9 Returning Players on U.S. Solheim Cup Team

U.S. SOLHEIM CUP CAPTAIN Rosie Jones called forming her team “an extremely exciting and difficult selection process.” Jones made two captain’s picks—veteran Vicky Hurst and LPGA Tour rookie Ryann O’Toole. That may have been the hard part, but the rest of the 12-player squad—all automatic qualifiers based on a points system—looks like it was as easy as an 18-inch putt.

This year’s U.S. Solheim Cup team will include nine of the players that won the Cup two years ago at Rich Harvest Farms west of Chicago, Illinois. They are world No. 2 Cristie Kerr, Morgan Pressel, Angela Stanford, Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie, Brittany Lincicome, Brittany Lang, Christina Kim and Juli Inkster. Stacy Lewis, a Solheim Cup rookie, was the other player to make the team on points.

In addition to playing, Inkster will serve as an assistant captain to Jones. Playing will come first said the 51-year-old Inkster, the oldest player to compete in The Solheim Cup.

“I feel like most of my career I’ve worn two hats as a mom and as a player,” Inkster said in reference to her dual Solheim Cup roles, “but it will be a challenge.”

The European Solheim Cup Team will be announced on August 29. Alison Nicholas will serve as captain. Melissa Reid, Laura Davies, Suzann Pettersen and Christel Boeljon have already made the team based on the Ladies European Tour point standings.

The Solheim Cup will be played at Killeen Castle in Ireland on September 23-25.

−The Armchair Golfer

The Ladies Return to Action in Portland

IT HAS BEEN A WHILE since the LPGA Tour has teed it up in the United States. It was nearly six weeks ago the U.S. Women’s Open wrapped up at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. The Evian Masters, Women’s British Open and two lengthy breaks have filled the weeks since.

On Friday the ladies will begin play in the Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola at Pumpkin Ridge near Portland, Oregon. The event, which began at the outset of Watergate, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

The long-running tournament will have a stellar field, with 48 of the LPGA’s top 50 money winners and the top seven players in the Rolex Rankings. The top seven are world No. 1 Yani Tseng, Cristie Kerr, Suzann Pettersen, Jiyai Shin, Na Yeon Choi, I.K. Kim and Ai Miyazato. Another win for Tseng would be her fifth LPGA title and eighth worldwide victory this year.

Safeway advertises low prices, but will the Safeway Classic have low scores? Perhaps. But the 6,552-yard par-72 Ghost Creek Golf Course at Pumpkin Ridge isn’t necessarily a pushover. Last year’s winning 54-hole total was 11 under by Ai Miyazato.

Golf Channel has the TV coverage (in the evening), 6:30 – 9:30 ET on Friday and Saturday and 7 – 9:30 ET on Sunday.

−The Armchair Golfer

2011 U.S. Women’s Open TV Schedule and Tournament Notes

THE 2011 U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN teed off on Thursday at The Broadmoor (East Course) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and was halted due to weather. Cristie Kerr and amateur Amy Anderson are tied for the lead at 2 under par. Neither player has completed her round. Inbee Park and Ai Miyazato are 1 under par.

Juli Inkster finished with a 3-over 74, and, with one hole to play, Michelle Wie is 7 over par. Alexis Thompson is 5 over after 15 holes. Grouped together, defending champion Paula Creamer and four-time major winner Yani Tseng have not started play.

(Photo: Paula Creamer at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open.)

“It’s an exhausting golf course,” Creamer said on Wednesday. “It’s a long walk, lots of thinking. Definitely if you lose your mind on one shot, it’s gonna cost you big time here.”

“I feel less pressure this week than before,” Tseng said on Tuesday. “I always feel so much pressure on U.S. Open course. It’s such a tough, tough golf course. But after I see Rory McIlroy do it I feel much more relaxed. You just have got to come out here and have fun, enjoy the pressure and enjoy the big crowds.”


Purse: $3.25 million
Defending champion: Paula Creamer
Course: The Broadmoor, East Course, Par 71, 7,047 yards

2011 U.S. Women’s Open Leaderboard

Tournament preview
Final field
Pairings
Spectator guide
U.S. Women’s Open website


TV SCHEDULE

TV coverage of the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open is on ESPN2 and NBC.

Thu, Jul 07
5:00-9:00 PM ET ESPN2

Fri, Jul 08
5:00-9:00 PM ET ESPN2

Sat, Jul 09
3:00-6:00 PM ET NBC

Sun, Jul 10
3:00-6:00 PM ET NBC


−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: John E Kaminski, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

Move Over, Rory; Here Comes Yani

RORY MCILROY IS THE record-smashing U.S. Open champion and perhaps the next Tiger Woods. Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington tagged his fellow Irishman as the player to challenge the majors record of Jack Nicklaus. Rory mania pretty much sucked all of the oxygen out of the golf world last week.

