On the Hot Seat: Jason Sobel

LPGA dull enough for ya this week at Corning, Jason?

Do me a favor, will you?

Please, please, please write a column celebrating how awesome Phil's awesome wedge was and how awesome it is that he's stepped up as Tiger's lead challenger and how awesome it would be to see Tiger and Phil in the final group Sunday at Torrey Pines, head to head, mano a mano, duking it out on golf's biggest stage. Here's a tip: cap it off by complaining about Leta Lindley's win and conclude that it shows how weak the LPGA is.

I mean, what is up with 20 players matching the third wheel of the Big 3? Paula Creamer never shot better than 35 on the back all week, so who does Leta Lindley think she is, chasing down Jeong Jang with a 32 on a side only a couple of other players in the field even shot 33 on? How dare a mother of 2 who hadn't won in 294 starts beat the world #8 on a day when she shot her best score of the week?

Just repeat after me: Tiger and Phil. Phil and Tiger. Tiger and Phil. Phil and Tiger.

Catchy, ain't it?

[Update (12:25 pm): Wow, I even wrote this before heading over to ESPN.com and witnessing Sobel and Harig repeat the mantra! And Sobel's weekly 18 cleverly saves the LPGA for last and quotes this week's winner about...her luggage! Nice!]

Corning Classic Sunday: And Then There Were Two

Jeong Jang and Leta Lindley are in a playoff at the Corning Classic. Jang shot her best round of the week, a 68, to get to -11, but Lindley fired a 32 on the back to post a 67 and force Jang to par the 18th to get into the playoff. So while we wait for the results of the playoff to be posted, let's review how the 38 players under par and 29 within 5 shots of the lead got narrowed down to 2.

Early in the day, Laura Diaz, In-Kyung Kim, and Paula Creamer showed everyone there were low scores to be had today. Diaz went from +1 to -5 in her first 10 holes, but a double bogey on the par-5 14th ended her run and she had to settle for a 68 (-3, T21). Kim went from E to -6 in her first 13 holes, but like Diaz doubled the 14th and ended up with a 67 (-5, T11). Thanks to an eagle and 3 early birdies, Creamer zoomed from -1 to -6 in her first 7 holes. But she bogeyed the 10th and 11th and couldn't muster a birdie from then on, finishing with a 69 (-4, T15). Although nobody else from the early groups really threatened to go super-low, several shot fine rounds, including 69s by Sandra Gal and Janice Moodie and 70s by Meena Lee and Kyeong Bae to join Diaz at -3.

Then it was the later groups' turn. Jang took control of the tournament in the first 5 holes with 2 birdies and an eagle on the par-5 5th to get to -11 and put pressure on the rest of the field. Hee-Won Han shot a 33 on the front to get to -6, 4 shots back after Jang bogeyed the 9th, but the best she could do was extend her 23-hole bogey-free streak to 41, as she couldn't find a birdie the rest of the way (T8). Song-Hee Kim was -6 by her 2nd hole, but couldn't get to -7 until the end of her round (T6), while Meredith Duncan was -7 at the turn, but could only get to -8 by the end of her round (5th).

So by the middle of the day it was clear only 3 players had a realistic shot at Jang. Sun Young Yoo was -7 at the turn thanks to a birdie and eagle on the 2 par 5s, but then rattled off 3 birdies in her first 6 holes on the back to get to -10 with 3 to play. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't gt any lower. It took a birdie on the 18th, her sixth of the day, for Mi Hyun Kim to pull even with Yoo in the double digits under par club. Around the exact same time a hole earlier, Lindley made Kim's and Yoo's 66s academic with a birdie of her own that brought her to -11--and Jang matched it with her own birdie on the 16th.

Whoops--LPGA.com just updated and Lindley won the playoff! Another heartbreaker for Jang! More after the Golf Channel coverage is over and the girls are asleep!

[Update 1 (5/26/08, 4:10 am): I nominate John Kekis to get the LPGA beat for AP. Every single one of his stories this week was top-notch and the Sunday one was no exception. Can he outdo Hound Dog? You be the judge! Oh, and while you're thinking, check out the notes and interviews from LPGA.com.

I want to apologize for getting the order of the closing birdies wrong: it was actually the reverse of what I gathered from the LPGA.com leaderboard and scorecards. Kim's fantastic approach on 18 for a tap-in birdie came after Lindley's which came after Jang's.... Another thing LPGA.com can't make clear from scorecards alone is how close Sun Young Yoo came to winning this: she just missed a hole in 1 on 15, had a ball do everything with the lip but drop on 17, and almost chipped in from an impossible position on 18. Any 1 of those things happen and she's also in the playoff; any 2 and she wins outright. Wow! She has come alive in the past month or so, hasn't she?

On to the main topic of discussion at Seoul Sisters: did Jang lose this one? I say no way (don't make me bust out the CAPS). She made pressure putts on every single closing hole I can remember, she made 2 sandies on 18 after less-than-perfect drives lead to difficult approaches, and she forced Lindley to beat her. Take nothing away from Lindley: this victory was not handed to her. She went out and shot a 32 on the much tougher back 9 under Sunday pressure. She made a perfect drive, perfect approach, and perfect putt in the playoff. She absolutely deserves the win. While I'm absolutely crushed on JJ's behalf, she has nothing to be ashamed of and I can't help but be happy for Lindley, who has 2 cute kids (although her son got all the tv time, I'm assuming her 22-month-old daughter is kawaii, too!), hadn't won in 294 previous starts, and is part-Vietnamese. Especially when she says stuff like this in response to a question of whether she expected her first win to take so long:

LETA LINDLEY: I wasn't that good when I started, to be honest. When I started I was 20th conditional my rookie year. And I got in 20 events and I actually played in the U.S. Open and I finished fifth. It was my very first U.S. Open. I never tried to qualify before. I won $30,000 and I was thrilled. I thought, wow I kept my card I can buy a car. I was just happy to keep my card. I didn't know if I could stay out here one year let alone 14 years.

And I was lucky when I came out, you know, I don't know that the Tour was as deep then as it is today. And I was able to learn about myself and my game while playing on tour. I don't think you can do that now. You have the Tour's the depth of talent is so great that you either have it or you don't, to be out here.

Q. Considering the depth of the talent on the Tour like you talked about, did the doubts start to come into your head if it would ever happen?

