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Another tournament looks to be in trouble now. From AP-
NEW YORK – Federal regulators on Tuesday charged Texas financier R. Allen Stanford and three of his firms with a “massive” fraud that centered around high-interest-rate certificates of deposit, and raided some of the companies’ offices.
In a complaint filed in federal court in Dallas, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleged Stanford orchestrated a fraudulent investment scheme centered on an $8 billion CD program that promised “improbable and unsubstantiated high interest rates.”
Stanford’s assets, along with those of the three companies, were frozen. Stanford’s firms include Antigua-based Stanford International Bank, broker-dealer Stanford Group Co. and investment adviser Stanford Capital Management, which are both based in Houston.
If you don’t know, Stanford International sponsored the Aventura Florida LPGA event I covered as a member of the media last April. They were supposed to sponsor this year’s LPGA Tour Championship, the end event of the 2009 season. No word yet from the LPGA, but I expect to hear at least hopeful spin from the LPGA. Commissioner Carolyn Bivens sure knows how to pick some winners doesn’t she?
Is it too far a stretch to think the LPGA wish it had a mulligan so far as their past relationship with ADT goes? ADT’s sponsorship of the LPGA’s final event of the year came to an end last year.
Hat tip- Ryan at Waggle room
Update- I neglected to mention(or remember) Stanford also sponsors the PGA Tour stop in Memphis TN.
The 20-year-old from South Korea won the ADT Championship today. It was Shin’s 3rd LPGA win this year without her being a LPGA member.
Shin won by one shot over Karrie Webb. It was basically a Shin-Webb battle except for a few brief moments when Seon Hwa Lee tied Shin with a birdie on 16. Lee promptly double bogied 17 and finished 3rd.
Along with that trophy she is holding, Ji Yai won a million dollars today. The ADT is the only LPGA tournament where the winner takes home that large a prize.
Suzann Pettersen shot a 79. The fiery Norwegian could be seen taking out her frustrations on her caddy. Paula Creamer was never a factor on Sunday.
Only two weeks ago I wrote this about Shin after her win at the Mizuno Classic-
She will be eligible for Rookie of Year, assuming Ji-Yai comes to play in the US. She has been tearing up the KLPGA, to a lesser extent the JLPGA for a few years now. You read it here first, the second South Korean LPGA golfer to qualify for the Golf Hall of Fame will be Ji-Yai Shin. Take that to the bank.
The complaints the Koreans are taking over the LPGA are about to get louder. Isn’t it about the best golfer is, not where in the world they are from?
Take this down also. If Shin plays the LPGA Tour in 2009, I predict Lorena Ochoa’s days as the #1 player in the world are numbered.
At 9:30 this morning the last 8 golfers begin teeing it up in West Palm Beach. They are-
Seon Hwa Lee, Suzann Pettersen, Paula Creamer, Jeong Jang, Karrie Webb Ji Yai Shin, Angela Stanford, and Eun Hee Ji.
Under the ADT’s unique format, all eight players begin today at even par. Some comments on Saturday’s play
*- Suzann Pettersen shot a 68 in spite of scoring a triple bogey on the 4th hole.
*- Helen Alfredsson came to 18 at even par, but splashed two balls before finishing with a seven. Alfredsson scooping up her 4th shot after it crossed the hazard line but before it reached the water, caused some minor controversy.
*- Paula Creamer feeling very unwell, perhaps because of appendicitis, shot a 2 under par 70.
*- Karrie Webb finally defeats a South Korean in a playoff. Sun Young Yoo, Webb, and Ji had to go back to 17 to play for 2 spots in Sunday’s field. Yoo 3-putted from 45 feet to drop out.
Prior to yesterday, Webb had lost 4 playoffs against South Korean players. Three of them to Se Ri Pak, most famously the 2006 LPGA Championship but also the LPGA’s biggest playoff ever a 6-player affair at the Jamie Farr. Webb’s 4th playoff loss was earlier this year to Seon Hwa Lee at the Ginn Tribute.
