The 9th Tee Podcast 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.