LETA LINDLEY: It was getting harder and harder. I feel like each year like this year we were trying to stay in the top 35 to qualify for the U.S. Open without having to go through the 36 hole qualifier. There just seemed like each year it's getting harder and harder and harder to stay in that top 35 or that top 40 than it was 5, 6, 7 years ago. And each year I would tee it up wondering, I wonder how things are going to go this year. I know I'm working hard, but I do have two children so it's little more challenging for me.

But there's new talent coming out each year, and it just gets tougher and tougher. So to win this year, my 14th season on tour, with the talent as great as it is really makes it so special.

So true. Congratulations, Leta!]

[Update 2 (5:26 am): I won this week's Pakpicker--what a shock! Would like to say I considered putting Lindley as an alternate, but no, not even close. Hmmm, Leta's 1st, my 1st. Maybe I should pick her every week from now on!]

[Update 3 (11:45 am): Hound Dog tips the scales in his favor with his epilogue. At least with me!]

Bridgestone Ladies Open Sunday: Lee Defeats Saiki and Koga in Playoff

Ji-Hee Lee made 5 birdies in her last 10 holes to catch Miho Koga and Miki Saiki at -8 in the final round of the Chukyo TV Bridgestone Ladies Open--and she beat them in a playoff.

Saiki shot a bogey-free 69 Sunday and was the first to reach -8 with a birdie on the par-4 14th; Koga got her last birdie on the next hole, a short par 3. But Lee birdied both those holes and the par-5 16th to get to -8 herself.

By that point, the trio had pulled decisively away from the other second-round leaders. Ayako Uehara never got her round going and only got to -6 with a birdie on the par-5 13th, but could only manage a bogey down the stretch, falling back into a tie with the similarly-stalled Shiho Oyama for 5th and getting passed by Michiko Hattori, whose birdie on the 18th got her to -6. Those who were making final-round charges--like Sakura Yokomine (3 birdies in her last 7 holes), Noboku Kizawa (5 birdies in her last 10 holes), and Ya-Huei Lu (5 birdies in her last 12 holes)--were too far back at the turn to make an impact on the final outcome.

I'll pass along the Japanese media's report on the playoff when I can find it. It's interested that Lee's 2006 victory here came in similar come-from-behind fashion! And that she blocked Saiki from her first win of the year and Koga from becoming the first repeat winner on the JLPGA in 2008....

For now, here's the top 10 and notables' finishes:

1st/-8 Lee (71-69-68) [winner in playoff]
T2/-8 Saiki (71-68-69), Koga (71-67-70)
4th/-6 Hattori (68-71-71)
T5/-5 Oyama (70-70-71), Uehara (69-70-72)
7th/-4 Yomomine (71-71-70)
8th/-3 Lu (71-75-67)
T9/-2 Kizawa (71-74-69), Kaori Higo (72-73-69), Bo-Bae Song (73-71-70), Midori Yoneyama (71-70-73), Yukari Baba (68-72-74)

T14/-1 Hiroko Yamaguchi (77-71-67), Hyun-Ju Shin (69-72-74)
T18/E Erina Hara (73-74-69) Chie Arimura (72-72-72)
T28/+2 Mi-Jeong Jeon (74-72-72), Yui Kawahara (74-70-74), Hiromi Mogi (69-71-77)
T33/+3 Na Zhang (76-72-71)
T45/+5 Mie Nakata (72-73-76)
T49/+6 Akane Iijima (71-74-77)

[Update 1 (5:55 am): Still nothing from Kyodo on the playoff, but here's the updated money list:

1. Akiko Fukushima ￥44.58M
2. Miho Koga ￥38.93M
3. Ji-Hee Lee ￥37.70M
4. Sakura Yokomine ￥34.54M
5. Yukari Baba ￥33.53M
6. Eun-A Lim ￥32.28M
7. Bo-Bae Song ￥31.46M
8. Ayako Uehara ￥29.93M
9. Miki Saiki ￥28.97M
10. Hiroko Yamaguchi ￥24.95M]

[Update 2 (6:24 am): Here's a little tidbit I uncovered while researching my update to my March Best off the JLPGA ranking: Ji-Hee Lee just moved to #30 on the career money list and is barely 10 million yen ahead of none other than Miho Koga!]

[Update 3 (12:00 pm): Kyodo reports that it was a 20-foot birdie putt that won it for Lee when Saiki failed to chip in for birdie and Koga missed a 10-footer....]

Corning Classic Saturday: Who Wants to Win This Thing?

The uneven play of the second-round leaders at the Corning Classic raises a serious question for me: who wants to win this tournament the most?

What with the squandered surges and the painful collapses and the bad approach shots and tentative putting that I got to watch--yes, watch!--on the Golf Channel with onechan, imoto, and my mom and dad yesterday evening, I'm not counting out anyone under par heading into Sunday's round. The course is vulnerable to low scores (particularly on the front), the conditions are going to be perfect tomorrow (April-like weather returns to New York in late May!), and those in the middle of the pack with a chance to win have nothing to lose.

So why couldn't Paula Creamer post a number and put pressure on the leaders from her 10:06 am pairing? Why couldn't fellow -1ers Meena Lee, Na On Min, H.J. Choi, or Kyeong Bae make a similar move? Why couldn't Seon Hwa Lee make up a 5-shot deficit by firing off a final-round 63 like she did when she got her first LPGA win at the ShopRite Classic? Why couldn't Hee-Won Han follow up on Saturday's bogey-free 67 by tapping into the magic that lead to her tying Juli Inkster for the tournament record with a 62 in 2005 or her win in 2006? Why couldn't Jimin Kang or Karine Icher or Linda Wessberg or Na Yeon Choi do the same from 4 back like her?

When you get to those at -4, you're out of the realm of needing something in the very low 30s on the front and into the realm of needing just normal good play to leap into contention. With warmer weather on the way, expect Mi Hyun Kim to be charging hard for her 9th career victory. Will Sunday be the day that Sun Young Yoo figures out how to play birdie alley--the last 5 holes on the front? A bad front yesterday almost dropped Song-Hee Kim out of contention, but a fantastic 33 on the back got her within 2 shots of the lead. Will this be the week that the former Futures Tour star breaks through for her first and long-awaited LPGA win? Speaking of long-awaited, is it finally Leta Lindley's turn? Or will youngsters who have paid their dues and begun to play like veterans like Katherine Hull or co-leader Erica Blasberg horn in? Blasberg has missed opportunities the past 2 rounds to separate herself from the field. Will she learn from her mistakes or continue to make them?

