This news isn’t very surprisingly in light of these facts
1- Yani Tseng is at present holder of two of the tour’s major championships and ranked as one of the top five rated players in the world. Tseng is from Taiwan
and
2- The increasing popularity of golf in Asia.
Of course people continue to grumble about the lack of United States based tour stops on the LPGA Tour. These people are being short sighted.
1- Any tournaments for the tour is good news
2- The LPGA could be close to bankruptcy at the moment. When a tournament is played, the tour takes a cut of the purse for operating expenses. I heard from a reliable source that the LPGA needs 30 tournaments a year to stay solvent. At the moment the LPGA schedule for next year looks like it will be under 30 events like it has been since 2009.
The LPGA is losing at least one United States LPGA event for 2011, the Jamie Farr, as it goes on hiatus for a year. Also CVS will no longer sponsor a California tour stop. That leaves 12 LPGA events in the United States, plus the foreign events. As it stands, the tour will visit Singapore, Thailand, Mexico(at least 3 times), Canada, England, France, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea next year with possible additions of Brazil and China.
The LPGA is in trouble right now. Nationalistic based pride and Asian paranoia need to be shelved.
Hat tip- Ryan at Waggle Room who apparently hasn’t gotten the memo about CVS not renewing its sponsorship.
Yani Tseng from Taiwan leads the Women’s British at Royal Birkdale by four shots with 36 holes to play. Should she win, Tseng would already have amassed three of the four major championships in Women’s professional golf.
I won’t be conceding the tournament to Tseng quite. Just two years ago, Lorena Ochoa was on a roll and was leading the LPGA Championship by one shot after 36 holes. One golf scribe at the time was all but ready to crown Ochoa at that point. Ochoa ultimately finished third, to Yani Tseng.
Royal Birkdale is an interesting place for Tseng to be going for her third major. Thirty-nine years ago, or 1971 to be precise, the Open Championship was played at Birkdale. It was won by Lee Trevino. The golfer who finished second by one shot that week was Lu Liang Huan. Lu, who is still alive today at age 75, is from Taiwan just like Yani Tseng.
Lu, or as Open Championship fans in 1971 nicknamed him Mr. Lu, was an obscure golfer to even knowledgeable golf people at the time. His three career wins were all in Asia before the 1971 Open Championship.
Mr. Lu’s obscurity didn’t prevent him from being a fan favorite that week in 1971. He didn’t speak much English, but through tips of his straw cap and smiles to the gallery, he had many people in England and through television cheering for him that week.
A week after the 1971 Open Championship, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club issued an invitation to Mr. Lu. It said- “come back to this country as often as you like and we hope you’ll bring more fine golfers from the Far East.”
Many fine golfers have come to the United Kingdom and the United States since then. Unfortunately, the attitude of people has regressed since then. Asian golfers, even Asian American golfers, are seen as a threat by the media and or fans. No one was bothered by Mr. Lu’s poor English in 1971, so I have trouble understanding the attitude of some people today. 
I wasn’t following pro golf in 1971. At the time I was ten-years-old and more interested in New York Mets baseball. What I learned about the 1971 Open Championship is through media accounts at the time. Even these are hard to find.
What I do know about that Open Championship is-
1 Trevino and Mr. Lu were paired together for the last 18 holes.
2 Lee Trevino made double bogey at 17
3 Mr. Lu and Trevino both made closing birdies on 18
4 As he played 18, an errant golf shot of Mr. Lu’s struck a person in the gallery injuring the woman. After the Open Championship, Mr. Lu paid for the woman and her husband to visit Taiwan.
Mr. Lu never again seriously contended for a Major Championship. He did however win the French Open the following week and in 1972 partnered with Hsieh Min-Nan to win the World Cup. When his professional career was over, Mr. Lu had at least twenty professional wins to his credit but he is probably still best remembered for his runner-up finish at the 1971 Open Championship.
So far as I know, Mr. Lu is still alive today at age seventy-four.
It is being played at the Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania today through Sunday. The defending Champion is Eun Hee Ji.
The third Women’s golf major of 2010 is being played on one of the toughest golf courses in the world. Oakmont doesn’t just feature small greens and tight fairways, the norm of any USGA professional championship, but treacherously fast greens. I first watched a major played on this golf course in 1978. In 32 years of golf viewing, I’ve never seen a tougher course for pros to putt on.
