Waiting game
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — For four days, Hee Kyung Seo did everything she could to win the U.S. Women’s Open.
To start the fifth day, all she can do is watch and hope.
Seo will return to the Broadmoor on Monday as the leader, after shooting a pair of 3-under 68s during a 36-hole marathon Sunday that left her at 3-under 281. It was good for a one-shot lead over South Korean rival So Yeon Ryu and a two-shot advantage over Cristie Kerr.
While Seo watches, the closest competitors will finish the fourth round Monday morning, each still with at least one good birdie opportunity, on the par-5 17th, awaiting.
“I can sleep very well, so I don’t worry about that,” Seo said before she left the course Sunday night, knowing she could come back, not hit a single shot, and collect the winner’s trophy, end up in playoff or go home empty.
Yes, after four days and four long rain delays, there’s still golf left to be played. The latest delay stopped the action for 2 hours, 37 minutes and forced play to be cut short with three contenders and more than two dozen also-rans still out on the course when it got dark.
Among the contenders were Ryu, who shot 69 on her first trip around the course Sunday morning and was 2 under for the tournament with three holes to play.
“Right now, it’s kind of breezy out there,” she said when she walked off. “Tomorrow, it might be good weather and the greens might be soft. So, it’s good for me, yeah.”
There was Kerr, a two-time major winner who wasn’t conceding anything, as she prepared for her final two holes. She was getting ready to do an interview after darkness fell when she saw Seo hugging friends and family.
“The tournament is not decided yet,” Kerr said. “I think she’s over there celebrating. We all have a chance. I’m going to go out and swing for the fences and hopefully tie it up.”
Also with an outside chance was Angela Stanford, who was at even par, three shots behind with four holes to play.
If the tournament ends in a tie, they’ll decide the championship with a three-hole playoff.
On Sunday, Seo played better than anyone over 36 grueling holes of golf — at altitude on a 7,000-yard course, longest in U.S. Women’s Open history. The highlights included four straight birdies on the front nine in her final round that boosted her from 1-under par into the lead — a lead she never lost.
She scrambled through the back nine, saving par with a tricky 5-foot putt on 11, again from an awkward stance above a greenside bunker on No. 13, then again after a drive into the deep rough on 15.
“I just trusted myself and just let it go, and I made lots of birdies,” Seo said.
Stanford briefly pulled into a tie with Seo, but missed a three-foot putt for bogey on No. 11 to start a free-fall — 4-over par on holes 11 through 14.
By the time Seo reached No. 17, she was ahead by two, pointing and staring at a rainbow overhead.
But the moment didn’t last long. First, after being asked by tournament officials to close the gap with the group in front, she started jogging up the fairway — not the traditional gait from someone trying to close out a major. A few moments later, Seo missed a 3-footer for bogey that let Ryu creep within one shot.