*- If Creamer is not well enough to play, she will not be placed in the final round field. That would leave only seven players competing for the one million dollar prize.
*- All eight golfers have won at least once on the LPGA Tour. We won’t have a Julieta Granada like story this year.
Some comments on today’s finalists should they be the winner.
Paula Creamer- Would surpass Lorena Ochoa on the 2008 LPGA money list
Ji Yai Shin- Would earn her 3rd LPGA tour win without being a member of the tour yet.
Suzann Pettersen- Would break the Korean LPGA curse. No winner of the Korean LPGA tour stop, now known as the Hana Bank Kolon Championship, since 2003 has since won again on tour.
Seon Hwa Lee- A win may finally get this very underrated player nicknamed ‘Stone Buddha’ some notice. Lee has won 4 times since joining the tour in 2006 and is pretty invisible with both golf fans and media alike.
Jeong Jang- The player affectionately called ‘JJ’ or ‘The Little Giant’ has won over a million dollars this year without a win and at the same time having a painful wrist injury. Jang, the 2005 British Open Champ, is paired with Paula Creamer. Jeong joked about liking to play before a big gallery. Her 2005 British Open final round had a large crowd following JJ. That because of JJ’s playing partner, Annika Sorenstam.
Eun Hee Ji- If she wins, will she give her acceptance speech in English? It was Ji’s use of an interpreter after winning the Wegman’s that supposedly sparked the controversial English policy on the LPGA tour.
Karrie Webb- A win would keep her from being considered a 2009 Comeback player of the Year candidate
Angela Stanford- Would she be considered defending champion when Stanford Intl. takes over as sponsor of the Tour championship in 2009? Stanford defends Stanford. I can see the headline now…..
NBC televise the ADT tape delayed beginning at 3 p.m. this afternoon. A showcase unique event for Women’s golf, but it isn’t shown live. The LPGA Tour gets little respect.
Hound Dog, The Constructivist, and Geoff Shackelford are all commenting.
Today at the ADT is causing a stir. Ron Sirak wrote about it. Steve Elling had the following to say.
“I’m serious and I was tested two weeks ago, so I don’t really know what’s going on,” she said testily.
Guess they hadn’t heard that she was retiring.
“I have no idea, but they’re not going to let me go,” she said, forcing a laugh. “Yeah, I guess you get tested every other week now.”
*****
Even for an organization known for making head-shaking decisions over the years, this ranks at the bottom of the latrine in terms of asinine, idiotic developments.
I’m not going to get into whether this is an insult or not. Annika has flouted rules or broke them in the past, and I’ve never been willing to give her a free pass just because she’s a golf superstar.
When was she tested before by the LPGA? Two weeks ago the LPGA was in Japan, Annika wasn’t in the field. Three weeks ago the LPGA was in South Korea, Annika was playing a LET event in China. Four weeks ago, Annika played a LPGA event in China. Here’s Annika’s LPGA results for 2008.
Annika played in Mexico last week. Did Annika mean Mexico or the LPGA China event? Or did she mixup the LET and the LPGA? I don’t know if the LET has a drug testing policy. Or did Annika make it up? I don’t believe that.
No member of the media at the ADT noted the discrepancy, just Annika’s anger. Did they give Annika a free pass or did no one know how LPGA schedule? Probably the later, which shows we golf bloggers know this tour better than the old fashioned media that covers the sport.
The news out of the LPGA event in West Palm Beach isn’t who made the 36 hole cut or Annika Sorenstam having to take a drug test after play ended or led at the end of the second day(IT don’t matter, all scores reset before play begins again tomorrow) but who missed the cut. Here’s a sampling-
#1 Lorena Ochoa
#2 Yani Tseng
3-time ADT Championship winner Annika Sorenstam
2007 Major Champions and South Floridians- Morgan Pressel and Cristie Kerr
I picked Kerr, and Ochoa to be around on Sunday. So they missing the cut comes as a complete surprise.
