Saturday, November 7, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
This is the LPGA slogan: “These girls rock.” Watching Michelle Wie play going into the final round of the final SBS Open, there is no doubt. Not only does she “rock”, Wie is back.
Wie is starting a new phase in her not so very long golf career.
How can I say “not long” when she is only 19 and on “the scene” since the age of 10, a mere 9 years? Because we have unbelievably high expectations of her and we, the golf fans and critics, not so subtly demand results from her immediately.
Second place isn’t good enough either. NO, we expect a win and we expected it on Saturday at the SBS Open at the Turtle Bay Resort on the Palmer course along the gorgeous North Shore of Oahu.
The forecast for the SBS Open week called for winds possibly gusting to 35 mph and gusting wind is what we got at the Turtle Bay Resort.
Day 1
Wie started her first round on Thursday late in the day. She played beautifully.
Her high spirits showed in how relaxed she played shooting a 66 in her first round despite the very strong wind.
Day 2
Wie has an early morning tee time. The wind was taking its toll on all of the players. Fewer than 20 broke par.
Wie was one of them. She shot a 70 and finished Friday tied for first with LPGA veteran Angela Stanford.
Until last year, Stanford had been shut out of the winners’ circle since 2003. But in her last 6 starts, she has walked away the winner twice, took second once and third once. She has said she is finally feeling like she is in control of her game, knows how to make the golf ball perform the way she wants it to.
Day 3.
It's the front 9. The threesome of Wie, Stanford and Angela Park are teeing off last on the 1st at 10:50. By the time they hit the turn, Wie held a commanding 3-stroke lead and you could feel her drive for the finish line with her every stroke. She was feeling it. Maybe not tasting the thrill of finally a victory but the thrill of the possibility was building.
If it had been me, and had I been feeling the least bit confident, I would have expected to get spanked by the Universe. That's why they say you can only take it one shot at a time. Just like life. One day, one moment, at a time. But I've been around a little bit longer.
On the 11th hole, with that three shot lead she had wracked up, she stepped onto the 11th tee box with a 3 wood and watched with a sense of anguish and deja vu, as her ball went wide and disappeared into the dark water. She took a double-boogey and a blow to her confidence.
Stanford had said Wie was going to have to make a mistake. It didn't help Wie when Stanford went on to birdie holes while Wie struggled to get the rhythm back and the putts to drop. She finished her round with a 73 and her second straight runner-up finish in the tournament.
We should all be cheering and celebrating her great play under difficult conditions and her complete turnaround from her performances just two years ago. But for all of the folks, including Wie herself, expecting Wie to finally deliver, disappointment was the main feeling.
"Obviously, it's not like I want to be second place all the time," Wie said. "But I think it was a good start. I played solidly. It's just going to motivate me to work harder to go to the next level."
In the immediate future, Wie is catching up with homework and her classes at Stanford. No word on when she'll enter her next tournament.
But the SBS experience wasn’t for not.
"Every good shot that I hit I'm putting in the positive memory bank and gaining confidence a little bit by little bit," she said after shooting a final-round 73 to lose by 3 strokes at the SBS Open on Saturday. "I feel pretty good with my game. Obviously, right now I am a little disappointed, but I can take a lot of positive thoughts from this week. And I think I know exactly what to work on. I know, like, what I have to do to go to the next level. ... Just missing the trophy by a little bit is going to motivate me to work even harder for the next one."
WIE’S FINAL 9 ON THE FINAL DAY
Doesn’t it look like she is asking, “What more humility do you want from me?”
Is that what you were waiting for? The inevitable meltdown? It was in the air that Saturday morning before I got on the air. Heck it was in the air before the event even started.
There was an underlying current of "let's not get too excited. Let’s not jinx it". I spoke very little during "The Golf Club" radio show on Saturday about her being in a tie for first going into this final round. I felt more like, “If I don't watch, she’ll win.” Kind of like Kimberly Kim not watching her opponents putt.
In ESPN’s “The Weekly 18”, Jason Sobel writes: “While it can be argued whether Wie lost the tournament as much as Angela Stanford won it, one thing is certain. She once again solidified her place as the sport’s greatest lightning rod for debate.”
“Michelle Wie had a 3-shot leading during Saturday's final round of the SBS Open. But despite her strong play all week, the 19-year-old came up short, losing to Angela Stanford by 3 shots.
