Bonus Episode | U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally Preview

In this episode of Inside the LPGA Podcast, hosts Hope Barnett, Emma Talley, and Adam Stanley preview the US Women’s Open presented by Ally at Erin Hills. They discuss the significance of the tournament, the challenges posed by the course, the elevated purse, and the pressure on players. The conversation also includes player predictions and insights into the competitive landscape of women’s golf. In this conversation, the hosts discuss the upcoming US Women’s Open presented by Ally, highlighting the diverse talent in the field, their top picks for the tournament, and the unpredictability of major championships. They emphasize the importance of player experience and adaptability in navigating the challenges of the course, while also acknowledging the potential for dark horses to emerge as winners.

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All right. What is up everybody and welcome back to another episode of Inside the LPGA podcast. And y’all, we are back and better than ever. It is the second major of the year, the US Women’s Open at Aaron Hills. I am here. I’m on site. It has been the busiest week ever, but um I have my wonderful podcast co-host and we are going to give you guys a really great preview of the tournament. We asked um and y’all answered and we listened. We are going to talk about player stats. We are going to talk about expert picks and the course and everything in between. But until then, I want y’all already know who who these people are, okay? Y’all have seen them, but I am here with Emma Thally and Adam Stanley. Guys, how pumped up are you for this week for the second major of the year? I cannot believe it’s already here. Adam, you start. Yeah, I mean, I think we we’re going to get into this pretty soon, but I think the the elevated nature of the US Women’s Open presented by Alli has just been like pumped up even more over the last number of years. And I think for for two really big reasons. and and we’re going to get to both of those soon. But number one, the purse. Um, you know, obviously sponsors are stepping up big and it’s just it’s huge. It’s a huge opportunity for 156 players to uh to play for this kind of money. Uh, and then number two is the venue and the venue selections, which we’ll talk about kind of the the go forward venue strategy and where, you know, this tournament is going to be going over the next number of years, but big purse, incredible venues. Obviously, it’s going to be on NBC through the weekend as well. So, when you look at those two big things, um, you’re talking about a really impressive and important golf tournament. So, uh, all that to say, I’m super excited. Nice. Emma, what about you? How you feeling? You know, the US Open’s always really cool. It’s an open. Um, there were qualifiers all around. So, so many different names that we’re not used to seeing. And from a player’s perspective, it really sucks. Um, you know, like it’s really freaking hard. So, I mean, obviously you want to be at the US Open. It’s the tournament you want to be at all year, but it’s always just a freaking hard golf course. So, it’s going to be fun to watch them just from this time I get to watch it from my couch and it’s going to be funny and slashf fun. A lot more relaxing. Yeah, I think I’m going to go out there and just sit on the ninth hole and just watch what kind of carnage unfolds. And we’ll get to that in just a second. But let’s just set the scene of the week because this golf course is a freaking beast. It is so hilly. I’m like exhausted every day just walking like 15,000 steps. The video you posted was so funny. It’s just like it’s crazy. There’s so many like blind shots and I can’t imagine let’s just say caddies are earning their paychecks this week. like I I could never I would just tip over if I put on one of those bags and tried to walk up a hill. I would just roll down. Um so yeah, it’s crazy. But we have 24 out of the top 25 in the Rolex rankings in the field. And we were just talking about the course, but it seriously is like such an incredible course. It’s beautiful. It’s in the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin, but um I I love it so far. And it’s definitely one of those courses that players are going to have to be creative at. They’re going to have to play a lot of field shots. And it does get very windy, especially on the top of those hills. So, they’re going to have to figure out how to pierce the wind. And I think whoever comes, you know, out at the end as the winner is going to be someone who was striking the ball very, very well this week. And just a little fun fact. Um, so it’s very hilly. Like I said, I love a fun fact. All of the ridges and contours were actually sculpted um by a retreating glacier more than 10,000 years ago. So they were naturally sculpted all those hills. So pretty cool. That That’s like the definition of a fun fact. That is a fun fact. That’s