Maja, Nelly and Spotted Cows: 25 thoughts from the U.S. Women’s Open

JUST FEET FROM THE WHITNALL PARK GOLF COURSE GRILL, Wis. — I’m home. 

I grew up in Milwaukee. I taught myself how to play golf here, and I learned how to type words about playing golf here, making for a week where I worked in the present as part of our U.S. Women’s Open team, but couldn’t help but look back into the past. As I spent the past six days at Erin Hills, the memories hit harder than a Maja Stark tee shot. Ooh, there’s a friend from high school. Ooh, there’s a Packers hat. Ooh, that smells like bratwurst. 

Ooh, there are kiddos just like I once was. 

Sort of. Growing up here in the ’90s, we had the Greater Milwaukee Open for our pro golf, and while the GMO will forever be remembered as the site of Tiger Woods’ pro debut, it always came during a funky part of the year (around the Open Championship), few stars came (Woods never returned) and it eventually died. But now? Over the past couple decades, thanks to courses like Erin Hills and Whistling Straits, Wisconsin’s seen it all. U.S. Opens, plural. PGA Championships, plural. A Ryder Cup. Good stuff. 

But is it all gone?

Last week’s USWO will be the last major here for maybe a while. On the USGA side, the men are booked solid through 2042 (!) and are gravitating toward just a few sites, while the women don’t have an opening until 2037. On the PGA side, the tournament’s move to May hurts — it would be hard to hold a tournament here at that time, unless you like your golf as cold as the custard at Culver’s. Has Wisconsin had its fair share? You betcha, in the words of the state natives. But shouldn’t there be at least one on the horizon? Yah, fer sure. Hometown pride is certainly part of the thought, but the events here have spiked every important metric, especially this past week. 

As we look back at the U.S. Women’s Open week that was, let’s make that observation No. 1 then. We’ll try for 24 more, and, to help the mood, we’ve stationed ourselves at Whitnall Park, a member of the Milwaukee Country Parks golf course family — and where I once took great advantage of the $5 twilight rate and learned what a beverage cart is. The grill is also open, and we’ll be sure to investigate.  

2. Let’s talk Stark. Her game’s complete. She may be headed to superstardom. But what struck me the most was her approach, which she talked about in her Saturday night press conference (and which I focused my Sunday story on):

“I’ve just been telling myself that when I get nervous over shots, I just tell myself, OK, but how can I make myself proud right now? I make myself proud by sticking to my routines, sticking to my key swing thought, and I think that calms me down and it makes me feel like I’ve done everything that I can and that I can control. If the wind gusts up, then that’s fine and I’m going to end up in a bad spot, but hopefully our strategy is good enough that we don’t end up in that many bad spots.”

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3. Stark impressed on Erin Hills’ greens, which confounded most of the field. She’s ranked 112th in the LPGA this season in strokes gained: putting — and was 10th at the USWO. Work with coach Joe Hallett helped. 

“He said that on my short putts I tend to be — if it’s for par, I tend to be a little bit too curious, like I just look at the hole too much and I end up open with my shoulders and my face,” Stark said. “I’m left eye dominant, so if I just look at the hole like that, then I end up seeing the line too far to the right. So he just said kind of tilt your head and just make sure that your shoulders are aligned.”

4. Another swing tip also clicked. 

“During the practice days, I realized that, if I just kind of hovered the club above the ground a little bit before I hit, I released some tension in my body,” Stark said. “I think that just doing my processes well and knowing, giving myself little things like that was the key this week because I don’t really think that — I don’t really want to rely on my confidence for stuff.”

5. An unfortunate scene unfolded on the 72nd hole as Stark’s playing partner, Julia Ramirez Lopez, struggled on her way to a triple-bogey eight, leading to a lengthy wait for Stark and caddie Jeff Brighton — and a question: How did they pass the time?

Jokes, Stark said. As for what kind, Brighton said this:

“It’s just just shite. I mean, I just waffle. Just you try and get their head away from looking, oh, gosh. I would say Maja is quite an intense player. You know, she tries really hard. She’s really competitive. So when you’re intense, you try just to get their head away from golf, the last shot, the next shot, and just, it’s a long, long time out there.”

6. And Brighton said just this as to what the celebration would like:

“Carnage.”

7. Don’t worry much about Lopez Ramirez, who finished tied for 19th. She has plenty of game. She’ll win events, plural.

8. A scene late Sunday afternoon near the practice green was great. Lopez Ramirez signed for anyone who wanted a signature, took pictures and handed out gear.    

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9. Let’s talk Nelly Korda, who tied for second. Should our focus be more that she beat or tied all but one player — or the fact that she wasn’t the one at the top. A lot is expected of Korda, though rightfully so — she’s her sport’s best player. I’ll argue this is another step. Majors are hard to win. 

