Kay Cockerill, Course Reporter
This podcast episode provides a comprehensive analysis of the recent U.S. Women's Open, which took place at Erin Hills. Our esteemed guest, Kay Cockrell, offers her expert insights, highlighting the competition's intensity and the challenging nature of the course, which proved to be a formidable test for the participants. We delve into the performance of standout players, particularly Maya Stark, whose connection with the course catalyzed her unexpected triumph. The discussion also encompasses the implications of this major win for Stark and her place within the broader context of women's golf. Ultimately, we reflect on the broader significance of the event, underscoring the skill and resilience demonstrated by the competitors amidst the demanding conditions.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Birdie Ball
- Painted Hills Natural Beef
- Golf News Network
- iHeart
- Westin
- Weston KIA
- Titleist
- Bridgestone
- Maya Stark
- Nelly
- LPGA
- NBC
- Golf Channel
- Julia Ramirez
- Lydia Ko
- Lilia Vu
- Charlie Hall
- Lexi
- Hal Cooper
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Transcript
It's time for Grilling at the Green.
Speaker A:Join Jeff Tracy as he explores a golfing lifestyle and tries to keep it in the short grass for the hackers, new sweepers and turf spankers.
Speaker A:Here's Jeff.
Speaker B:Hey, everybody.
Speaker B:Welcome to Grilling at the Green on jt.
Speaker B:And we are proud to be a part of the Golf News Network on iHeart, among other things and other platforms, different radio stations around the northwest and the country.
Speaker B:We want to thank the folks at Birdie Ball and Painted Hills Natural Beef for supporting this show.
Speaker B:Well, the US Women's Open just got wrapped up about four and a half days ago, five days ago at Erin Hills.
Speaker B:And I could think of nobody better to bring on the show and give us an overview and her thoughts.
Speaker B:But Kay Cockrell from NBC slash Golf Channel.
Speaker B:And Kay's been on the before, she's a great guest and so welcome back.
Speaker C:Thank you, Jeff.
Speaker C:Good to be back.
Speaker C:I, I, I'm sure you could have drummed up a couple other people that might have, might have brought you as much enjoyment as me, like some of my co workers.
Speaker C:They, they might have had, you might have had fun with them.
Speaker B:Oh, I've had fun with a number of them over the years, but you're my go to when we're talking lpga, so.
Speaker B:Plus you always come to Portland every year and cover that one.
Speaker C:I have bad news.
Speaker C:I'm not.
Speaker B:Really why.
Speaker C:I hate it when two great events collide and are on top of each other.
Speaker C:It seems like it happens once, once a year, every year.
Speaker C:And the US Amateur.
Speaker C:Yeah, Sam is being held at Olympic Club, my home city, my home course.
Speaker C:And of course, I've got to be on that show.
Speaker C:And it's up against the Portland LPGA this year.
Speaker B:Oh, I'll miss you.
Speaker B:I'll miss you.
Speaker B:But I'm pretty sure you'll have fun down there, too, like you always do.
Speaker C:You can't beat a home game.
Speaker C:For as much as I travel, you cannot beat a home game.
Speaker B:No, no, no.
Speaker B:That's true.
Speaker B:So interesting open from a strictly a viewer's perspective here.
Speaker B:You had Stark kind of putting it away really like on Saturday.
Speaker B:We didn't know that, but she did.
Speaker B:And then you had Nelly doing her Nelly thing, coming from way behind on Friday and making a run at it.
Speaker B:Some other interesting players we'll talk about in the show.
Speaker B:But what was your general overview of the Women's Open overall?
Speaker C:I think it was a great Women's Open.
Speaker C:The golf course was a stern test.
Speaker C:It probably they pushed the limits on a In a few aspects, especially on Saturday.
Speaker C:But no one ever said the U.S.
Speaker C:open.
Speaker C:U.S.
Speaker C:women's Open was going to be a cakewalk.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker C:Pushed you mentally and physically.
Speaker C:And that golf course is just a beast of a golf course.
Speaker C:In.
Speaker C: In: Speaker C:Under a heat dome.
Speaker C:It was so hot, and there's, you know, there's like three trees out there up on hill for aesthetics.
Speaker C:And I.
Speaker C:I didn't.
Speaker C:I was.
Speaker C:Think I.
Speaker C:I just didn't have a very good recollection of the golf course, except it wore me.
Speaker C:And I think when I returned, it just looked really good.
