Venus Williams beats Maria Kirilenko to win Korean Open

Venus Williiams won her second tennis tournament of 2007 last weekend.

SEOUL, South Korea – Top-seeded Venus Williams beat Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 in the championship of the Korean Open on Sunday.

“Sometimes in the match I was a little disappointed with the errors I was making, and it made it a lot tougher for me,” said Williams, who won her third title of the season. “But at the end, I guess in the last few games, I started to play much better.”

Williams hadn’t lost a set in the tournament heading into the final, but she had to work to improve to 3-0 in her career against Kirilenko, who had a nine-match winning streak.

Williams had five double-faults and was broken three times in the second set. She finished with 11 double-faults for the match. But Williams broke Kirilenko twice in the third to secure the win.

While none of the top players were playing in Korea, I do believe Venus plus her sister Serena are firmly back as top ten tennis players in the World. They have both won Grand Slam events in 2007. I may put Serena in the top five.

I don’t think Venus looks good in a hangbok but Robert Koehler says the tennis player looks better in one than Britney Spears. Robert is probably right, as he resides in the ROK.

The only women I’ve ever seen wearing these dresses, came on a brief visit of mine to South Korea in 1989. The Lotte hotel had young women stand by the hotel elevators and smile at people as they went upstairs. What an inefficient use of hotel resources. My late father owned and ran two on Long Island and never employed such women. Then neither hotel had an elevator!

Lindsay Davenport wins the Bali Open

Why is this special? The former #1 player in women’s tennis gave birth to her first child barely three months ago.

NUSA DUA, Indonesia – Lindsay Davenport won her first singles title after almost a year’s absence from the tour, defeating Daniela Hantuchova 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 Sunday to capture the Bali Open.

Davenport was playing her first singles tournament since having a baby in June. And the 31-year-old Californian eliminated some strong opponents en route to this title: second-seeded Hantuchova, top-seeded Jelena Jankovic and fifth-seeded Eleni Daniilidou.

“I’m a little bit in shock,” said Davenport, who won this event in 2005. “It’s just overwhelming and exciting. I swear this is probably the first tournament I’ve played in four years where I didn’t have anything wrong with my lower extremities.”

Davenport, ranked No. 1 in 1998, has won three Grand Slams in addition to a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. Her previous title came in Zurich, Switzerland, nearly two years ago.

She had not competed on the WTA Tour since reaching the Beijing quarterfinals in September 2006, when she lost to Amelie Mauresmo. She gave birth to her first child — a son, Jagger — with husband and former tennis player Jon Leach.

Tiger Woods, who became a father this year, got twenty times the attention Ms. Davenport got. It isn’t really fair either. Any father out there knows, the mother carries the greater load when it comes to parenting before and after birth. Pro athletes who can succeed at both have my admiration.(Trivia time- Name the last two LPGA Hall of Fame inductees that are also mothers?)

Congrats to Lindsay on proving she can still win at pro tennis.

US Solheim Cup team- White women only need apply?

The biennial matches begin tomorrow in Sweden.

Welcome to the women’s version of the Ryder Cup that pits 12 of the best Yanks against 12 of the best from Europe. The biennial trans-Atlantic match-play pressure cooker beginning Friday in Sweden is three days and 28 matches of tension — eight foursomes, eight four-balls and 12 singles.

At stake is an 18-inch Waterford crystal Solheim Cup that carries an enormous amount of weight.

“If you put something in the oven that normally cooks at 325 degrees, the Solheim Cup is like taking it and turning up the heat to 500 degrees,” says Dottie Pepper, a former U.S. Solheim Cup star who won 17 times on the LPGA tour and is now a golf analyst for NBC and Golf Channel. “I always made an extra bathroom stop on my way to the first tee because I was feeling a little nauseous. The intensity and pressure affects your body.

“It’s a weird feeling knowing that you’ve worked so hard to make the team so you can go out and throw up on the first tee.”

Expect more reflux-inducing moments this weekend at the Halmstad Golf Club on Sweden’s west coast, where more than 100,000 flag-waving, mostly pro-European fans are expected to provide large doses of patriotic zeal that can shake even the most grizzled veteran.