Ever since she burst on the national scene as a 14-year-old, failing to make the cut by a single stroke at the PGA Tour's Sony Open in 2004, Wie has been held to a higher standard than any of her peers. With increased media coverage came increased expectations and the fact that five years later she still hasn't won, well, it's all been the cause of much consternation in golf's inner circles.
Add in the fact that Wie attempted to rise to prominence through less traditional methods, competing in men's professional events each year and eschewing college golf, and it has led some to label her a failure prior to ever concluding her teenage years.
The truth is, Wies’ greatest flaw may be the fact that she was born about 10 to 15 years too late.
In today's need-it-now mentality of the Internet age, it's not enough to know that a player owns potential and will see it through someday; the line between the present and the future has been blurred more than ever. Even more damning is that every young player is now held up to the guidelines set by Woods, who raised the bar more in his first year as a professional -- not to mention his first five or 10 years, too -- than almost anyone in the game's history.”
As Wie said after her round: "It has been a long time since I had been in that situation and I was shocked it got away. At the same time I had a good run and shall take a lot of positive aspects out of the week."
THE GOOD OF THE CARD
One of the most important benefits from earning her card is Michelle Wies’ ability to set her own schedule.
Mary Bea Porter-King played on the LPGA Tour as a full-time member and also as a player who didn’t have playing rights at each event. She noted how difficult it is not having a routine to count on.
“It’s really difficult. Toward the end of my career, I didn’t want to start on the tour until the summer. I had a young son and I wanted to be home. Well, the players had already started, gotten warmed up, found their game, gotten into a rythum and then I start. I was really behind the 8-ball.
What was even worse for Michelle, is she played one week here and then she had four or more weeks off and then she’d play another. You don’t really create rhythm. And I think when she did her best she had been playing a few events in relative succession. Now she can set her schedule. And I think we are going to see some great things from her.”
During the SBS Open broadcast, we talked about the passing of one of the 13 women who actually created the Ladies Professional Golf Association.
These women not only played in each competition, they were creating the rules, setting up the courses before the rounds began, organizing the players day to day playing schedule, writing press releases, and finally, figuring out where they’d get a chance to rest their weary head for the evening.
Mary Bea Porter-King, one of the founders of the Hawaii State Golf Association and currently serving on the executive committee of the PGA of America, played on the LPGA Tour for many years. She is one of the first to want to thank the women who blazed that trail, not only for her but also for all of the young women benefiting from that hard work done so many years ago.
HAWAII LOSING ANOTHER PROFESSIONAL EVENT
There was even one comment overheard. "If she wins, we'll definitely find a title sponsor to continue the event. You may have heard that SBS, or Seoul Broadcasting System, is not going to continue backing the event.
In a less than polite manner, the LPGA Tour let it slip that it had cut a deal with a new Korean broadcasting company. The timing had a lot to be desired. The folks from SBS were celebrating the Pro Am festivities when the word starting leaking, pouring out, through the words of Ron Sirak in GolfWorld.
What was reported after the GolfWorld story went to print was the meat of the deal with JoongAng Broadcasting Corporation (JBC). The deal gives JBC the right to be the official host of the Korean language LPGA website, take over the title sponsorship of the Safeway, and create and new tournament in California. So where does that leave Hawaii? They're trying to find a replacement.
So far we have lost the Grand Slam of Golf, The Turtle Bay Championship, the Fields Open, possibly the Mercedes-Benz Championships and now the SBS. We're lucky Kapalua stepped up with the LPGA Kapalua Classic.
ROLEX WOMEN’S WORLD GOLF RANKINGS
Michelle Wie wasn't able to come up with her first professional victory Saturday in her first start as an LPGA Tour member, but her runner-up finish moved her into the top 100 in this week's Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings.
Wie finished second behind Angela Stanford at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay, but climbed 149 spots to No. 87 this week. Stanford climbed two rungs to No. 6. Lorena Ochoa stayed in first, followed by Yani Tseng, Paula Creamer, Suzann Pettersen and Jiyai Shin. Stanford is sixth and Helen Alfredsson and Cristie Kerr both dipped one to accommodate Stanford's ascension. Karrie Webb and Seon-Hwa Lee rounded out the top 10.