Speaker C:You know, the grass was green, and the definition of the fairways and greens was very dramatic.
Speaker C:I don't think it's a golf course I'd want to play with regularity, but I thought it was a great Open.
Speaker C:And Maya Stark, I guess, you know, she just really had a good feeling about the golf course early in the week during practice rounds.
Speaker C:And you never know if you're going to get that.
Speaker C:You know, just really connect with a golf course, especially that the women hadn't played before and was so unusual, but for her to connect with it and have really good feelings, that was a good omen for the week.
Speaker B:Yeah, I thought so.
Speaker B:I mean, I watched a lot of it, and like you said, I looked at it and went.
Speaker B:And I've never seen it in person.
Speaker B:That's one of the few I haven't.
Speaker B:And I thought, that is a beast.
Speaker B:I probably called it something else, but it is a beast.
Speaker B:And I probably wouldn't want to play it every Tuesday or something like that, because I'd be on the phone to Snell Golf or Titleist or Bridgestone or somebody, you know, send me replacements.
Speaker B:But I did think it was a fair test.
Speaker B:And the one thing that I think this year's Open did was if you watched and you paid attention, it was.
Speaker B:It really showed the skill level of.
Speaker B:Of the players.
Speaker B:I mean, at a.
Speaker B:At a very, very, very high level.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And they do that weekend and week out.
Speaker B:But I think the presentation and the course, and if you really paid attention, it was exemplary to show their skill level and to see Stark and Corda and all the ladies out there just grinding and.
Speaker B:And this course was designed to beat the hell out of them, and they didn't let it.
Speaker C:Well, we also saw some carnage, too.
Speaker C:There was some explanation that some of these shots that players are hitting make you look a lot worse than you are.
Speaker C:To your, to your point.
Speaker C:There were some amazing, you know, iron shots and chipping.
Speaker C:It had to be done to score around there.
Speaker C:But there were certain hole locations and just the nature of these greens and the contours and the fact that there were some slopes that you could utilize to get your ball close to the hole, but there were other slopes and false edges that would repel and take your ball not just slightly off the green, but, you know, 40, 50 yards away, often up on the edge of the.
Speaker C:Some primary rough.
Speaker C:So the greens, although they were, I think, 6,500 square feet on average, they played a lot smaller because of all these ridges and, and sort of takeaway areas.
Speaker C:So on Saturday, I talk about Saturday.
Speaker C:That was the USJ set the course up the shortest all week at 6,500 and change.
Speaker C:It had been playing 67 to 68, which is no walk in the park.
Speaker C:But the day they played at the shortest on Saturday, after the cut was made, these are the best of the best from that week.
Speaker C:The scoring average was like 75.
Speaker C:It was the highest scoring average because they upped the green speed to 33.
Speaker C:Wait, what am I saying?
Speaker B:The stim meter, like 13 or something?
Speaker C:13.6.
Speaker B:Oh, wow.
Speaker C:And it had been rather relatively benign earlier in the week because we had a fair bit of rain on Tuesday, Wednesday, so it was a little soft.
Speaker C:There wasn't as much wind that popped up.
Speaker C:And then all of a sudden on Saturday, it was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what are we putting on?
Speaker C:And I think it really surprised some players maybe that didn't have a lot of USG experience to know how radically the golf course can change once they put their mind to it and if mother nature cooperates.
Speaker C:So, you know, it was just a beast that day.
Speaker C:And, and then Sunday, I think there was a little.
Speaker C:They.
Speaker C:They softened up some of the whole locations a little bit.
Speaker C:And then players were also just little more accustomed to the speed by then.
Speaker B:I noticed in what I watched on Saturday and Sunday a bit too.
Speaker B:Some of those putts, they would just kind of blow by.
Speaker B:And like you said, not stopped.
Speaker B:And I'll, and I'll bring up a point to that is on Sunday, watching Nellie on the.
Speaker B:On 18, and she hit like a three wood or a hybrid or something, I don't remember.
Speaker B:And it was beautiful.
Speaker B:And it landed on the front of the green, and it ended like 60ft on the other side of the green.
Speaker B:By the time it got done rolling, you know, that Was like, that was tough.
Speaker C:And she ended up making a bogey there.
Speaker C:I mean, she, she hit, she flushed a shot in with a seven wood and actually she probably started just a smidge too far to the left and it had too much draw on it.
Speaker C:So it, it landed and I think she had adrenaline.