So who’s left- Katherine Hull, Angela Stanford, Christina Kim, Paula Creamer, In Kyung Kim, Jeong Jang, Angela Park, Seon Hwa Lee, Ji Yai Shin, Helen Alfredsson, Eun hee Ji, Jee Young Lee, Suzann Pettersen, Sun Young Yoo, Karen Stupples, Karrie Webb.
Unlike in earlier years, no playoff was needed to narrow the field down to 16.
That’s 7 South Koreans(IK Kim, Jang, Lee, Shin, Ji, Lee, and Yoo) plus two Korean-Americans(Park and C Kim). If we go by the South of the Border factor, this week’s winner will be Angela Park. The 2006 ADT champ was Julieta Granada born in Paraguay, In 2007 it was Lorena Ochoa born in Mexico. Angela Park was born in Brazil. If Natalie Gulbis was around and got paired with Angela on Sunday, her winning the one million dollar grand prize would be all but certain. Gulbis played with Granada and Ochoa on Sunday when they won.
The only thing keeping the golf media from being dismayed over those players not around on the weekend, is probably the presence of media darling Paula Creamer, and part-time Florida resident Karrie Webb. Creamer would pass Ochoa for #1 on the money list with a win on Sunday, but I’m sticking with my original pick. Ji Yai Shin.
Others blogging on today’s play- Ryan, Hound Dog, and The Constructivist
Play begins today at 9:30 when Cristie Kerr tees off. Kerr will be playing by herself because Inbee Park withdrew after 14 holes yesterday. Inbee must be either sick or injured, for she was 13 over par for the round.
Katherine Hull has the first round lead after a first round 68. She leads Ji Yai Shin and In Kyung Kim by one shot. Was I ever on target with my pre-tournament predictions for Shin, Hull, and Inbee(Though I was far off with Kerr but so was Greg Stoda at the Palm Beach Post)
Here are all the first round scores-
Star-divide
68 Katherine Hull
69 Ji-Yai Shin, In-Kyung Kim
70 Na Yeon Choi, Eun-Hee Ji, Ji Young Oh
71 Paula Creamer, Christina Kim, Karen Stupples
72 Yani Tseng, Suzann Pettersen, Seon Hwa Lee, Maria Hjorth Jee Young Lee, Candie Kung, Morgan Pressel
73 Angela Stanford, Jeong Jang, Helen Alfredsson Karrie Webb, Nicole Castrale, Angela Park
74 Annika Sorenstam, Hee-Won Han, Sun Young Yoo
75 Lorena Ochoa, Song-Hee Kim, Laura Diaz
78 Cristie Kerr, Shanshan Feng, Meena Lee
WD Inbee Park
Oh no 5 of the top 6 are South Korean and only one white American in the top nine and two in the top 16. Someone must be done to fix this inequity, maybe a foreign player quota but only for non-blondes.(Rolling my eyes)
Since scores reset after both Friday’s and Saturday’s play, the goal is to survive the cut after 36 and 54 holes. The big news yesterday is how Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam, struggled. Ochoa and Sorenstam are in no way out of the picture for the weekend but they will have to play very good golf today.
The two best LPGA bloggers around, Hound Dog and The Constructivist, are also commenting on yesterday’s play.
Click here if you want to check it out. Here are the lowlights and highlights
*- There will be 31 tournaments instead of 34. Ginn Tribute, Semgroup, ADT Championship, and Fields Open are gone. Honda Thailand is back.
*- Overall prize money is down roughly 10% from 60 million to 53 million with one tournament’s purse(Ginn Open) still to be determined.
*- There will be no LPGA events in South Florida next year. Besides the ADT Championship being no more, The Stanford International is leaving Aventura for somewhere in the Houston Texas area. In addition Stanford will become the LPGA’s year ending championship.
*- 11 of these events are international.
Not much to cheer about if you’re a ladies professional golf fan. After considering the present state of the US economy, the LPGA could be far worse. Though things do look shaky for 2010 and beyond.
Ryan is also commenting.
Is my home town tournament in danger of folding? From AP-
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The LPGA Tour lost another title sponsor Friday when ADT Security Services said it would not renew its contract after 2008 for the tour’s season-ending event at Trump International.
