The 2008 U.S. Women’s Open is now in the books, and South Korea’s Inbee Park is a major champion. Park shot a final-round 71 and cruised to a four-shot victory over Helen Alfredsson. The competition was close heading into the back nine, but the rest of field collapsed and cleared the path for the 19-year-old youngster. With the victory, Park became the youngest ever to win the U.S. Women’s Open.
Inbee Park deserves all the credit for her solid performance, but the week didn’t pan out like most fans wanted. It was more of a “what might have been” event than a memorable one. The LPGA Tour has a lot of good things going for it, but this past week was one to forget. Here are a few reasons why.
Top Two Struggle
The world’s best female golfer, Lorena Ochoa, was the definite favorite heading into this year’s U.S. Women’s Open. The golf course, Interlachen, seemed to set up perfect for Ochoa’s golf game. She hits the ball pretty high which suits any U.S. Open course, and the five par-five holes should have been a dream come true. When the dust had settled, however, the Mexican phenom was an astounding 14 shots off the winning score.
Ochoa never got things going in the right direction. Out of the gates on Thursday, she was three-over par over after 12 holes. She rallied to finish at even par, but the same couldn’t be said for the final three days. She finished with rounds of 74, 76, and 74 en route to a tie for 31st.
This past week was supposed to be a swan song for Annika Sorenstam. The number two female golfer in the world has supposedly played in her final U.S. Women’s Open, and while she finished with a hole-out eagle at the 72nd hole, things didn’t work out too well for her at Interlachen. In the end, a tie for 24th was the best she could do.
Sorenstam struggled out of the gates with an opening-round 75. She gave fans hope, however, after firing a second-round 70 and third-round 72. She entered the final round at two-under par and had an outside chance of winning. Annika couldn’t get any putts to fall on Sunday on her way to a final-round 78. She left everyone a great lasting impression with her eagle at the 72nd hole, but in all reality, she struggled to break 80. In the end, it wasn’t a great U.S. Women’s Open for Ochoa and Sorenstam.
Final Group Choke Job
Things didn’t turn out too well for Ochoa and Sorenstam this past week, but Paula Creamer provided some hope heading into the final round. Creamer is only 21 years old, but she already has the “best female golfer without a major” label. The Pink Panther played very well the first three rounds at Interlachen and had herself in prime position to win the U.S. Women’s Open. In fact, she was only one shot off the lead going into Sunday, and that landed her a spot in the final group.
Stacy Lewis, a 23-year-old, showed flashes of brilliance the first three rounds. Lewis has a very bright future ahead of her and could very well be the next big thing on the LPGA Tour. She was nine-under par and had a one-shot lead heading into the final round. The grouping of Creamer and Lewis provided the event with a much-needed spark of interest.
Unfortunately for Creamer and Lewis, the tournament was four days instead of three. Things were looking great for one of the two to walk away the winner, but both choked big time on Sunday. Most of the damage was done on the front nine as Creamer and Lewis shot 41 and 40, respectively. Both played decent on the back nine, but it was too late to have any effect on the tournament.
The media is always looking for young Americans to step up in the men’s game, and the same can be said for the women’s game as well. It would have been huge for the LPGA Tour if Creamer and Lewis had battled it out for the victory, but in the end, chalk it up as another disappointment for United States golf fans. As usual, there is always next time.
Another Missed Cut for Wie
Michelle Wie came into the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open on a bit of a roll. She had a top-ten finish on the Ladies European Tour last month, and she played very well at U.S. Women’s Open Qualifying as well. After rounds of 81 and 75 at Interlachen this past weekend, the result was another mediocre missed cut for the teenager. Most of the damage was done at the ninth hole on Thursday where Wie carded a quintuple bogey. Needless to say, she never recovered.
For some weird reason, I actually felt bad for Wie after she missed the cut. It’s obvious the LPGA Tour is better when she is playing good golf, and it would have been nice to see her at least make the cut. More salt was added to the wound when fellow teen Inbee Park found the winner’s circle. Wie is still young and has plenty of time to make an impact on the game, but she isn’t the only young phenom who can play nowadays.
The Final Say
There was a lot of excitement heading into this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, but in the end, it was a pretty lackluster event. The struggles of Ochoa and Sorenstam got things off to a bad start, and while a win from Creamer would have helped, that obviously didn’t happen either. Nothing against Inbee Park, but her win didn’t make the women’s game any better.
