15 minute read
Players to watch
Nasa Hataoka
Hataoka: a regular in the top-10 at Majors over recent seasons
Japan
Age: 23 Professional wins: 11 Major victories: 0
A superstar named after a space programme, Nasa Hataoka is surely a player on the cusp of becoming a Major champion
Words: Rob McGarr
Widely regarded as the best player in the world without a Major title to her name, Nasa Hataoka has spent the majority of the past four years inside the top 10 of the Women’s World Golf Rankings, at times reaching as high as third in the world.
Hataoka’s parents named their daughter in the hope she would be inspired to chase the stars and achieve great heights. So far, so good. The diminutive, Kasama-born golfer’s career saw a very successful launch and appears to be a long way from any sign of descent.
She has won at least one professional title every year since turning pro in 2016, barring a Covid-ravaged 2020 season, racking up six LPGA Tour wins and six LPGA of Japan Tour titles to date (one of which was the co-sanctioned Toto Japan Classic, giving her a total of 11 career wins so far).
Hataoka has five top-10 Major finishes in the past four seasons, including runner-up spots at the Women’s PGA Championship in 2018 and US Women’s Open last year, where she started the final round six shots back but still managed to force a play-off, before eventually losing on the third hole of sudden death to Yuka Saso.
While that leaves Hataoka still hunting her first Major victory, she did win the 2016 Japan Women’s Open Golf Championship – a Major on the LPGA of Japan Tour. She was still an amateur and just 17 at the time, becoming the youngest player and first amateur to win a JLPGA Major title.
Hataoka was third on the LPGA Tour money list last season, behind Jin Young Ko and Nelly Korda, and has already tasted victory in 2022, with rounds of 67-68-67-67 securing a
dominant five-shot margin at April’s DIO Implant LA Open. That performance, being the only player in the field to shoot four rounds in the 60s, came after a FaceTime video call with her new coach, whom she had never met in person.
Hataoka has fallen short in each of the four play-offs she has been in to date, so she may be hoping to get the job done in 72 holes at Muirfield. And she has met her coach face-toface now, so anything is possible.
Jennifer Kupcho
USA
Age: 25 Professional wins: 2 Major victories: 1
The winner of this year’s first Major possesses an unmatched combination of power and accuracy off the tee that could prove pivotal at Muirfield
Words: Rob McGarr
Jennifer Kupcho could well be described as something of a Major championship specialist. The 25-year-old has made the cut in 12 of her 15 Major appearances as a professional, including all five of the big events last year. And her first ever LPGA Tour victory came at this year’s first Major, the Chevron Championship, where she held off the challenge of Jessica Korda to win by two shots.
Breaking her LPGA Tour and Major Championship duck in one swoop was a relief for Kupcho, who had fallen just short of LPGA Tour success on numerous previous occasions, having clocked up 12 top-10s and six top-five finishes since turning pro in 2019.
If she can get her putter hot at Muirfield and has a good week from the sand she will take some stopping
“Being able to say that I’ve won and I can compete out here – obviously I already knew that I could compete, but I think being able to win is really important,” she said. “I won a lot in college, so my confidence was low, coming out here, not having won in two or three years. To be able to say I won, it’s definitely a confidence booster.”
The victory also boosted Kupcho’s profile among fans, something she hopes will be in her favour as she chases further success.
Kupcho: hoping her higher profile will bring more support from those on-course fans
“One of the biggest things I have fought over the last year is everyone out there cheering for Nelly [Korda] or Lexi [Thompson] or someone else that I am playing with,” she said. “I don’t ever hear, ‘Go, Jennifer’.”
Those cheering Kupcho at Muirfield and hoping to see her secure a second Major victory will be encouraged by her prowess with driver in hand. While not the single longest or straightest off the tee, her combination of distance and accuracy is unmatched on the LPGA Tour, with an average drive of 268.9 yards maintained while hitting 83.7 per cent of fairways. Only three players have hit a greater percentage of greens in regulation on the LPGA Tour so far this season.
If Kupcho can get her putter hot at Muirfield and has a good week from the sand – she ranks in the bottom half of the LPGA Tour for both metrics – she will take some stopping in her bid to take home the AIG Women’s Open trophy.
Minjee Lee
Lee sinks the winning putt at the Cognizant Founders Cup in May
Australia
Age: 26 Professional wins: 11 Major victories: 2
Minjee Lee secured her first Major title last season, despite starting the final day seven shots back, and in June added the US Women’s Open title to her tally
Words: Rob McGarr
Something about the AIG Women’s Open clearly agrees with Perth-born Minjee Lee. In the past four years her worst finish has been tied-11th, and the last two championships have seen her finish solo third and tied-fifth. Her Sunday 66 was the lowest final-round score in the field last year and saw her finish two shots shy of Anna Nordqvist’s 12-under winning total.
