Capelle On Golf

Paula Creamer’s victory at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic on Sunday may not be that much of a consolation prize for blowing the US Open, but then again it shows that she’s gotten it over and is playing her brand of winning golf again.

Creamer opened with an 11 under 60 beat to beat a duo of players by five shots. Her masterpiece included 17 greens in regulation, birdies on nine of the last 11 holes, and a seven under 27 on her second nine (she played the back first). On Friday Creamer avoided the post great round letdown when she carded a 65. Creamer also won the 36 hole battle of the Glamour Girls, beating playing partner Natalie Gulbis by 19 shots! It should be noted that Gulbis won the battle of the short skirts, hers being at least six inches short than Creamer’s.

Creamer’s 36 Hole Stat Recap
125 shots! 17 under par
One more putt and she would have averaged a half-birdie per hole!
18 birdies – 17 pars – 1 bogey
32 GIR – 88.9%
131 is second - 135 is third (2 players)

A Tale of Two Tournaments
After 36 holes Creamer held a six shot lead and it was clearly her tournament to win – or lose. At which point she then fell victim to a big leader holder’s tendency to protect a lead, which is often a recipe for disaster. Her third round of 70 enabled Eun-Hee Ji to pull within four shots.

The first three rounds were played under lift, clean, and place rules thanks to heavy rains, which had dumped nine inches on the course. Then conditions changed radically, ending the birdie fest. The course dried out, 20MPH winds blew, and the players had to now play the ball as they found it. In short, the stage was set for a Creamer meltdown.

At one point on the back nine her lead was cut to a shot after she bogeyed the 12th. Then she showed the stuff of champions by bouncing back with a birdie at 13, then by holing an eight foot par putt at 14. Though she bogeyed 16, Creamer’s laser like tee shots got her to the clubhouse with a 73 and a two shot win. Nicole Castrale closed with a 64, the day’s best by three shots, to take second.

Over the first 36 holes Creamer put on an exhibition of precision golf as she was in the total offensive mode. But then a potential blowout turned into a cautious grind, the kind usually reserved for the majors. Though she went into her prevent defensive over the final 36, she showed that she knows how to get the W.

Her third victory and seventh of her career by the age of 21 (her 22nd birthday’s on Aug. 5) puts her one ahead of a rather prominent player on the men’s tour at the same age – Woods, yes, that’s his name. When (not if) she busts down the major’s door, the irrepressible Pink Panther just might give Lorena Ochoa a run for her money.