It’s your turn to tell me what you think. Did you watch any of this year’s U.S. Women’s Open? Did the struggles of Ochoa or Sorenstam surprise you the most? Finally, will Creamer recover from the final-round choke job and win her first major in the near future? If you have anything to add, please comment below or discuss it in the forum. Thanks for reading this week’s Thrash Talk, and I hope everyone has a happy and safe Fourth of July!
I was on a plane for most of the final round, but I checked the scores before and after. Before: Creamer T2. After: Creamer T6, five or six shots behind. Ouch. I was pulling for Paula Creamer or Stacy Lewis, so yeah, I was disappointed to see yet another non-American win a major on the LPGA Tour. Last year (Kerr, Pressel) is starting to seem like a fluke.
Players like Inbee Park, albeit hard working and deserving champions, really don’t do much for the game. The LPGA needs a cutie to step up and win something big. I turned the final round off very early on when it was clear that final group was choking and someone with the last name “Park” or “Kim” was going to win.
I agree that the LPGA needs a cute american to come out and win some majors for ratings. But to call last week’s tournament a big disappointment is a little unfair. We had the YOUNGEST US Open tournament winner ever. Park did what you have to do the last day of a major, she hit greens and actually made some pressure putts, she should be commended more for it. So what if her name is Park or Kim, is that really that far from Sorenstam or Ochoa? Jake W.’s comments are so inappropriate. Creamer should work as hard as the koreans do on their shortgames instead of spending her day looking for pink soft spikes. Her pink ball has to be the most annoying thing on tour.
It’s a good thing that Tiger Woods doesn’t have a last name like “Park” or “Kim”, or else I don’t know what all the people whining about the non-American’s winning would do…..
As for me, it’s refreshing to see Asians dominate a sport, much as they do math and academic studies….
Jake W.:
I realize what you’re saying but I hate to hear it put that way. I realize that sex appeal is going to be a factor in LPGA popularity but is it really *more* important than the golf for you? Turning off the tournament because someone with an Asian name was going to win really implies that you are only watching the LPGA for cute, American women rather than (or in addtion to) the quality of the golf.
Golf fans, like any sports fans, look out for and up to their “stars” or “heros”. In the case of the LPGA, the definition of “star” is, whether we like it or not, a “nice looking” young lady but also with a decent game – akin to a Maria Sharapova vs a Anna Kournikova.
It’s a real pity, b’coz golf is a “real leveller”. There is no such thing as a “fluke” win in golf, especially in stroke play over 4 days. And so the winner is always a deserving winner, having played the best or most consistently over 4 days. Pity then that a deserving winner is not accorded the accolades that she should fully deserves and had earned. Is this a sad reflection of the shallowness of the modern sports fans?
Thank goodness for the rules which ensure the best player over four days wins no matter where they come from or what they look like.
Were it not for them we would be seeing a load of glamour-pusses playing badly.
It is the LPGA Tour’s responsibility to promote these outstanding young foreign players and identify them as personalities for the American golf fan. It is a problem for the average fan that many of these players have very similar names. It is hard to distinguish them as individuals. What can’t be debated is that they are great players and deserve to be promoted as much as Gulbis, Creamer and Pressel, three players getting a lot of promotional attention, but only one major and just a handful of wins between them. These new foreign players with similar names are going to keep winning. Let’s find out who they are. The tour needs to promote them and make sure the fans can identify, distinguish them and relate to them, as they have with Ochoa, Sorenstam, Webb, and Se Re Pak, pretty fair foreign players that the American golf fans have come to appreciate.
WOW…this turned out to be a lively discussion! I never meant to slight the Korean golfers on the LPGA tour. Which is why I made reference to their work ethic. Here are my exact words – “…hard working and deserving champions”. To win a tournament like the US Open takes heart and the utmost shot making and skill. To that end, my hats off to Inbee Park. On the other side of the coin, in terms of a business, the LPGA needs to do a better job of promoting these players to the average fan. See John Hart’s comment, which I think is dead on. The spirit of my comment was rooted in not really knowing who these golfers are and not really being able to identify with their journey to the LPGA tour. The coverage of the LPGA tour focuses on a few individuals AND when those individuals fall out of contention (as in during the US Open) it’s hard to care about the result because I don’t know who these golfers are. Hopefully that makes a little more sense.