The biggest question mark for me is Jeong Jang, who's looking for redemption not only from her squandering of a 3rd-round lead here in 2006 but also from getting overtaken by Paula Creamer over the last few holes of 2008's second tournament--but is hampered by arthritis and cysts in her right wrist. Assuming Sunday's warmer weather will be as good for her wrist as it'll be for Mi Hyun Kim's knee, I definitely see her breaking 70 tomorrow, which means the eventual winner will be double digits under par. I don't think the rusty Creamer has a course record in her and Lee has broken 65 only twice in her career (the most recent coming in last season's Canadian Open), so realistically speaking they're too far behind Jeong to put much pressure on her. But past champions Kang and Han just need to be in the neighborhood of Blasberg's opening-round 65 to give themselves a chance for a repeat victory at Corning. And getting to double digits under par for people between -4 and -6 thus far is definitely within the realm of possibility--some could do it before they make the turn.

So just like on the JLPGA this week, the penultimate round at Corning has set up a classic free-for-all. Should make for some compelling tv. Who says the LPGA is boring?

[Update (11:56 am): Would you believe I caught more of the Saturday telecast than Hound Dog? Has to be a first!]

Bridgestone Ladies Open Saturday: This Is What We've Been Waiting For!

The leaderboard at the Chukyo TV Bridgestone Ladies Open is now officially star-studded. Miki Saiki fired a bogey-free 67 to get to -6 for the tournament, while Miki Saiki's 68 brought her into a 2nd place tie, 1 shot back, with Ayako Uehara and first-round co-leader Michiko Hattori. Another shot back are Shiho Oyama, Yukari Baba, Hiromi Mogi, and Ji-Hee Lee, followed by Hyun-Ju Shin and Midori Yoneyama. Sakura Yokomine remains within striking range, 4 shots back of Koga. In short, some of the best and hottest golfers on the JLPGA will be involved in a real free-for-all tomorrow.

Here's where the leaders and notables stand:

1st/-6 Koga (71-67)
T2/-5 Saiki (71-68), Uehara (69-70), Hattori (68-71)
T5/-4 Lee (71-69), Oyama (70-70), Mogi (69-71), Baba (68-72)
T9/-3 Yoneyama (71-70), Shin (69-72)

T11/-2 Yomomine (71-71)
T16/E Yui Kawahara (74-70), Bo-Bae Song (73-71), Chie Arimura (72-72)
T24/+1 Kaori Higo (72-73), Mie Nakata (72-73), Akane Iijima (71-74)
T32/+2 Mi-Jeong Jeon (74-72)
T42/+3 Erina Hara (73-74)
T48/+4 Hiroko Yamaguchi (77-71), Na Zhang (76-72)
T63/+6 Yun-Jye Wei (76-74)

Yuko Mitsuka WDed. Yamaguchi and Zhang made the cut by the skin of their teeth--both suffered late bogeys that almost doomed them. Yokomine's front-side 34 was tied for the 2nd-best score in the field Saturday, but she squandered it with a lackluster 37 on the back. After a bad stretch midway through Mogi's round where she went +4 over 5 holes, she closed with 4 birdies in her last 7 to stay in contention. Uehara would be tied for the lead but for a final-hole bogey. Saiki was -4 over her final 6 holes, kicked off by an eagle on the 500-yard par-5 13th; if it weren't for a bogey on her penultimate hole, she, too, would be tied for the lead.

Anything can happen Sunday! Stay tuned!

Corning Classic Friday: Morning Charge, Anyone? ...Anyone?

Unless Janice Moodie, Jimin Kang, or Jeong Jang do something special on the Corning Classic's birdie alley, first-round leader Erica Blasberg will have no one ahead of her from the morning groups as she plays the 5th through 9th holes at the end of her round today. Moodie's eagle on the par-5 5th hole has brought her to -5 for her round and -6 for the tournament, so she has the best chance to put some pressure on the leader. Kang's birdie on the 5th pulled her back to E for her round and -4 for the tournament. And Jang has already birdied 2 of her first 4 holes on the front to get to -2 on her round and -3 for the tournament as she enters birdie alley.

If you thought more players from the morning groups would be hanging with them, you thought wrong. Sure, Sun Young Yoo was -4 through her first 5 holes today (she's now -3 for the round and -1 for the tournament through 12, but besides that eagle on the 5th failed to take advantage of birdie alley for the second day in a row) and Song-Hee Kim is -2 through 14 in her round today and -3 for the tournament, but those kind of numbers aren't going to get you in contention with so many in the afternoon groups already at or better than them as they begin their rounds. What's more striking, though, is how many people in the morning groups have been moving backwards, fast. Take defending champion Young Kim, for instance. She opened with a 42 on the back to take her to +8 for the tournament--she'll need a fantastic finish on birdie alley to have even a hope of making the cut. Flirting with the cut line is Hee-Won Han, who gave back an eagle on the par-5 2nd with a double-bogey on the par-4 4th and is back to +2 on the round and tournament with 3 more birdie alley holes to play. Paula Creamer, too got off to a bad start with a 38 on the back and isn't taking advantage of birdie alley thus far; she's mired at E with Seon Hwa Lee, who probably wishes she had taken advantage of birdie alley as she enters the last 4 holes on the back.

In the time it took to write this, Jang failed to birdie the par-5 5th and Kang actually bogeyed the par-3 7th. Not a pretty start to a sunny Friday--too many lukewarm performances on a cool day....

[Update 1 (1:33 pm): Well, Moodie held steady for a 67 (-6, T1 now that Blasberg has made an early bogey), Kang fell back to a 73 (-3), and Jang has gotten to -4 with 2 holes to play. Creamer shot a 74 (E), as did Han (+2, right on the cut line as of now). And although Young Kim (+6) and Angela Stanford (+4) have gotten one birdie out of birdie alley thus far into it, they'll need miracles on their final holes to get close to the cut line.]

[Update 2 (1:49 pm): Rassin' frassin' LPGA.com! Moodie ended the day with a 68 and is at -5 (T2 for now). Jang's 69 kept her at -4 (T5). Kang ended up tied with Song-Hee Kim and Onnarin Sattayabanphot at -3 (T9)--and Sun Young Yoo has a great chance to join them, as she's -5 on her round with the 18th left to play. But don't expect -3 to stay in the top 15 by the end of the day....]