pretty darn good as far as fun facts go. It’s pretty fun. Shout out Amy Rogers. She She found that fact. I did not find that fact. friend of the program. Exactly. Um, but Emma, like you were saying, you’ve played in many US women’s opens. You’ve talked to some caddies this week about the course. What are your takeaways uh when thinking about Aaron Hills? Yeah. I mean, right now they all say the firmness is okay. Um, the fairways are pretty generous. If you’re in the rough, good luck. It’s very thick. Yeah, you’re done. Um, but because the fairways are generous, you know, that will help some players. Obviously, it’s very long. US Open golf courses are always so long. So, you’re definitely going to have to have a player that hits the ball far. Um, I know how the US Open is, and by this Sunday, everybody would be probably complaining about how firm the Greens are, but as of now, they’re really good. Um, and it’s just really tricky. You know, I asked the Caddy what they thought the winning score would be, and they said three under. So, that just shows you how tough it’s going to be by the end of the week, I think. Um, you know, they said 10 through 15 are scoring holes, number one and two, and the rest is going to be carnage. So, you’ve got about six holes. Um, yeah, you’ve got about, you know, seven holes to make a couple birdies and the rest of it is trying to eliminate the mistakes. And I think that’s what you’ll see the winner and the top couple players is how to elim eliminate the mistakes rather than um making tons of birdies. I think it’s going to be a lot about making no big numbers. And um US Open golf courses are just a beast and Aaron Hills is definitely no different than what we’ve seen in the past. No, it’s definitely one of those too that if you get greedy, you’re you’re done for. You’re walking away with a bogey and you’re happy with that. So, you definitely have to plot your way around, figure out what the game plan is on each hole. So, it’s going to be interesting just to see who comes out on top because I I honestly I know we’re going to make picks in a minute, but I really don’t know what’s going to happen. I I’m very very intrigued. Um, but Adam, you talked about it in our intro just how big these majors are getting and just how big they feel. And I think it’s pretty cool. you know, now we’re playing at a bunch of venues that the men have played at. I mean, and I know that that’s not that shouldn’t be like, oh my god, that’s life-changing, but like it is, you know, and it’s something that’s happened a lot more in recent years. So, if you could just talk on that a little bit because this, you know, this golf course is amazing. We played Pebble, you know, just all the courses that the US Women’s Open has been to in the last several years. I think the the the point that you that you are that you’re making about, you know, the fact that yeah, the men have been here before and and now, you know, obviously the LPJ has an opportunity to come there. I think the part of that it just elevates the entire experience like there’s that majesty about um the venues that have hosted some of the biggest championships in the golfing world, whether it men or or women. you know, the fact that you’ve had such a gigantic um, you know, event occur at, you know, place X and now there’s another gigantic one that happens to go there, too. You know, is exciting for obviously the game of golf. So, 2017, Aaron Hills hosted the US Open, which was won by Brooks Kepka. Um, you know, of course, fans of golf know Brooks Kepka, big, beefy, hits the ball a long way, you know, multi-time major winner. But the person who finished second that year was Brian Harmon. So, kind of back to your point, Hope, about well, who is gonna who’s going to win this thing? Brian Harmon, from the perspective of like men’s distance, he like buns it out there. So, you could not have two different styles of golfers uh finishing numbers one and two the last time that Aaron Hills hosted the US Open. So, um that’s going to be something that certainly we’ll circle back to when we get to our picks, but just was kind of a fascinating point uh with respect to who won and then who finished second and how their games differ. that, you know, specifically to your point about where the US Women’s Open has been. I mean, it’s like a murderer’s row, right? You got them here. It’s been to Pinehurst, Wingfoot, Olympic Club, Pebble, Oakmont, which of course is hosting this year’s men’s US Open. Uh, and what I thought was kind of cool, uh, Newport Country Club hosted the 1895 US Open, and then the 2006 US Women’s Open, so 111 years in between. And then the ones that are going to be host clubs moving forward. Just a little selection here. uh Riviera Country Club, LACC, Shinikok, Marian, Oakland Hills, and the Country Club just outside of Boston as uh you know, kind of the half dozen or whatever it is that are coming up over the next little while. That’s not all of them, but those are some of