5. A primer on Narashino’s double greens
In case you didn’t know (which I admittedly did not). PGATour.com’s Ben Everill…”The keen observer will notice something interesting at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP this week – each hole has two greens.”
- “Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club is much like many Japanese golf courses in this way, a design method left over from the days before technology allowed hybrid grasses to be able to withstand a wide array of weather conditions.”
- “Because summers could tend to be hot and humid and winters short and cold in Japan, it was once very challenging to maintain great greens year round. So courses would prepare two greens, one for summer and one for winter.”
- “You would typically see summer greens with Bermuda or zyosia grass and winter greens with bentgrass.”
Full piece.
6. Rightfully anxious?
Phil Casey at the Independent...”Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson signed a partnership with a CBD company earlier this year – it is said to reduce anxiety, inflammation, sleeplessness and chronic pain – but McIlroy appears unlikely to follow suit any time soon.”
- “I’m very aware of the banned substance list,” he told a pre-tournament press conference ahead of the inaugural Zozo Championship in Japan.
- “I’m very careful with what I put into my body and I couldn’t tell you if CBD oil is good for golfers because I’ve never tried it.
- “It’s tough because I take a very strong stance on performance-enhancing drugs or banned substances. I wouldn’t be comfortable taking CBD oil. I would be too paranoid that there would be THC in it and then that obviously could lead to a positive test.
Full piece.
7. Q-Series notes
The LPGA communications team…“Kim Kaufman watches her tee shot during the first round of the 2019 LPGA Q-Series at Pinehurst ResortKim Kaufman watches her tee shot during the first round of the 2019 LPGA Q-Series at Pinehurst Resort”
- “Competing in LPGA Q-Series presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina for the second straight year, Kim Kaufman (Clark, South Dakota) came sprinting out of the gate in the opening round to the tune of a bogey-free, 6-under par 65 on Pinehurst Course No. 6.”
- “After her LPGA Tour campaign ended at the Volunteers of America Classic, Kaufman was No. 118 on the Official Money List with total season earnings of $76,180. That amount was just over $51,000 away from being inside the top-100 for the safety of a full card in 2020.”
Full piece.
8. Lee-ader
AP report…”Minjee Lee overcame changing weather conditions at the Buick Ladies Championship to take a one-stroke lead with a bogey-free 6-under 66 after the first round of the LPGA tournament in South Korea.”
- “Sometime we had sunshine, wind, rain … we had a little bit of everything today,” the 23-year-old Australian said Thursday under an umbrella at the end of her round as the showers persisted. “But whenever I had to make up-and-downs, I was able to get up-and-down.”
- “Danielle Kang, who won last week’s tournament at Shanghai, was in a group tied for second with Jin Young Ko, Jeongeun Lee6 and Seung Yeon Lee on the LPGA International Busan course.”
Full piece.
9. Tee times pushed up
PSA via the Golf Channel team: “An approaching storm prompted officials at the Zozo Championship to adjust Round 2 tee times for players to start an hour earlier than scheduled, but it might not help.”
“Typhoon Bualoi is forecast to combine with a low-pressure system moving across central Japan Friday and create rain chances of 100 percent and winds predicted to gust to 30 mph. As much as 5 inches of rain is expected at Narashino Country Club.”
Accordingly, Tiger Woods will now tee off at 7:40 p.m. ET
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