Mo Martin seeking another piece of history in England
— -- WOBURN, England -- On Thursday morning Mo Martin woke to a text message from her mom. It said, "Polishing the trophy, good memories, play well."
And two years on from her breakout victory in the 2014 Ricoh Women's British Open, that's exactly what Martin did. She striped 13 of 14 fairways, landed all 18 greens in regulation, made four birdies and no bogeys and posted 4-under-par 68.
Waking early on Friday morning, the 33-year-old Florida resident didn't take her foot off the gas. Conditions were a little tougher, as reflected in the stats: She missed three fairways, three greens, made two bogeys, but she atoned in style with six birdies.
The net result was another 68 and a tournament total of 8-under 136, good for sixth heading into the weekend. It's safe to say she likes England, right?
"It seems so!" she laughed after her second round, before revealing that her success her two years ago at Royal Birkdale prompted an investigation into her family tree. "I've got ancestry here. I've been doing some research on that, and I've definitely got some English genes. Maybe it's helping me out."
This week's performance doesn't quite match her 36-hole position two years ago -- when she found herself three clear of the field -- but it is a departure from the norm in that it is only the second time she has found herself inside the top six at the halfway stage since that Friday evening in mid-July 2014.
If England is the constant, the course conditions are not.
"It's definitely a departure from links," Martin said. "Parts of it remind me of the Pacific Northwest, but there are some linksy styles in there, some of the fescues, some of the bunkering. I suppose really I just love it in England."
She can also deal with wind. And although Woburn on Friday morning was calmer than the very blustery Birkdale of 2014, there were moments when the wind scuttled down the tree-lined fairways, often times accompanied by squalls of rain.
"There was a little bit of drama in the last couple holes," Martin admitted. "Wind definitely picked up. The par-5 15th was playing pretty long. I had a 9-wood, which is essentially my 4-iron, for my third shot into the flag and made a nice birdie putt. That was playing strong into the wind and we were getting wet."
It's one thing to find the climate causing havoc, but on the next hole the galleries decided to throw a spanner in the works.
"The wind was howling on the 16th tee," she explained, "and a couple just ran across the fairway."
American golfers are most times smitten by the golfing nous and discernment of British spectators, but this pair seemed oblivious to their surroundings.
"So I'm under the umbrella, it's raining sideways, and really blustery. I tried to get all set underneath the umbrella and then go. Took my practice swing with the tee down, look up and this couple are walking in the fairways. It's like, 'No, not right now.' I had to clean my driver off and restart. Anyways, didn't hit a good drive there. I had to punch out and then I hit a 7-iron in and made a 4-footer. So that was a great save."
When she converted a huge birdie putt on the 18th she was able to reflect on recent improvements that are allowing her to not only clinch par and drain birdies but also make the most of her long-term form from tee to green.
"I've been putting really well since working with Jamie Mulligan down in Long Beach [California]," Martin said. "I've known him since college [UCLA] and got reunited with him. We've done a lot of good work, a lot of procedure stuff. The breakthrough has come this week after a real consistent year ballstriking."
What fascinates with Martin and her second crack at this title is that, as with two years ago, the course setup plays into her hands. At Birkdale she mastered the art of utilizing the contours of the course. In doing so she turned her short hitting into an advantage rather than handicap. Woburn is a much softer course, but the preponderance of doglegs and the short setup is forcing players to hit to the same areas from the tee box. For many, the limited distances they are hitting from the tee is a restraint and a hindrance, like being tied to a leash. For the arrow-straight Martin, it makes no difference.
Martin hits her drives an average of 239 yards, 43 yards down on Lexi Thompson who leads the averages. But 2016 is the fifth year in succession Martin has topped the driving accuracy stats.
In competing against opponents with bigger ammunition, she is only continuing a theme, because Martin has proved time and time again that if progress proves difficult, she'll find a way.
She didn't learn her golf in a country club, she was taught Hogan's five basics in a cage her dad built in the driveway. Her dad took her to play a course one time when she was young and the pro said no. Her dad said, "Watch her hit." The pro did so and waved her on with an apology.
Later she didn't start her career on the LPGA, but on the Symetra Tour. Nor did she graduate quickly from the minor tour; it took her seven seasons. All the while money was tight, but she persevered.
"I guess I had three criteria to keep playing," she said after the victory in 2014. "I thought if I still woke up and I was happy in the morning, if I was still contributing to the women's game and growing it, and, three, if I was paying my own bills. Those were my three things."
She learned that nothing good comes easy.
Since the glory of Birkdale, Martin has made the top 10 just four times on the LPGA, but you don't sense that she will be fazed by a return to the spotlight. Those lessons are unlikely to be forgotten.
"I'm playing the best I can; we'll see what happens Sunday," she said, and then added with a glint in her eye: "A pair of jugs would be great, but I'm not getting ahead of myself."
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