the ones that right off the top of your head, whether you’re a fan of golf uh or just a fan of sport and of course of the US Open, you’re going to know those venues. So, uh shout out USGA, shout out Alli, shout out um you know, anyone who’s involved in this tournament because the venues, they matter. And this week it’s going to be a part of the story, a big part of it, and it’s going to be that way moving forward. So, super exciting. The venues matter. And Emma, the money matters as well. That money, the money. Yeah. I mean, $12 million purse. And that’s just so far. They’re probably going to raise that like they always do. Always do. It’s crazy. Yes. It’s so crazy. I’m sure we’ll hear about that today if it does happen. They usually do that on Wednesday. Um, but yeah, I mean, I’ve always said this in the past, but we make a lot of money on the LPJ tour, but nothing like the men. And this is lifechanging kind of a life-changing week for a lot of these girls. And if you just make the cut, you’re making a lot of money this week because of that $12 million purse or 12 million plus purse. Um, so it’s really cool what Alli’s doing and um, it’s just elevating the women’s game, elevating women’s golf, and we deserve it. We work just as hard as everybody else does. So, light drop. Let’s Let’s uh make it raise the roof. So, all of those things combined, they’re amazing, but they also add a lot of pressure on the players, which, you know, pressure makes diamonds or whatever they say, but um I hate that. I just Pressure is a privilege. Isn’t that what is privilege? Nelly did say that. And I mean last year the pressure unfortunately did get to her and multiple other top players. They did miss the cut at Lancaster Country Club and we also we obviously saw Yukaso win her second US women’s open which is just absolutely wild but only two LPGA wins right home. It’s like our US women’s opens. Yeah. It’s incredible. And she said in her press conference, she was, you know, someone asked, “What motivates you when you’ve won two majors?” And she’s like, “To win another.” I was like, “You know what? Touche.” Sure. Um, so, you know, just last year, Nelly, Lydia, Brooke, Rose, Lexi, who by the way is in her 19th US Women’s Open start, they all missed the cut. Um, so I think it’s very interesting to see just what kind of pressure it adds to them. But speaking of the players, it’s a fresh start this year. You know, I see everyone out there grinding. It’s just so fun to see like how they’re all practicing and they’re just dialed in. Um, let’s talk a little bit about who we think might win or just maybe who we think might do well. So, Emma, do you want to kick us off here? Okay, great. We’re going to be doing three players that we think you should keep an eye on and then out of those three, who your pick is to win. So, you start us off. All right. Well, I got to start out with Gino. Um, obviously we had her on the pod recently. She just won at Mazu Ho America’s Open in New York or I guess New Jersey. Um, wherever. Well, right there. Um, yeah, somewhere up there, y’all. Um, in the north. Northeastern up there. Yeah, it’s a south for me, but yeah, fair. Um, she’s number one in putts per green on tour. She’s number one in scoring average on par fours and she’s second in money this year and she’s first in um strokes gained total. Um, and I mean she hits the ball mile. She’s been playing so well. She’s a top five, top 10 machine. She hasn’t won as many times as we thought we as we thought she would by now. Um, but to say the least, she’s absolutely incredible. She’s my number one. I think she’s going to be number one at the end of the year. So, I have to pick her for a major. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It’s almost Emma, it’s almost like if she doesn’t win this one, it’s like almost like auto that she’ll win one of the other ones. Do you think just because her game is so good? I mean, I I I said she’s going to be number one at the end of the year, so I think she’s gonna win a lot. Emma’s like, “She’s just gonna win all of this.” Yeah. I’m gonna pick her out of um my next one is probably someone that I think some people might think she’s going to do well. Angel Yen, she’s third in screen total. She’s third in putting, second in bogey avoidance, which I think that one is the biggest one. She’s already had a win this week and she bombs it. And you know, Angel is just one of those people that she has been just gliding along this year. She even said it to us like she just feels like a weight’s off her shoulders and she she hits it really far. So even if she’s a little bit in the rough, um she’s going to be able to get out of the rough because she hits it so far. Kind of like a Brooks Kepka in my mind um of our tour. And lastly, this might shock some people. We haven’t talked about her much this year, but Hannah Green, and the reason I love Hannah Green for majors is she does not make a lot of mistakes. She’s pretty consistent and she is so good