So Much Golf at the Same Time

With the Scottish Open, Women's British Open, and John Deere Classic all starting today, there's a ridiculous amount of golf to keep up with this week. (And that doesn't even include the Utah Championship on the Web.com Tour.)

But I'm most interested to see the women play, simply because their tour is where the action is lately. So I'll focus on them in today's post.



Cute picture, huh? According to LPGA.com, you can see (from left to right) the "newly-Damed" Laura Davies, Paula Creamer, Lydia Ko, Michelle Wie, Charlie Hull, and Rikako Morita.

Here's some things you might be interested in as you prepare to watch:

As usual, Tony Jesselli has a Women's British Open preview.

LPGA.com has created an interesting hole-by-hole breakdown of Royal Birkdale that might help you know where the most critical action is likely to happen.

Several of the "big names" got the early-late draw so we'll probably see only their best shots when ESPN2's coverage begins. Karrie Webb, Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis, and Michelle Wie are among those early risers, along with youngsters like Holly Clyburn, Stephanie Meadow, and Charley Hull.

Inbee Park, Suzann Pettersen, Lydia Ko, Paula Creamer, and Jessica Korda are some of the big names who will be in the broadcast window today.

As far as the Rolex Rankings go, only Stacy Lewis (the current #1) and Lydia Ko (the current #2) can leave Royal Birkdale as the top dog this week. Again, according to LPGA.com:

• Stacy Lewis will remain the Rolex Rankings No. 1 player if she finishes in a 3-way tie for 2nd-or-better at the RICOH Women’s British Open.
• If Lydia Ko wins this week, she will take over the No. 1 ranking as long as Stacy finishes in a 4-way tie for 2nd or worse.

The weather is expected to be a bit harsh, the rough is thick and lush, and the fairways are narrow, so most of the talk on Wednesday was that even par may have a good chance to win this week. (But we always hear that kind of talk before the Opens, don't we? Unless something really bad blows in, I'm betting we'll see -8.)

All 4 rounds of the RICOH Women's British Open will be broadcast on ESPN2. Today's broadcast is from 9am-noon ET.