Saturday, September 12, 2015

Fun bit of serendipity

It's my three day weekend from work, so naturally I've been sick for two of them so far (tip: don't inhale whilst spraying poison at a bug over your head -- freaky dreams, dry heaves and the oddest sense of being disconnected ensues). But anyway, I'm cruising the vast wasteland of cable tv and I flip on the Golf Channel to check out the LPGA Evian Classic, which is a major I think. Anyway, my favorite golf cutie Morgan Pressel is in the lead in the third round:

morgan pressel evian classic 2015

Morgan's got one major already, but hasn't won on tour since 2008. In the observations of this casual fan, she seems to lack stamina for four round tournaments. Often being in or at the top of the leaderboard in the third round then fading badly on Sunday. This year she's done much better with top 5's in three of the year's majors, so maybe she's turning the corner a bit. At 27, she may be hitting her physical peak, so perhaps she'll go on a run of wins. That would be nice. She's not one of the tour's overt glamour girls -- they won't be shooting her in a bikini bending over a putt for some magazine (but I wouldn't mind that, IYKWIMAITYD) but she seems a genuine nice person and a good golfer, so I keep an eye out for her in the standings.

morgan pressel evian classic 2015
morgan pressel evian classic 2015

Update:
Checking this morning's paper, I see that Morgan is in third place at the end of the third round after a double bogie on 18 dropped her two shots back.

Update:
Morgan finished tied for 11th after shooting a 75 in the final round. Incidentally, the 75 was the worst final round score by a couple of strokes for anyone who finished in the top 28. Tough break for my cutie.



And in other women's sports news, the tennis world was shocked as steroidal Serena Williams lost a semi-final match to the 43rd ranked Roberta Vinci 2-6, 6-4, 6-4

serena Williams fat in a bikini

In her typically arrogant way, Williams gave a weak endorsement to Vinci claiming that she didn't really lose the match, Vinci simply "played out of her mind" on the court. William's agent blamed the weather (no not global warming, but I'm sure the President will say it was a factor), but a rain delay that disrupted Serena's training. Fans on Twitter are blaming Drake . . . so it's business as usual for the Williams clan -- they don't lose, it's always someone else's fault.

Wah wah

Update:
Congrats to Flavia Pennetta who won the finals of the U.S. Open over her fellow countrywoman Vinci. Pennetta and Vinci grew up playing with and against each other. After winning the title, the 33 year old Pannetta announced her retirement from the sport.

And another brief bit about Williams -- this is the second time this season that Serena has lost a match that on paper she should have won easily. In both cases, the players didn't allow Williams to dictate how the match should be played -- that is, to her own strengths, playing a thundering baseline game. Instead, Vinci mixed in an array of slicing backhands and drop shots that ran the solidly heavy Williams ragged. Much like the match earlier this year (I cannot remember which an am not going to waste time Googling it), where Williams complained that her opponent "played her like a man" i.e., with drop shots, volleys, and slices. I wonder how much longer women will continue to ignore this simple template for defeating Williams on the court. I mean, they are out there to win, right? Not just roll over when it's their turn.

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