The Americans lead the series 6-3, including a 15½-12½ victory in 2005 at Crooked Stick Golf Club near Indianapolis. But foreign soil has been unkind to the Americans, who are 1-3 overseas despite, on paper at least, being favored each time. In their last visit to Europe, in 2003 in Malmo, Sweden, Europe stomped the USA 17½ to 10½.

“It’s more like going to a basketball game or a soccer game than a golf tournament, and the fans cut loose,” U.S. captain Betsy King says. “They start chants and start singing songs. It does take some getting used to.”

King, at first-time captain, knows retaining the Cup is a tall order — especially because four of her players are Cup rookies. In addition to Lincicome, Morgan Pressel, 19, Stacy Prammanasudh, 27, and Nicole Castrale, 28, also make their debuts.

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Though the Solheim Cup offers a unique type of pressure, King says her first-timers have successfully dealt with stress and anxiety on the golf course. Lincicome has won two events, including the 2006 HSBC World Match Play Championship; Pressel became the youngest major championship winner at the Kraft Nabisco Championship this year; Prammanasudh has two wins; and Castrale beat world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa in a playoff this year for her first win on tour.

“It will be interesting to see how they’ll react,” King says. “But they all know what it takes to win and they all love to compete and take on any challenge.”

King also has established Solheim Cup veterans Juli Inkster, Pat Hurst, Cristie Kerr, Laura Diaz, Angela Stanford and Steinhauer. Her two remaining players — Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis — made smashing debuts in 2005, going 6-2-1 between them.

The Solheim Cup, since its inception in 1990, with only one exception, has been won by the team hosting the event. So the home team has a big advantage. I’m picking the US to win this weekend. Annika is off form, and I don’t see any of the Europeans picking up the slack. Final outcome- US 15, Europe 13.

What I find most interesting is the omission of Christina Kim from the 2007 Captain’s selections made by Betsy King. Though I should have hardly been surprised.

In 2002, 2003 and 2005, Dorothy Delasin was either 11th or 12th in Solheim Cup pts.(She was 12th in 2002 or first alternate and 11th in 2005 and either 11th or 12th in 2003) before the Captain’s selections were made. In each instance Dorothy was passed over. Various reasonings were made, either a player was selected over her because they had team spirit(Kelli Keuhne’s Captain’s selection in 2003, even though Kelli was stinking up the tour(16th in the Solheim Cup pts and no higher than a 9th place finish) in 2003 and was 0-4 when playing for the 2002 US team) or that Dorothy had no Solheim experience.

Funny but that didn’t stop Patty Sheehan from picking Heather Bowie a rookie for the 2003 squad or Betsy King from picking Nicole Castrale this year.

The Castrale pick over Christina Kim, who many considered the spark plug of the 2005 winning US squad is what makes me scratch my head. Just look at the 2005 Golf World cover and who the magazine chose to feature.

So why wasn’t Christina, who was 14th in this year’s standings, not picked over Castrale when Christina had prior Solheim experience and obviously gets fired up for these events.

Could it be because Christina, like Dorothy Delasin isn’t white? Both players are Asian-American, Korean and Filipino to be precise.

I’m seeing a trend and a very ugly one. Past captains have used one justification or another to bypass Dorothy for three straight Solheim Teams. When Christina fits the qualifications, she gets passed up too. Tell me what other reason makes sense?

I’ll grant two points in favor of some of the last Solheim Captains. The 2002 Captain did pick Pat Hurst, who is half Japanese, for the squad.(Pat and Stacey Prammanasudh who is Thai-American, both made the 2007 squad based on the points standings) On the other hand, Pat is very popular with her fellow pros.

The 2005 Solheim Captain was Nancy Lopez. Nancy is hardly white.

On the other hand, Heather Bowie had never won a LPGA tournament before being selected for the 2003 team. A real head scratcher, when you throw in Heather’s dismal 2003 Cup results of 0-3. Dorothy had three LPGA wins before that year’s Cup, four overall now.