Ji is the defending champion, but she isn’t playing very well coming into the tournament. Cristie Kerr has won the last two LPGA events she competed in, including a romp at the LPGA Championship. Which was the last major championship played. Many are naming Kerr the favorite this week and I won’t say that’s a bad choice. Still blogger The Constructivist has some valid points about Kerr coming into this week.
Um, dude, Kerr had chances to win 2 majors last year and let them slip through her fingers. Nobody stepped up to challenge her in the LPGA Championship for any serious length of time. Kerr still has to prove she’s a closer in majors. That and the fact that she won at Locust Hill with a leaky driver–something that Oakmont will penalize much more severely–are the doubts that any knowledgeable writer should be emphasizing about Kerr’s chances to get her 2nd Open, 3rd major, and 15th career victory on the LPGA.
Hound Dog, Mike, and Sal Johnson also have done previews for this week. Sal has put together an excellent guide on all the players in the tournament. Why can’t the USGA or LPGA do this kind of work? Sal is about the only person besides this person(and his not perfect golf memory) who tries to uphold the LPGA’s stats and history prior to the Annika Sorenstam era.
The Women’s Golf Open isn’t getting a tenth of the attention the recently passed Men’s Open at Pebble Beach got. This is normal, and has nothing to do with the lack of American winners or the Asians overrunning the tour complaints so often heard till you become nauseous. Four South Koreans won golf tournaments in 2007, and I was one of the few to notice. Golf World’s Ron Sirak is in attendance this after his golf publication in a gross act of golf reporting dereliction of duty, didn’t cover the LPGA Championship in its magazine or even preview this week’s major. Would you believe Golf World didn’t put out a magazine at all last week? Check it out yourself.
Golf World isn’t alone. Ryan Ballangee at Waggleroom is too busy writing a post wondering if Arnold Palmer is looking at someone’s boobs. The state of reporting on the LPGA is just horrendous.
My picks this week. Inbee Park, the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open champ, has been quietly playing some of the best golf in 2010. It wouldn’t at all surprise me if she won again on Sunday. Jiyai Shin, Cristie Kerr, Na Yeon Choi, and Hee Kyung Seo would be other top five choices.
The player nicknamed ‘Course Clown’ won for the first time on the LPGA Tour. From AP-
Sun Young Yoo won the Sybase Match Play Championship for her first LPGA Tour victory, beating Angela Stanford 3 and 1 on Sunday at Hamilton Farm.
Yoo, the 23-year-old South Korean player in her fifth LPGA Tour season, won the 13th and 14th holes with pars and took a 2-up lead with a 15-foot putt for her first birdie of the match on the par-3 16th.
The match ended when Stanford missed her birdie putt and conceded Yoo’s birdie.
Yoo’s victory was the eighth straight by a foreign player and the 25th in the last 26 events. Michelle Wie in- the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in November — is the lone American winner since Cristie Kerr won the Michelob Ultra Open last May.
*****
Yoo, who earned $375,000 from the $1.5 million purse, also beat No. 32 Karen Stupples, No. 5 Kerr, No. 12 Song-Hee Kim and No. 4 Yani Tseng.
Shin won the third-place match, beating Yang 3 and 2.
In the final on a cloudy, muggy afternoon, Yoo won the par-3 third with a par, then halved the next seven holes, with the players both bogeying the par-4 ninth.
Stanford took the lead with birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 — her only birdies of the match — before handing Yoo the 13th with a bogey.
Ironically the two golfers Yoo beat in the finals and semi-finals- Jiyai Shin and Angela Stanford, took part in a 3-way playoff with her last September. Shin was the winner then.
Shin will maintain her #1 standing in the world. The next official LPGA is in two weeks. It is almost every week mode for the tour now.
Yoo was a deserving winner who had a very difficult path to the tournament title. The Golf Channel stuck to repeating cliches and information anyone can find on Angela Stanford out of the LPGA guide book, rather than tell us something original about the players today. Why is Yoo nicknamed ‘Course Clown’? What makes her funny?