Lee comes to Muirfield as a player who is seemingly always in contention at the AIG Women’s Open and, after victory at the US Women’s Open and last year’s Evian Championship, one who knows what it takes to win a Major championship.
Her US Open victory was by a comfortable three-shot margin while, at the Evian, her final-round 64 was bested only by Leona Maguire’s record-equalling 61 and saw her close a seven-shot gap on overnight leader Jeongeun Lee6, before winning the first hole of a sudden-death play-off.
Lee leads the LPGA Tour in scoring average this season, with a 68.89 average, and ranks in the top 15 players for driving distance, greens in regulation, putts per green in regulation, and holes played in birdie or better.
With those statistics on her side, it was no surprise to see Lee also win her seventh LPGA Tour title in May, finishing 19-under par at the Cognizant Founders Cup to beat Lexi Thompson by two shots.
“I just feel like I’ve kind of been trending,” said Lee, who also has a tied-second and tied-third finish among her LPGA Tour starts of 2022. “I’ve been hitting it really, really well this whole season, and I just felt like it was around the corner.”
Lee has now finished first, first, fifth and 12th in her last four Major appearances Given her ability not only to hold onto leads but also to close huge gaps on a Sunday her name anywhere near the top of the leaderboard will give the rest of the field cause for concern.
Leona Maguire
Maguire at last year’s Pelican Women’s Championship
Ireland
Age: 27 Professional wins: 3 Major victories: 0
Having made a habit of breaking records throughout her entire career, Solheim Cup heroine Leona Maguire aims to make history by becoming Ireland’s first female Major champion
Words: Rob McGarr
Ireland has never had a female Major winner, but County Cavan-born Leona Maguire appears to have all the credentials required to change that. She certainly has no problem breaking long-standing records, having made a habit of doing just that throughout her amateur career and since turning pro in 2018.
As an amateur, Maguire spent an impressive 135 weeks atop the World Amateur Golf Rankings, breaking Lydia Ko’s record of 130 weeks.
She came tied-34th at the 2015 Evian Championship, finishing as Low Amateur and becoming the first woman from the Republic of Ireland ever to make the cut in a Major.
She finished in the top 30 in all four of her Major appearances last year (she was not in the field for the US Women’s Open), including her first Major top-10, coming tied-sixth at the Evian Championship. That performance included a final-round 61, the lowest-ever final round score in the history of a Major championship, male or female. Maguire became one of just three people ever to shoot 61 in a Major, alongside Kim Hyojoo and Jeongeun Lee6.
Her stellar 2021 season saw her become the first-ever Irish player to be selected for the Solheim Cup, where she broke the all-time rookie points record for the Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup by securing 4.5 points, helping Europe to a 15-13 victory. Maguire was only the third player in Solheim Cup history to earn her team more than four points.
In February this year, Maguire made more history by becoming the first Irish woman to win an LPGA Tour event.
“It’s incredible to be the first Irish person and to show that it is possible for a girl from a small town in Ireland to be able to compete against the best players in the world and win on the LPGA,” she said, celebrating a three-shot victory at the LPGA Drive On Championship. “Hopefully there are a lot of people watching at home tonight with big smiles on their faces and little girls watching knowing they can do that too.”
Should Maguire join Shane Lowry and Padraig Harrington as Irish Major winners, there will be no shortage of smiles on the Emerald Isle.
Atthaya Thitikul
Thailand
Age: 19 Professional wins: 11 Major victories: 0
Could Muirfield witness the former world amateur number one (and fastest rising woman in golf) become the first teenager to win the AIG Women’s Open?
Words: Rob McGarr
While Masters champion Scottie Scheffler’s ascent to the top of the Official World Golf Rankings has been impressive in its rapidity, it looks positively unhurried compared to Atthaya Thitikul’s rise through the ranks of the women’s game. The Thai starlet rocketed from 308th in the Women’s World Golf Rankings to fourth in less than a year between May 2021 and April 2022.
Thitikul’s swift ascent was thanks to a series of performances that saw her secure 15 top-10 finishes and no missed cuts from 18 starts during the 2021 season, her first as a professional. That total included two Ladies European Tour wins, at the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open and VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open, to add
to the two Ladies European Tour (LET) titles she won as an amateur. Thitikul topped the LET Order of Merit last season, becoming the youngest winner in history. Unsurprisingly, she also picked up LET Rookie of the Year and was voted Players’ Player of the Year.
She moved to the LPGA Tour this year and took next to no time to adjust, winning the JTBC Classic in just her fifth start on the tour.
Thitikul finding her feet so quickly should come as no surprise.
Thitikul plays from the fairway during the HSBC Women’s World Championship
Not only is she a former world amateur number one, she is also the youngest golfer ever to win a professional tournament, aged just 14 years, four months and 19 days when she lifted the Ladies European Thailand Championship as an amateur in July 2017.