I don’t know whether Christina or Dorothy is popular among their fellow pros. A few Golf Channel announcers were also perplexed by Christina not being picked by Betsy King, so I’m not alone alone.

So if a Asian golfer can’t make the Solheim Cup team based on the standings, she might as well forget being picked by the Captain. Anyone want to disagree with me?

Lorena Ochoa wins the Women’s British Open

It was Super Mex’s first major Championship win.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Lorena Ochoa won her first major title Sunday with a four-stroke victory at the Women’s British Open — the first women’s professional tournament played at venerable St. Andrews.

The top-ranked Mexican shot a 1-over 74 in the final round at the home of golf. She finished with a 5-under 287 total, four strokes better than Jee Young Lee (71) and Maria Hjorth (71). Reilley Rankin (71) was another stroke back at par.

“For me this is the most special round of golf I ever played,” Ochoa said. “Hopefully this is the first of many (majors) to come. It was my time.”

Annika Sorenstam, who was tied for third going into the final round, finished tied for 16th at 4 over after a 76 that included a 7 at the 17th Road Hole.

Ochoa is the first player to win a first major title at St. Andrews since Tony Lema at the men’s British Open in 1964.

Ochoa led the tournament from the ninth hole of the opening round, when she shot a 6-under 67. The only player to master the strong winds, she began the final round with a six-stroke lead and the only player under par.

Her only problem came at the 17th, where her second shot landed in one of the pot bunkers short of the green. The ball was near the steep front side of the trap and she had to pitch sideways into the rough, but she then played a superb short chip to the putting surface and escaped with a bogey 6. She went to the last hole four shots ahead and a par captured the title.

You won’t get any argument out of me if you say Lorena Ochoa is the best female golfer in the world at present. She got her first major championship today. More are sure to come.

Lorena proved my British Open prediction on her wrong. My track record for golf predictions has stunk this year. Se Ri Pak at the Nabisco, Sergio Garcia at the Men’s British Open to name just two other misses of mine. On the other hand, I did predict Natalie Gulbis to win for the first time this year.

Side note- My own blog keeps getting hit today by people looking for Lorena Ochoa nude pics. The wonders of Google, sorry I don’t have any.

Road rage- Hole 17 at St. Andrews to play as a par five for The Women’s British Open

One of the most famous holes in golf has been softened up.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – The 17th at the Old Course is known the world over as one of the toughest par 4s in golf. This week, however, at the Ricoh Women’s British Open it’s known as one of the easiest par 5s.

“Wait, No. 17 is a par 5?” Aree Song asked Wednesday while standing behind the first tee. “Are we on the same course?”

Song pulled out her yardage book and then asked her caddie, who confirmed that the ladies are indeed playing the Road Hole as a par 5.

“It should be a par 4 because you can reach it with a 5-iron,” Song said.

Actually, Southern California sophomore Belen Mozo hit it with an 8 iron Tuesday and Louise Stahle hit 7-iron. Jonathan Scott said his boss, Laura Davies, hit the green Wednesday with a “cheeky” 6-iron.

Well Laura is the size of a football player. How have more petite women done on the Road hole?

Pettersen hit 4-iron into the green Wednesday but hit wedge into it downwind the day before. Even Mi Hyun Kim, one of the shortest players on tour, hit 7-wood to the back of the green.

Peanut can get home with a 7-wood. The changes to the Road Hole have IMHO taken the fun out of of the LPGA women competing at The Old Course for the first time ever. Wouldn’t it have been exciting to see some of the same train wrecks that happened to the men over the years at 17? Like in 1978 when ‘The Sands of Tommy Nakajima‘ took place. The Japanese golf pro’s final score on the hole was a nine. Other players have had second shots land on the treacherous road itself.(Which is in play) Their results often not being much better than Nakajima.

“It’s a par-5 this week? This is one of the things they shouldn’t have done,” Helen Alfredsson said. “We’re playing the British Open, and it’s the best par-4 in the world, and they should have left it that way.”

These women can handle it.

I couldn’t agree more.