Speaker C:It landed halfway into the green and just repelled over.
Speaker C:So I mean, she struck the ball well.
Speaker C:She probably needed to hit a little higher, a little more of a cut shot, but she was being aggressive and going for it.
Speaker C:She needed to make birdie, maybe eagle there to put more pressure on Maya and it didn't turn out in her favor.
Speaker C:And Maya ended up bogeying 17 and 18 as it was, but had that three shot cushion where she, she, yeah, smart enough and get that ball to hold it to, to hold the trophy over her head.
Speaker C:But she'd done most of her work a little earlier in the round to get that lead.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, no, it was impressive and, but that's why I'm saying you see these and, and you see it every week when you're on the ground.
Speaker B:But the, the shot prowess of, the example there of Nelly is just absolutely phenomenal sometimes.
Speaker B:And like.
Speaker C:Yeah, well, that, that day, I mean, I've got my little, my little sheep that I walk with and carry.
Speaker C:I mean she, she only missed one fairway on the weekend and she hit, I think 14 greens that day.
Speaker C:Her putting was good, but it wasn't great.
Speaker C:She needed to hold a couple more of those, you know, 15, 10 to 15 footers.
Speaker C:And she didn't, I think she was only 2, 2.
Speaker C:Well, 2 of X on making putts in that length.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:And you know, that's the way it goes.
Speaker C:But those greens were so, you had, you were so on edge that it was very hard to be aggressive with your putts because if you missed, you were three, four or five feet by.
Speaker B:Right, Right.
Speaker B:We're going to take a break.
Speaker B:We're going to be back with Kay Cockerel here on grilling at the green.
Speaker B:Just a minute.
Speaker B:Stay with us.
Speaker D:Hey, everybody, JT here.
Speaker D:You know, every week on grilling at the green we bring you a travel tip and that is brought you by the Westin dealerships.
Speaker D:I've known those guys since I was a kid and they have one way of doing business.
Speaker D:It's called the Weston way.
Speaker D:It's family oriented and there's no better people to deal with.
Speaker D:Check out Weston KIA on Southeast Stark in Gresham, Oregon.
Speaker B:Welcome back to grilling.
Speaker B:It's green.
Speaker B:We'd like to thank Pink Powder and Weston Kia, of all people.
Speaker B:I've known these guys for years.
Speaker B:They're great folks.
Speaker B:Largest Kia dealer in Oregon, where I live.
Speaker B:Kay lives in California.
Speaker B:We had to remind each other of that the other day.
Speaker B:I want to talk about a couple other players.
Speaker B:Where's it?
Speaker B:Oh, and I'm not sure how you pronounce this.
Speaker B:Is it Sego?
Speaker C:Mal?
Speaker C:Saigo.
Speaker B:Saigo.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:She was sitting on, you know, the top of the leaderboard there for a couple of days, and then, you know, she had a tough go over the weekend.
Speaker B:Is she.
Speaker B:Was that.
Speaker B:Let me phrase it this way.
Speaker B:Was that a fairly new experience for her, sitting on the top of something like the leaderboard on the US Women's Open?
Speaker B:That big of a stage, or was it just the golf course got her a little bit?
Speaker C:Well, she.
Speaker C:She had enormous pressure on her, as most out of country players do.
Speaker C:All these players that come from other countries, I mean, and coming from Japan, Japan has just upped their level in the women's game.
Speaker C:I mean, back when I was on tour and probably up until five years ago, there maybe were just one or two Japanese players on tour at any time because they have such a great tour in Japan now.
Speaker C:We have 13 players from Japan currently playing on the LPGA Tour.
Speaker C:Five came out of Q series.
Speaker C:There were something like.
Speaker C:I think there were 21 Japanese players who qualified for this year's US Women's Open, and 10 of them cut.
Speaker C:Three of them ended up in the top 10.
Speaker C:Mao won the first major of the year, the Chevron Championship.
Speaker C:So she was putting herself in position to win the first two legs of the Grand Slam or the Super Slam, the five majors that we have.
Speaker C:So she got herself in position.
Speaker C:She gave herself a chance.
Speaker C:But, yeah, she kind of petered out a little bit on the weekend.
Speaker C:And I think maybe it was a bit of pressure trying to.
Speaker C:Trying to achieve that at what she's like 23 years old.
Speaker C:That was enormous.
Speaker C:I mean, enormous for Japan, not only for herself, but these players are playing and representing their country.