But it’s a new week, so here’s a new fact: McIlroy is only the second-best 22-year-old golfer in the world. Yani Tseng is the best. It ain’t even close.

Tseng collected her fourth major title at the Wegmans LPGA Championship on Sunday, a crushing 10-stroke victory that must be disturbing to the women who compete against her. The women’s top-ranked player, Tseng has racked up four majors faster than anyone in golf history, male or female. The Taiwanese superstar now has won three of the last six majors and a total of eight LPGA events since joining the tour in 2008.

In a wire-to-wire win, Tseng kept her foot on the accelerator, firing 67 and 66 on the weekend and missing the tournament record by a shot. Hitting 57 of 72 greens in regulation, she carded 27 birdies against six bogeys and one double. She averages 270 yards off the tee and can putt the eyes out of a chipmunk.

Oh my gosh. How in the world will the women slow this talent down?

“We knew she was going to be good,” said Cristie Kerr, last year’s LPGA Championship winner. “I didn’t know she would be this good. She is pretty dang good.”

I’ll say.

“Now I’m thinking about a grand slam,” Tseng mentioned.

Uh-oh.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Keith Allison, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

2011 Wegmans LPGA Championship TV Schedule and Tournament Notes

THE 2011 WEGMANS LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP tees off on Thursday at Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York. The second longest-running tournament in LPGA history, the LPGA Championship began in 1955 and is the second of four majors on the ladies tour.

Cristie Kerr defends. Last year Kerr shot 19-under 269 for a record-setting 12-stroke victory. Kerr has three consecutive runner-up finishes coming in. Rolex Rankings No. 1 Yani Tseng won the most recent tour event, the LPGA State Farm Classic.

Stacy Lewis (pictured at left), winner of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the year’s first major, shared her thoughts on Locust Hill.

“I like this course. I’ve played well here the last couple of years, too. Off the tee, you actually have to hit some shots left-to-right, a little bit of a fade. That sets up really well for me. This course is just all about fairways and greens. The simpler you keep it, the less you are in the rough. That’s what’s going to end up winning the golf tournament.”



Purse: $2.5 million
Winner’s share: $375,000
Defending champion: Cristie Kerr
Course: Locust Hill Country Club, Par 72, 6,506 yards

2011 Wegmans LPGA Championship Leaderboard

Tournament preview
Final field
Pairings
Interviews
Wegmans LPGA Championship website

TV SCHEDULE

All TV coverage of the 2011 Wegmans LPGA Championship is on Golf Channel.

Thu, June 23
12:30-2:30 PM

Fri, June 24
12:30-2:30 PM ET

Sat, June 25
4:00-7:00 PM ET

Sun, June 26
4:00-7:00 PM ET

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: dnkbdotcom, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

Cristie Kerr Defends at LPGA State Farm Classic

CRISTIE KERR WILL DEFEND the first of two consecutive titles this week when she tees off at Panther Creek Country Club on Thursday in the $1.7 million LPGA State Farm Classic. Last year Kerr scorched the Springfield, Illinois, course with a 22-under winning total. It included a 63 in the third round. She followed that performance with a record-setting 12-stroke victory at the Wegmans LPGA Championship (a major), which will be played in Pittsford, New York, in two weeks.

Kerr has posted two consecutive runner-up finishes and has five top-10 finishes in eight events this season. She is No. 4 in the Rolex Rankings.


Purse: $1.7 million
Defending champion: Cristie Kerr
Course: Panther Creek Country Club, Par 72, 6,746 yards

2011 LPGA State Farm Classic Leaderboard

Tournament preview
Final field
Pairings
LPGA State Farm Classic website


TV SCHEDULE

All TV coverage of the 2011 LPGA State Farm Classic is on Golf Channel.

Thu, Jun 09
6:30-8:30 PM ET

Fri, Jun 10
6:30-8:30 PM ET

Sat, Jun 11
6:30-9:30 PM ET

Sun, Jun 12
7:00-9:30 PM ET


−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: dnkbdotcom, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

Two in a Row for Karrie Webb

KARRIE WEBB RALLIED TO WIN the inaugural RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup on Sunday at Wildfire Golf Club in Phoenix. “I love coming out to the desert,” Webb said after closing with a 66 for a one-stroke victory over Brittany Lincicome and Paula Creamer. The Aussie’s scorecard included seven birdies and a bogey.