Natalie Gulbis wins her first LPGA Tour title

Golf’s calendar girl won the Evian Masters yesterday.

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – Natalie Gulbis finally can be known for winning, too. Famous mostly for her looks through five-plus seasons on tour, Gulbis broke through Sunday, winning her first LPGA Tour title at the Evian Masters with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff with Jang Jeong of South Korea on Sunday.

Jang and the 24-year-old American finished the fourth round tied at 4-under 284. Gulbis had a final round 70, and Jang birdied the last hole to finish with a 72.

“Obviously it was meant to be for me,” Gulbis said. “Before the playoff, I was very upset at myself because I felt like I had given away this tournament. I thought I needed to get to 7 under to win and I end up at, what, four? Going in today, I never thought that four under would have won this tournament.”

Jang, the 2005 Women’s British Open champion, birdied three of the last four holes to tie Gulbis.

The tall, blond Gulbis has been one of the best-known players on the LPGA tour. She sells a calendar on her Web site featuring shots of her in athletic apparel and swimwear, has a reality show on The Golf Channel and her digitized likeness appears in Tiger Woods’ eponymous video game.

But until Sunday, she was never a champion.

“What does it mean? How long do you have?” Gulbis said. “I was really close last year when I lost a playoff and coincidentally it was right after the Match Play. It was like deja vu” coming off the HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship last week.

Note Natalie’s two playoff appearances have come against South Korean ladies. One against a player nicknamed ‘Peanut’ and yesterday’s against a player some call ‘The Little Giant’. Both ROK ladies standing barely 5′ tall. Anyone else see a trend?

2005 British Open Champ Jang who has been in the top 15 three of the last five British Opens and no worse than 26th since 2002 has to be among the favorites next weekend at St. Andrews. Write that down Ron Sirak.

At the first extra hole, the 18th, Jang missed the green with her second shot, but Gulbis did not.

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Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa was one shot behind and tied for third place with Juli Inkster of the United States and Shin Ji-yai of South Korea. Ochoa had six birdies in her closing 68, but dropped a shot at the last hole. Shin finished with a 72.

Inkster, the leader by two shots after the first three rounds, finished with a 75. She had three bogeys in the last five holes and three-putted the par-5 18th after reaching the green in two. Had she won, Inkster would have become the oldest player to win an LPGA Tour event.

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Gulbis started the day four behind Inkster and had birdies at the first, sixth and ninth. Out in 33, she was 5 under and shared the lead with Shin.

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Gulbis, who won $450,000, gave part of the credit for her win to a back injury two months ago that forced her to take a month off and make some adjustments.

Congratulations to Natalie on her first LPGA win. Want to bet she makes the cover of Golf World this week? Natalie is still overrated in my humble opinion, mostly because the Golf MSM mistake her looks for talent on the golf course also. That’s not to say Natalie won’t have a productive LPGA career. One thing is certain. We can stop making analogies between Natalie and Anna Kournikova.

Move over Michelle Wie Part II

Kimberly Kim again proves she may be the best teenage Korean-American golfer.

Kimberly Kim shot 10-under 62 Monday in the first round of stroke play at the U.S. Girls’ Junior to etch her name in the USGA record books once again.

Kim’s score tied Christina Kim for the lowest 18-hole score in a USGA girls’ or women’s championship. Last year, Kimberly Kim became the youngest winner in U.S. Women’s Amateur history at 14 years old.

Kimberly Kim had 10 birdies and no bogeys Monday at the par-72, 6,391-yard Tacoma Country & Golf Club in Lakewood, Wash.

“I was telling my dad that I’ve been hitting really bad and putting really bad, so don’t expect anything,” she said. “But today I played really good. I just played really solid the whole round. I don’t know what it was, but everything just seemed to work out.”

She shot 31 on each side, making four birdies on the front nine and six on the back nine, including four in her final five holes. Kim’s score was the lowest of the day by six shots. Three players, including Golfweek’s top-ranked junior Mina Harigae, finished at 4 under.

Christina Kim shot 62 in the second round of stroke play at the 2001 U.S. Girls’ Junior, at the time setting the record for lowest score in any USGA championship. Billy Horschel broke that with a 60 in the first round of last year’s U.S. Amateur.