at plotting herself around a golf course. Whenever I play golf with her, she just seems to be able to get the job done. She’s almost like a Lydia Co in that way. She it doesn’t bother her. Um if she’s shortsided herself, she can get up and down. Her short game’s really good. She’s sixth in greens in regulation as well, which means she’s a ball striker. And she’s had she’s third in top 10 finishes without a win this year. So, um yeah, Hannah Green is probably my black horse of the group um because she just hasn’t been talked about, but at the same time, I don’t think she got enough credit for what she did last year. She absolutely killed it. So, she won three times. Yeah. So, you know, I I still think Nelly wins seven times or whatever it was. Like, it’s easy to go fly under the radar. And I don’t think I have to explain myself anymore other than the fact that my pick is Gino. All right, fair enough. If you would have like thrown, you know, thrown us off and been like, “So, my pick’s Hannah,” I would have been like, “Wait, what?” My pick is Gino. Nice. Hannah would be a good pick, too. But Gino makes the most sense for everyone. Makes the most sense for right now. Yep. Adam, who are your three? Tell us. Enlighten us. Okay. All right. Uh can I really quick about uh Emma made a point about how you know the US Women’s Open is is open. And I just wanted to shout out like the two age uh spectrum points really really quick. So we are going all the way from 16-year-old. There are three 16-year-olds in the field including uh a Canadian Anna Hang. She uh plays on the LE. She turned pro at 16 in January. So, uh, 16 year olds are in the field. And then all the way up, uh, big shout out to, uh, Lita, Lita Lindley. She’s 52 years old, and she’s also in the field this week. So, very, very quick. 16-year-old all the way up to 52y old. I thought that was uh, super fascinating, really fun, and very cool. Um, to just the US women’s open uh, capital O on the Open. So, thought that was neat. Adam, can I touch on that really quick? I just wanted to say that 1,94 entries were received for this US Women’s Open and I feel 156 players. So that just shows Yeah, that just shows how hard it is how hard it is to get in. So shout out to all the women teeing it up this week because that’s incredible. All right, sorry I just had No, no, I thought Anyways, okay. So out of those 156, these are my three. Um, first and foremost, uh, ball striking maestro, uh, Honu, um, obviously a win already this season. Uh, tied for six. So, a top 10 finish at the Chevron as well. Uh, now the highest ranked, uh, Korean golfer in in the world, which, you know, as we all know, it is, it’s very hard to do. Um, it’s an impressive it’s impressive country that’s just been pumping out some of the best players in the world over the last half decade, decade or so. So, to be able to be on the top of of that group, I thought was super impressive. Uh again, I use the word maestro with respect to ball striking. So get this, she’s first on the tour in strokes gained, t to green. Uh she’s also third in strokes gained off the tea and third in strokes gained approach. So whe when you’re looking for um people that are going to find fairways and then find greens. Sometimes you’re just going to find fairways and find greens and beat the golf course to death that way, especially uh a golf course as tricky as Aaron Hill. Uh she is an unignorable uh person for this week in my opinion. Um number two is number one uh Nelly. It’s been a very very curious run for Nelly Corda at the US Women’s Open over the last you know five years going cut miscut tie for 64th tie for eighth goodie and then miscut miscut. And for somebody who has all of the skills, like she’s the best driver of the golf ball in the LPGA tour, you know, she won seven times last year. She’s kind of she’s done it all. She still hasn’t won yet this year, but you know, obviously there’s a long run runway ahead of her to have success. You know, I I think that again, you think about people and courses and and how things are kind of built for one another. And I do think that Nelly um is going to kind of bust out of this US Women’s Open slump in air quotes, if you will. So, uh my number two is number one. and Nelly Corda. Uh, but my winner, my third pick and my winner this week is going to be Miy Lee. Um, Mi, I think experience breeds success and MJI is one of only two golfers that has had three top 20 finishes at the US Women’s Open in a row. Um, and she’s also obviously a super great ball striker and has kind of turned the corner from some of the equipment stuff that she was going through over the last couple years and is now in the top 10 on tour in putting. So, for someone who hits the ball really, really well and is now, you know, such a great putter, if she, you know, that proximity to the hole is not going to be all that tight this week because of how tricky these greens are. Uh, I like her. I like the experience. She’s a winner of this