A Spotlight on the what ifs of the 2005 U.S. Womens Open

Published: May 29, 2021, 11 a.m.

Andy and Brendan return to an old favorite format, the SGS Spotlight. The subject of this episode is the 2005 U.S. Women\u2019s Open at Cherry Hills, won by the relatively unknown and extreme longshot, Birdie Kim, who pulled off one of the greatest shots in major championship history to clinch her only LPGA win. They set up how that historic venue played (hard) for this Women\u2019s Open and if it\u2019s due for another one. They discuss the trio of amateur phenoms in 15-year-old Michelle Wie, 17-year-old Morgan Pressel, and 19-year-old Brittany Lang all contending on Sunday to become the second ever amateur winners of the championship. This was also where Annika Sorenstam\u2019s bid to win a calendar year slam came undone and Lorena Ochoa\u2019s really started to take off. Ochoa also hit one of the worst shots you will ever see, which gets ample coverage here with citation to some humorous one-liners from Johnny Miller. They conclude with some of the larger themes on what happened to Birdie and the expectations (and burdens) that were then set for Wie, Pressel, and Lang.