Minea Blomqvist at the practice area
Before coming to the Women’s British Open in Sunningdale my personal favourites were Suzann Pettersen, Minea Blomqvist, and obviously Annika Sörenstam. It would be either of them I planned to follow, but it happened that I made the final choice on Wednesday during the last practice day – my first full day spent on the course. The decision was made after I approached all of them and asked for an autograph – with respect to my personal reception of their attitude Minea was a clear winner. She was certainly the most open, nicest, kindest, and all-smiles player I met that day, not only when it came to giving the autograph but also when I observed her reaction to the whole situation. At first she seemed a bit surprised that she’s received such fan attention, but then she elaborately signed the photograph for me. Moreover, a while later she spontaneously reacted to Linda Wessberg complaining on the photograph she was signing, leaving her own comments on the happening.
So, that way my plan was all set up and the very next day I was prepared to walk the course with her and her fellow competitors. On the first day she duly began her score with a birdie on the first hole, however, she did that after hitting a fabulous approach to the green and missing an eagle putt. Two more birdies followed and after six holes she was 3-under. Alas, on the 8th she three-putted for a bogey. She quickly responded with birdies on 9th and 10th to go 4-under. As it appeared at the end the 10th was the easiest hole for her as she birdied it each day.
On the 13th she scored another bogey – this time due to a poor tee shot – it looked like as she hit the ball fat and she ended up in high grass approximately 40 meters before the green. For the next holes she kept her game steady, and when it looked like she’s gonna finish at 3-under she birdied the last holing her putt from the fringe. Her score of 68 was the best in the threesome, as her fellow players from South Korea scored 70 and 71.
On Friday I’ve joined her again, this time after spending the morning watching Suzann Pettersen’s performance. She began Friday’s scoring even better that yesterday with birdies on the first two holes. A bogey on the 5th followed, but more misfortune came at the 7th. Inaccurate drive landed right of the fairway in the rough. From there she played her ball onto the fairway, but from there she played her third into a green-side bunker on the right-hand side before the green. More misery came as she hit it thin and the ball flew over the green and rolled over to stop on the steep slope. Subsequent chip and putt closed the score on that hole to double bogey.
Minea Blomqvistin with her coach Timo Rauhala
Birdie on the 10th has improved the mood a bit. For the following holes she didn’t seem to get it going, although she was close to scoring a birdie on the 13th, yet her chip stopped just an inch right from the cup. As a result a birdie on the 16th after a nicely holed putt was greeted with much relief as after that she’d gone into red figures again. To the dismal of Minea and the spectators the following 17th meant nothing more than a trouble. She hit the drive to the right close to the tree line and into the rough. Neither she nor her caddie could tell where exactly the ball has landed, and even her father Seppo who stood close enough to have a better look at it could not help. Thus the fans were invited inside the ropes to assist in finding the ball. Fortunately, one of the gentlemen found it buried in heather on the top of a small hill. From there Minea decided that it is unplayable and all she could manage on that hole was a second double of the day.
Interestingly, on our way along the 12th fairway we were joined by Alison Nicholas – captain of the europeans for the 2009 Solheim Cup. At the green she was already driving a buggy and followed the threesome until the 17th.
During a break between Pettersen and Blomqvist’s game on Friday I caught up with some players asking for their autographs, Sherri Steinhauer being one of them. Almost just as Minea she was very kind and open to the spectators, so after I got to know that she’s paired with Minni the next day there was no surprise whom I’d be watching on Saturday.
Minea Blomqvist with her coach Timo Rauhala during putting session
Third round was more of a roller-coaster ride. Minea began with a birdie on 2nd, but on the 4th she missed a sidehill putt for par to go even for the day. She quickly got a grip of herself and on the following hole got a shot back. Two more birdies followed on the short 9th and 10th, but we could not celebrate that for long as the 11th brought trouble. Minni has hit her drive into a left fairway bunker. She was faced with a difficult shot to the small green close to the tree line and the hazard, but none of us expected she would not make it out of the bunker with her first attempt. The miss must have annoyed her to the degree that with the third which she hit a bit thin she overshot the green and was faced with a chip to the flag with the green running away from her and very little green to work with. All of that resulted in a double bogey. To the end she played two more bogeys and one birdie as it seemed that she has endured enough that day already to not being able to pull off nothing more.
On Sunday Minea was paired with Sophie Gustafson, and as Sophie’s autograph was among those I missed, together with me willing to go for the full 72 holes with Minni, my plan for that day became obvious. As I thought that being rather distant from the leaders Minea will be more relaxed and consequently will play more effectively my personal guess was that she’d post a 66 on the final round.
Minea Blomqvist on the DR before her final round
The start seemed that it might be the case indeed, as after three holes she was 2-under. But again a bogey on 6th brought some halt to the pace – she hit it a bit to hard and the ball rolled off the green. From there she had to chip towards the flag from a ground much lower that the green surface. Although another day she was in a similar situation on that hole but pulled it off for a successful par recovery this time it did not happen. The second nine was much more nice to her as again the 10th offered an easy birdie. It seemed that on the 12th another one would follow, but despite a terrific approach to the green she’s missed a quite straightforward putt pushing it to the left. On the 13th Minea hit a grand tee shot which stayed on the green, and subsequent putt has found the cup for a birdie. Another one came soon after at the 14th. On the 17th she hit a spectacular approach for a tap-in birdie – a feat repeated by Pettersen almost an hour later (well, maybe Suzann was even a bit closer to the flag, but the shots looked identical).
At the end Minni’s score totaled to 8-under, which as it came out was the best score among the European players. Congratulations, as this should propel her to higher standings in the Solheim Cup ranking. Watching Minea playing WBO was nothing less than a pleasure and I hope another opportunity to support her during a tournament will come soon.
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Tags: golf, minea blomqvist, ricoh women's british open, sunningdale
