First Major of the Season Recap

Hi everyone,

The 50th ANA Inspiration wrapped up yesterday in Rancho Mirage, CA. There were so many great players in the field and yesterday was a very exciting final round!

It was great to see Michelle Wie West back in action and she put together a great opening round -2! She struggled a little bit on Friday posting a +7 79 to, unfortunately, miss the cut by 4 strokes. I look forward to seeing Michelle back out there soon!

Shanshan Feng had a great week in her first start on tour since the fall of 2019. After 4 solid rounds, she finished in a tie for 3rd which is incredible in its own right combined with the fact that she hadn't played on tour in over a year! In one of Shanshan's interviews last week she was asked what she did in her time off and she had the best response, "After you get up you think about what you want to eat for breakfast. After breakfast, you think about what you want to eat for lunch. Then after lunch, you think about what you want to eat for dinner. Just boring life". Quotes like these remind us that even though these women are incredible professional athletes they still lead normal lives just like the rest of us. 

Lydia Ko was -6 heading into the final round and ended up tieing the course record 62 to finish in a solo tie for second at 16-under par! Watching Lydia play so well was really cool especially after the tough few years she has had on the course battling changes to her team, swing, and style of play. 

Patty Tavatanikit played phenomenally all week. She came out with a 2 shot victory over Lydia after holding the solo lead after all of the rounds. Patty graduated from the Symetra Tour in 2019 and is a wrap-around rookie on the LPGA Tour after last year's shortened season. Watching Patty attack pins, make birdies, save par with miraculous chips, and just light up the course was amazing! On the broadcast yesterday they talked about how she hadn't cracked a smile pretty much all day during her final round and she spoke about it afterward that she was just focused. Being a major champion requires so much dedication, drive, and focus, and seeing Patty on the course yesterday was a great example of that! Her jump was also very exciting and her caddies cannonball was a highlight for sure! 

Congratulations to Patty and great playing to everyone who teed it up in the ANA Inspiration! Already counting down until next year's tournament! But for now, on to Masters week!

~NH Golfer Gal