[Update 3 (1:54 pm): Young Kim's 32 on the front was too little, too late, but it did pull her into a tie with Angela Stanford and Inbee Park at +4 (T91). A whole lotta people need to make a whole lotta bogeys for them to have a chance at making the cut. I kinda saw it coming with Stanford--she's never played this course all that well--but am surprised at Kim and shocked at Park. Wonder who Hound Dog's Big Disappointment will be this week?]

[Update 4 (1:58 pm): 3 straight birdies by Na On Min have erased her first-hole double bogey--now there's someone taking advantage of birdie alley--and vaulted her into a tie for 1st. But Blasberg is almost through the difficult holes on the back and still has birdie alley waiting for her at the end of her round. Min, though, had one of the few bogey-free backs on Thursday, so there's no reason she can't keep her mo going all round.]

[Update 5 (6:55 pm): Min lost her mo on the back, but her 74 dropped her only to T11 at -3 because many of the leaders struggled, even on birdie alley. The exact same thing happened to Karine Icher, with exactly the same results. Blasberg, meanwhile, was -8 after the par 5 5th, but finished double bogey-par-bogey to fall back to a tie for 2nd with Moodie, Wendy Ward (70), and Katie Futcher (69) at -5. Na Yeon Choi was poised to take advantage of everyone else's struggles, but also failed to take advantage of birdie alley and stumbled her way to a 74 on the back to fall to a tie for 19th at -2.

So who played well? Dina Ammaccapane made 4 consecutive birdies on birdie alley and rebounded from back-to-back bogeys on the back by birdieing 2 of her last 3 holes for her 2nd consecutive 69 and the lead. Leta Lindley made a bunch of birdies on her way to a 67 that brought her to -4, tied with Jang, Johanna Head (69), Becky Morgan (70), and Sandra Gal (72) for 6th. Meredith Duncan birdied 3 of 5 holes around the turn and hung on for a 68 to get to -3 and T11.

So, heading into moving day, there are plenty of opportunities for struggling stars like Hee-Won Han (+2, T60), Paula Creamer and Mi Hyun Kim (E, T34), and Seon Hwa Lee and Laura Diaz (-1, T27) to get themselves back into contention. As the weather warms up, scores should be low over the weekend. The good news for the mix of veterans and newbies at the top of the leaderboard is that they have a cushion on the LPGA's elite players heading into the weekend. The bad news is that it's a much smaller cushion than it could--and probably should have been.]

[Update 6 (9:35 pm): Hound Dog's second-round summary rocks!]

[Update 7 (5/24/08, 6:36 am): As does John Kekis's AP story--it's maybe the best I've ever read!]

Bridgestone Ladies Open Friday: It's Crowded at the Top

The first round of the Chukyo TV Bridgestone Ladies Open is complete and the leaderboard is full of big names and hot hands, all of them chasing Yukari Baba and Michiko Hattori at -4. Shiho Oyama would be right with them but for a late double bogey on a birdieable par 5.

T1/-4 Baba, Hattori (68)
T2/-3 Hyun-Ju Shin, Hiromi Mogi, Ayako Uehara, Ikuyo Shiotani (69)
T7/-2 Oyama, Ji-Yeon Han (70)
T9/-1 Sakura Yomomine, Miki Saiki, Miho Koga, Ji-Hee Lee, Akane Iijima, Midori Yoneyama, plus 6 others (71)

Notables include:

T22/E Chie Arimura, Mie Nakata, Kaori Higo (72)
T30/+1 Bo-Bae Song, Erina Hara (73)
T45/+2 Mi-Jeong Jeon, Yui Kawahara (74)
T61/+3 Yuko Mitsuka (75)
T69/+4 Na Zhang, Yun-Jye Wei (76)
T80/+5 Hiroko Yamaguchi (77)

Higo, by the way, finished eagle-par-birdie to offset bogeys on the 3 previous holes, while Song managed 2 birdies in her final 3 holes to almost make up for her 3 consective bogeys as she made the turn.

Who will be the first player to win twice on the JLPGA this season? Baba shot the only bogey-free round in the field, but Uehara, Ohyama, Hattori, and Shiotani made the most birdies of the day. Me, I'm waiting for Yokomine, Saiki, and Koga to get hot. I want them all playing so well in 2008 they consider joining Ai Miyazato and Momoko Ueda on the LPGA in 2009!

Corning Classic Thursday: These Girls/Vets Rock!

Thursday dawned cold, blustery, and wet for the morning groups in the Corning Classic, but scores have been surprisingly low thus far. With intermittent showers, some heavy, and temperatures in the mid-40s, there's been some impressive golf from some unexpected quarters. Playing together in the first group off the back, rookies Liz Janangelo and Anna Rawson put on a show over their final 5 holes, going -3 and -4, respectively, to post the first under-par scores of the day. Janangelo's 71 won't put her high on the leaderboard at the end of the day, but Rawson's 69 has a chance to be among the day's 10 best. Yet an eagle on the 2nd helped get Sandra Gal to -2, ROY race leader Na Yeon Choi was -3, and Super Soph Na On Min was -4 as they all entered that very same birdie alley.

Now, the veterans haven't been standing by with their hands on their hips while the Young Guns go off. Sherri Turner followed up her excellent pre-tournament interview with 4 straight birdies on the front and heads into her final 4 holes at -3. Wendy Ward is right there with her, having matched Rawson's eagle on the 5th to start off -4 through the 12th before succumbing to a bogey on the 13th. And Dina Ammaccapane was -4 through her first 11 holes before a bogey dropped her a stroke back--but she's also entering birdie alley.

And yet the golfer everyone is chasing is none other than Erica Blasberg, who's rattled off 6 birdies in her first 13 holes without a single bogey.

This may affect strategy for those just starting in the afternoon groups. We'll see!

[Update 1 (12:41 pm): Watch out! After a rough 38 on her first 9, the back, Mi Hyun Kim has fought back to E and she hasn't even entered birdie alley yet! Others with chances to go low as they finish out the front include Katherine Hull, Becky Morgan, and Katie Futcher at -2 and Ji Young Oh, Irene Cho, Meaghan Francella, and Johanna Head at E. Meanwhile, Karine Icher is making like Blasberg--she has 5 birdies and a bogey in her 1st 13 holes. And the birdies have started coming for Min (-5), Choi (-4), and Ammaccapane (-4).]