This golf nut didn’t even know about Horschel’s round. Kimberly was last year’s US amateur champ at age fourteen. She already has a very impressive record. Again you have to wonder if K2 is the future Korean-American superstar on the LPGA Tour rather than the much more heralded Michelle Wie. Kimberly can definitely play in addition to be much more low key than Michelle(She lists sleeping as a hobby!) and without the drama.(Questionable withdrawals, overbearing father, Firing a caddy through an agent)

A look at the Junior Girls leaderboard sees names like- Kristen Park, Stephanie Kim, Michelle Shin, Sue Kim, Stacey Kim. It won’t just be the ROK supplying the LPGA with players named Kim in five or more years.

Note- Michelle is supposed to be playing at the Evian Masters beginning Thursday. I really think Michelle needs a long break from golf to alllow her wrist(s) to heal.

The HSBC Matchplay

The men are playing the British Open this week. That doesn’t mean the women golfers have a week off.

The world of Women’s professional golf plays its only match play event of the year this week when the HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship in New Rochelle, New York is played at the brilliant Wykagyl Country Club.

The Wykagyl Country Club was built around 1900 and is one of those courses that link us with the past, Lawrence Van Etten being the original designer, but Donald Ross, A.W. Tillinghast and more recently Arthur Hills and Crenshaw and Coore all having a role in its development over the years. It is highlighted by rolling fairways, tight fairways and small greens so typical of traditional north-eastern courses from a bygone era. The course has played host to the Sybase Classic since 1990 but that event moved to New Jersey in 2007 while the Crenshaw and Coore restorations were being completed but this fine golf course gets the ongoing exposure it deserves.

The field brings together 64 of the world’s leading players competing for a first prize of US$500,000. The defending champion is Brittany Lincicome who beat Juli Inkster in the final at the Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone New Jersey to win her first USLPGA Tour event.

Colombian Marissa Baena won in 2005 when she defeated Meena Lee by a narrow 1 up margin.

The nature of matchplay has already shown the capacity of the format to produce upsets and there is every reason to believe there might be another this year.

There certainly will be upsets. I’m going to make my predictions based on my picks for this week’s Pakpicker.(Note play is already underway. I had things to do this morning, that delayed my making this post) The Matchplay Brackets are above, but you can also click here to see them.

1st Round

Ochoa over Simon
Francella over M Lee
Prammanasudh over Johnson
Hurst over Young
Creamer over Sergas
Matthew over Hjorth
Inkster over Choi
Stanford over Bae- Stanford is playing well, but Bae finished second on this course last year. Either one of these players could be a sleeper this week
Kerr over Hung- No that’s not a bad joke.
Young Kim over IK Kim
Lincicome over Koch
Granada over Rankin
Pak over Bader
Christina Kim over Gulbis
Miyazato over Morgan
Steinhauer over Min
Webb over Mayorkas
Diaz over JM Kim
JY Lee over Sjodin
Kang over Castrale
Pettersen over IB Park
Hetherington over Ahn
MH Kim over Doolan
S Lee over Chung
Sorenstam over Hull
Wright over Lang
Jang over Baena
A Park over Cavalleri
*- B Kim over Pressel- 2005 US Open rematch. Over a dismal year and a half, Birdie has been playing pretty solid golf in 2007. Imagine if they come to 18 tied and Birdie is in the bunker……
Davies over Redman
Shin over Moodie
SH Lee over D’Alessio

*- Upset(s) of the Round

2nd Round

Ochoa over Francella- This match could have the potential for an upset. Francella is a New Yorker and has played well this year, including a playoff win over Annika Sorenstam in Mexico.
Hurst over Prammanasudh
Creamer over Matthew
Stanford over Inkster
*- Y Kim over Kerr
Lincicome over Granada
Pak over C Kim
Miyazato over Steinhauer
*- Diaz over Webb
JY Lee over Kang
*- Hetherington over Pettersen
MH Kim over S Lee
Sorenstam over Wright
Jang over A Park
Davies over B Kim
Shin over SH Lee

3rd Round

Ochoa over Hurst- Pat could surprise but she isn’t having quite as good a year as she had in 2006.
*- Stanford over Creamer

Y Kim over Lincicome
Pak over Miyazato
JY Lee over Diaz
MH Kim over Hetherington
Jang over Sorenstam- Annika is still not up to par
Shin over Davies- The pudge match as I call it. The Stocky Shin vs The Rugby like Davies.