Speaker C:That is so golf savvy and golf hungry.
Speaker C:So I think.
Speaker C:I think for her, it just, you know, the course wore down a little bit.
Speaker C:She only hit three greens on the front nine, and she was scrambling her derriere off just to stay in it.
Speaker C:And it kind of, in the end, sure.
Speaker B:No, that's very understandable.
Speaker B:What kind of happened to throw out a couple names at you like Lydia Ko and Vu.
Speaker B:Some of those.
Speaker B:I mean, those are names we're used to hearing a lot.
Speaker B:I know Lydia kind of, you know, she got married and had some life changes in that, but she still seems to always be in the mix.
Speaker B:But again, was it just Aaron Hills?
Speaker C:I think so.
Speaker C:I mean, Lydia's in good form.
Speaker C:She had her, you know, a career year last year winning the gold medal, winning the AIG at St.
Speaker C:Andrews, which kind of reignited her drive to win more majors and maybe extend her career just another couple years where she had sort of been talking about possibly retiring sooner than later.
Speaker C:So she, you know, coming, trying to back up a phenomenal year like that is always hard, but she is the ultimate pro.
Speaker C:I don't think that golf course was really set up for her.
Speaker C:It was set up for someone that was a long, strong driver of the golf ball.
Speaker C:It really showcased like Nelly and Maya Stark who are on the longer end of the spectrum and even, even the, the amateur, Julia Ramirez.
Speaker C:She, she was averaging like 280 some yards offer t ball.
Speaker C:She couldn't control things very well on Sunday, but she, she was a long, strong ball striker.
Speaker C:So I think, I don't think that course was perfectly set up for Lydia.
Speaker C:And as far as Lilia Vu, I, I, I figured she wasn't going to have a good week.
Speaker C:She's really been struggling physically.
Speaker C:She's had a lot of back issues that kind of popping up and she seems like she's coming around the corner, getting a hold of that.
Speaker C:But her golf game and confidence and swing just haven't quite gotten there yet.
Speaker C:She lost a fair bit of distance with her back issue and she's trying to regain that power again.
Speaker C:And so she, she just, I was surprised she played as poorly as she did because she's a darn good putter and has a great all around game.
Speaker C:But I think that golf course just beat her up and she just wasn't, wasn't physically or mentally tuned into it.
Speaker B:You talked about Ramirez, right?
Speaker B:Is that the one I'm thinking of?
Speaker B:And she can, she can blast that ball.
Speaker C:Julia Lopez Ramirez.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:And the, the comment from, I don't know, Tom Abbott or somebody up in the booth said like, oh, we're going to see a lot of her.
Speaker B:She just needs to kind of control little game management there, a little shot management on stuff.
Speaker B:But she's got the distance and she's got the swing and she's got the goods.
Speaker C:Let me, let me correct myself real quick.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker C:Last week I had this written down.
Speaker C:I'm terrible at remembering things from, you know, even Yesterday she averaged 292 yards.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker C:15 yards farther than the next person.
Speaker C:Person.
Speaker C:Austin Kim, that averaged 277.
Speaker C:And then Nellie was third in distance.
Speaker C:I mean, massive, I guess.
Speaker C:I mean, she just compresses it and has that.
Speaker C:That kind of power that makes people stop on the driving range because of the sound it makes.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:And she's young.
Speaker C:She's a rookie.
Speaker C:She actually had this crazy.
Speaker C:She was over in Asia and had this pain in her stomach.
Speaker C:Didn't know what it was.
Speaker C:Long story short, she flew home and had an emergency appendectomy and, oh, put her out of commission for a little bit.
Speaker C:And it took her a few weeks to start getting her swing speed back.
Speaker C:But I guess back last week or last week at the US Women's Open, she was really turning a lot of heads and getting a lot of talk with her.
Speaker C:Her distance that.
Speaker B:I know some people, if they had an appendectomy, they'd be, you know, laid up for months and going, oh, you know, it's nice to be young again.
Speaker B:Wouldn't it be?
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's pretty good.
Speaker B:So here's an odd question.
Speaker B:We just got a few seconds where we got to go to break.
Speaker B:How do you think you would have scored if you played in that tournament?
Speaker C:Well, I was never a very long ball hitter.
Speaker C:I was accurate, so I was better on a little tighter, trickier golf course.
Speaker C:I probably would have fared better at a course like Olympic or.
