san martin—Sandra Angulo Minarro approached the tee box on the 8th hole during her practice round on Wednesday.
Surrounding the box were children from the First Tee Silicon Valley, representing San Francisco and Monterey who peppered Minarro with questions about golf, her favorite club and more.
Before she hit her tee shot on the par 3, Minarro looked to the children and said, “I want you to cheer as loud as you can. This is my first U.S. Women’s Open and I’m going to be kind of nervous tomorrow.”
So the kids, their teachers and parents all roared for the golfer from Mexico, who hit a fantastic shot in the middle of the green.
So went the final practice round of the day ahead of the action which starts 7 a.m. Thursday at scenic Cordevalle to represent the first time the U.S. Women’s Open was played in the Bay Area.
Cordevalle featured a steady stream of visitors during the week, including on July 4 as family of the golfers joined visitors, Cordevalle members and volunteers.
The course is a unique challenge for the golfers, who said there really isn’t a particular advantage for any one style.
“I’ll let you know Sunday. I hope so,” said World No. 1 Lydia Ko on if the course matches her style of play. “I feel like different style of golf course than previously I’ve played. … I think this course opens it up to a lot of players.”
Paula Creamer echoed the sentiment that being long off the drive to be successful, but there might be times when going for it could land you in a better position than otherwise.
“I don’t think there’s an advantage to hitting it long, but I think there are a couple of holes where you might be able to carry a corner and set yourself up better,” Creamer said during her media availability.
She added Cordevalle has some spots that you need to be careful because there course isn’t always forgiving for errant shots.
“When you do miss a green, you need to miss it in the right spot,” Creamer said.
Tickets are still available for spectators by visiting 2016uswomensopen.com. Youth 17 and under will receive free admission.
