Oh to be a camel in the desert. Spending each and every day lounging in the desert sun, lapping up the sand blowing across the golf course in the sweltering temperatures. Not worried about the ball lipping out, topping and duffing golf shots or penalties for slow play.
The first two days of the Aramco Saudi Ladies International Presented by PIF have brought 30mph winds, 30+ degree heat and a packed leaderboard at Riyadh Golf Club with Leona Maguire beautifully positioned at just four back on four-under after a sensational morning 64.
Saudi Diary
Are there mitigating circumstances for slow play? Ayaka Furue’s caddie Michael Scott (no, not the guy who runs Dunder Mifflin in The Office US) certainly thinks so.
Riyadh Golf Club is perched in the heart of the desert with each hole moving with the undulating terrain created by the dunes.
However, holes 11-14 are left quite exposed to the elements and the high winds have wreaked havoc on the players here this week.
There was a hold up of over half an hour on the par-3 14th in round one with the wind whipping large amounts of sand through the air and across the green, making visibility almost impossible.
Even on a slightly calmer day, walking behind Lexi Thompson, Georgia Hall and Furue, the trio disappeared into the sandy abyss as they entered the 11th fairway.
At this stage, a strong gale was blowing into their faces with a view of the green proving a stern challenge.
The 12th was on different with the wind carrying flickers of sand from left to right. The players rightly took an extra minute to collect themselves as the sand blew through the air.
Issues like this made for almost six hours rounds on Thursday with Leona Maguire’s tee time running 20 minutes late due to the delays ensuing before her on the golf course.
Thompson, Hall and Furue safely navigated the par-5 12th in all pars with Hall and Thompson enjoying a laugh and a joke walking from the 12th green to the 13th tee only to have the smile wiped from their faces when a referee ambiguously told them that their group was being monitored.
“Monitored?” Is that a warning they questioned? The referee seemed to indicate no, but Hall took it that they were being put on the clock for slow play.
Furue’s caddie, Scott, raised the question to the referee if there are mitigating circumstances for slow play, stating that on holes 11 and 12 they struggled to see the green and had to wait until the sand cleared from the air.
The debate between caddie and referee continued as the players made their way down the 13th.
Certainly from my view, all three players seemed to be playing at a brisk pace once they stood over the ball. One look and hit.
A harsh call from the referee considering everybody has been in the same boat.
Deadly Maguire puts on a ball striking clinic
If you were watching on television you would most probably turn it off. But in a good way, Leona Maguire was boringly good on day two as she blitzed her way to the easiest of 64s to thrust herself back into contention heading into the weekend.
Following Maguire for 18 holes in total, back nine on day one, front nine on day two, I have seen her chip just once overall.
The Cavan woman hit all 18 greens on day one and has hit 33/36 in total so far both in extremely high winds and benign conditions.
The lowest iron Maguire carries is a seven before she dips down to the head covers and unleashes her underrated weapons, her woods and hybrids.
Even on a day where she shot 76 in round one, the wind never affected her. There’s nothing fancy about the 29-year-old, there’s no real desire to hit dramatic shaped shots into the wind, but what she does is clinical.
Regardless of the wind direction, Maguire will launch an iron or more impressively, a wood, to fifteen feet, middle of the green.
While her playing partner Linn Grant has an x-factor off the tee, Maguire is almost guaranteed to be on the fairway and in the middle of the putting surface.
Her morning 64 on Friday was some of the best live golf anyone who was there is likely to see this year. There is something so satisfying about seeing a mid iron drilled through the air.
Maguire has an ideal low ball flight that just pierces through the wind and her control and judgement of landing on the greens with her hybrids and woods is second to none.
The male club golfer will often say that the women’s game is relatable to them and it is in terms of distance for sure. But while many of us play army golf, Maguire is a sure thing.
Maguire struggled on the greens on Thursday but it was only a matter of time before she started converting the glorious chances she has been giving herself.
If she continues this ball striking clinic, she will be very hard to stop this weekend.
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