RYO ISHIKAWA – JAPAN’S TIGER
You know the good folks who run the Masters can invite just about anyone they please to play on a sponsor exemption. Chinese golfer Liang Wen-Chong was invited last year. This year Japanese golf sensation Ryo Ishikawa is the man of the moment. We in Hawaii know him from his play at the Pearl Open in Hawaii for two years running. Not this past February. He had other places to go and people to meet. He played in the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera, where folks cautioned him not to go too fast and make the mistakes Michelle Wie made. Over 100 photographers and reporters came to Riviera Country Club just to see Ishikawa.
Ishikawa has also been noticed by none other than Arnold Palmer who has invited the 17-year-old phenom to play in his the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill On March 26. Before that, Ishikawa plays on a sponsor’s exemptions in the Transitions Championship starting March 19. Then there’s that MAJOR, the Masters in April.
Masters Tournament and Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Billy Payne said in a statement.
"We see this as an opportunity to expose an emerging talent on a world stage and fulfill our objective to grow the game," Payne said in the statement. "I am optimistic that his participation in the Masters will inspire younger players and increase interest in golf in Asia and beyond."
Ishikawa is the third Japanese golfer in the 2009 Masters field, which currently has 89 expected starters. The others are fellow Masters rookie and former University of Georgia golfer Ryuji Imada and Shingo Katayama, who has played in seven previous Masters.
He'll be the youngest Masters participant in 57 years. Only Tommy Jacobs, in 1952, played in the Masters at a younger age. Ishikawa will be five months older than Jacobs, who was also 17. Jacobs finished 60th.
As a 15-year-old amateur, Ishikawa won the Japan Golf Tour's Munsingwear Open KSB Cup in 2007, making him the youngest winner on a tour recognized by the world golf ranking. Ishikawa turned pro in 2008 and played on the Japan Golf Tour, winning twice and finishing fifth on the tour's money list. If he remains in the top 64 in the world golf ranking, Ishikawa will also qualify for the two upcoming World Golf Championship events (starting Feb. 25 and March 12). That would give him five U.S. starts before the Masters.
NEW ASIA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP PAID FOR BY AUGUTA
Now the Masters, and the British Open, are adding a new option to play your way into both events. Augusta National chairman Billy Payne and Royal & Ancient chief executive Peter Dawson have created a new tournament they will finance and operate. It's a new Asia Amateur Championship. The winner will receive an invitation to the Masters and an exemption to the final stage of qualifying for the British Open. In a telephone interview with Associated Press writer Doug Ferguson, Payne said "We started 18 months ago an overall effort to see how we can use our good reputation of the Masters and our resources to help attract kids to the game of golf. It became obvious fairly quickly that the place we could impact the most would be throughout Asia," he said. "We thought if we could identify good golfers and create heroes who would be emulated by other kids, in the process they would be attracted to the game."
TIGER WOODS RETURNS!
Just a couple of days after Tiger Woods announced on his website he was ready to return to tournament golf, World Golf Radio’s Bob Bubka had a chance to talk with Tiger Woods. It was heard on “The Golf Club” radio show.
| Audio Clip (.mp3) |
| Click here to listen to Tiger Woods |
The speculation is over. Tiger Woods is back in action. He went to the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in Marana, Arizona just outside Tucson where he was the defending champion.
Woods spoke with my good friend, World Golf Radio’s Bob Bubka about his newborn son, Charlie Axel, getting back into action and the trip to Washington D.C.
Woods had season-ending surgery in 2008 after winning the U.S. Open. Doctors had to reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee eight days after winning his 14th major championship. Woods also had stress fractures in his left tibia.
How’s little Charlie?
"Elin and our new son Charlie are doing great," Woods said as he made the announcement on his Web site, http://www.tigerwoods.com/. "I've enjoyed my time at home with the family and appreciate everyone's support and kind wishes.
"I'm now ready to play again."
Axel is Charlie middle name. That’s after Elins’ brother. As for Charlie, both Tiger and Elin just like the name.
HANK TAKES ON BARKLEY
The first episode of a new Golf Channel reality show "The Haney Project" features former Auburn University and National Basketball Association star Charles Barkley. The seven-part series, which will premiere on March 2 at 9 p.m., will have noted golf instructor Hank Haney helping celebrities with their game. Barkley is known for one of the ugliest swings in golf.
