Asian dominance on the PGA and LPGA Tours

[rogerhuang]

Repeat after me:

Don't forget saying Lee, Lee, Lee (pronounced like Lee as in Lee Jeans!).

Yes, saying Birdie Kim is very taxing and troublesome for non-Asians to pronounce. I'm Asian and even I stumble over it a few times a day. Boo-dee Kun??

[Harry Longshanks]

Just to clarify my position I meant that it would be hard for a young girl golfer to look up to someone that doesnt speak the same language. That is all. Nothing to do with race or ethnicity.

That was the same point that Jan Stephenson made about the proliferation of Asian golfers on the LPGA tour. And she had a point. But there are other factors as well. There is also the issue of Asian players having names that are unfamiliar to people with an Anglo-Saxon background. I don't know the psychology behind it, but clearly the more a person has heard a name in their past, the easier it is to assimilate. Probably the same way it is difficult to learn a new language - someone may casually tell you that chien is French for dog, but if you grew up only learning English, you have to work to remember it. Also, when dressed in full golf gear with hats, sunglasses, etc and shown on TV from a distance, Asian players are harder to instantly identify because of similar physical characteristics (e.g. dark, straight hair; similar build). And before any jumps all over me for making a "they all look the same comment", let me say this: Think about how hard it would be to identify PGA players in their full gear, but without their golf sponsor logos - they are all white, short hair covered by a baseball cap. Same thing. The only reason we know some players instantly is because we've been watching them for years. There is a reason Ian Poulter wears outrageous outfits, that Ryan Moore wears the castro hat, that Charley Hoffman wears that blond wig (j/k) - - to stand out. They are easy to spot on the course, even from a distance. Jeff Quinney, Charles Warren, and Scott Verplank are not. There are exceptions, of course. Michelle Wie is easy to spot because of her height; Christina Kim because of her weight; Mi Hyun Kim because of her petite frame and pigtails. HOWEVER, having said all that, I think we are in a period of transition. Asian players on the LPGA tour are a relatively recent phenomenon, largely fueled by the success of Se Ri Pak. Asian players are working hard to learn English, and some have even adopted anglo names for the tour (not necessary in my opinion, but probably a smart move from a marketing perspective). And they are garnering huge accolades for their charitable donations (e.g. Mi Hyun Kim's donation of $100k to the Greensberg, Kansas tornado victims). First and foremost, Americans love winners. The issue isn't race, it's unfamiliarity. If the fans don't know you, they can't cheer for you. Once the Asian players become more familiar to U.S. golf fans, the issue of Asians "invading" the LPGA tour will be irrelevant. The fans will be more interested in the beauty of Angela Park's swing, not the fact that she is actually from Brazil and not Korea. EDIT: It took me a little while to write this, so some material may be duplicative of posts done since I read the thread, which is all posts after the one I quoted.

[rogerhuang]

Just to clarify my position I meant that it would be hard for a young girl golfer to look up to someone that doesnt speak the same language. That is all. Nothing to do with race or ethnicity.

That clarification still doesn't make any sense. Thousands of Americans look up to and worship Jesus and he didn't speak English (he spoke Hebrew).....

[rogerhuang]

That clarification still doesn't make any sense. Thousands of Americans look up to and worship Jesus and he didn't speak English (he spoke Hebrew).....

I meant to write "millions of Americans".....

[lordhamster]

That clarification still doesn't make any sense. Thousands of Americans look up to and worship Jesus and he didn't speak English (he spoke Hebrew).....

He probably spoke Aramaic, but point taken. :)

[rogerhuang]

He probably spoke Aramaic, but point taken. :)

Thank you for the clarification. You're probably right.

[rogerhuang]

Thank you for the clarification. You're probably right.

Spoke too soon. Just googled this point. The consensus is that while Aramaic was Jesus' mother tongue (i.e. the language that was spoken where he grew up), he also spoke Hebrew (to the Jews) and also knew some Greek.

[tjy355]

Let's hear it for Asians on both tours! Granted, Asians don't have quite the stranglehold on the PGA as they do on the LPGA. Still, with an Asian (Tiger Woods) as the world's best golfer and Anthony Kim charging up the ranks, it won't be long until Asians dominate the PGA as they have already done on the LPGA.

Perhaps you didn't realize that both Tiger and Anthony were born in California and are 100% AMERICAN.

[MonkeyClaw]

Perhaps you didn't realize that both Tiger and Anthony were born in California and are 100% AMERICAN.

Doh! You beat me to it! Don't forget Michelle Wie, born in Hawaii!

Tim (an American of Asian descent - with an easy to pronounce name!)

[rogerhuang]

Perhaps you didn't realize that both Tiger and Anthony were born in California and are 100% AMERICAN.

Yes, I was aware of that but thanks for pointing it out.

Perhaps you didn't realize that they are very proud of their Asian heritage (Thai and Korean respectively) and still count themselves as Asians (by ancestery). I was born in the US as well and I'm proud of my Asian heritage as well (Taiwanese).