tournament before. Um, so Miy Lee is my third pick, but my pick to win for this week. Hope. All right, over to you. These are some good ones so far. Okay, I will round us out with our quick nine. So, I first and foremost want to mention this is kind of my dark horse. I mean, she’s won on tour before, so I don’t know how much of a dark horse she really is, but it is Andrea Lee. I actually did a walk and talk with her yesterday, and she seems to be in very good spirits. And we talked about not wanting to end up in the rough. Well, Andrea Lee hits a lot of fairways. She does not miss. No, she doesn’t miss fairways. She does not miss. Uh, she’s first in driving accuracy on tour. She hits 84.62% of fairs. So crazy. It’s wild. And she’s also eighth in scrambling, which I think is another thing that’s going to be very important this week. So, and she loves this tournament. She’s an American. She said this is like pretty much at the top of her list. She first played in the US Women’s Open in 2014 and she played with Michelle Wi West in a practice round and then she went on to win. Michelle did. And she said that’s when she knew she wanted to be a professional golfer. So, this is just one of those events. It means a lot to her and she plays well here. She finished um or not here here, but at in US Women’s Opens, she finished T3 last year at Lancaster Country Club, and that was a hard course as well. So, I think she’s definitely someone to keep an eye on if she doesn’t win. I think she’s at least going to top 10 this week. Um my next one is Megan Kang. I just couldn’t resist. I love Megan, first of all. She’s amazing. And she is sixth in strokes gained. Ta green. She is eighth in strokes gained approach and fourth in ball striking and fourth in drive uh driving accuracy. So I think if her putting is is doing well this week, I think she’s absolutely someone you need to keep an eye on. And I it would be so fun. She has a good caddy, too. She has a great caddy. I was about to mention that. Um, I might be a little biased because my boyfriend is her caddy. So, um, but I’m She’d be a fun win. Yes. And I’ve always loved Megan. He just started catting for at the end of last year. And her winning this week would just be it would be I would I would be so happy for her. Um, and I think everyone would be as well. Yes. The whole tour would love it. So popular. Yeah. Yeah. She You know those wins that like when they win they’re all the players post about it. She would be one of those. It’s like when she won in Canada, right? Like there was at least, you know, there was almost a half dozen people uh players like waiting around for her after, you know, afterwards. So, yeah. Or like Ashley Buhai when she won the AI. Yes. Same same vibes for sure. Um, but yeah, so I think she’s definitely someone to watch out for. And then my last one and my pick for the week has got to be Lydia Co. I mean, you just can’t count her out. She loves a big event and this would actually complete her career grand slam. Um, for people that I know, can you imagine? Just just when you thought just when you thought, right? It’s like, oh, what? She did it all. But yeah, she’s in a sec. Yeah, she’s in the LPJ Hall of Fame, which, you know, as everyone knows, is very hard to get into. Um, it would just be awesome if she won. She’s eighth in strokes gained total, sixth in strokes gained around the green, and she’s already won once this year. She’s also second in scrambling, and like I said, I think that’s important. And um she’s really good at par fives as well. Um second in par five scoring, so like what is she? She’s really good and she doesn’t like vomit, right? So she’s got to be so good at par five scoring because she hits it to a thimble every time from the fairway with her wedges, right? Yeah. which is going to be important which is kind of hope without jumping into your point which is kind of how Brian Harmon played so well at Aaron Hills right it’s kind of the same a very similar uh kind of way of taking on the golf course right so her short game is so good too so good she’s so good her short game is amazing and around these greens that’s going to be vital because I have seen some of the slopes off the greens I’m like oh no I would not want to be down I would never get back up on the green. I would never do it. So, um th those are my three, but my main pick has got to be Lydia Co because what a story, y’all. I mean, wouldn’t that just be amazing? So, yeah, those are our quick nine. Um, and then something we have to touch on as well, just about winners, is we have not had a single repeat winner this season, which was completely different than last year. At this point, Nelly had won like five or six times. I’m like getting confused with like when she won. I just know that like five of them were in a row. But um, go ahead, Adam. No, I was Did Hannah had she won twice already by this time last year? or had she just won once? Maybe she won twice. I think she had won twice at this point. Um