The ADT Championship began in 2001 and transformed into one of the more compelling events on the LPGA Tour — a 30-player field whittled down to eight for the final round where the winner received $1 million.
The company did not specifically state why it was not renewing its contract, only that its strategy is investing in growth areas of its business more closely aligned with its customers.
It was a blow to the LPGA Tour, which has already lost four title sponsors this year. The tour previously said one of its majors, the McDonald’s LPGA Championship, would not have a title sponsor in 2009, and it has said it might fund the Phoenix event that lost its title when Safeway consolidated its LPGA sponsorship to one tournament.
Phoenix is only the tip of the iceberg. Semgroup, Ginn Tribute, plus the Fields Open are tournaments that are either kaput or at risk right now.
Note- Is AP predicting tomorrow’s news? Note the article says ‘lost another title sponsor Friday’. Today is Thursday October 16th and the LPGA put out a press release today.
Ryan at Waggle room writes-
The rumor mill had been flying about the future of the ADT Championship. It had been declared everything from dead, to moving to the START of the season, to being a part of the new network television package that the LPGA Tour is trying to negotiate. Any of those things may still be true, but one thing is certain: ADT is no longer sponsor of the season ending (and thrilling) event on the LPGA Tour.
And ADT politely slaps down their relationship with the LPGA Tour:
*****
Basically, ADT sounds like they are stepping away from the LPGA Tour because they want to get involved in sports that are perceived as a bigger deal. After all, golf fans are generally pretty well off. And people who are pretty well off usually get scared that bad guys are going to steal their things. So, they would want ADT’s services.
The loss of ADT is troubling. As Ryan also notes, all these sponsor problems calls into question what the LPGA will look like in 2009. Will there even be a US Ladies golf tour in 5 years?
Lee defeated Hall of Famer Karrie Webb in a playoff. This a result of Webb three-putting the first hole of sudden death from fifteen feet.
Sophie Gustafson began the final round of the Ginn Tribute with a 6 shot lead. After birdies on the first and third holes, Gustafson was at 20 under and up by seven. If Sophie had played the last 15 holes in 6 over, she would have been in a playoff. Instead she played them in 9 over, which included two back nine double bogeys to finish the tournament with a disasterous 79.
This week is one of those few times I find myself rooting against a player. I just don’t like Sophie Gustafson. Her attitude on the course, possible cheating at her last win in 2003, and the sourpuss look on her face just turn me off about this golfer.
Lee’s win today may have been appropriate. She was the last South Korean to win on the LPGA Tour, taking the HSBC Match Play in July 2007. The week after that win, and the week before today’s triumph, both saw Jeong Jang lose LPGA tournaments in a playoff. Today was Lee’s 3rd win in three years on tour and will qualify her for the ADT Championship in November.
Lee is a very unsung player, even when you take into consideration the golf media’s tendency not to give the South Koreans their due.(When I was covering the Stanford International in April, a few members of the media were surprised when I said no South Korean had won in 9 months) Seon Hwa coasted to the 2006 Rookie of the Year award, over the much more heralded Ai Miyazato and media darling Morgan Pressel. Look at this blog post of mine, and note how a golf writer couldn’t be bothered to pen the name Seon Hwa Lee. Lee has topped Pressel(and the still winless Miyazato) in wins, top 10s, top three finishes, money, and stroke average since they both came on tour. Morgan has a major, but her career was been disappointing to date. Until her 2nd place finish in New Jersey two weeks ago, Morgan had been stinking up the tour(Missed cuts three weeks in a row) for most of 2008. Don’t expect any talk of Lee being a top 5 player by the golf media, in spite of the fact she is that on this year’s money list and last year’s. Ask golf writers to list their top 10 LPGA players right now, I don’t think more than 3 in ten would list Lee in the top 10. On the other hand 3 or more would list Pressel, in spite of Morgan having the better record. Want proof? Read this post of mine and check where Lee and Pressel are ranked.
