Sunday, June 26, 2011

Under the Radar


[ed.  Yani  won yet another major today and is the most dominant player on either tour.  What's the matter with the media?  I guess if you're a woman you have to be photogenic (e.g., Michele Wie, Paula Creamer) to garner much attention these days, despite your achievements.]

Maybe Yani Tseng should try ordering pints of Guinness.

Nothing else seems to have attracted a sliver of the attention golf's best female player deserves. And if you happen to be asking, "Who is Yani Tseng?'' thanks for making our point.

Northern Ireland's chubby-cheeked Rory McIlroy is 22 years old, and he won the U.S. Open on Sunday for his first major championship. McIlroy has golf falling all over itself to raise a mug of his country's favorite ale in celebration.

Tseng, meanwhile, is 22 years old, a native of Taiwan, and tees off in Thursday's opening round of the LPGA Championship with the world's No. 1 ranking and three majors already under her belt.

"It is pretty spectacular," LPGA commissioner Mike Whan said.

Unfortunately for Tseng, comparing the PGA Tour and the LPGA isn't apples to oranges -- it's oceans to lakes, Costco to Joe's Corner Market.

Still, at some point and by any yardstick, doesn't Tseng's level of excellence deserve acknowledgment?

"I am still trying to work on that," Tseng said after an early-week practice round, with barely a shrug to the suggestion of unfairness. "I tell myself if I play better and play good, more people will put attention on me."

Is that possible? Look at what Tseng is doing right now.

In the four-plus seasons since Tseng turned professional in 2007, she has recorded 15 worldwide victories, including seven on the LPGA tour.

Oh yeah, and after Thursday's opening round at Locust Hill Country Club, she's on top of the leaderboard at 6-under par, one shot in front of American Paula Creamer.

"I hit lots of fairways," Tseng said. "This course is tight. So narrow. I just hit it on the fairways. More chances to put it on the green. More chances for birdie."

Tseng's first LPGA win came in the 2008 LPGA Championship, making her, at the time, the youngest major winner in the tour's history. Last year she added the Kraft Nabisco and the Women's British to become the youngest LPGA player to win three majors.


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