BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The sun popped out midday at Shoal Creek, and it was a welcome sight. For the second consecutive day, severe weather put a crimp into preparation for the 73rd U.S. Women's Open, as the course was closed to practice until the afternoon as more severe weather rolled through.
A total of 4.76 inches of rain has fallen on the Jack Nicklaus-designed course since 5 p.m. Sunday -- including more than 1½ inches Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, according to USGA championship director Matt Sawicki -- saturating the ground. Players were allowed to get on the course at 1 p.m. local time for practice rounds, and they encountered a very wet course.
"A dry night would be big for us to continue to get the conditions where we would like them to be," said USGA director of championship agronomy Darin Brevard, aware that there was a possibility of more rain Wednesday evening. "The golf course is draining, but it's wet out there."
John Bodenhamer, the USGA's senior managing director, said the USGA still intended to play the ball down and wouldn't speculate if further precipitation would affect that plan. "From what we saw in the landing areas, there were areas players can take relief [from casual water] and play golf," Bodenhamer said of an inspection of the course after the storms passed Wednesday.
Some players took to social media to express concern that the USGA, which has never used lift, clean and place in the championship, isn't going to bend despite the severity of the rain at Shoal Creek.
Cristie Kerr, the 2007 Women's Open champion, tweeted:
I have nothing but respect for the USGA and no one runs events better. I have played in over 20 US Womens opens and haven't seen Mother Nature cause course conditions like this. We as players all want the conditions tough but fair for our national championship.
- Cristie Kerr (@CKGolferChic) May 29, 2018
As the Women's Open, soggy turf notwithstanding, nears, here are five things to consider beside the course conditions:
1. Could this be the return of a successful title defense?
Three of the all-time greats in women's golf each accomplished a rare feat within a span of a dozen years. The achievement was back-to-back U.S. Women's Open victories: Betsy King (1989-90), Annika Sorenstam (1995-96) and Karrie Webb (2000-01). Prior to that, the only other players to pull off the feat in the event's 72-year history were Mickey Wright (1958-59), Donna Caponi (1969-70), Susie Berning (1972-73) and Hollis Stacy (1977-78).
That means Sung Hyun Park of South Korea will join elite company at Shoal Creek if she can win two in a row. Park, 24, in her second season on the LPGA, is defending the title won a year ago at Trump National Bedminster. The extremely soggy conditions will make Shoal Creek play long, which will be in the long- and high-hitting Park's favor. Ranked third in driving distance in 2018, Park has a win this season, at the rain-shortened LPGA Texas Classic.
2. Will the spread-the-wealth syndrome continue?
Two years is not a huge sample size, but there seems to be a trend developing in the women's game. The 2017 LPGA season started with 15 different tournament champions, tied with 1991 as the long stretch in tour history. By year's end, 22 players won events. For the first time, two golfers -- So Yeon Ryu and Park -- shared Rolex Player of the Year.
The 2018 LPGA season has followed the same pattern, with different winners in the 13 tournaments played so far.
3. Can Moriya Jutanugarn make her family unique in women's golf?
If you have paid any attention to women's golf recently, you know there are two sister acts on the LPGA Tour -- Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn and Jessica and Nelly Korda. Moriya won the Hugel-JTBC Los Angeles Open this season for her first LPGA victory, to go along with Ariya's eight career titles. The Jutanugarns joined Annika and Charlotta Sorenstam as sisters who each won LPGA events.
Siblings have been an interesting part of golf from its early days, all the way back to Scot brothers Willie Park Sr. and Mungo Park, each of whom won The Open Championship in the 19th century (Willie in 1860-63-66-75 and Mungo in 1874). The Bauer sisters (Alice and Marlene) competed in the early days of women's professional golf, and they were joined later by Donna and Janet Caponi. Donna counted four major titles among 24 LPGA victories, including Open titles in 1969-70.
A major victory by Moriya Jutanugarn to go along with Ariya's 2016 Ricoh Women's British Open triumph would make them the first sisters to each win a major title, more than 140 years after the Park brothers did so.
4. Is Lydia Ko poised to grab the Open title that slipped away from her in 2016?
Lydia Ko had a U.S. Women's Open title in her sights two years ago at CordeValle, where she was leading after 54 holes and looking good through the early stages of the final round. But a bogey at No. 8 was followed by a double-bogey on the ninth hole, where Ko unwisely attempted to carry a water hazard on a shot from thick rough. She bogeyed two of the next three holes as well, shooting 75 to tie for third.
Much has changed for Ko since that Sunday in California. While she rebounded and won the following week at the Marathon Classic, that was her most recent victory until April's LPGA Mediheal Championship, where she won her 15th career LPGA title at age 21.
Ko comes into this Open having taken a couple of weeks off to attend the wedding of her older sister, Sura, in South Korea. "It was exciting times for us," Ko said Tuesday. "We went back to our parents' hometown on Jeju Island and we were able to celebrate the amazing day and we have a new family member."
5. What can we expect from Lucy Li?
One of the intriguing entrants this week is Californian Lucy Li, playing in the U.S. Women's Open for the first time since 2014, when at age 11 she set a record as the youngest to play in the championship and impressed observers with her poise and personality. Li is the youngest player in the field this week, at 15.
This will be Li's second major appearance this year. She was one of seven amateurs to receive a sponsor exemption into the ANA Inspiration. Li shot 70-76 and missed the cut. Next week, Li is on to the Curtis Cup, when she will be the youngest U.S. team member since Lexi Thompson in 2010.