Speaker C:Or pebble, where a little more strategy was involved.
Speaker C:And in this day and age, at my game right now, at age 60, I mean, if I shot 80, if I'd broken 80, I would have been ecstatic.
Speaker C:But at that length, at 67 plus.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:That's too much golf course for me.
Speaker C:I'm more of a.
Speaker C:Let's play it at 62, 63.
Speaker B:Got it.
Speaker B:Got it.
Speaker B:We're going to take a break.
Speaker B:And off.
Speaker B:Off camera.
Speaker B:Can I commiserate about how we've, you know, shrunk in our distance over the years?
Speaker B:Anyway, we'll be back in a minute.
Speaker B:Don't go away.
Speaker D:Hey, everybody, it's J.T.
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Speaker B:Welcome back to Grilling at the Green.
Speaker B:I'm JT Today we're talking with Kate Cockrell from NBC and Golf Channel, one of the best, if not the best on course reporters there is.
Speaker B:And I don't say that just because you're on the show.
Speaker B:I'm a media gu.
Speaker B:Big deal.
Speaker B:But you are so subtle when you're giving your commentary and describing the shots and stuff versus other people sometimes on other channels.
Speaker B:And they're all good.
Speaker B:They wouldn't be there if they weren't good.
Speaker B:But I've always just appreciated your kind of subtlety because you played at that level, you understand it and you're kind of quiet about it.
Speaker B:And, you know, once in a while you chuckle or laugh or get a oh, no in there type thing.
Speaker B:But I, that's what I appreciate about you.
Speaker C:KAY well, thank you.
Speaker C:I appreciate your saying that.
Speaker C:I think it's a, it's a tricky world, the media and people that, that have a voice and especially with television or radio, it's very subjective.
Speaker C:People at home, there are certain tones of voice that are appealing to you and to me and to those that are watching or listening.
Speaker C:There is a connection with the personality or the delivery.
Speaker C:And everyone's different, everyone hears things differently.
Speaker C:One person's voice could be soothing and, or annoying to another person.
Speaker C:So I always say if we're trying to appeal to a group of people at home and they're listening to five or six commentators, let's say six, and they love two of the voices, they hate two of the voices, and they're ambivalent about two of the voices.
Speaker C:That's probably a winning right there because it's just you're never going to please everyone.
Speaker C:And I learned through the years this is my 31st year doing television and when I help the younger folks coming up, I'm like, it's a fickle business.
Speaker C:And you just have to be true to yourself and find your own voice because people can sense phoniness.
Speaker C:And so you have to be true to yourself.
Speaker C:And I was never going to be a comedian.
Speaker C:I was never going to be a multiple major winning commentator who's, who's, you know, had a Hall of Fame career.
Speaker C:I'm me.
Speaker C:I have my path.
Speaker C:I can relate to a lot of what happens in this game because I experienced it.
Speaker C:And I just hope to share those stories and feelings with those watching so they get to know the players a little bit better and have some empathy and maybe can have some exhilaration through watching what they're going through.
Speaker B:You ever, in your headset, people don't know how it works?
Speaker B:She hears the other commentators, she hears the director.
Speaker B:She, here's lots of things in her ears if they want to.
Speaker B:But do you ever hear something in your ear that the public doesn't hear but you go, oh, God.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah.
Speaker C:We have a lot of jokesters and pranksters to be in, in there.
Speaker C:And, and actually when we're at commercial and we're kind of joking with each other, we're very entertaining.
Speaker C:Probably be more entertaining, but it might get a few of us fired or suspended.
Speaker C:Heard what we were talking about in commercial.
Speaker C:Yeah, but sometimes I think golf commentary is too, too conservative and too rigid.
Speaker C:And if, if, if we loosened up and had a little more fun, which I do feel like in general with the Golf Channel through the years started out a very small viewership Golf, you know, cable channel.
Speaker C:And it has grown immensely.
Speaker C:But I, I, I feel like if, if we could be a little more casual more often, it would be better we always be a little, you know, professional and stilted in our delivery.
Speaker C:And, and I, I'd like to see everyone just relax and be funnier.
Speaker C:Mel, Mel Reed is a relative new, new person to the, the world of golf tv.
Speaker C:She recently retired and she is British and she has a great sense of humor.
Speaker C:I think she's going to be really good for golf television because she brings a different slant and a different voice.
