FOX SPORTS CO-HOSTS AND FORMER TOUR PLAYERS VIRADA NIRAPATHPONGPORN AND SU-ANN HENG KASEM SPEAK TO PARGOLF’S JONATHAN PONNIAH ABOUT THIS WEEK’S 75TH STAGING OF THE US WOMEN’S OPEN
It’s the week of the US Women’s Open, albeit in an unfamiliar winter slot and with no spectators on-site.
Still, as the final Major of the year and penultimate event of the abbreviated 2020 LPGA season, it’s set to be an exciting week as the world’s best female golfers – including Malaysia’s own Kelly Tan – take on Champions Golf Club in Houston. Conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA), the US Women’s Open is the oldest of the five Majors and generally acknowledged as the most prestigious title in the ladies’ game.
Former tour players Virada Nirapathpongporn and Su-Ann Heng Kasem, who co-host the live coverage on FOX Sports starting Thursday, both strongly believe that the 75th staging of the storied championship will be an occasion to savour and remember.
A trailblazer for Thai golf, Virada was once ranked as the world’s top female amateur when she played on the US collegiate circuit for Duke University. In 2003, she made headlines worldwide as the first golfer from her country to win the prestigious US Women’s Amateur title, also conducted by the USGA.
Turning professional in 2004, Virada played on the LPGA Tour for three years and has two professional wins to her name, both coming on the 2005 Futures Tour (now known as the Symetra Tour). She competed in no less than six US Women’s Opens, including two as an amateur. Apart from commentary work for FOX Sports and other networks, she spends her time in her native Bangkok coaching the Thai ladies national team.
A stalwart of the Singapore national team during her amateur days, Su-Ann turned professional in 2011 and competed on the Symetra Tour and other circuits until 2015. The multi-talented lass joined the FOX Sports commentary team in 2016 and has also carved a niche for herself as an emcee, radio host and fitness icon.
Su-Ann and her husband Mike – who’s also a TV presenter and radio host – recently welcomed their first child, Casey, named after Mike’s dad, the late American radio and TV personality Casey Kasem (best known outside the US as the voice of the popular 1970s and 1980s radio show American Top 40).
Both Virada and Su-Ann cited the superb venues and diverse field as the main elements that make the US Women’s Open such a special event.
“Each and every year the USGA does a great job of selecting a venue that has history and a unique layout that is going to test every element of the game,” said Virada. “Second, I think it’s the field that is very special … any average Jane with a handicap of 2.4 or less can have a chance to try and qualify for it.
“So I think that it’s amazing that you can be young, you can be old, you can be amateur or a pro, and you have a chance to have the week of your life at the US Open.”
Having attended the US Women’s Open three times with her media hat on, Su-Ann noted that the championship is organised with stunning precision. “I think the USGA does an amazing job organising the US Open; any of the Opens are amazing. It’s just so well organised, everything’s done with so much precision and, to second Virada, I think the course that they pick always has so much history, always has so much stories to it.
“And for some reason, leading up to the US Open, there’s just so many storylines, so many players that could contend. It seems like at the US Open, everyone seems to rise to the top a little bit. And also, I think it’s the field … it’s so exciting because you have so many amateurs that are playing.”
As for their picks to hoist the Harton S. Semple trophy and the winning score come Sunday, both ladies conceded that it’s tough to make predictions due to the new venue and different time slot.
Virada named two promising young players, Japan’s Nasa Hataoka and Australia’s Minjee Lee, as those she would like to see win. “I usually like to root for the underdogs, someone who’s been knocking on the door but haven’t quite done it … these two players have always been contending but they have not won a Major yet, so it would be nice to see them break through this week.
“And then, of course, I can’t pass up on the obvious ones like maybe Danielle Kang, Inbee Park, Sei Young Kim, you know the players who are in form … these players are ranked 1, 2 and 3 on the CME Globe season rankings. Obviously they’ve been dominant this year, so you can’t pass up on them.”
