2016 U.S. Women’s Open – Poor Timing
OH NO! pic.twitter.com/3IvKImH6uy
— Lance Ringler (@GolfweekRingler) July 10, 2016
For 73 holes of the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open, the USGA did a good job of not inserting themselves into the proceedings. That ended on the second hole of the three-hole aggregate playoff between Brittany Lang and Anna Nordqvist when Nordqvist inadvertently grounded her club in a bunker. While the infraction could only be spotted on an HD replay (which was a problem in an of itself), the major issue was the timing of when the USGA brought it to their attention. The incident occurred on Nordqvist’s approach on 17. But it wasn’t until after her third shot on the closing 18th hole par-5 when she was informed of the penalty. What’s more is that Lang was just about to play her third shot when she too found out that she suddenly had a two-shot lead. That directly changed her strategy as she pulled a longer club to avoid the water in front.
“I wish the USGA would have told me a little bit earlier,” said Nordqvist in her post-round interview. “I don’t know if it would have changed the outcome, but it certainly would have changed my aggressiveness into the 18th pin.”