Speaker C:Now, I could never sound like Mel because I don't have that, that, that quirky British humor that only they have that we love to listen to.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker C:It's just, it's just different.
Speaker C:And if you had too many Brits on the telecast, that's too much.
Speaker C:But interspersing some of that, that cleverness that they bring to the show is great.
Speaker B:Well, that's why I think people like, well, Faraday is kind of, he's at the top of the scale, but his stuff was always hilarious.
Speaker B:You had that.
Speaker B:I think Colt knows he does his little kind of quiet but jabs at Frank or something, you know, once in a while.
Speaker B:I think that livens it up a bit because golf can be kind of almost sedentary at times.
Speaker B:You know, you've got to wait between shots or if there's a backup.
Speaker B:But the turn or whatever it is.
Speaker B:I think that that personality that comes out now is, is more entertaining and keeps the viewership longer.
Speaker B:So anyway, there's my.
Speaker C:You hope to have different perspectives and different voices and different deliveries.
Speaker C:So that, that you can play off each other.
Speaker C:And again, the person at home is hopefully going to like a couple of those voices and stay tuned in.
Speaker B:I notice Morgan can get pretty animated at times.
Speaker C:Yeah, she's got a good energy level and she brings a really thoughtful process to her preparation.
Speaker C:She's very prepared and she's relatively new to TV and only now three or four years removed from playing herself.
Speaker C:So she's a little more in touch with the current players.
Speaker C:She knows their coaches.
Speaker C:She, she rings them up easily to get some insight.
Speaker C:So, yeah, she does a phenomenal job.
Speaker B:So how many rough numbers, but like how many caddies do you have in your phone that you can call and get some backstory with?
Speaker C:Hey, I married my caddy.
Speaker C:I don't need any more caddy's phone numbers in my phone.
Speaker C:I don't have.
Speaker C:I do have a lot of coaches numbers in my phone, both college coaches and swing coaches.
Speaker C:But the caddies are very important and I try to maintain a good relationship with them because honestly, you're going to get the best information from the caddies.
Speaker C:And that's why I usually spend a lot of time on the driving range beforehand or going out at practice rounds and establishing that rapport because I don't want to bother the player when they're warming up with some details about what they've been working on in their game or what's been the positives or negatives with their this week or what drills have they been doing that are paying off.
Speaker C:And those are the things the caddy sees day in and day out, week in and week out, they are front and center right next to their players.
Speaker C:So they, they share with me those things that they can and through their perspective.
Speaker C:And that really helps.
Speaker C:And when you're on the gol as well, they usually, they're signaling me clubs that they're hitting.
Speaker C:So I know specifically that was a seven iron and, and I'm not guessing that was that an eight iron or seven iron.
Speaker C:And, and so those, those things get developed through years of trust and knowing that if they do tell me something sensitive or private, I'm not going to share that either.
Speaker B:Well, that's, that's good.
Speaker B:It seems that.
Speaker B:And again, outside the ropes right now, but seems that players are keeping their caddies longer.
Speaker B:And a lot of them, I mean, if they're going through turmoil a lot of times, sometimes the caddy's the first victim of the, you know, the house cleaning.
Speaker B:But I just noticed that, that a lot of them are keeping their caddies a Bit longer.
Speaker C:Yeah, there's there.
Speaker C:I think if you find a good caddy that really works for you, they're your partner, they're your partner in crime.
Speaker C:So yeah, worth holding on to them.
Speaker C:But sometimes it takes going through several caddies to really realize what works best for you.
Speaker C:Especially like Maya and her caddy, Jeff Brighton.
Speaker C:He, they'd only been together for four weeks.
Speaker C:This is I think was their fourth week together.
Speaker C:And Maya talked about how he just kept her calm in between.
Speaker C:I mean of course he was very good.
Speaker C:He knew the golf course.
Speaker C:He did all his prep work but he stayed very even keeled throughout.
Speaker C:And she's going through all these emotions and nervousness and excitement.
Speaker C:You need a steady hand next to you.
Speaker C:Someone that's not phased by the situation and doesn't get high or low.
Speaker C:And he's, he's a former comedian, part time comedian.
Speaker C:So he's got a good rapport of jokes and funny way of telling stories.
Speaker C:He's the Scott, he's the guy from Scotland.
Speaker C:I mean I think you're inherently hilarious if you're born in Scotland.
Speaker C:So he did all the right things to keep her in the right frame of mind or distract her in the right way in those down times to keep her happy and engaged.
