks, and being an Aussie, too, it's good to see.
Q. If I checked it this correctly, it was fourth at Kraft Nabisco (Championship) and third at Michelob (ULTRA Open) this year, pretty tough golf courses; do you feel like something is coming together in the big events for you?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: Yeah, for some reason, I think I just focus better. I mean, I get in the little events and my head is a little bit all over the shot. I'm not as focused, which sometimes is the opposite; I like the challenge of majors, because it's a mental challenge as well as a physical challenge. So it's exhausting, but I don't know, for some reason, I've tended to do well.
First Round
Lindsey finished with 2-under 70 to be tied 15th after the first round. Her round consisted of 3 birdies and just the lone bogey.
Preview
HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. - The LPGA Tour returns to Bulle Rock Golf Course this week for the 55th edition of the $2 million McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola.
All of this season's 10 winners will be among the 151-player field, including Rolex Rankings' number one Lorena Ochoa, of Mexico, who is the only multiple winner in 2009. Ochoa has competed in eight events this season and carded five top-10 finishes, including two victories: the Honda LPGA Thailand and the Corona Championship.
Lindsey's best performance came at the 2007 event where she finished in outright 4th position. Last year she followed up with a T18th result. |
|
|
Monday, 11 May 2009 |
Final Round
Lindsey is posted a 2-over 73 to finish T3 at the Michelob Ultra Open. With scores of (65-69-64-73) Lindsey finished her week with a total of 19 birdies and six bogeys. She stayed close to the top of the leaderboard all week, and ended each round no lower than fifth. This result matches her career-best performance in her six years on Tour; she has now finished in the top-five for two consecutive tournaments played (having finished fourth at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in April).This ties her best finish in an LPGA event.
Third Round
Lindsey is currently T1st after shooting a 7-under 64 in the third round. Her bogey free round enabled her to move up the learderboard in a tie for 1st place with Christie Kerr. Both ladies will be paired together in the final round.
Lindsey’s Saturday Interview
Lindsey Wright, 65-69-64=198 (-15)
Hole 1, 373-yard par 4: birdie, 9-iron to 15 feet
Hole 2, 185-yard par 3: birdie, 5-iron to eight feet
Hole 5, 160-yard par 3: birdie, 7-iron to 10 feet
Hole 7, 495-yard par 5: birdie, 52-degree gap wedge to three feet
Hole 11, 336-yard par 4: birdie, 56-degree to 20 feet
Hole 15, 473-yard par 5: birdie, 9-iron to 15 feet
Hole 17, 163-yard par 3: birdie, 8-iron to 20 feet
JASON TAYLOR: Lindsey, great job today. You finished at 7-under-par today, which is the low-round of day-three, and will enter the final round in a tie for first. Yesterday you mentioned how you weren’t really feeling that well. Are you at all better today?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: A little bit, yeah. Hopefully I'll feel like this tomorrow. It's serving me well. No, I feel better than yesterday actually. I didn't feel very well yesterday afternoon.
Q. What's the mindset, you have 36 holes left? What do you tee off thinking Saturday morning in the position that you were in?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: This golf course is, I wouldn't say playing easy, but it's very scoreable. So you know that the average score in the top-20 is going to be 2- to 4 under, so my goal was to shoot a couple under, you know, just to make as many birdies as I could.
And fortunately I had seven birdies and no bogeys, so it was a flawless round; and it's Saturday, and you really, having seen Lorena at the top of the leaderboard, that kind of sets the wheels in motion the minute you get to the first tee because you know that you've got to make birdies.
Q. How much of what you've been able to do this week is just momentum kind of carrying over, and just the confidence you get from doing well and, like yesterday, just kind of hanging on, I guess?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: I think a lot of it is my momentum. I've had some good events coming in. I had a month off, but I had some good finishes, so a lot of it is my momentum. And you just have that little bit of confidence, especially when you do well, like Nabisco, I finished well, and I was in contention there as well. So that helped me a lot as far as confidence, so coming into this week and being in this position, it's a good feeling.
Q. When you've been in contention in the past, are there things that you've learned from that experience after it was over that you told yourself, okay, next time I know to not do this or do this?
LINDSEY WRIGHT: Yeah, absolutely. Every time you learn, and I'm sure I'll learn things tomorrow, too, particularly getting ahead of yourself. It's a classic golf drama. You start planning the speech on the first hole, you know you're going to be in trouble. So it's a matter of just playing each shot at a time, and that's like a cliche, but it really is. You've just got to pace yourself and just stay in the moment, because like I said, it's a good leaderboard, so it's going to be a fun day of golf.
Second Round
Lindsey shot a 2-under 69 today to finish in outright 5th position heading into the weekend.
First Round
Lindsey posted a bogey free 6-under 65 to be in outright second place after the first round. Her round started on the back 9, and with 2 terrific birdies on the difficult 16th and 18th holes Lindsey turned at 3-under. With another 3 birdies on her final 9 she posted the 65 to be one shot behind tournament leader and World Number One Lorena Ochoa. Lindsey tees off on Friday from the 1st tee at 12:43 pm.
Preview
The LPGA Tour is set for the seventh staging of the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill, hosted at the Kingsmill Resort & Spa, River Course, in Williamsburg, Va. This event, which has earned top marks from players and fans, will feature 144 of the best women professional golfers in the world, as they contend to take home a share of the $2.2 million purse, the largest of the 2009 season thus far.
One year ago, LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Famer Annika Sorenstam earned LPGA career victory number 72 after leading the final three rounds, and finishing at 19-under-par 265. Sorenstam's victory in Williamsburg that week turned out to be her final farewell to the event, as the Swede announced the following week her plans to step away from professional competition after the 2008 season.
In 2009, however, no shortage of stars will occur as nine of the top-10 players in the current Rolex Rankings will be at the Kingsmill River Course, and 17 of the top-20. |
|
|
Sunday, 23 November 2008 |
|
Lindsey's golf swing is reviewed in the latest GolfWeek magazine (USA); week of Monday 24 November. Lindsey set aside some time for the GolfWeek team during the Ginn Tournament in Orlando in April earlier this year. More details and photos to follow. |
|
|
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 |
Lindsey Wright Audio Interview conducted by Bruce Young
Bruce Young of iseekgolf.com recently interviewed Lindsey and posted a great article about her. They've also posted the audio of the interview. You can hear the audio interview at:
Bruce Young's interview with Lindsey Wright
About the Interviewer: Bruce Young
A multi-award winning golf journalist, Bruce's extensive knowledge of the game comes from several years caddying the tournament circuits of the world, marketing a successful golf course design company and as one of Australia's leading golf journalists and commentators. |
|
| | << Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>
| | Results 1 - 9 of 16 |
|
|