At last year’s pro-am in Danville, Chuck Rydell, an employee of the tournament sponsor Longs Drugs, was paired with a young South Korean who spoke little English. He said he spent an enjoyable round teaching her American curse words.
This year, his pro partner was Sun Young Yoo, a 21-year-old who is known among the South Koreans as the course clown. She made Rydell laugh when the windshield in her cart flew off. Without missing a beat, Yoo said, â€Maybe we are going to lose tires next.â€
Not a peep about it from the television announcer instead we heard about how competitive Stanford is and how she doesn’t quit etc. Like quitting non competitive people play the LPGA every day. When you hear someone say the Korean golfers have personality, the real meaning is- ‘The golf media can’t be bothered looking for players with a personality.’
Also writing on Yoo’s win- Hound Dog
The Korean Golf Queen notched her 25th career victory today. She defeated Suzann Pettersen and Brittany Lincicome on the third hole of sudden death. It was Pak’s first win since 2007.
Today’s finish wasn’t what anyone expected when play ended yesterday. Oh Lincicome, Pak, and Pettersen began the day tied for the lead but they were expected to play 18 holes. Their rounds began but thunderstorms came through Mobile Alabama area shortly after 10 a.m. local time. Play was suspended and eventually the decision was made to shorten the tournament to 54 holes.
Which meant sudden death would decide the winner. As has been the LPGA’s custom for 3 or 4 years, a playoff is conducted on the 18th hole only. The 18th at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Magnolia Grove, The Crossings, is a uphill par 4. Due to the heavy rains, which began Saturday night, the hole played long. Pettersen, Pak, and Lincicome are all above average in driving distance, so it could be said had an advantage. Except that Se Ri Pak was a career 5-0 in LPGA playoffs before today.
The first time around 18 saw all three players make par. On the 2nd hole of sudden death after each player hit a good drive, things began to deviate. Pettersen missed the green left, Pak flew the green into the back bunker, and Lincicome put her ball on the green but well right.
Pettersen did not hit a good 3rd shot at all. Pak’s bunker shot went about 6 feet past the hole, Lincicome missed her birdie putt. Pettersen missed her par putt but Pak made a clutch putt. Lincicome got par, so she and Se Ri went back to the 18th for a 3rd time.
Pak didn’t hit a good drive. She actually found a fairway bunker. Lincicome found the fairway and again Se Ri looked to be in trouble. Totally unfazed, she hit her approach to about 10 feet. Brittany on the other hand, had her approach shot find the front bunker. She blasted to 25-30 feet past the hole.
You got to give Lincicome credit. She made the long par putt. That put the tournament squarely on Se Ri who now faced almost the same putt she had on the second hole of sudden death, except it was a few feet longer in length and for a birdie now. Pak made it.
A few assorted notes
*- Is Se Ri Pak revving up for next month’s LPGA Championship? She’s won that tournament in 4-year intervals starting in 1998. She won it again in 2002 and 2006 and next comes…..2010. If you believe in that hocus pocus.
I still think Se Ri will become the first LPGA golfer to win the same tournament six times. That is as long as the Jamiie Farr continues to be played. It’s contract with the LPGA ends this year.
*- Who will be on Golf World’s cover this week- Se Ri or Adam Scott the winner of the Texas Open? When Pak won the Michelob Light in 2004 and garnered the last point needed for HOF induction, GWorld put Joey Sindelar on the cover. Only last month the magazine the winner of the Kraft Nabisco(Yani Tseng) for Houston Open winner Anthony Kim when it came time for their cover. When Ai Miyazato won for the 3rd time this year and Lorena Ochoa retired, Golf World elected to put Hunter Mahan on the cover as part of its Players Championship preview. So I’d bet on Scott or some feature story. Like Ted Schulz’s hopes for the Champions Tour. Golf World’s coverage of the LPGA is pathetic.
Someone might point out that Golf World puts men on their covers for sales purposes. Golf World is not a news stand publication.
*- Pettersen has another ‘just missed’ chance at a LPGA win. Since winning 5 times in 2007, the Norwegian has only been able to notch one win. In the process Pettersen has had over a half dozen excellent opportunities but hasn’t been able to get it done.