Speaker C:And you know I always say the, the best a caddy can do is do everything that allows you to play your best golf.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Intuitively know when to say something, when to be quiet.
Speaker C:But that's all I can say is, is that person is there to help you excel.
Speaker C:And they, their relationship seemed to work really well.
Speaker C:Well hopefully maybe that's the beginning of a very long standing relationship.
Speaker C:Another interesting story I just have to tell us.
Speaker C:Talking about.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker C:These players.
Speaker C:Twins on Tour on the LPJ Tour, Chisato and Aki Ey.
Speaker C:They're not identical twins.
Speaker C:They both qualified.
Speaker C:Chisato won two weeks ago.
Speaker C:And Mexico.
Speaker C:They each have a caddy but they swap, they swap each other's caddies every couple weeks and that's kind of a thing I guess they do in Japan.
Speaker C:They swap caddies around fairly regularly.
Speaker C:Maybe it's to just keep things fresh.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:But at least they're only swapping between two caddies.
Speaker C:So it's just, it's just they rotate every two or three weeks.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Before we go to break, you can't swap your caddy anymore.
Speaker B:You're okay?
Speaker C:I'm committed to life.
Speaker B:Yes, you are.
Speaker B:Kay and I are going to take a break.
Speaker B:We'll be back in a couple of minutes.
Speaker B:You're listening to Grilling at the Green on the Golf News Network.
Speaker D:Hey everybody, JT here.
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Speaker D:Go to birdieball.com check out the actual birdie balls, their packages, their putting greens, which I happen to have a couple of those and they work great.
Speaker D:Birdieball.com Foreign.
Speaker B:Welcome back to Grilling at the Green on GNN and here in Portland on AM860, the answer.
Speaker B:And in Seattle and Wyoming and Texas and Pennsylvania and a bunch of places like that, we're talking with Kate Cockrell today from Golf Channel and NBC.
Speaker B:So I have to tell you, I have to ask you, I should say, sorry, I've only photographed her at the tournament up here, Charlie Hall.
Speaker B:But she's like a character.
Speaker B:She looks like she'd be a lot of fun to be around.
Speaker B:I know she put down the heaters and is trying to quit and all that.
Speaker B:There was a couple of comments on air like maybe now's not the time to quit smoking type thing for her like that.
Speaker B:Is she, is she really a big character like that?
Speaker C:She is, I'm not going to say she's, she's a deep philosophical thinker, but is life.
Speaker C:I love the way she plays the game.
Speaker C:It's just very matter of fact.
Speaker C:Again, not overthinking things.
Speaker C:She works on what she needs to work on.
Speaker C:She doesn't overanalyze.
Speaker C:She reacts.
Speaker C:She plays quickly.
Speaker C:She's aggressive and she doesn't hold back.
Speaker C:Also, just her comments.
Speaker C:You never know quite what's going to come out of her mouth.
Speaker C:And she talks so fast it's hard to catch sometimes everything she says.
Speaker C:Plus she has a pretty thick accent, but she's just a load of fun.
Speaker C:I love her whole, her whole package, you know, and she's kind of that, you know, she's that spicy, sporty girl.
Speaker C:But then she loves to play dress up and designer shoes and bags and cute little dresses when she goes out at night and all glammed up with her makeup and hair.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:But when she's out playing, she's very minimal.
Speaker C:She's very just, it's all about the golf.
Speaker C:She loves to play golf when she's at home.
Speaker C:She just plays with her mates all the time.
Speaker C:She doesn't grind on the practice tee.
Speaker C:She just loves to get out and play golf.
Speaker C:And she, she actually would play over here more if she just weren't so homesick.
Speaker C:She, she loves to be back in England.
Speaker B:Yeah, I understand.
Speaker B:Was there a real issue with between her and Lex on, on the slow play deal, I, I, I think that got blown out of proportion, but I wasn't there.
Speaker C:Well, I wasn't watching that group either, but it was just, you know, those first two days were so slow.
Speaker C:Everyone was slow and like le, they were waiting on the group in front of them and Lexi out of the, out of that threesome is the slowest, the slower player because Nellie's one of the fastest and Charlie is too.
Speaker C:So relatively speaking, Lexi is going to look slow compared to them.
Speaker C:But I think there was a lot of heat put on Lexi about being slow and she was rather defensive about it, but whatever, you know, piecing together some videos, making it look like Charlie was reacting in a negative way, I think was contrived.
