Congratulations to 19-year-old Inbee Park of Korea, who won the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open today at Interlachen Country Club. She is the youngest winner in the history of the event, running away with the title by four shots over second place finisher Helen Alfredsson of Sweden.

Here are the top twelve finishers, all of whom were under par:

• 1, Inbee Park (South Korea), 72-69-71-71-283 (-9)
• 2, Helen Alfredsson (Sweden), 70-71-71-75-287 (-5)
• T3, Angela Park (Brazil), 73-67-75-73-288 (-4)
• T3, In-Kyung Kim (South Korea), 71-73-69-75-288 (-4)
• T3, Stacy Lewis (United States), 73-70-67-78-288 (-4)
• T6, Giulia Sergas (Italy), 73-74-72-70-289 (-3)
• T6, Nicole Castrale (United States), 74-70-74-71-289 (-3)
• T6, Mi Hyun Kim (South Korea), 72-72-70-75-289 (-3)
• T6, Paula Creamer (United States), 70-72-69-78-289 (-3)
• T10, Teresa Lu (Taiwan), 71-72-73-74-290 (-2)
• T10, Maria Jose Uribe – amateur (Columbia), 69-74-72-75-290 (-2)
• 12, Stacy Prammanasudh (United States), 75-72-71-73-291 (-1)

Congratulations to everyone involved with the tournament (especially the staff of Interlachen) for showcasing Minnesota golf on the world stage.

7MM 2008 U.S. Women’s Open Photo Gallery

So is Studio 5 one better than Studio 4?

Took the kids back again for the second day of championship competition at Interlachen. Watching the history that is Annika Sorenstam’s last U.S. Women’s Open was our goal and she came through for us in spades. If only that eagle putt would have dropped on eighteen!

Some other notes:

• Parking at Southdale filled up today. It appeared they were moving down France Avenue slowly (Galleria, etc.) and I heard there was activity at Normandale Community College.
• More people on the grounds today than Thursday, but you could still get great views (even of the marquee groupings).
• According to the official website, play was suspended at 8:47PM with 42 players still on the course. Play will resume at 7AM Saturday.
• The projected cut is at +4, which means a bunch of notable players won’t be around on Sunday, including Hilary Lunke, Carin Koch, Laura Davies, Kelli Kuehne, Natalie Gulbis, Se Ri Pak, Juli Inkster and Michelle Wie.
• Stopped in the merchandise tent to pick up a shirt for Tapemark Charity Pro-Am president Phil Callen and saw that the artist of the official Women’s Open print was signing. Picked up a personalized “To DK” from Lee Wybranski, who also did a Torrey Pines print this year.

Due to a travel conflict, Golfing in Minnesota will not be on-site for the final two days of championship play. Here are a few resources we recommend to follow the action online:

Full Leaderboard from the USGA

USGA Daily Blog

Golf for Women Editor’s Blog

We’ll also have a wrap-up post after the event concludes. Enjoy!

A few thoughts from my visit to Interlachen today:

• The parking at Southdale went smoothly, although it was much more crowded than the practice rounds.
• Crowds on the grounds were large, but there were lots of open areas to sit and watch just about everyone.
• The gallery following the Sorenstam/Creamer/Pettersen group was the largest I saw, but I still had plenty of opportunity to get close.
• Ran into my grounds crew friend Otto for the third day in a row. He has now logged 160 hours of work in the past two weeks. He said they will likely re-sod all of the trampled down areas after the tournament instead of re-seeding.
• Also ran into two former local newspaper golf writers: Gregg Wong (Pioneer Press) and Jon Roe (Star Tribune). The Minnesota golf scene sorely misses the work of these two.
• Gregg said that during the practice rounds, players were hitting tee balls from the 18th tee onto the 10th fairway, then pitching over the hospitality tents to the green. The USGA decided to move up the tees today so that the trees on the side would eliminate that little shortcut. Expect the tee to remain forward all weekend, with lots of eagle putts.
• Seventeen-year-old high school junior Courtney Ellenbogen caused some excitement on the par four seventeenth hole by placing her tee sheet into the oven of the soft pretzel cart near the main entrance. A rules official gave her a drop next to the stand, where she was able to successfully advance the ball back into the fairway.

Very enjoyable time today – get out and enjoy this historic event if you can.

Some notes from today’s very warm and humid final practice round day at the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open at Interlachen in Edina:

• Parking today at Southdale started in the west lot (they are using the whole area).
• Natalie Gulbis and Michelle Wie were listed on the board as playing together, but Gulbis was out alone from the first tee at 7am.
• I heard a police officer with the Gulbis group say several players have issues with stalkers. Sad.
• Michelle Wie’s controversial father B.J. was with her during the early part of her practice round; David Leadbetter was at her side on the 18th hole instructing her on chipping technique at the end.
• Annika’s farewell tour had a lot of support, as applause could be heard from the large crowds that followed her around the course.
• Ran into Otto the groundskeeper again today (saw him in the merchandise tent yesterday). He said they have been working from 4:30AM until 9PM every day for the past two weeks getting the course ready.
• Lorena Ochoa is really, really small. Her official profile page lists 5′6″ and I’m guessing that she must weigh like 100 pounds. That’s a lot of power per pound.
• The view from the top of the 18th hole grandstand is great: the exciting part of 18, the tenth tee, the 16th tee and the 15th green are all within sight.
• Photos from today have been uploaded to the gallery (link below).

7MM 2008 U.S. Women’s Open Photo Gallery

On my first visit during the actual Women’s Open week, I was again disappointed about the shuttle system from Southdale (even though it ran smoothly). Reminded me too much of the elaborate bus system they had at Winged Foot a few years back (but with yellow school buses instead of fancy coaches).

The signs on France Avenue directed us to the northwest corner of the Southdale lot – not a huge amount of parking. I’m not sure what other portions they will be using (if any), but I imagine they will fill up for the weekend rounds. Parking at Normandale Community College might be a better option then.

The entrance area near the Meadowbrook clubhouse was nicely done and included an entire tent for the kids program I mentioned earlier today. There is a place to check cell phones near the main gate (they will take them) and you need to pass through the now-standard security checkpoint to get in.

The crowds today seemed large, but they were concentrated on the east side of the course. There were a number of more isolated areas that you could escape to and get great views. As with most practice rounds, the players were very approachable.

Tomorrow is the last practice and the last opportunity to bring in cameras.

7MM 2008 U.S. Women’s Open Photo Gallery