I've heard some people say they won't play with Barkley anymore because they're afraid his swing will somehow infect their own game. Haney said, "I've taught more than 50,000 golf lessons and this will be the biggest project."
CAUTION: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME
Katherine Hull is blazing her way through the beginning of her season, starting off “down-under”, in Australia, where she grew up. Last month she was the Australian Ladies Masters at the Royal Pines Resort course in Gold Coast, Australia.
This was the fulfillment of one of Hulls’ childhood dreams, according to her fitness coach, Rebecca Klinger. Klinger, a full time coach at the Michigan Athletic Club and a Level Two certified Titleist Performance Institute golf fitness trainer told us the bottom line on some of the moves you see professional players on television pull off. If you’re not in the physical shape the professionals are in, don’t try this at home. Go see Klinger. And if you’re not in Michigan, see out someone close to home to get you in shape.
DEAN WILSON FOR MAUNA LANI
Dean Wilson was born and raised in Hawaii, played on the Asian and Japan Tours, and now he is a full time PGA Tour member regularly making the cut and earning points in the FedEx race for the Cup.
Now Wilson represents the Mauna Lani Resort. Mauna Lani president Hisashi Konno says, “Dean is the perfect representative. He exemplifies all the resort represents and aspires to be.”
The North and South courses, designed by Nelson and Haworth, are both environmentally sensitive. The architects preserved the many archeological sites throughout the courses including trails, fishponds, and ancient Hawaiian petroglyph.
ALOHA TEAM CLASSIC
Beyond the Rainbow Foundation celebrated the success of the 2008 Aloha Team Classic by presenting checks to The Lahaina Complex After School Tutoring Program, The Maui Farm, IMUA Family Services and A Keiki’s Dream.
Beyond the Rainbow Foundation has raised over $45,000 in its first three years for organizations that support Maui’s youth.
Also introduced at the celebration was Angela Jerman, LPGA, as this years spokeswoman for the Classic. Jerman started her 7th year on the LPGA Tour at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay Resort.
In our interview on “The Golf Club”, Jerman joined us in the clubhouse down in the lobby of the Turtle Bay on the final day of the Open. She hadn’t made the cut. The wind was whipping fierce. But Jerman wasn’t defeated. “The wind got the best of me. Coming from Georgia, we don’t get wind like that”.
Charlotte Mayorkas also joined us for part of the broadcast. She was on the beach Monday night when a swarm of mosquitos must have come down out of the ironwoods. Mayorkas was covered with bites over both of her legs. Her ankles were so swollen, she had to go to the hospital for a shot to help her body fight off the reaction.
During our conversation about her game, and not making the cut to play on the weekend for a paycheck, Mayorkas told us it wasn’t the bug bites, or the wind, or the rain, or any of the other inconveniences she encountered. “It was the ‘Indian’”. The name given to the “ego”, the “individual” inside all of us and how the “ego” responds to any given adversity at the moment and what you make of it. It’s golf. It’s life.
You can hear Charlotte Mayorkas speaking on “The Golf Club” radio show by going to http://www.radiogolfclub.com/ and click on the listen button.
Mayorkas will also be a special guest of Karen Palacios-Jansens’ Internet radio show. Palacios-Jansen writes for “Golf Fitness Magazine”. Find out more at http://www.kpjgolf.com/
I was lucky to run into Dorothy Delasin in the Turtle Bay Resort lobby.
She plays for Turtle Bay on the Tour, much like Cindy Rarick and Parker McLachlin plafor Waikoloa, Morgan Pressel for Kapalua and Dean Wilson for Mauna Lani.
The next time we talk, I’ll be just getting back from the Greater Phoenix area and a trip to the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa. I’m going to explore the world of the Pima and the Maricopa people, Arizona’s colorful history, 36 holes of Troon golf, the Aji Spa offering Native treatments, checking out the Koli Equestrian Center and taking a boat cruise to the Rawhide Western Theme Town. I can’t wait to tell you about it.
Until then, thank you for checking out “The Golf Club” at http://www.radiogolfclub.com/ and listening to “The Golf Club” radio show on Saturday morning.
Thank you for your Mana and may you hit the sweet spot every time.
Aloha,
Danielle