So, Inbee has got the game… all she needs is a little sexing up. The LPGA should encourage her to grow her hair long, bleach it blonde and get some really short golf skirts. Maybe encourage her to pose in a bikini. Then we’d have a “cutie” US Open Champion who would appeal to American sports fans. It’s easier to fake your looks than your golf, IMHO. 😳
Being a “foreigner” I actually enjoy watching “foreign” players, play and succeed on the LPGA Tour. The LPGA tour is seen on TV around the world not just in good old USA. The bottom line is (leaving aside Tiger) USA no longer dominates world golf either male or female. In fact it hasn’t for some time. Just look at the respective world rankings. In golf Korea clearly leads women world rankings. If Americans don’t know the name of Korean women golfers they have no one to blame but themselves. The same women play every week and every week they dominate the results.
In mens golf the the top 20 players list is dominated by “foreign” players. Pound for pound Australia has more players playing on the PGA tour than from anywhere else.
I find it annoying when I watch the LPGA tour that they follow the “white players” more than the Korean players even though the Korean women are clearly better players. I guess that’s because being able to identify with top foreign players is to hard for most Americans. A sad reflection on US society????
Everyone is trying to turn this into a racial discussion, and it shouldn’t be about that at all. My first negative centered around the fact Ochoa and Sorenstam didn’t seriously contend. The last time I checked, those two were from Mexico and Sweden, respectively.
As for Paula Creamer, she is “clearly” the best female golfer without a major, so it was obviously a disappointment to see her choke in the final round. That was the motivation behind that part.
As for the third part, it needs no explanation. Anyone who doesn’t think the women’s game would be better if Michelle Wie was in contention more often hasn’t watched as much women’s golf as they are saying.
As for Inbee Park, I gave her congratulations in the first two paragraphs of the article and rightfully so. She played the best for four days and walked away as the youngest champion in the event’s history. That being said, like it or not, Park’s win was pretty boring and did nothing for the women’s game.
I’m glad this article has sparked some reaction, but it wasn’t meant to be a race issue at all.
Cody,
You say that you didn’t mean your article to be a race issue at all. But how can you say that with a straight face and also add comments like “That being said, like it or not, Park’s win was pretty boring and did nothing for the women’s game”?
I wonder if you would have said the same comment if Gulbis, Creamer, or Pressel had won the US Open, instead of Park (non-white)?
Whether you meant it or not, comments about Asian’s wins being “boring” and “doing nothing for the women’s game” will be construed as racist and America-centric.
The fact of the matter is, women’s golf is much bigger and more closely followed in asian nations like Korea and Japan, than it is in the US. That’s why the LPGA commissioner (C. Bivens) is looking to have more tournaments and sponsors from asian countries as time goes on. China will host its first ever LPGA tournament next year.
While the LPGA started as an American institution, it will not end that way. In time, American interest in women’s golf will dwindle as asian countries’ interest will grow in leaps and bounds. Your comments about how Park’s win was boring only reinforces this ongoing trend. In the future, the big money events will go and be played overseas (outsourced like many american jobs). Average american women’s players will start to get shut out as more asians players take their spots (it’s already happening).
Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to watch the PGA and Champions Tour here in the US, as it’s still being dominated by american men.
Of course, if you really enjoy watching womens golf, you’ll adapt and learn to appreciate the exciting play of asian golfers. Say “kimchee”!
A win by Stacy Prammanasudh, Angela Stanford, or Nicole Castrale wouldn’t have been any better for women’s golf, and all three are American. So you can end the “race or country” argument right there.
If Gulbis, Creamer, or Pressel would have won the U.S. Women’s Open, you bet it would have been better for women’s golf. A huge portion of LPGA Tour marketing goes towards those three. Whether or not that’s a fault of the LPGA Tour or not is beside the point. Those are the ladies the general media are familiar with, and it’s obvious the ratings, aftermath, etc. would have better than it was for an Inbee Park victory.
Would a major win by D.J. Trahan (American), Aaron Baddeley (Australian), etc. be as good for the game as a major win by Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, etc.? No, and that has nothing to do with race or where a golfer is from. The mass majority of people who watch golf on TV are casual fans, and they want to see the best and most popular players win. That’s “good” for the game when it comes to ratings, money, etc.
In this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, the top two golfers struggled, the best without a major choked, and the most well-known young player (Wie) missed the cut badly. That isn’t a recipe for success any way you look at it. Inbee Park was the 42nd ranked player in the world going into the event, and the win by her did nothing for the mass majority of the golf fans. There are fans here who are obviously going to argue that, but the fact is the fans visiting here are much more hardcore than the regular fan.
If you still think my point was based around race or country, so be it. It wasn’t intended that way at all, but people are going to think what they want to think.
Again, you’re missing my point. When you say that the general media are more familiar with some players (Creamer & Co.) rather than others and the ratings aftermath and repercussions, you are biased and basing this statement from our American point of view.