Quarter-finals

Ochoa over Stanford
Pak over Y Kim
*- JY Lee over MH Kim
Shin over Jang

Semi-finals

Pak over Ochoa
Shin over JY Lee. Jee Young is the most underrated of the Korean players on the LPGA. She could win this whole thing.

Finals

Pak over Shin

Se Ri beats Shin, the Korean golfer that shattered many of Se Ri’s KLPGA records in 2006. Yi Yai will come to play in the USA one day and win a tournament here in memory of her mother. As Casey Stengel may have said- “You can write that down.”

We’ll see if I’m right about my HSBC picks over the next few days.

She owns Toledo- Se Ri Pak wins her fifth Jamie Farr Classic

The Korean Golf Queen did it again.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Morgan Pressel’s hole-in-one sure got Se Ri Pak’s attention. Trailing briefly by three strokes after Pressel aced the sixth hole, Pak regained the lead with a birdie at the 15th hole and held on to tie an LPGA record with her fifth win at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic on Sunday.

Pak, who previously won the Farr in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2003, matched Mickey Wright, who won the Sea Island Open in 1957-58, ’60, ’62-’63, and Annika Sorenstam, who has won both the Samsung World Championship and Mizuno Classic tournaments five times each.

The 29-year-old Pak, who has already qualified for induction to the Hall of Fame, has 24 career victories. She followed rounds of 63, 68 and 69 with a 67 to finish at 17-under 267 and collect the $195,000 winner’s check. Pressel closed with a 69 and was three shots back at 270.

Pak and Pressel dueled all day until Pak finally broke a tie at the par-4 15th, almost holing an iron approach which ended up 2 feet from the cup. After Pressel’s long putt from the back fringe came up a foot short, Pak rammed in the birdie to go ahead by a stroke with three holes left.

Pressel’s approach at the 17th braked to a stop 2 feet away. But Pak rolled in a 6-footer for birdie before Pressel tapped in, maintaining her advantage.

At the 18th — the second of back-to-back par-5 closing holes at Highland Meadows Golf Club — Pak created a roar from the large gallery when she came within inches of holing her approach. Her tap-in birdie putt clinched the victory.

After her ace, Pressel was even par the rest of the way while Pak was 6 under.

The final round was like match play or a playoff. Se Ri in addition to her incredible record at the Farr, is 5-0 lifetime in playoffs. She beat Morgan, but it was much closer than the three-shot win that the leader board registered at the end.

Prediction- Se Ri Pak will win the Jamie Farr Classic again. Anyone want to wager $50 she doesn’t?

ESPN televised the tournament’s 2nd, 3rd and 4th rounds. When Se Ri and Morgan began walking down the 18th fairway after their tee shots on Sunday, the broadcast was interrupted for some five minutes. When ESPN2 returned, they said there were technical difficulties.

There sure were ‘technical difficulties’ with ESPN’s coverage. For instance-

An announcer misnaming Laura Diaz, Laura Davies instead. Look at the pictures to the left and above, do these two women look anything alike? Davies is on the right. Someone get an optometrist to Toledo Stat!

It had to be a slip of the tongue. I hope.

Charlie Rymer being amazed by Jin Young Pak being paired with Se Ri on Saturday. Pro golf tournaments are paired by scores after the cut was made. Pak and Pak were 1-2 and that meant they were paired.

Rymer has been broadcating golf for over ten years. He should know better.

ESPN showing Se Ri’s impressive record at the Farr, but saying she had made the cut nine times in nine tries. That is incorrect, Se Ri played the Farr in 1997(before she joined the LPGA). She missed the cut.