In this Friday Flop Shot we will look at the ladies’ event taking place right now at The Merit Club near Chicago. The LPGA has a lot of great golfers and this event has a true worldwide and international flavor.
We’re talking about the 2nd incarnation of The International Crown, won by the Spanish ladies in 2014’s inaugural event. The IC features 8 teams of 4 players each, representing their country. Players and thus the teams must qualify based on the cumulative team score of the 4 players’ Rolex World Rankings. Teams are seeded 1-8 and put into 2 4-team pool brackets where each team plays the other 3 teams in their bracket in a series of 4-ball matches. The top 2 point-earning teams from each pool plus 1 wild card team will advance to Sunday’s singles matches. The winning country is determined by the highest number of cumulative points from Thursday through Sunday’s matches. (photo offcoursegolf.com)
The Spaniards, 2014 winners, did not qualify for 2016 and neither did the runner up, the Swedes. This year’s IC teams include the United States, South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia and England. Lots of great lady golfers represented here.
All but 2 hours of Sunday NBC coverage is on The Golf Channel and you know what I’m gonna say now…set your TiVo and record this tournament. I watched most of the 2014 play and it was great! This ladies are playing for their countries and it means a lot to them. Emotions and passions run high and these gals can play!
Please don’t confuse the ladies’ tees at your home course with LPGA tees. This course is set up for 6668 yards, par 72. That’s in line with a low to medium length for men’s regular tees at most courses. So for most of the Dads out there, these women are basically playing from your tee box! Can you hit your drives as far as they do? Probably not! Great stuff! Well coverage has started and I’m watching it! (photo Jose Maria Saiz V.)
See you on #1 tee looking for that International Crown… Sam
Parenting Junior Golfers... 