My point again is that the Asian media and Asian interest in womens golf is so much larger than that of the US-based media and American interest. That is why Asian corporations sponsor training of promising Asian women players, whereas our American women are lucky to find sponsors to foot the hotel bill (an exaggeration, but you get my point I hope).
Have you ever been to an average Asian womens golf event? It draws so many fans and dwarfs the vast majority of the American events, save a few (like the Open).
I agree with you: what’s currently going on in women’s golf is absolutely terrible from an American perspective and is killing media and overall interest in the US.
But from an Asian perspective, it is an absolute gold mine. Bivens is smart and knows this. She’s steering the LPGA to where the money and opportunities are.
Again, it will become tougher for American women to join the tour (maybe not the Duramed Futures Tour, but that’s a different story) and travel overseas at their own expense.
For Asian women players, what’s going on represents a golden opportunity that they aim to completely take full advantage of.
Finally, it’s interesting to note that at a small LPGA tournament, an american reporter observed that the Korean LPGA players were at the driving range and putting greens til the lights were shut off for the night, whereas their American counterparts were nowhere to be found.
Success comes to those who are willing to sacrifice for it…..
For what its worth, all is not lost for American LPGA pros.
Gulbis puts out a really nice calendar. She should quit her day job and go into modelling. Creamer has a nice sweet voice and could do cartoon voiceovers.
Just kidding! Well maybe not, but just wanted to lighten the mood a bit!
The average American (there is no such thing I know) it is less interested in seeing Koreans playing than to see Americans. That’s not racist, its just human nature.
But it is also tough luck if Koreans happen to be winning. That’s sport. If women’s golf loses American audiences that’s just the way it goes. We all know how to get the American audience back. And ‘glamour’ isn’t the answer.
The LPGA is “silently” starting programs for American junior golfers. I say quietly because you see little marketing of this. I used to live in a rural area and the closest golf course was a state park. They have an LPGA co-sponsored junior girls program. The program is going nowhere.
Why?
Because it is in a rural area. Very few participants. Of the few they have, maybe 10% take it seriously. On the other hand, I now live in a university town. No LPGA program here.
Bottom line.
For the LPGA to grow, they will have to have more American golfers who win tournaments. Has nothing to do with race or being pretty. Looks, however, will always play a part in the marketing process.
I have been reading these comments with interest. I went to a practice round and the Friday round. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to watch the final round as I was driving home. I must admit I was disappointed, a little bit, that Stacy Lewis or Paula Creamer did not win but it had nothing to do with the golf! The person who played best won! It had to do with the stories. Creamer has been playing so well, it would be nice to see her win a major. However, she is only 21. Her time will come. Stacy Lewis was/is a great story. However, before last week, I really didn’t know much about her. I knew, and still know, very little about so many of the players. The development programs in many of the Asian countries, especially S. Korea, must be phenomenal. The trouble with women’s golf in the US is that we usually don’t get to watch the LPGA unless it’s a major and therefore don’t know the players and their stories. I love following the LPGA, but don’t get the golf channel, so hardly ever get to see it. I end up watching the men–PGA and Senior tour. I enjoy them, but I’m a woman! I’d like to watch the women play. Sometimes, the women’s scores don’t get printed in our newspaper. When they do, it’s only the leaderboard. It’s hard to get to “know” the players, unless there is something else about the player which makes them newsworthy or marketable. In my opinion, the LPGA needs to market themselves–the great players and sweet swings I saw this last week.
Rich – if anyone is being racist here it’s you. Whether you like it or not sponsors aren’t interested in stumpy, boring players with no destinguishable charateristic (not even their mames) and the average golf fan isn’t either. So you can fantasize about everyone learning korean but the reality is that ad dollars drive what you will see on TV and the game has to be more appealing than stale kimchee if you think people will pay to fund it and watch it.
You’re such an idiot I can’t even dignify this with a response.
I will say few things though. If Michelle Wie looked like Inbee Park, she’d just be another good young player.
If Sorenstam and Ochoa were asian they wouldnt be as popular. They aren’t lookers but accepted and followed by the American media.
There was no racial intent in Cory’s article, however, it is evident that race definitely matters in who is popular in this country, whether if it’s intentional or not. We all agree that the Park’s and Kim’s of the world are not well known as Sorenstam, Ochoa, etc. Instead of hiding behind that fact we have to look at why? Why are european players so easily accepted and the asian players not?
Curves and looks will always rule before anything else though.