'This is natural, raw golf': What players are saying about the brutal conditions at the Old Course
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Rose Zhang hit driver, 3-wood on the 375-yard opening hole at the Old Course on Thursday. Zhang, one of 32 players competing over the historic links for the first time at the AIG Women's British Open, got the full experience on a blustery day in the Kingdom of Fife.
Leader Ruoning Yin had only seen the Old Course previously in video games, when she'd take on the character of Tiger Woods. Turns out she's quite good at getting around St. Andrews as herself in real life, too.
The morning wave saw winds consistently blow 30-35 mph, with gusts up to 39 mph. The winds reduced some in the afternoon, but pace of play was glacial as backing off the ball became routine.
Yin credited her fine play to her attitude, noting that she tried to make the wind her friend.
England's Georgia Hall, a former British Open champion, was pleased that officials didn't stop play, noting how much she loves these conditions. Hall praised the R&A for slowing down the greens.
"This is a true Women's Open like this," she said, "and I believe that's how it should be every day."
Here's what players had to say about a challenging Day 1 on the Old Course:
Ruoning Yin, 4 under
"Honestly, I don't have that much experience for playing links golf. ... I had to calculate the wind when I putt, which is first time. I really enjoyed it."
Jenny Shin, 3 under
"The ball was wobbling on the tee and a lot of us were thinking, how are we going to play?
"But we just knew from No. 7 until the 13th hole, it was going to be a battle regardless of whether it's raining or not. I mean, I've never really played in this kind of wind before because it just felt relentless. Like I experienced a similar wind in the Bahamas before, but it was like, coming and going, coming and going. You could find a little gap in between, like seconds, where you could hit the ball. But it was absolutely relentless today. So I'm extremely happy with an under par."
Georgia Hall, 1 under
"I looked out my hotel room and I can see the range, the flags on the range and that's a good indicator for me and it was 5 a.m., and they were blowing a gale, and I was like, that's great. Hope it stays like that.
"Not sure many players would agree with me. I hardly get to play like this. I play in America a lot, and to me it's more of a wooden form of golf. This is natural, raw golf."
(a) Lottie Woad, Even
"We had the Women's Amateur at Portmarnock and one day in match play, 50 mph gusts, so pretty similar to that. Just kind of got to stick to your target lines and just not do too much.
"Growing up in England, I'm used to playing in the wind. Played a lot over the summer. Definitely helps that I have that experience and know how to play it. Just got to keep the ball on the ground, really."
Rose Zhang, Even
"I think I got in at least five putts over 25 yards. So I definitely had to lag swing and half-swing a bunch of putts and even a half-swing wasn't enough, especially into the wind and you have a 27-yard putt to try to make up-and-down. You have to keep the ball low. ... I'm glad the greens are slower because out there the ball is moving just that little bit even though it's not rolling out, it's still jiggling."
Catriona Matthew, 5 over
"We started on 10 and thought it would get slightly easier on the back nine, but we were slightly mistaken. Front nine definitely playing tougher. That slight change in the wind and it's more into off the left now."
Gemma Dryburgh, 7 over
"We were on No. 11, our second hole, our balls were moving. My ball moved twice before I putted. Don't know how it was playable to be honest."
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 'This is natural, raw golf': What players are saying about the brutal conditions at the Old Course