[Update 2 (4:50 pm): Well, as soon as I tried (unsuccessfully) to get imoto down for a nap, it's seems as if birdie alley closed for business. Or maybe the conditions ended up being tougher for the afternoon groups. Blasberg ended up shooting a flawless 65, 2 shots better than Min and Icher and 3 shots better than Choi, Gal, and Turner. The only afternoon player to get as close as that latter 3some so far is Jimin Kang and she started on the front like Blasberg, Icher, and Turner. Paula Creamer also started on the front, and she just birdied 17 to join a large group at -2 thus far in their rounds--the only person who started on the back to match them so far is Eva Dahllof. With most of my picks struggling to get out of (or stay within) the +1 to -1 range, I have to assume that conditions took a turn for the worse in the afternoon--or that the greens are getting harder to putt the more moisture they take on. More after I pick up onechan from her friend's house!]

[Update 3 (5:18 pm): In the time it took to type that, imoto decided that our playroom floor reminded her of her day care nap mat and put herself to sleep, so my friends will be bringing onechan back. If only she could put together sentences longer than 2 words, she may have been able to help me figure out better what she wanted--as it was, I thought she was just being her usual revved up, rebellious self when it comes to going to bed! So I've used the extra time she's given me to check out my assumption that birdie alley is closed, and while it's true that few players have taken full advantage of it and some have even messed it up badly (I'm looking at you, Yoo!) or mildly (Inbee, you too?!), the real problem seems to be the amount of bogeys and worse the afternoon groups are taking outside it. The 1st is the biggest culprit here, although it seems like we're seeing more bogies throughout the first 4 holes from the afternoon groups and the 9th is playing tougher than in the morning. Still, there's no clear pattern that explains why it's likely there will be so many fewer sub-70 rounds in the afternoon than the morning. Again, I have to fall back on the assumption that some greens have taken on more water than others and are rolling at different speeds. Or perhaps there was some severe weather that rolled through and lead to a lot of bogeys.

With 5 birdies on the front after a birdie-free 39 on the back, non-exempt Junior Mint Virada Nirapathpongporn epitomizes why the afternoon scores aren't as low as the morning ones; she has a chance to outdo Laura Diaz's 6-shot improvement from the back to the front.]

[Update 4 (5:29 pm): Or perhaps the Mostly Harmless jinx is rearing its ugly head again? How else do you explain the results of my people whom I thought would have the advantage starting in the afternoon (I bolded them for emphasis)?

1. Creamer: 35-35 70 (-2, T17)
2. Choi Na Yeon: 34-34 68 (-4, T4)
3. Jang Jeong: 35-36 71 (-1, T29)
4. Lee Seon Hwa: 34-38 72 (E, T46)
5. Kim Mi Hyun: 33-38 71 (-1, T29)
6. Han Hee-Won: 34-38 72 (E, T46)
7. Kim Song-Hee: 34-37 71 (-1, T29)
8. Kim In-Kyung: 36-36 72 (E, T46)
9. Park Inbee: 37-37 74 (+2, T86)
10. Kim Young: 35-39 74 (+2, T86)
11. Kang Jimin: 34-34 68 (-4, T4)
12. Yoo Sun Young: 40-34 74 (+2, T86)

Yeesh!]

[Update 5 (5:34 pm): Ouch! Moira finished with a double on the 9th to match her earlier double on the 16th and erasethe effects of her 2 birdies on the front. Talk about not taking advantage of birdie alley! Her very rusty 76 puts her at T124, 1 shot ahead of Danielle Ammaccapane and 2 ahead of Cindy Rarick--and 2 behind Rosie Jones, who's come out of retirement just to play in the event one more time. Moira!]

[Update 6 (7:49 pm): For the must-read first-round recap, who ya gonna call? Hound Dog!]

[Update 7 (8:19 pm): Nice job for the AP by John Kekis! See what happens when you put a guy who's not phoning it in on the LPGA beat?]

[Update 8 (8:39 am): Gonna be the stereotypical English prof and remind the good people who update LPGA.com's notes and interviews page that "it's"="it is"!]

[Update 8 (5/23/08, 1:20 pm): Hound Dog's going all-out on highlights this week, as he'll be attending the Ginn Tribute next week--and liveblogging it!]

Corning Classic Pairings: You Can't Win on a Thursday, but....

It's hard to come back from an off-week, but Paula Creamer's been there before this season and learned from the experience. It's even harder, though, to come back from an off-week and face challenging weather conditions the first round or more, as Lorena Ochoa can no doubt attest. So it's a good thing for the Pink Panther that she's going off in the afternoon front prime-time quadrant tomorrow at the Corning Classic:

Start Time: 12:10 PM
Paula Creamer
Jimin Kang
Janice Moodie

Start Time: 12:20 PM
Meg Mallon
Sherri Steinhauer
Rosie Jones

Start Time: 12:30 PM
Taylor Leon
Laura Diaz
Hee-Won Han

Start Time: 12:40 PM
Jeong Jang
Angela Stanford
Linda Wessberg

Start Time: 12:50 PM
Carolina Llano
Kristy McPherson
Young Kim

It's really too bad the tournament organizers couldn't extend the same courtesy to Mi Hyun Kim, who has to rank among Creamer's top challengers this week, stiff knee or no; instead, they put her in the morning back prime-time quadrant:

Start Time: 8:40 AM
Na Yeon Choi
Danielle Ammaccapane
Na On Min

Start Time: 8:50 AM
Katherine Hull
Sandra Gal
Leta Lindley

Start Time: 9:00 AM
Kate Golden
Becky Morgan
Dina Ammaccapane

Start Time: 9:10 AM
Irene Cho
Meaghan Francella
Johanna Head

Start Time: 9:20 AM
Ji Young Oh
Katie Futcher
Mi Hyun Kim

How Danielle A. got there with Choi and Min I have no idea! In any case, it's advantage to Hilary Lunke, who snagged a pairing in the afternoon back prime-time quadrant:

Start Time: 12:10 PM
Alena Sharp
Silvia Cavalleri
Kyeong Bae

Start Time: 12:20 PM
Song-Hee Kim
Hilary Lunke
Eva Dahllof

Start Time: 12:30 PM
Inbee Park
Seon Hwa Lee
Jill McGill

Start Time: 12:40 PM
Moira Dunn
Gloria Park
Meena Lee

Start Time: 12:50 PM
Sun Young Yoo
Diana D'Alessio
Il Mi Chung

Nice to see Moira playing with Meena and Gloria. That leaves the morning front prime-time quadrant to get their toughness on:

Start Time: 8:40 AM
H.J. Choi
Wendy Ward
Erica Blasberg

Start Time: 8:50 AM
Hee Young Park
Sung Ah Yim
Candie Kung

Start Time: 9:00 AM
Giulia Sergas
Kris Tamulis
Jamie Hullett

Start Time: 9:10 AM
Karine Icher
In-Kyung Kim
Lorie Kane

Start Time: 9:20 AM
Mikaela Parmlid
Heather Young
Soo-Yun Kang

Speaking of tough, Anna Rawson gets another early bird special: she's playing with Liz Janangelo (whom a certain ESPN columnist picked for his Rookie of the Year) in the first pairing off the back side, two groups ahead of Junior Mint Na Ri Kim, who's making her first appearance on the LPGA this year while struggling on the Futures Tour. Even struggling Super Soph Jeanne Cho-Hunicke is going off almost an hour later on the front. Congrats to New Yorker Danielle Downey for snagging the last group of the day off the front; with luck, she won't even have to play 18 holes in what's shaping up to be the only bad weather day of the tournament.

Here's hoping the Corning organizers have learned from the mistakes of the Sybase people. And that that strange meme that it's the influx of Asian golfers that has endangered the Corning goes to an early grave. Or is being the site of 3 consecutive wins by Seoul Sisters a kiss of death on the LPGA?

Paging Jason Sobel

Jason Sobel seems to have been paying more attention to the LPGA this season, even before Annika's retirement accouncement, than in previous years. But you know what they say about a little knowledge, right? In his Weekly 18 column this week, Sobel skates out on some very thin ice. He's in some very good company, but that ought to be small solace to him. Let's see if we can set him straight, shall we?

Claim 1: "The PGA Tour is deeper than the LPGA."

Let's see, in the 2nd-weakest field of the season, 7 players finished ahead of Lorena Ochoa, including a rookie who set the tournament record in the final round on her way to the win, another rookie who later added a second runner-up to her resume and has garnered a half million in earnings thus far this season, another rookie who now has 4 top 6s and leads the ROY race, a Super Soph who may have the most potential of the bunch, and a trio of resurgent veterans.

Oh, and this past week, when many top players took a quick rest during the tour's 11-week-straight run-up to the LPGA Championship, you would have thought we'd finally have that Ochoa-Sorenstam Sunday Clash of the Titans we've all been waiting for, right? Oh, wait. Ochoa failed to run away with a win for the first time this season, Sorenstam faded, and there were 12 golfers between them, including several impressive Junior Mints on the comeback trail, that same ROY race leader, another top rookie, two more promising young Americans, and some seasoned international competitors--very few of whom had been having impressive seasons to date.

While we do only have 1 1st-time winner on the LPGA as we approach the 1/3 point of the season, I'd be very surprised if we didn't end up with more than 2006's 5 and 2007's 8 by the time we reach its end. I'm looking at you, Jee Young, Angela, Na Yeon, Ya Ni, Eun-Hee, Momoko, Brittany, Ai, In-Kyung, Inbee, Song-Hee, Jane, Teresa, and Kyeong! And you, Lindsey!

For that matter, I'm looking at you, Jeong, Hee-Won, Suzann, Angela, Christina, and Stacy! And you, Karrie, Juli, Se Ri, Cristie, Mi Hyun, Sophie, Maria, Catriona, Pat, Carin, Laura, and Laura! And you, Seon Hwa and Karen! Are you going to let Mr. Sobel's ignorance stand? Once some of you all start winning, the deepness--and relative parity--of the LPGA will become apparent even to him.

Claim 2: "The LPGA's elite players are more dominant than those of the PGA Tour."

Sure, the new Big 3 have won 11 of 12 tournaments this season--and 6 of them in dominating fashion--but Paula Creamer has barely squeaked out her 2 wins and just about handed another one to Annika Sorenstam down the stretch. We'll have to see how she handles the pressure of being the favorite this week against probably the 3rd-weakest field of the season. Moreover, last season's 5-time winner Suzann Pettersen is still hunting for her next LPGA win--all we know for sure is that it won't come this week, as she's playing in Europe.

So at most the LPGA's #1 and #1A have been the dominating players thus far this season. But who is the clear challenger to Tiger's dominance to have emerged on the PGA Tour during his recovery from knee surgery? Has anyone even closed the gap on him? Isn't a two-player rivalry better than a single-player's dominance? Moreover, if you check Golfweek's men's and women's rankings, or the men's and women's official world rankings, you'll see that the top LPGA players are closer to their #1 than the top PGA players. In the former, there are 8 women closer to Ochoa than #2 Jim Furyk is to Tiger; in the latter, there are 6 women closer to Ochoa than #3 Ernie Els is to Tiger. The stats don't back you up, Mr. Sobel.

Nor do the intangibles. There are just as many players exceeding expectations among the top 30 of the LPGA money list as the PGA money list. Compared to what you would expect from my ranking system, which is designed to take some of last season into account, May has been full of surprises on the LPGA tour, as many highly-ranked players have faded and many lower-ranked players have excelled. The fact is, though, Ochoa and Sorenstam can't possibly keep up their superlative play all year--you can only stay in the zone for so long--and their top competition (Paula Creamer, Seon Hwa Lee, Jee Young Lee, Morgan Pressel, Jeong Jang, Hee-Won Han, Se Ri Pak, Mi Hyun Kim, Angela Park, Stacy Prammanasudh, and Suzann Pettersen) can't possibly stay out of it as consistently as they have thus far this season.

Claim 3: "The PGA Tour is currently a more exciting product than the LPGA."

Yes, the jaded Mr. Sobel can't get excited about a season-long showdown between the world #1 and world #1A. Nor does he find the possibility of a "Senorita Slam"--or even a Grand Slam--for Ochoa at all interesting. Her fastest-to-$1M and fastest-to-6-wins-since-Mickey Wright start to the season? Ho-hum. Well, how about this? With Sorenstam gone from 2009-on and Ochoa unlikely to play past 2014, we don't have all that much time to appreciate the greatness of these 2 living legends of the LPGA. Yes, Jason, I've just quoted Ron Sirak at you--twice. What is he seeing that you're missing?

