The 9th Tee Podcast

Ben and Kent discuss Lydia Ko's historic performance at the Lotte Championship in awe of her (-38) over her last 90 holes to break out of her nearly three-year victory slump. They break down the value of LPGA Tour events where winning scores are in the mid to high 20s under par and the performance of the final pairing. They delve into Yuka Saso and her future on the LPGA Tour and end with discussing Kent's Bets of the Week. 

Kent chats with 2018 Symetra Tour POY Ruixin Liu about her six months away from the game of golf to heal a Sesamoid bone injury and what has led her to win four of her last ten starts on the Symetra Tour. That included one week of practice before winning the first event of the 2021 season! She talks about going to a Zoo theme park, how she enjoyed her most extended amount of time in China since turning professional, the difficulty of coordinating flying back home during the 2020 season, and her nightmarish car trouble upon returning to the states. 

Ben and Kent talk about Patty Tavatanakit’s victory at the ANA Inspiration, sit in awe at the core values she shared that drove her to victory, her distance and greens in regulation over the week, Lydia Ko’s tournament record 62 and how many years her 16 under would’ve won the tournament. They reflect on the awesome golf played, then discuss some Tokyo Races, primarily focusing on England and Thailand. They talk about the U.S. Solheim Cup, and Ally Ewing creating some separation. They wrap up talking the quality of play this week from the top five players in the world, and analyze Kent’s bets of the week. What an enjoyable week of golf at the first major of the year.

Ben and Kent preview the first major in Golf, the ANA Inspiration. They first reminisce about Mirim Lee’s three chip-ins on Sunday to get into a playoff, then defeating Nelly Korda and Brooke Henderson. They discuss Korda’s major performances, then talk about the top players trending in the right direction. They dissect Nasa Hataoka’s opportunity to right the ship with a major this week to stay the top Japanese player in the world ahead of the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo and break down the logjam of US Solheim Cup players trying to make the team by Solheim Cup points. They close with predicting who will leap into Poppie’s Pond.

Ben and Kent return to the 9th tee to recap Inbee Park’s 21st career win at the Kia Classic, along with discussing Sei Young Kim’s top 25 streak ending, the course setup changes by the LPGA Tour, and their impact on viewership, and Michelle Wie West’s return. They then talk about Kent’s selection of Inbee Park, In Gee Chun not signing her scorecard, and tease the preview episode discussing the ANA Inspiration.

Ben and Kent chat with Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott, founders of Vision54 and coaches of four world No. 1's and nine major champions, about their coaching philosophy, watching student Annika Sorenstam make her return earlier this season. They explain the three keys to their approach, the think box/play box/memory box, and how the technical and human skills mesh together to form into a golfer.

Pia and Lynn then chat about the lessons players learn before winning for the first time and what it's like to climb the mountain into being the world's No. 1 player for the first time versus trying to ascend again. 

They finish by discussing block practice versus simulation practice and how the pandemic has changed their coaching regimen. 

Ben and Kent are joined by Oneda Castillo, the third African-American to become a Class A status as a LPGA Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) about her time teaching alongside Tiger Woods, her journey into the game of golf starting at the age of 30, how her childhood of being bused and put into a separate room from the white kids impacted her teaching approach how diversity can be improved within the sport, how Renee Powell inspired her to become a teacher, and the most fulfilling moments within her teaching career. 

Ben and Kent discuss Austin Ernst's dominant victory at Golden Ocala, her third career win. They then break down Jennifer Kupcho's gritty performance through her migraine, the U.S. Olympic race heating up, and that Americans won the first three events of an LPGA season for the first time since 2007. They discuss who is more likely to become the next American to rise to the top of the rankings, Nelly Korda or Danielle Kang, and chat Kang's reign over Drive On Championships. They go over three rookies finishing in the top 10, Albane Valenzuela, Leona Maguire, and Jennifer Chang. They finish with analysis of Kent's bets and the stock up/stock down segment, discussing Jin Young Ko missing her first cut since 2018 and In Gee Chun being the only player to finish in the top 10 in all three events in 2021 so far. 

Ben and Kent chat Nelly Korda's steady hand in winning at Lake Nona, Annika's comeback and working over the weekend, and who they'd want to see come out of retirement for an appearance like Sorenstam this week. They discuss the Korda sister's utter dominance in the sunshine state since Nelly joined the LPGA Tour. They also break down Kent's bets of the week and compare the world's no. 1 and 2 to stocks before going through stock up and stock down analysis of notable performances. 

Ben and Kent are joined by Christina Kim for the 2nd part of talking with a rookie and a veteran about playing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Kim shares handling the anxiety of playing the pandemic, traveling to Europe, lessons with Jack Burke Jr. at the U.S. Women's Open, 2021 goals, and lots of bus talk. 

Dang, did this episode get off the rails.