Hello friends and welcome to Tuesday’s edition of the Rogers Report! I’m going to be writing a handful of these from on site at the Mizuho Americas Open this week. That’s right, folks, I’m in the Big Apple for the next few days covering Michelle Wie West‘s event with my coworker and pal Zephyr Melton. I took the train (the ultimate mode of travel) to Manhattan on Monday, filmed a Scoop or two (more to come there, keep your eyes out) and made a trip to Levain Bakery to cap off the evening.
Michelle Wie West’s announcement
It’s only Tuesday and Michelle Wie West is already having quite a week. Not only is she the host of the Mizuho Americas Open, but she appeared on “Fallon Tonight” on Monday evening, where she made a huge announcement. She and her husband, Jonnie West, are expecting a baby boy!
Congratulations to the happy (and extremely athletic and talented) couple.
Tuesday at the Mizuho Americas Open
I know I just said that Amtrak’s Northeast Regional Rail is the best way to travel, but there is one method that is slightly better. I don’t usually count it because boat is not a form of travel that’s available to me very often, but it truly is the best. And it’s how I got from Manhattan to Liberty National this morning. Better yet, we were taken to the Mizuho Americas Open in a Mizuho ferry!
It takes just under 20 minutes to get from the Brookfield Place ferry stop to Liberty National and I made sure to head to the second floor of the ferry so I could check out all the views. I hadn’t been so excited to see Ellis Island or the Statue of Liberty since I studied American history in the third grade.
After arriving in style, Zephyr and I headed toward the media center, which is at the end of the range at Liberty National. To our surprise, there was a robot picking the range balls.
I’d say I needed this invention back when I was a high school golfer, but the truth is that my range balls ended up everywhere except where they were supposed to go, so a robot probably wouldn’t have been much help.
After that, we walked a few holes and the course was pretty quiet. We came across a few of AJGA players who are teeing it up in the event this week, and eventually found Rose Zhang, who was playing with two junior golfers from Irving, California and who she’s known for a long time. I have to think they got some good advice from the reigning champion.
I first met Zhang at this event last year when we filmed a Scoop together. She’s still just as kind and laid back as she was then; she came right up to Zephyr and me to catch up and ask us how we are doing.
After that, we attended Zhang’s presser and had a well-earned media center lunch.
I continue to be pleasantly surprised by how kind and welcoming everyone on site here is. My coworker Zephyr really knows his way around LPGA events and I’m still learning the ropes. Everyone he introduces me to — players, caddies, agents, LPGA employees — is spectacular. It’s such a fun environment to get to work in.
After lunch, we made our way over to the practice area where we caught up with top-ranked junior Yana Wilson (who I’m extremely jealous of, not only because of her golf talent but mostly because she is sponsored by Lululemon) and then Angel Yin, who has one of the best personalities in golf.
Zephyr and I were heading in from our mid-afternoon course walk when we saw a helicopter circling the course. I thought maybe it was for news coverage of the Mizuho, but LPGA media officials quickly informed us that it was Dani Holmqvist, who is a helicopter pilot-in-training!
I always love to learn what interests players have outside of golf, and Holmqvist has some very cool ones. Not only is she a helicopter pilot in training, she’s a level 3 sommelier as well. I am on the lookout for some new hobbies myself, but I don’t think anything I come up with will stack up with those.
Back to the helicopter: Holmqvist circled the property a handful of times and got super close to the ground by the 18th green, which sent some sand from a green-side bunker flying. Take a look below.
Talk about studying the course from all angles before the tournament begins.