A win today by Pettersen would have knocked Ji Yai off the top of the Rolex Rankings. Maybe I missed the Golf Channel announcers explanation., but I assume it would have been Pettersen at the top then. There is a very slim margin separating the top four women golfers in the world at this moment.
*- For the sixth time in six tournaments this year, an Asian golfer has won on the LPGA Tour. Lincicome’s finish today is one of three second place finishes American golfers have this year.
*- Golf Channel’s announcers in order to build up Lincicome(who I like by the way) emphasized her brilliant shot to win the Kraft Nabisco last year and that her three LPGA wins, includes a Match Play event, and that her victories all came in prestigious events.
As brilliant as Lincicome’s shot was, Se Ri Pak hit an even greater one to win the 2006 LPGA Championship. She hit a 3-utility club on the first hole of sudden death to 3 inches. That trumps Lincicome’s approach to 18 which was inside of five feet for eagle.
I’m not really surprised that Pak’s shot isn’t remembered. When golf writers talked comeback player of the year in 2006, Pak was universally forgotten. Se Ri hit one of the greatest shots in LPGA history but no one seems to remember, and that’s sad. Golf Channel’s announcers had no problem remembering the details of Lincicome’s Match Play win, which was played exactly one week after Se Ri won the 2006 LPGA.
How prestigious can a tournament be if it only exists for three years? That’s how long the non-majors, the Ginn Open and the HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship lasted before going belly up. They were nice wins for Brittany, but should a tournament with so little history be considered a prestigious win?
Also commenting on Se Ri’s win- Hound Dog, The Constructivist, Brent Kelly, and my fellow South Floridian Randall Mell. Randall hasn’t forgotten Pak’s winning shot at the 2006 LPGA.
Photo by Dave Martin/Getty Images
This news is just shocking. The last active PGA or LPGA player* I can recall dying is Payne Stewart in 1999. Tony Lema died in 1966 less than 24 hours after competing in the PGA Championship but there is probably a more recent example. Heather Farr died of cancer at age 28 in 1993, but she hadn’t played the LPGA in 4 years before her death. 
Blasberg had just finished T44 in Mexico last week. Her best ever LPGA finish was a tie for 8th in 2008.RIP.
The body of Erica Blasberg, an LPGA player, was found Sunday afternoon at her home in Henderson according to a police spokesman. The six-year tour player was 25 years old.< No cause of death was disclosed, according to a spokeswoman for the Clark County Coroner's Office, because of the pending investigation.
In her only start this season, Blasberg tied for 44th two weeks ago at the Tres Marias Championship in Morelia, Mexico, after having Monday qualified.
*- I deliberately omitted the Seniors or Champions Tour. Those players are older and a sudden death is more likely. Bert Yancey went into cardiac arrest in the scorer’s tent and died soon after. He was 56 at the time. Senior Tour player Jack Kiefer died in 1999 of spinal cancer a year after his last tour event.
She has won three of the five LPGA tournaments played in 2010. From AP-
Ai Miyazato of Japan won her third tournament of the LPGA season, shooting a 6-under 67 on Sunday to win the Tres Marias Championship.
The Japanese totaled 19-under 273 to finish a shot ahead of Stacy Lewis (66) of United States and two in front of Michelle Wie (68).
Miyazato shared the spotlight with No. 1-ranked Lorena Ochoa, who played the final round of her career before stepping into retirement to raise a family and focus on her charity foundation. Ochoa shot 71 to finish on 280. She has won this event three of the past four years.
Ochoa has held the No. 1 ranking since April 2007 but she will lose it when the rankings come out Monday, with Jiyai Shin of Taiwan taking over. Shin won a tour event in Japan on Sunday.
Check out The Constructivist’s post on Shin’s victory.
The tournament belonged to the Japanese from Okinawa, who won earlier this season in Thailand and Singapore.
Miyazato deserved to win but I wouldn’t say the tournament belonged to her. She had to beat back serious challenges from Michelle Wie and Stacy Lewis on Sunday.
Note- Miyazato has four LPGA wins but has yet to win in the United States. Her one win prior to this year was in France.
In accepting the winning trophy on the 18th green, Miyazato broke down crying as she thanked Ochoa. Ochoa, a few feet away, also rubbed tears from her eyes in bright sunlight on the mountainside course. Ochoa choose Miyazato as her playing partner for the first two rounds.
