There were two reasons why Annika Sorenstam played golf at the World Cup this week. Not only was she intent upon winning her first tournament of the new year but she also had an announcement of grand proportions.
Sorenstam wasn’t the only LPGA golfer to create a buzz in South Africa although her news was directly related to this small country. The number-two player in the world created headlines of her own.
Paula Creamer is now playing golf with a Precept ball. Her intent? “Everything I do, I do with the goal in mind of becoming the number-one ranked women’s player in the world.”
The problem is that nobody told this to Annika as she soundly trounced Team USA.
Annika’s defeat of all female golfers who step into her path is legendary. From the moment she won the 1994 Rolex Rookie of the Year Award up to the present, throngs of cheering female fans have delighted at the Swede’s easy swing and her laser-sharp putting which has clinched numerous Sunday victories.
Sorenstam’s decision to design a golf course at the lovely Euphoria Golf Estate & Hydro couldn’t have come at a better time. Developer Faan Erasmus stated, “The number of registered female golfers in South Africa has risen by forty-three percent in the last four years.”
Annika intends to capitalize on this growing market.
“There are very few courses that have been developed with any consideration given to how it might play for the whole family. Courses are typically designed from the back tees for men,” Annika proclaims, “whereas the brief at Euphoria was to design a course that will challenge men, women and children equally.”
Annika will now join a host of designers which include Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and pals Ernie Els and Retief Goosen who have all carved out a piece of paradise in this small South African country. This course could easily become one of the top woman’s golf venues in the world.
Concurrently, Paula Creamer also signed a deal but with Bridgestone Golf. It is her first golf ball contract and she is very excited at the prospect of using the new three-piece prototype in all of her professional tournaments.
She isn’t the only happy camper who uses Bridgestone equipment. Stuart Appleby recently three-peated at the Mercedes Championships using the Bridgestone Tour B330-S ball, Bridgestone J33P driver, J33B Blade irons and Bridgestone Air Muscle utility club.
Other tour players who play Bridgestone include Fred Couples, Shigeki Maruyama and Nick Price and there are at least ten golfers on the Nationwide Tour associated with Bridgestone. Ai Miyazato has already contracted to use Bridgestone equipment. Creamer now joins the group.
Hisashi Kawano, President of Bridgestone Sports, Inc. commented, “Her combination of a fun attitude, pioneering sense of fashion and awe-inspiring performance on-the-course makes her the perfect player to bring Bridgestone Golf’s technological edge to the LPGA TOUR.”
Perhaps Creamer will consider playing a creation which resembles the new Lady S III which comes in a variety of colors including pink? The return of the colored golf ball has become a hit with ladies on the courses and will even be displayed in gumball machines at specific sites to test their marketability.
Actually it could happen as Creamer is helping to design the prototype which she will be using so I suspect it will have a bit of spunk put into it. Bridgestone said that all she had to do was ask and they would make it any color she requested.
But will it help her to defeat numero-uno Sorenstam and put her at the top of the official ADT Money List? Creating a charge between the two golfers is great for the LPGA Tour.
Creamer used the new Precept ball at the World Cup and it didn’t help her game much. I don’t think there is a specific amount of time needed to get used to a golf ball so she can’t use “equipment” as an excuse. Perhaps she was just using this event as a “warm-up”. The season officially begins next month at the SBS Open in Hawaii.
I personally think that Paula will eventually make it to the number-one spot on the tour as long as she stays focused on her goal. My favorite saying when I play a round is “eye on the prize”.
Ernie Els gave Paula some advice. “He told me to stay focused on what I wanted to do. He told me it’s important to enjoy it, because you never know when it could go away.”
Photo Credit: © AP.