If the LPGA is so much more predictable than the PGA this season, why am I doing so much worse in a competition I've actually been trying hard at (I'm #15 in the Seoul Sisters.com Pakpicker) than in one in which I'm dabbling (I'm #3 in the Waggle Room Yahoo Sports golf fantasy league--and in the 94th percentile overall--doing zero research)? If you glance outside the winner's circle, the LPGA is just as exciting as the PGA when it comes to the unpredictability of who else besides Lorena, Annika, and Tiger will contend from week to week. There are many interesting, even compelling unknowns on the LPGA tour clearly unknown to Mr. Sobel.

So right now I think he's definitely wrong on all 3 of his claims. And by the time the LPGA gets to its 22nd event--the last major of the season, the Women's British Open--we'll have found out how many winners the LPGA has had compared to the PGA's 20...and how close their margins of victory have been. If Lorena keeps winning in dominating fashion between now and then, I'm prepared to admit that all 3 of Mr. Sobel's claims have been verified--although the latter 2 may be even more true of the PGA if Tiger comes back as powerfully as I expect him to. But by then he may have changed his tune and gotten excited about her run to break Wright's 13-win single-season record--or about Annika's last stands to protect her own 11-win season mark.

Assuming that Sobel won't admit he's wrong now, I'm wondering if witnessing some changes in the winner's circle between now and the end of the LPGA's European swing will prompt him to revisit his claims?

[Update 1 (5/22/08, 12:27 am): Not having a working tv, I can't comment on every part of Daniel Wexler's explanation of why he's been finding the PGA dull without Tiger, but one thing I take from his list is that the question of the men's tour's excitement/dullness is independent of its relation to the women's tour. If Sobel just wanted to be a contrarian on this issue, he needn't have dragged the LPGA into the discussion at all. For the record, I've found the PGA more interesting this season, both during Tiger's dominance and his absence, than in other recent seasons.]

[Update 2 (12:56 am): I guess ESPN's fact/fiction thing doesn't allow for questioning the question's assumptions, as I tried to do. Maybe I should list myself as "senior editor" of Mostly Harmless so they'll invite me to join them?]

Corning Classic Preview/Predictions

The LPGA comes to New York state's Southern Tier this week for the Corning Classic. With its short par 5s and many short par 4s and par 3s, the Corning Country Club seems to have favored the precision players on tour, but you'll have to go low to win it, particularly with the greens getting softened up early this week and a favorable weekend weather forecast (finally!). Water comes into play near the par-4 6th and par-5 14th greens, but overall the challenge seems to be accuracy off the tee and with your irons, to minimize the effect of the undulating greens.

Be sure to check out past finishes of those in the field and winners' profiles if you plan to join the Pakpickers before Thursday's round begins. I was considering an all-Korean top 12, but couldn't avoid putting onechan's favorite golfer at the top of the list.

1. Creamer
2. Choi Na Yeon
3. Jang Jeong
4. Lee Seon Hwa
5. Kim Mi Hyun
6. Han Hee-Won
7. Kim Song-Hee
8. Kim In-Kyung
9. Park Inbee
10. Kim Young
11. Kang Jimin
12. Yoo Sun Young

Alts: Diaz, Stanford, Morgan

[Update 1 (4:04 pm): Hound Dog's preview is up!]

[Update 2 (5/21/08, 9:49 am): And he points us to some great moments in the pre-tournament interviews, as well.]

News Flash: Golfweek Ranks Dunn Ahead of Miyazato

Check out the second 50 of the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index and you'll find Moira Dunn at #92 and Ai Miyazato at #93. I don't quite get how the GSPI formula evaluates performances over the past 52 weeks, and their posted numbers show that Ai-chan plays a tougher schedule and has slightly better W-L-T records against the top 10, top 50, and top 100 (although Moira's overall record is better), but I'm not complaining. It's great to see Moira in the top 100 again!

In fact, Moira has had a solid start to 2008 (for a New Yorker), building on similar play in the second half of 2007 to keep her card while Ai-chan's game was falling apart. Now that Ai-chan is making a slow-motion comeback (at least compared to my hopes if not yet my expectations), it'll be interesting to see how soon she passes Moira. Unfortunately, even though she got a top 10 there last season, she'll be sitting out this year's Corning Classic to get some well-deserved rest before the LPGA's major season begins, so I'll have to wait for my personal Clash of the Titans--between my 2 favorite golfers--for at least a couple of weeks.

Of course, I'm rooting for both to qualify for the LPGA's extended playoff season in October and November. The good news for them is that at this point in the season the top 20 on the money list is only a few top 5s out of reach. The bad news is that that's true for about 100 other players. To be on the safe side, they should have made between $225K and $275K by mid-September (based on winnings for the #50 golfer in each season this decade). If Moira can do it, 2008 would rank among her top 5 seasons in her 14-year career, while if Ai-chan is struggling to get there, this will have been her worst season as a professional, so their expectations are quite different. Ai-chan's past a third of the way there while Moira is around the one-quarter mark. Good luck, ladies!

[Update 1 (10:49 am): Yes, I know Moira is #172 in the latest Rolex Rankings, but she is ahead of Grace Park and on a pace to pass Michelle Wie. Even though Ai-chan's fallen to #27 and will fall further still until she starts getting top 10s again, there's no way Moira is catching her there.]

[Update 2 (4:56 pm): Wonder how Hound Dog's ranking system rates Moira and Ai-chan!]

[Update 3 (5/20/08, 10:39 am): Sweet! He devoted an entire post to the question.]

Sybase Classic Sunday: And They're Off!

Perhaps in anticipation of the potential for afternoon thunderstorms in the NYC area, the final round of the Sybase Classic has already begun. Here's hoping they get it all in. And that Na On Min, Ya Ni Tseng, Seon Hwa Lee, and Song-Hee Kim make like the early bird! But with the final groups going off at 9:01 am, I think it's fair to say everyone who made the cut has a chance to do that....