[rogerhuang]

Doh! You beat me to it! Don't forget Michelle Wie, born in Hawaii!

Dude, where's your sense of Asian pride? You can be born in America, an American by law, but still stand up and be proud of your Asian heritage (and the impending Asian dominance on the LPGA and PGA tours).....

[MonkeyClaw]

Dude, where's your sense of Asian pride? You can be born in America, an American by law, but still stand up and be proud of your Asian heritage (and the impending Asian dominance on the LPGA and PGA tours).....

I'm proud to be an American. I'm not ashamed of my asian (Thai) descent, but I wouldn't say I'm any more proud of it than I am of my German descent. I'm a halfsy, like Tiger. A lot of people can't even tell - most know there's something amiss, but I've been called hispanic, American Indian, Chinese, etc. For whatever reason, Thai people usually get it right. As my old teammates used to say 'Man, I knew there SOMETHING wrong with you

' I like American food a lot more than I like Thai food though! Not a fan of the spicy stuff...

[GaijinGolfer]

Kudos to the Asian golfers. Right now it seems like they are working the hardest and are winning.
I did kind of sense a hint of racism in the original post of this thread though. Kinda like, "look at us, we Asians are better than you white people!" Whatever, I can deal with it...

[Akers]

To be honest, I can't stand all these Asian golfers comming in (espicialy in the LPGA) there seems to be a different South Korean girl in the lead each day that I've never heard of. I wouldn't even know if that person has won before becuase all their names sound the same. I really hope the PGA tour doesn't get that invasion that the LPGA got.

[SubPar]

Let's hear it for Asians on both tours! Granted, Asians don't have quite the stranglehold on the PGA as they do on the LPGA. Still, with an Asian (Tiger Woods) as the world's best golfer and Anthony Kim charging up the ranks, it won't be long until Asians dominate the PGA as they have already done on the LPGA.

two points: Tiger is not 'Asian' any more than I am German or Scottish. The Asian ladies doing well on the LPGA tour may be the result of a fierce work ethic and tremendous family support. I see evidence of that every day at ranges and golf courses in LA. The young Asian players work hard at their game and always have very evident active family support.

Nine of the top 20 on the LPGA money list are non Asian names. A fine showing but not exactly dominance. 1 Lorena Ochoa 2 Annika Sorenstam 3 Paula Creamer 4 Inbee Park 5 Seon Hwa Lee 6 Yani Tseng 7 Jeong Jang 8 Suzann Pettersen 9 Song-Hee Kim 10 Na-Yeon Choi 11 Eun-Hee Ji 12 Karrie Webb 13 Jane Park 14 Karen Stupples 15 Helen Alfredsson 16 Maria Hjorth 17 Jee Young Lee 18 Christina Kim 19 Laura Diaz 20 Cristie Kerr Subpar

[pjsnyc]

Kinda disappointed at some of the responses on this thread. I honestly didn't see the original post as racist...i think using the term 'racist' in this sense is a bit of a stretch.

It came off as more proud than anything else - what's wrong with that? Those that think otherwise obviously have no grasp on why there are black history months or Puerto Rican day parades. They're proud of their roots and they certainly don't mind telling anyone! I doubt they're trying to show someone up.

Sure - I'm half Asian, but I'm also half white...born here and raised in NYC - the greatest city in the world (also the worst if you're a golf fan).

If anyone thinks pronouncing some of the Asian names are difficult, try pronouncing my GERMAN last name - Stuehmke...I'll give the first successful person a cookie because no matter where I go, no one pronounces it correctly (except for when I went to Germany of course...though my Philosophy professors got it right since they're pretty fluent in German).

This is what happens when I go to the DMV or to Jury Duty in NYC:
Person calling my name: Mr. St...Mr. St...
Me: HERE!!

[pjsnyc]

To be honest, I can't stand all these Asian golfers comming in (espicialy in the LPGA) there seems to be a different South Korean girl in the lead each day that I've never heard of. I wouldn't even know if that person has won before becuase all their names sound the same. I really hope the PGA tour doesn't get that invasion that the LPGA got.

OK -that's just blatant! For your sake, I hope they do.

[SubPar]

I guess I'm an oddball here, but I can identify the Asian players at a distance as easily as I can tell Montgomery from Perry or Goosen or Els. And I can say their names.

Because I ACTUALLY WATCH THEM PLAY EVERY WEEKEND! Some of these comments are clearly coming from people who don't follow the LPGA tour.

To be honest, I can't stand all these Asian golfers comming in (espicialy in the LPGA) there seems to be a different South Korean girl in the lead each day that I've never heard of. I wouldn't even know if that person has won before becuase all their names sound the same. I really hope the PGA tour doesn't get that invasion that the LPGA got.

If you have not heard of them, then you obviously are not watching "each day". You can't say their names so there is something wrong here? It is obvious what is wrong here. When you're done ragging on the Koreans, let's hear your thoughts on the Mexicans. I can't wait to hear that.

SubPar