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LPGA pros caught in nasty weather question fairness at Ladies Scottish Open

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Some cold, hard wind and pelting rain raised the internal temperature of players who had the misfortune of being caught on the “bad side” of the draw Friday morning at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open.

With 25 mph winds gusting to 35 mph, players in that half of the draw were punished. The weather settled nicely for most of the afternoon, after that nasty front passed through.

The late/early draw also got the worst of the winds Thursday afternoon.

The LPGA reported that twice as many players in the late/early draw missed the cut (57/28).

The late/early wave played to a 73.462 scoring average through 36 holes, more than three strokes higher than the early/late wave (70.24).

The severe difference in conditions frustrated players and caddies who wondered about the fairness of the competition.

“I can’t comprehend this, yet I can because I played in it,” Kim Kaufman tweeted after she missed the cut by a single shot playing in the worst of the weather. “The Scottish Open was wonderful but the integrity of this competition is questionable.”

Mardi Lunn, an LPGA winner before she took to caddying, got the good luck of a favorable draw toting for Xiyu Lin, but Lunn couldn’t resist commenting on the brutal disparity.

“Worst officiating I have seen in 31 years and 2 days of being a professional golfer,” Lunn tweeted. “Unplayable is unplayable.”

Lunn’s tweet was a reply to Missy Pederson, who caddied for Angela Stanford, who made it through the unfavorable draw to make the cut. Pederson tweeted that the early/late wave played the course in 62 under par on Friday, while the late/early played it in 307 over par.

“. . . and yes that is a 369 shot difference in a single day!” Pederson tweeted.

Play was finally suspended at 1:04 p.m. local time due to “unplayable conditions” and resumed 2 hours and 21 minutes later. There was another brief delay early in the evening, causing suspension of the round for the day. The second round was completed on Saturday morning.

Bronte Law and Gabrielle Cowley played through the unfavorable draw but found some comical GIFs to characterize what their days were like:

Mi Jung Hur was the leader through two rounds at 14 under overall. She played in the favorable wave. She was 10 shots better than Hyo Joo Kim, who produced the best 36-hole score from that early/late draw.

The difference in the draws was particularly frustrating for players trying to make the European and U.S. Solheim Cup teams. This marks the last qualifying event for the Euros and the second-to-last for the Americans.

England’s Mel Reid and American Morgan Pressel were among Solheim hopefuls who failed to make the cut while playing in the worst of weather.

Notably, Solheim hopefuls Suzann Pettersen of Norway and Paula Creamer of the United States missed the cut while playing from the favorable draw.

While England’s Laura Davies isn’t in the running to make another Solheim Cup team, it’s notable she shot 68 in Friday’s tough weather.