Lee will keep on winning LPGA tournaments. Sooner or later the golf media will give Seon Hwa her due. At least I think they will.
Lee defeated Hall of Famer Karrie Webb in a playoff. This a result of Webb three-putting the first hole of sudden death from fifteen feet.
Sophie Gustafson began the final round of the Ginn Tribute with a 6 shot lead. After birdies on the first and third holes, Gustafson was at 20 under and up by seven. If Sophie had played the last 15 holes in 6 over, she would have been in a playoff. Instead she played them in 9 over, which included two back nine double bogeys to finish the tournament with a disasterous 79.
This week is one of those few times I find myself rooting against a player. I just don’t like Sophie Gustafson. Her attitude on the course, possible cheating at her last win in 2003, and the sourpuss look on her face just turn me off about this golfer.
Lee’s win today may have been appropriate. She was the last South Korean to win on the LPGA Tour, taking the HSBC Match Play in July 2007. The week after that win, and the week before today’s triumph, both saw Jeong Jang lose LPGA tournaments in a playoff. Today was Lee’s 3rd win in three years on tour and will qualify her for the ADT Championship in November.
Lee is a very unsung player, even when you take into consideration the golf media’s tendency not to give the South Koreans their due.(When I was covering the Stanford International in April, a few members of the media were surprised when I said no South Korean had won in 9 months) Seon Hwa coasted to the 2006 Rookie of the Year award, over the much more heralded Ai Miyazato and media darling Morgan Pressel. Look at this blog post of mine, and note how a golf writer couldn’t be bothered to pen the name Seon Hwa Lee. Lee has topped Pressel(and the still winless Miyazato) in wins, top 10s, top three finishes, money, and stroke average since they both came on tour. Morgan has a major, but her career was been disappointing to date. Until her 2nd place finish in New Jersey two weeks ago, Morgan had been stinking up the tour(Missed cuts three weeks in a row) for most of 2008. Don’t expect any talk of Lee being a top 5 player by the golf media, in spite of the fact she is that on this year’s money list and last year’s. Ask golf writers to list their top 10 LPGA players right now, I don’t think more than 3 in ten would list Lee in the top 10. On the other hand 3 or more would list Pressel, in spite of Seon Hwa having the better record. Want proof? Read this post of mine and check where Lee and Pressel are ranked.
Lee will keep on winning LPGA tournaments. Sooner or later the golf media will give Seon Hwa her due. At least I think they will.
Update- One note and a clarification.
Webb has been to playoffs four times against one of the South Korean ladies. Three times against Se Ri Pak, and then today’s playoff. Karrie Webb has lost each and every time.
I’m not saying Lee is a top-five player. Top 10 yes. I am however saying her record is much stronger than Pressel’s, who people are much more likely to rank than Seon Hwa.
*- Christina Kim made a double bogey five on the seventh hole Sunday. When asked about the hole after the round, Christina couldn’t remember what happened.
I was present when Christina slammed her club in the bag after her tee shot found the drink at that dangerous par 3. Golfers are people too, they rather forget their failures.
*- The Sarah Lee double mystery is solved. I spoke to Sarah’s father after the round.
Sarah who was born in London England and lived there for the first three and a half years of her life and is really named Sarah. That’s her official/legal name.
Today was a rough day for Sarah. She can burn up a course like few others on the LPGA Tour. Sarah will find the winner’s circle one day.
*- Scoring varied widely in the ADT’s final round. To have players spread out 16 shots from top to bottom is hardly unusual for a professional golf event. Except when there were so few players to start with. Who would have expected Karrie Webb to shoot a final round 84?
*- Several small tweaks to the ADT’s format may occur before next year’s event. $50,000 to the golfer who shoots the low round every day and an automatic invite back to the winner.
Good ideas though I seriously doubt Lorena will need the invite.
*- Natalie Gulbis is the ADT’s good luck charm. In 2006, she played with Julieta Granada in the final round, this year with Ochoa.
Expect a tug of war over who gets Natalie for a playing partner if she qualifies to the final eight again in 2008.
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