Su-Ann opined that it was tough to go with an underdog because of the compacted season. “This year has been such a strange year and it’s really hard to see who’s trending and who’s not.
“I’m going to have to go with the obvious ones … I’m going to pick Sei Young Kim, purely because I think her game is really suitable for this golf course. You know, I call her ‘little cili padi‘ because she might not be built like some of the LPGA players but she has so much power in her swing and so much accuracy, and she has great touch around the greens … and I feel like that would be something you would have to have in your bag, solid, at the US Open. Of course, this year she’s won twice and she’s really been playing some great golf.
“And then I’m going to go with Danielle Kang, she’s my second favourite … same thing, she’s just been playing so well this year, she’s been working really hard with Butch (Harmon). She’s really starting to shape up her iron game and, as we all know, it’s the US Open and you’ve got to hit greens and you’ve got to have proximity to the pin.”
Apart from the scheduling change, this year’s event will see the first two rounds played over both Champions Golf Club courses, Cypress Creek and Jackrabbit, to account for reduced daylight time, with Cypress Creek hosting the last 36 holes.
Based on her online research, Su-Ann noted that the two courses will pose vastly different challenges. “Cypress apparently is more like a championship course, huge greens. From what I know they don’t have a lot of fairway bunkers, but I think they’re probably going to set up the rough pretty severely, so it’s kind of like your typical championship course. The greens are so big, so you definitely want to hit to the right quadrants.
“You might only play Jackrabbit once during the course of the week, but you don’t want to take it for granted. Apparently it’s a lot tighter off the tee; it’s got a lot more doglegs, so a bit more old school. It’s got smaller and harder greens as well, with a lot of turtle kind of greens; there are a lot more false fronts on the sides, so it’s a lot tougher in that sense. You really have to play two very different styles of golf courses,” said Su-Ann.
Virada added that having to play two golf courses throws a whole new element into the mix in terms of the players’ preparations. “I think that is going to add yet another element of difficulty for the players because, in terms of preparing for the week, usually they have two to three rounds to learn the course, and this is a new venue for almost everybody. Now they have to divide that time between two courses, so basically their preparation time is cut in half. And this is the US Open; you know this is a big week so I think that’s going to add another element to the player’s preparations.”
As Su-Ann pointed out, a number of players took the chance to play the two golf courses during their off-weeks, Kelly included.
Both ladies stressed that the forecasted cold weather will be another major factor. “All of a sudden, from playing in the summer and now to playing in the wintertime, where apparently most of the week you’ve got a low of 6°C and a high of something ridiculous like 17°C, you know, and they’re expecting a little bit of rain on Saturday and Sunday, which just drops the temperatures,” said Su-Ann.
“I think the grass will be playing differently … during that time on that side of the country they do an overseed, so that in itself just changes the entire week of the US Open and I think it will make it so interesting.”
Virada noted that the other main difference would be the absence of crowds at Champions Golf Club. “Usually, the players can feed off the energy from the crowds but this year there’s not going to be that, so they have to find other sources of good vibes. And also one other benefit of having the crowds onsite is, if the player’s ball finds the rough, sometimes the rough gets stomped down so much they actually find a good lie out of the rough. But now, without the crowds there, good luck!”
Asked what her favourite memory was from her six US Women’s Opens, Virada picked the 2004 edition where she was paired with Annika Sorenstam and Cristie Kerr for the first two rounds. “That year I had already turned pro … but I was paired with them because of me winning the US Women’s Amateur the previous year. Obviously a lot of people turned up to watch us and I was so nervous on the first tee … I was just hoping I didn’t top my tee shot!
“I think a lot of the people actually came to the first tee just to hear how my last name was pronounced, so that was pretty cool! And then everybody went ‘yaaayyy!’ because the announcer got it right; not because it was me out there!”
Catch Virada Nirapathpongporn, Su-Ann Heng and Jason de la Peña co-hosting the US Women’s Open Championship live from 10-14 December on FOX Sports 2
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