Right. Right. So, yeah. I mean, at this point, we really don’t know what’s going to happen because we haven’t had a single repeat winner because everyone is just playing so well. And in US Women’s Open history, there have been 22 firsttime winners. That’s not first- time major winners. That’s first time winners. And that’s like Laura Davies, Anukica Sornstam, NB Park, Ni Chun, Yuka, Allison Corpus. I mean, and also Allison is someone to watch this week as well. She also hits a lot of fairways. But, um, I think before we close out, I just want to get some final thoughts from from you guys. Adam, it looks like you’re chomping at this. I was I was I was e I was eager to make a f make a final point and then we’ll pass it over to Emma because uh I read I want to shout out uh Meg from the fried egg uh wrote something earlier in the week that I thought was really pointed and and it specifically kind of um got me thinking about uh the meeting the moment and and that’s something that she had written and and it kind of builds off exactly what you just said a minute ago. Uh only this is something that she brought up in in in the note only one winner of the US women’s open since 2020 has actually been ranked higher than 25th in the world. Yuka was number 30 uh last year. So, you know, with the venue, with the purse, um you know, can we like a Lydia, like a Nelly, can we get a star to kind of meet meet this moment? Um that would be definitely something to kind of keep an eye on through uh through the week because as we’ve seen, as the body of work has unfolded over the last five, six years, um you know, it’s kind of been that that unexpected winner that has emerged at the end of it all because the US Women’s Open Golf Course so so tricky. It doesn’t always have to be a a superstar. It’s just got to be the person um that manages their ball around an incredibly difficult golf course, the best. And that could be someone ranked 30th, 40th, 50th in the world, or that could be somebody in in the top five or top 10 or whatever it may be. So, I think that’s a huge thing um just to watch out for this week, especially considering uh where we’ve been over the last 5 years. Emma, I mean, obviously from the perspective of the player, uh, you’ve done this, you’ve competed in it, and it’s so cool that you’re on this with us to be able to give that perspective. Uh, and I think the listeners really get a lot out of that, uh, whenever you’re able to speak to competing in major championships. But, you know, just for you from the from now kind of the outside looking in. Um, what’s maybe some of your putting a bow on it kind of kind of thoughts for for this week? Yeah, I mean, I think the first thing you got to think about is this is a new golf course for every single player that’s playing in the field. Um, no one really has a lot of intel. I know Jennifer Cup chose Caddy is from around that area, so she may have a little more intel than maybe some of the other girls, but it’s a new golf course. Um, like we said, there’s a lot of players that aren’t on the LPGA that are playing in the US Open. So, it gives a whole another feel to the to the place. Um, it’s just a hard week and it’s all about staying true to yourself, being patient, not making mistakes, not making the doubles. You’re going to make bogeies, but you can’t make doubles. And it’s just a hard week. There’s a lot going on. I mean, Hope and I were just talking about how like even the everything from credentials to player dining, it’s different than what it is for the LPJ players week in to week out. So, there’s just a lot to learn when you go to a US Open cuz it’s different than what we’re used to. So, the players have a lot to juggle right now and it’s going to be interesting to see who wins. And um yeah, good luck girls. I’m glad I’m not playing this week. Yeah, I don’t blame you. Um no, it’s it’s going to be a fantastic week and I cannot wait for it to get started. I want everyone to tell us in the comments who they think is going to win and also give us your dark horse because I’m very intrigued. Obviously, we’ve seen many dark horses win throughout the last several years. I mean, Yukaso wasn’t even an LPGA tour member and now she’s won two US women’s opens. So, you never know what is going to happen at a major and you never know what is going to happen out on the LPGA tour. So, everyone be sure to tune in this week. There are lots of ways to watch. You can watch on USA Peacock. Like you said, Adam, it’s going to be on NBC over the weekend. And also be sure to check out the US Women’s Open website because it is really, really good. And I’ve been like living on it this week already. And the tournament has not even started. So everybody enjoy another major week. And like I said, let us know who you think is going to win. Adam, Emma, thank you for doing this with me. May the odds be ever in your favor. We will see who picked the winner or if none of us did. Thanks, Hope. Thanks, Emma. Let’s go home.