Webb ended a two-year win drought three weeks ago at the HSBC Champions in Singapore. Now she has claimed back-to-back titles. Impressive stuff. With 38 wins, seven of them majors, the 36-year-old Webb is already in the Hall of Fame.

Webb needed a chip and a putt to save her par on the 72nd hole. She hit a good one and sank the three-footer. Then she waited on the driving range as Lincicome came to the final hole needing a birdie to win, or a par to tie and force a playoff. Like Webb, Lincicome came up just short with her approach shot. Unlike Webb, Lincicome chipped 10 feet by the hole and missed the come-backer to lose by one.

More surprising was the fact that Lincicome didn’t know how she stood as she came to the final green. She doesn’t watch leaderboards—ever. “For some strange reason,” she said, “I had it in my mind that Cristie Kerr was running away with it.”

I can understand not watching leaderboards for most of a tournament—if that’s your mental makeup. But if you’re in contention on Sunday, I think you have to look at some point as you’re playing the back nine. That is, if you’re playing to win. How else are you going to know what you need to do?

After the round, Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez told Lincicome to start looking at the leaderboards. Constant scoreboard watcher Webb needs no such advice.

Webb’s victory total of $200,000 will go to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and Japan relief efforts.

Third-round leader Angela Stanford stumbled to a 75 to finish alone in fifth.

−The Armchair Golfer

The Ladies Tee Off in Thailand

HERE COME THE LADIES. Finally. The 2011 LPGA season gets underway on Thursday at the Honda LPGA Thailand. A field of 60, including new World No. 1 Yani Tseng, will tee it up at the Pattaya Old Course at Siam Country Club in Chonburi, Thailand. The 22-year-old Tseng was last season’s Rolex Player of the Year. She has superstar potential.

World No. 6 Ai Miyazato is the defending champion. A year ago Miyazato chipped in for birdie on the final hole to beat Suzann Pettersen by a shot. She went on to win the following week on her way to five 2010 victories. Her favorite pizza topping is pepperoni. And she doesn’t like cilantro. (It’s true. I read it at LPGA.com.)

(Photo: “I’m pretty sure this is my driver.” It’s been a long layoff for Ai Miyazato and all the ladies.)

Miyazato told USA Today’s Steve DiMeglio that she hasn’t played a competitive round of golf in two and a half months. Nonetheless, Ai said she’s ready to go after spending much of her offseason in Phoenix. She worked on getting the clubhead more square at the top of her backswing.

A long offseason is probably nice. But the rust can set in quickly. World No. 4 Cristie Kerr spent her break working on fitness—and relaxing. Kerr took five weeks off from playing golf, starting up again in mid-January. Her goals for 2011 are to bag another major and have a multiple win season.

Other LPGA players who are expected to contend for top honors such as player of the year and the money title include Jiyai Shin, Suzann Pettersen, Na Yeon Choi, I.K. Kim, Sun Ju Ahn, Song-Hee Kim, Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie.

The season opener is the first of 25 LPGA events on the 2011 calendar. The ladies tour has lost nine events since the economy tanked in late 2008. The Solheim Cup will be played in late September in Ireland.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Keith Allison, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

Kerr and Creamer Voice Serious Concerns About New Event

LPGA STARS CRISTIE KERR and Paula Creamer have serious concerns about the inaugural RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup, according to Randall Mell of GolfChannel.com. Neither player has committed to play in the new event that honors the LPGA’s 13 founders.

The tournament will be played on March 18-20 in Phoenix, the first of 13 U.S. events on the 2011 LPGA schedule. A projected $500,000 of the “mock” $1.3 million purse will go to the LPGA Foundation. Except for receiving a stipend for tournament-related expenses, the ladies will play for free. The women’s “mock” winnings from the imaginary purse will count on the official money list.

Playing gratis doesn’t bother Creamer. She likes the concept and the cause. What Paula told Mell she is “having a difficult time with” is why the new title sponsor can’t donate the entire mock purse amount to the LPGA charity.

“If we were able to have $1.3 million in real money sitting there, and donate it back, I would be the first one to sign up for this event,” she said.

Creamer was also concerned about how the format looks to existing title sponsors that offer real purse money.

Kerr said the new tournament went from an idea to a 2011 event too quickly without adequate player input. “It’s turned what was an opportunity into an obligation.”

She gave LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan credit for a good concept, but was undecided about her involvement based on concerns about the format. Other uncommitted players include Michelle Wie, Suzann Pettersen and Morgan Pressel.

