RIANNE Malixi will attempt to find positives in her U.S. Women’s Open debut which did not end very well for one of the world’s top golf amateurs who finished near the bottom after two rounds Saturday.
Those positives would be very hard to find after the 18-year-old had another miserable outing at Erin Hills Golf Club in Wisconsin, where she had six bogeys and no birdie after firing a six-over-par 78 in the second round that put her at 13 over for the tournament.
The cut is at plus one which means weekend play is over for Malixi who, in the first round, shot a 79. In two rounds, Malixi just had one birdie, the first hole she played in the first round, in her total of 147.
If she thought she would improve in the second round and post a miraculous number to make the cut, that thought vanished after the first three holes.
She bogeyed all three despite stupendous drives landing in the fairways, but three-putted them, as she kept misreading the speed of the greens then facing daunting comebackers, all inside six feet, which she woefully missed, repeatedly.
In all, Malixi made 10 bogeys and two double bogeys in 36 holes. Her long game, however, could not be faulted. She hit 13 of 14 fairways in the first round and 11 of 14 in the second.
But her putter betrayed her. She had 32 in the first round and 36 in the second for a total of 68. She was also 0-3 in sand saves.
Malixi finished the tournament 21 strokes behind second round leader Mao Saigo of Japan who shot 70-66 – 146, eight under par for a three-shot lead over six players tied at minus 5, including Nelly Korda, who scored a 67.
One can argue that Malixi’s game is not yet there, the game that won her the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Girls’ championships last year, only the second player in history who had done so.
It was obvious that she was not ready for a competition like the U.S. Open where the course had been tricked to make it tough even for professionals.
She has not played a competitive round for several months, as she nursed an injured back that forced her to withdraw in this year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship and the Augusta National Women’s Championship.
But she is not to be counted out. Malixi, who has committed to play for Duke in college this school year, remains the country’s brightest hope in women’s golf and her progress towards an LPGA career is almost inevitable, assuming she takes care of her balky back.
Saso, Ardina falter as well
Yuka Saso, meanwhile, will not be around to defend her U.S. Open Women’s title. While she has a lot of things to blame, a triple bogey 7 on the par-4 third hole was the main culprit.
Her 256-yard drive landed on the right rough and her second settled in a sand trap. From there she missed the green to the right and her fourth found the greenside trap. She was on in five and had an eight-footer for double bogey which she failed to convert.
Saso fought back. After a 40 on the front nine, she rallied with four birdies on the back. Sadly, it was not enough as she missed the cut by one after finishing at 146 on rounds of 74-72.
Dottie Ardina also did not have a good day. Ardina, who entered the Open after surviving qualifying, had nine bogeys and two birdies in her round of 79.
Her total of 160, after an 81 in the first round, placed her in a tie for 151st in the 155-player field.
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