“I want to say thanks to Lorena,†Miyazato said. “I really appreciate what she did for the LPGA and what she did for her country here in Mexico.â€
“She is one of my best friends,†Miyazato said, beginning to cry. “I’m going to miss her.â€
As she spoke, thousands surrounding the green—standing high a hillside— broke into applause.
Michelle Ellis, president of the LPGA players association, stood in a long line of players who saluted Ochoa on the 18th green.
“She is going to be dearly missed by the players and all member of the LPGA family,†Ellis said, with Mexican mariachis playing as Ochoa left the green.
“I think her heart and her spirit out does her golf game by 1,000 yards.â€
Ochoa won 27 tournaments—including two majors, has held the No. 1 ranking for three years and won the Player of the Year title four straight years.
Ochoa did not play the ten years required for automatic qualifying for the Hall of Fame. She will be voted in, and I’m betting it will take place the first year she is eligible.
Much has been written about the LPGA losing its star(Ochoa) but right now the tour has a tug of war for #1 in the world. Shin will be ranked 1st by Rolex tomorrow but Miyazato will be close behind her and Norway’s Suzann Pettersen and Taiwan’s Yani Tseng a close 3rd and 4th*. If Miyazato wins the Salonpas Cup, the first JLPGA major of 2010, she will take #1 from Shin. Four or more players battling for the top spot in women[s professional golf. Why do golf writers insist on saying the LPGA is hurt by its lack of a dominant player when so many are contending for #1?
Maybe they hate not being able to articles and columns that take adulation to extremes fear change and the unknown. I think Brent Kelley gets it right.
So we say goodbye to Lorena Ochoa today, we wish her well, we thank her for great golf, her humanity, her humility.
And we say hello to the future of golf.
I think there is plenty of excitement ahead for Women’s professional golf.
Also blogging on Miyazato’s win- Hound Dog, Sal Johnson, Stephanie Wei, and The Constructivist.
*- That is if Ochoa is taken down since she is retired. She may linger in the top 5 for a while otherwise.
This news is just stunning.
Lorena Ochoa, the world’s top-ranked women’s golfer, announced her retirement Tuesday.
Ochoa, 28, confirmed the news in a statement released by her management company, Ochoa Group. A news conference is scheduled for Friday in Mexico City.
“Lorena Ochoa confirms her retirement from the LPGA, as news reports in some media have said today,†her statement said. “The reasons and more details on the matter will be given by Lorena personally in a press conference on Friday in Mexico City. Lorena will share this news of a new stage in her life with her sponsors, family members and friends.â€
*****
She has 27 career titles, including two majors (2007 Women’s British Open, 2008 Kraft Nabisco Championship) and has $14.2 million in career earnings.
Ochoa married Andres Conesa, the director general of Aeromexico airline, one of her sponsors, last year.
A Mexican newspaper, citing an unidentified source, says Ochoa could come back later. That isn’t consistent with the word ‘retirement’ used in her statement. I guess we have to wait till Friday’s press conference to know what Lorena means.
Ochoa’s retirement is a stunner because of its timing. She needs to play the LPGA till 2012 to be eligible for the Hall of Fame. Her points total already qualifies her, but a player must play the tour for 10 years also and Ochoa was a rookie in 2003.
Some other random comments
Ochoa has always come off as a class act. Former #1 Annika Sorenstam frequently came off as arrogant to me, and Ochoa never did. I did have the pleasure of blogging Ochoa’s win at the 2007 ADT Championship and was in press conferences with her.
While Ochoa won player of the year in 2009, it was by only one point. Her play was not anywhere near the level it was in 2007 and early 2008.
The current Rolex Rankings
1 Ochoa 9.25
2 Jiyai Shin 8.76
3 Yani Tseng 8.67
4 Suzann Pettersen 8.38
5 Ai Miyazato 8.12
1st to 5th place is only separated by 1.12 points. In a few weeks an Asian born golfer is going to rise to #1 player in the world.