Speaker B:Yeah, I didn't, I didn't catch that.
Speaker B:I mean I, I've taken pictures of all of them, you know, as a photographer too, and I followed them.
Speaker B:I, Lexi's not that slow, you know.
Speaker C:No, she can get a little slower, but she's not like in the overall scheme of things.
Speaker C:No, but compared to Nellie and Charlie, yes, she does flow because they're the two of the fastest and if all the players played that fast, it'd be great.
Speaker C:I mean they'd be playing in four and a half hours or less every single time.
Speaker B:Those two could compete in speed golf, I'm pretty sure.
Speaker C:And they're in, they're in great shape.
Speaker C:Well, Charlie, that's another thing.
Speaker C:I saw an interview and she, I've talked to her about it too.
Speaker C:She's very into fitness and working out.
Speaker C:She's gotten into running and her goal is to run like a 5k in under 20 minutes, which is like six and a half minute mile pace, which is huge.
Speaker C:And so she does these phenomenal workouts and for her it's, it's like a release of energy and she needs that to be in a good place on the golf course.
Speaker C:So, but the byproduct is, man, she's, she is running some fast 5 and 10Ks.
Speaker B:I, I can drive a 6 minute mile, but in my car.
Speaker B:The days of running at that speed are long gone.
Speaker C:No, but you remember these are all young, young and middle 20 somethings.
Speaker B:Right, right, right.
Speaker B:I can still remember that far back, but I just can't enact it physically anymore.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:So it's like that, what about a minute here?
Speaker B:Kay, what's the biggest takeaway you had from the Aaron Hills?
Speaker C:Well, I think that Aaron Hills should be proud of hosting a great event, there were pretty good amount of fans out there.
Speaker C:I mean, you could, you could put 10, 15,000, 20,000 people out there.
Speaker C:And it doesn't look like that's meant that many people are there since it's such a large property.
Speaker C:But I think a wonderful major champ won.
Speaker C:Maya Stark kind of surprised me because she hadn't had that great a season.
Speaker C:I think she only had one top 10 finish coming in there.
Speaker C:Her expectations were low, but it just shows improves that if something clicks early in the week and suddenly you make a decision that you are going to change your mindset and start believing in yourself more and go back to your style of play, which is more aggressive play and be true to yourself.
Speaker C:Who knows what's going to happen.
Speaker C:And Maya now can call herself a major champ.
Speaker C:And she joins Annika Sorenstam and Lisa Lott Neumann as just the third Swede to win a major, to win the US Women's Open, I should say, because Helen Alfredson has won a different major.
Speaker C:But there's, you know, there's a strong Swedish contingent and you know, it's a little teeny country, but they're producing some great players and I think, I think it was a really good open.
Speaker C:I love US Women's Opens.
Speaker C:I love the atmosphere.
Speaker C:12 million dollar purse, the biggest person.
Speaker B:Women love that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Tell me those women weren't, you know, feeling it down the stretch.
Speaker C:Oh, and I do want to mention I have this written down.
Speaker C:A gal, a rookie, actually.
Speaker C:She's not even on tour.
Speaker C:She plays on the Epson Tour.
Speaker C:Hal Cooper, Texas A and M product.
Speaker C:Finished tied for seventh, won $358,000 for that finish.
Speaker B:Changed her life nearly double what she'd.
Speaker C:Made in, you know, combination of the mini tours she's played on.
Speaker C:And that's life changing for her.
Speaker C:And that is going to help take her to another level.
Speaker C:And she's going to remember that week and those moments and what she did over those four days and the amount of players that quality players that she beat.
Speaker C:I, I'm excited for her and her, her upcoming career.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker B:Kay Cockrell.
Speaker B:Kate's gonna stick around for after hours.
Speaker B:It's gonna be a shorter one, but I've got new questions for her in after hours like that.
Speaker B:But Kay, thank you very much.
Speaker B:You're always so kind to come on the show and I do so appreciate it.
Speaker C:Thanks for inviting me as always.
Speaker B:No problem.
Speaker B:We'll be back next week with another edition of Grilling at the Green.
Speaker B:Until then, go out, have some fun, play some golf.
Speaker B:But most of all, be kind.
Speaker B:Take care, everybody.
Speaker A:Grilling at the Green is produced by JTSD Productions, LLC in association with Salem Media Group.
Speaker A:All rights reserve.