10. And anyone can win them. Over the past 11 majors, there have been 11 different winners — Stark, Mao Saigo, Lydia Ko, Ayaka Furue, Amy Yang, Yuka Saso, Korda, Lilia Vu, Celine Boutier, Ruoning Yin and Allisen Corpuz.   

11. Time for a Whitnall story. I’ve written about it in this space before, but since I’m here and just yards from where it happened, I want to share it again. 

My dad played just two rounds of golf his entire life, and the second came during an end-of-the-year, father-son, nine-hole scramble for my high school golf team. To set this story up, all you must understand is that my dad, while not much of a golfer, was very much a gambler. And we were paired up with a buddy and his dad — who was a member at a country club. We played eight holes. They beat us on eight holes. But dad had a thought on the ninth:

“Loser buys drinks.”

They were in. Of course they were. Then, I kid you not, my dad smoked a drive. Two-hundred-and-seventy-five yards. Which was maybe two-hundred-and-seventy-four more than he had hit all day. It gets better. After we dumped our approach into a greenside bunker, and with the other dad and son not in sight, dad went hand wedge. You knew that was coming. It gets better. I hit my sand shot closer, though. And dad made the par putt. And they somehow bogeyed. 

And the man playing his second-ever round of golf got a beer.

12. I’d never been to Erin Hills before this week, but the vision to make it a major-worthy course was clear. Thoughtful layout. Wonderful facilities. The drive from Milwaukee — about a half-hour — was manageable. 

There’s seemingly room in the area for more, too. 

13. Here’s Angel Yin on Erin Hills:

“A lot of land. We got a lot of land. That’s America. (Here, she laughed). So that’s what I was thinking.”

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I’d watch every second of an Angel Yin YouTube channel. 

14. One of my favorite quotes of the week came when A Lim Kim was asked how she got the nickname ‘Queen.”

“That’s a secret,” she said, laughing. “My original nickname is ‘Queen Kong.’ Do you know King Kong? So when I was young, I hit far. So everybody told me, yeah, ‘King Kong,’ but I don’t like full name, so just ‘Queen.’”

Good to know.

15. One of my favorite stories of the week was the comeback of Yani Tseng, a five-time major winner who battled yips for a while before the right-hander turned to putting left-handed, entered qualifying and earned a spot in the field.

Here’s Tseng on what her low point was:

“There are so many low points. It has been quite a journey. But I think this journey, like standing here, is not just about a tournament. It’s a journey, it’s a growth, it’s a gratitude. It’s everything that I have coming from not just nine years. My last win was 2012, I think. It’s quite a long time ago. But like I say, I love this game. 

“I don’t know where that passion comes from, but every time I fell down, I feel like I need to get back up, I need to do this. I don’t know who I’m proving to, but maybe I want to prove it to myself, too. I want to see what I can do. I want to bring out the best version of myself, and I didn’t know if that’s winning another tournament or that’s like top 10 for another tournament. I don’t know what outcome will come, but I feel like once I can bring out the best version of myself, then I feel that will be very good.”  

16. One of my favorite sights of the week was spotting the bag of Leta Lindley at the short-game area — on Sunday, two days after the 53-year-old missed the cut. Still grinding. 

17. Let’s try to predict the rest of the year’s major winners:

– PGA: Korda. 

– Evian Championship: Linn Grant  

– Open: Charley Hull  

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18. This was also great. Hailee Cooper, a 25-year-old pro who’s played mostly on the developmental circuit, tied for seventh and earned $358,004, which brought this response:

“I walked out and they go, do you want to see the money? I was like, sure, and I walked up and I immediately started crying when I saw the numbers. I’m like, oh, gosh, there are six of them. So it’s awesome. It’s life-changing, for sure. It makes professional golf a lot easier financially now so it will be really nice.”

19. Here are a few of my favorite reads this week from the on-site GOLF.com staff. From my batch, I spent the week as a member of Team Gemma Dryburgh and told her story in light of an existential question women pros face. 

20. From Sean Zak, a look at Erin Hills was a favorite. 

21. Time for a brat and a beer. Speaking of, Zak is also a Wisconsinite, and I like his assessment of Spotted Cow.

“The sign of a true Wisconsin wedding. If they’re offering Spotted Cow at the wedding you’re at, it’s going to be a good one.” 

22. From Zephyr Melton, this review of Korda’s Sunday was a favorite.   

23. From Claire Rogers, this look at Stark’s celebration was a favorite.  

24. Our “Seen and Heard” franchise is excellent. You can watch the USWO episode, shot by Emma Devine, here. 

25. Lopez Ramirez’s third shot on 18 brought colleagues Sean Zak and Claire Rogers on to NBC which you can see below: 

26. Time to go hit some balls.