Those committed to teeing it up in Phoenix include Jiyai Shin, Ai Mazato, Juli Inkster, Brittany Lincicome, Angela Stanford and Christina Kim.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Pablo Lancaster-Jones, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

The Ladies Parity Golf Association (LPGA)

THERE ARE SIX LADIES vying for the Rolex Player of the Year, Vare Trophy (lowest scoring average) and the LPGA money title: Yani Tseng, Ai Miyazato, Cristie Kerr, Jiyai Shin, Suzanne Pettersen and Na Yeon Choi. The post-Annika, post-Lorena LPGA has a new and very crowded look at the top. That’s why I was thinking we could start calling it the Ladies Parity Golf Association. We know they’re pros, so why not use the “P” for something that fits today’s LPGA?

They’ll settle POY, the money title and other season-ending issues at the LPGA Tour Championship in two weeks at the Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.

(Photo: Yani Tseng / Keith Allison, Flickr)

It’s been crazy since Lorena Ochoa retired in May. The top spot in the Rolex Rankings (women’s world No. 1, not to be confused with Rolex Player of the Year) has turned over nine times among three players—Miyazato, Shin and Kerr. Shin is the current No. 1 and holds a slim .49 edge over Pettersen. Kerr is third and Tseng fourth.

The money title has come down to Shin and Choi. In addition, Choi, with a 69.77 scoring average, has a .09 lead over Kerr in the Vare Trophy race.

If I counted correctly, there have been 15 winners in 25 events thus far. Miyazato, Tseng, Kerr, Shin and Choi have multiple wins this season. The LPGA is an extremely competitive tour these days. That’s a positive.

But is parity a good thing? Mega stars like Sorenstam, Ochoa and, for the men, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, have brought more exposure to professional golf, a minor sport that struggles for attention—and always will.

Parity can be good for core fans. I’m in favor of it. For me, dominance gets boring. But does parity make the LPGA a harder sell when it comes to attracting a larger following? Mike Whan might not say so, but I think it does.

−The Armchair Golfer

2010 Lorena Ochoa Invitational TV Schedule and Tournament Notes

THE 2010 LORENA OCHOA INVITATIONAL is underway at Guadalajara Country Club in Guadalajara, Mexico. Cristie Kerr is the first-round leader after firing a 64, a tournament record. Defending champion Michelle Wie withdrew due to two cysts near her spine and a bulging disc, according to Golfweek.

Purse: $1.1 million
Defending champion: Michelle Wie

Final field
Pairings
Interviews
Tournament website

2010 Lorena Ochoa Invitational Leaderboard


TV SCHEDULE

All TV coverage of the 2010 Lorena Ochoa Invitational is on Golf Channel.

Fri, Nov 12
4:00-6:30 PM ET

Sat, Nov 13
4:00-6:30 PM ET

Sun, Nov 14
4:00-6:30 PM ET

−The Armchair Golfer

(Image: Pablo Lancaster-Jones/Flickr)

Kerr Pow!

2010 LPGA Championship Recap
Winner: Cristie Kerr
Score: 19 under, 269 (68, 66, 69, 66)
Quote: “It’s a dream performance.”
Fact: Shares same birthday with yours truly (October 12).
Thought: Watch out for CK in the U.S. Women’s Open.

THAT SOUND ON SUNDAY in Pittsford, New York, was the shattering of a tournament record. Cristie Kerr obliterated the competition to win the LPGA Championship by a record 12 shots. It was her second major title and 14th career win. Kerr’s four-day masterpiece left her nearly speechless. I can see why. Ginormous victory margins are unusual in golf, especially in majors.

Cristie carded 23 birdies and just four bogeys in 72 holes of major-championship golf. When I saw that she held an eight-shot lead going into the final round, I thought she might put it on cruise control on Sunday. After all, an even-par round would mean her closest pursuer would have to post a 64 just to tie. But there was zero let up. After reeling off six straight pars, Cristie birdied seven of the last 12 holes to shoot a final-round 66. The field had no chance. It was total domination.

Song-Hee Kim was runner-up at 7 under and Ai Miyazato and Jiyai Shin tied for third a very distant 14 shots back.

With the victory Kerr claimed the top spot in the women’s world golf rankings (Rolex Rankings). She displaced Miyazato who had been No. 1 for a week after winning the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Shin was the top golfer just two weeks ago. Cristie hopes to be queen of the mountain for awhile. “I’m there now,” she said, “but I have to prove I deserve to be there.”

There certainly was ample proof on Thursday through Sunday that Kerr can dominate against the best when her game is on.

−The Armchair Golfer