Thitikul will not turn 20 until February next year and victory at Muirfield would make her the youngest winner in Women’s Open history, breaking Ji-yai Shin’s record of 20 years, three months and six days when she triumphed at Sunningdale back in 2008.
Thitikul has AIG Women’s Open pedigree, too, having finished Low Amateur in 2018 and 2019, aged 15 and 16, before placing tied-48th last year in her first appearance as a professional.
Those requiring further context of Thitikul’s youth need look no further than the fact she started playing golf at the age of six, after being presented with the choice of golf or tennis by her father; she chose golf after watching clips of both sports on YouTube.
Scottish Links at its absolute best
Carnoustie presents an exceptional test of golf designed to challenge and reward in equal measures
Carnoustie Golf Links 16th hole
Carnoustie’s Championship is one of the courses that every golfer in the world wants to play. Amongst its many accolades, it was voted the World’s Best Golf Course and Scotland’s Best Golf Experience in 2019. A venue for The Open since 1931, Carnoustie has hosted eight Open Championship’s, two Women’s Opens and two Senior Opens.
Although Carnoustie openly and proudly boasts these awards, it is only the beginning of the story. To truly understand Carnoustie – you must experience it for yourself. Step out onto the Scottish turf that is steeped in history, soak up the iconic landscape, delight in the perfection of the greens and take in the undulating fairways which are simply brimming with mystery…
Carnoustie tempts you with an abundance of challenges within its dramatic and beautiful landscape, designed to make you think on every shot… there’s no escaping the course once you’ve started. This is a place that will grab hold of you, immerse you in the fairways and guide you on a journey.
If you are lucky enough to arrive at Carnoustie during a clear, blue-sky day, don’t let the sunshine deceive you as there are weather conditions out there that will undoubtedly cause you to search for the best of your game. Carnoustie is wonderfully exposed to the elements, with wind directions designed to keep you thinking each step of the way. An exciting and enticing challenge awaits… A challenge that will draw you in.
Carnoustie Golf Links has long been known as Golf’s Greatest Test – and with good reason. Despite being considered the toughest course on The Open rota – it is not without reward. That feeling when stepping off the 18th is like no other and one that must be experienced to understand it.
Along with a great personal challenge, The Championship
Course allows you to walk in the footsteps of golf’s legends. The course has played host to the world’s greatest golfers and produced many of golf’s most dramatic moments. From Ben Hogan’s extraordinary win at the 1953 Open Championship to Van de Velde’s ill-fated play at the 1999 Open, to Paul Lawrie’s remarkable comeback that same year – a memory that still raises goosebumps when the story is retold. These greens have sat patiently with a watchful eye as the hardships and victories unfold.
Off the course, The Rookery Restaurant and Bar allows you to enjoy a panoramic view over that course of legends and the opportunity to relive a day that will stay with you forever. The Rookery showcases the best produce Scotland has to offer where you can enjoy a relaxed lunch or dinner with great service. With a focus on local, seasonal produce, the menu is designed for informal lunch and dinner time dining pre or post round, and the chance to review or prepare for your round over a cold refreshing drink.
As is the nature of Carnoustie, it leads the way with its unique state-of-the-art indoor golf facilities – delivering a premium warm up and practice experience. The Performance Centre houses seven simulator bays. Six of the bays, complete with GC2 launch monitors and a seventh teaching studio bay, which comprises of a GCQuad launch monitor, balance plate and camera analysis technology allowing you to warm up in style before venturing out to take on your own unique Championship Course challenge.
Undeniably, an extraordinary summer of golf lies ahead, Carnoustie Golf Links send wishes of good luck to its friends a short distance across the water in St Andrews as they play host to the 150th Open Championship.
For golf fans the world round, in this celebratory year, there’s never been a better time to start ticking off your bucket list courses, and we all know that Carnoustie is on everyone’s list! If the past years have taught us anything, it’s not to put off anything that brings us this much joy.
Carnoustie Golf Links 15th hole
www.carnoustiegolflinks.com t: +44(0)1241 802270 | golf@carnoustiegolflinks.co.uk
Carnoustie Golf Links 147th Open
The Senior Open Champion 2021
I was delighted to win the Senior Open Championship at Sunningdale last year. Securing my first Major victory was definitely one of the finest moments of my golfing career and it was great to emerge victorious among so many hugely talented golfers.
This year’s venue of Gleneagles will present a different challenge to Sunningdale, of course, but I’ll be looking to stay relaxed, take the opportunities when they arise and be up there among the leaders in the final stages.
As ever, Gleneagles promises to be an exceptional venue and I’m sure both players and spectators alike will enjoy themselves immensely over the course of the Championship.