Also commenting- Hound Dog, Stephanie Wei,
The Super Model of the Fairways(her KLPGA nickname) made it look easy today. She shot a 2-under 70 to win by6 shots over 2008 U.S Open Champion Inbee Park. Other than a tee shot in the water Seo was nearly flawless on the day. She entered the round with a 5 shot lead and saw it shrink to four shots early on. Back to back birdies on three and four pretty much stifled the idea of a final round collapse.
Seo was the 40th ranked player in the world but will move up after this win. She did not have LPGA playing priviliges before her victory. She was playing in the tournament on a sponsor’s exemption. Now Seo faces a decision, to play the LPGA full-time in 2010 or not. It may depend on her Korean commitments. Seo has expressed her desire to play the LPGA.
For those of you unfamilar with Seo, she won 11 KLPGA tournaments in 2008 and 2009. In 2009 she won 3 KLPGA majors. This player could have a big impact on the LPGA. In fact she may be one of the ten favorites at next weekend’s Kraft Nabisco Championship, the LPGA’s first major of 2010.
Other assorted notes about the tournament.
*- From the I’ve never seen that before department. Seo’s tee shot on 14 hit some wires overhanging the fairway. She got to replay her shot. That’s the rules and I’ve never seen anything like this happen in 32 years of television golf watching.
*- Seo is very attractive. She could change the view of the Asian players on tour but she’ll have to drop those dark shades she wears when playing. It hides her beauty. Photos in this post are courtesy of AP Photo/Denis Poroy and the website Seoulsisters.
*- Asian golfers have won all 3 LPGA events this year. In fact the Kia leaderboard was dominated by Asian golfers, eight of the top 10 finishers were either born in Asia or Asian-American.(Four of the top 5 were South Korean. Seo, Park, Jee Young Lee, and Jiyai Shin. The other was Candie Kung, a naturalized United States citizen born in Taiwan.) Of the top 20 finishers, only 6 golfers didn’t have at least one Asian parent(Stacy Prammanasudh’s Dad is Thai, Pat Hurst’s mother is Japanese). If another wins the Kraft Nabisco(Only Asian golfer to win it ever is Grace Park in 2004), we may hear again ugly and hateful talk again similar to what was written in this column, which I then took apart in this post.
*- Michelle Wie’s play on today’s 11th hole is going to be the subject of lots of talk the next few days. The hole is a par-5 and Michelle’s 2nd shot came up short in the water. Wie tried to play it, but barely budged her shot. After completing her swing, Michelle inadvertently grounded her club. She was assessed a 2-stroke penalty, which dropped her out of a tie for 2nd to a tie for 6th.
Wie told a rules official that she only grounded the club because she worried she was going to lose her balance. She did have a unsteady stance because of having to hit from the water. I agree with the officials, Wie put the club down and didn’t need to do so to steady herself. When she was told of the penalty, Michelle called it unfair.
*- Inbee Park looks to be playing well again. She struggled after winning the U.S. Open two years ago, but has started 2010 strongly. in addition to this week, she finished 2nd or 3rd in a JLPGA event.
*- The #1 play in the world, Lorena Ochoa, continues to play poorly. She finished T-52.
*- Golf Channel cut away from the customary bathing of the winner in beer after walking off 18 to show Wie talking with rules officials. A dumb and unnecessary move by GC.
Update- Hound Dog is also blogging on the final round.
2nd Update- Also blogging on Seo’s victory or the Wie ruling- The Constructivist, Geoff Shackelford, and Jeff Skinner.
The rumored tournament is now official.
Today the LPGA announced that the inaugural Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia will be played October 22-24, 2010 at the prestigious Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC). The announcement was made in Malaysia by Zayra Calderon, LPGA Executive Vice President, Tournament Development & Worldwide Sales, along with officials from Sime Darby Group and IMG, the tournament organizer.
The new LPGA tournament, to be held at least through 2012 per the three-year agreement, will feature the top 50 LPGA members from the Official Money List, along with 10 sponsor’s exemptions. The 54-hole stroke play event with no cut will ensure that fans – many of whom will be viewing an LPGA event live for the first time – can catch all of their favorite stars in action throughout the weekend.
The tournament will be shown on Golf Channel. Another week on 2010 calendar is filled. Coud the LPGA be back to playing 30 plus tournaments a year in 2011? At present the signs are hopeful.
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