[Update 1 (10:42 am): While Lorena Ochoa pulls away from the field, Christina Kim is making a bid for 2nd place. She wouldn't be Christina without a bogey on her first hole to get off on the wrong foot, but she followed up with 5 birdies to shoot her 2nd 32 in 3 tries on the front. At -7, she's 4 behind Ochoa and tied with Na Yeon Choi, Sophie Gustafson, and Teresa Lu. But also making an early move are Morgan Pressel (-3 throgh 8 holes and tied with Brittany Lang at -6 for the tournament) and Minea Blomqvist (-4 through 12 despite making 4 bogeys in her round thus far and tied with Kristy McPherson, H.J. Choi, and Catriona Matthew at -5).]

[Update 2 (11:03 am): Also making nice moves are Angela Park (a bogey-free 33 on the back has gotten her under par in the tournament for the first time since the 7th hole on Thursday) and Ya Ni Tseng (who's also -3 on her round thus far, and has passed Taylor Leon to pull into second among the rookies in the field). Speaking of rookies, Na Yeon Choi is back within 3 of Ochoa. But with a birdie-eagle start on the back, Pressel has passed Lu at the top of the 5-way race for top Junior Mint and is now only 2 shots behind Ochoa!]

[Update 3 (11:08 am): Not everyone is moving in the right direction. H.J. Choi at +1 through 8 is not keeping pace with her Junior Mint peers who have passed her. Annika Sorenstam shot a 37 on the front--we'll have to see how she motivates herself now that she's well out of contention. Stacy Prammanasudh is +2 through 12 and Ai Miyazato is +3 through 11 and both have fallen back to E for the tournament.]

[Update 4 (11:30 am): Is it possible Lorena Ochoa's not going to run away with this thing? The next few holes may tell--she's birdied 10 and 11 often and bogeyed 12 twice--and with her bogey on the 9th she's just let a host of people within 2 shots of her lead. A Christina Kim birdie and Morgan Pressel bogey bring them together at -8 with Teresa Lu and Na Yeon Choi.]

[Update 5 (11:44 am): Correction: Pressel didn't eagle 11--just a birdie (someone a LPGA.com got a little excited, I think). She and Kim have made it through the dangerous 12th unscathed and Ochoa and Choi failed to birdie the 10th. Tseng, Blomqvist, and Nicole Castrale are all at -5 for the tournament and -4 on their rounds, but it's too late for them to contend for 2nd with the leaders playing as well as they are--and Blomqvist just responded with a double on 17. Lu bogeyed 10 to drop off the leaders' pace for now.]

[Update 6 (12:02 pm): With a birdie on 10 and an eagle on 11, Lang has gotten herself into the mix in a big way--at -9, she's tied with Na Yeon Choi 2 back of Ochoa, who did birdie the 11th. And Catriona Matthew has birdied the 13th and 14th to get to -4 on the day and -8 for the tournament. With Sophie Gustafson also at -8, there are now 7 players within 3 of Ochoa as she plays the dangerous 12th.]

[Update 7 (12:12 pm): In perhaps a preview of how significant the 18th will be today, Nicole Castrale birdied it to shoot a 67 and get to -6 on the tournament, while Ya Ni Tseng bogeyed and dropped to 69 and -4. Those 2 shots are likely to be the difference between being in and out of the top 10 this week--and could be much more significant if anyone can pull even with Ochoa heading into the final hole. With her first par of the week on the 12th, Lorena's not making it easy for the rest of the lead pack.]

[Update 8 (12:21 pm): Jimin Kang is making a huge comeback after an opening-round 73; at -4 with 2 holes to play, she has caught Castrale and Lu, who also bogeyed the 11th, 5 shots back of Ochoa. Inbee Park is also -4 on her round after 2 indifferent rounds to start the tournament; if she can handle the tough 9th, she'll have snagged a top 20 finish.]

[Update 9 (12:27 pm): At the other end of the spectrum, Lindsey Wright has bogeyed 5 holes since the 9th and has been caught by Shi Hyun Ahn and Angela Park at E for the tournament. And Ai-chan is turning in the 2nd-worst round of the day--at +4, she's dropped all the way back to +1 for the tournament. Ugh!]

[Update 10 (12:31 pm): Gustafson started cold and has gotten hot--3 birdies in her first 4 holes have brought her back within 2 of Ochoa. And Cristie Kerr has bounced back from a late double on the front with an eagle-birdie-birdie run to match Inbee Park's performance to date.]

[Update 11 (12:41 pm): So far the rain has stayed west of the course, but weather.com shows a big cell that may drift further east than previous ones. Hope they play fast! If Christina Kim can birdie or eagle the tough 18th, she'll get to -9 or -10, which could be good enough for the win if the leaders get caught out in the rain.]

[Update 12 (12:50 pm): Annika's birdied 3 of her last 5 holes down the stretch and seems to be fighting for a top 10. But that cell is definitely heading the players' way and there seems to be a bottleneck on the last 3 holes.... Think they'll wipe this round if the rains make finishing the last few holes impossible?]

[Update 12 (12:54 pm): The final group has reached the last 3 holes and Ochoa remains at -11, the only player double digits under par in the field. This is another stretch during which she has separated herself from the field the previous 2 rounds. But will she get to play them?]

[Update 12 (2:30 pm): Well, it seems like everybody birdied 18 except the two players who needed it most, Na Yeon Choi and Sophie Gustafson, who had to settle for T2 with Morgan Pressel, Catriona Matthew, and Brittany Lang. Ochoa bogeyed 17 to give Choi and Gustafson a chance to force a playoff, but they couldn't get to double digits under par in the end. I'll let those with tv access handle the "how" part....]

[Update 13 (2:56 pm): Hound Dog has his pre-tv final-round recap up already. Looking forward to his post-coverage update and highlights!]

[Update 14 (5:03 pm): Tom Canavan in his AP story does a fine job, but inexplicably pays almost no attention to the ROY leader Choi as well as comebacker Junior Mint Lang and resurgent mom Matthew in his recap of who could have caught Ochoa today.]

[Update 15 (11:42 pm): Nice highlights as usual from Hound Dog--the first clip alone kicks ESPN's entire highlight reel's butt.]

[Update 16 (5/19/08, 10:25 am): Just to rub it in, Hound Dog posted more highlights today. And a growling tournament epilogue.]

[Update 17 (12:51 pm): Uh oh, does it seem like the Golf Channel's LPGA highlights are getting better and better lately? Could there be a bidding war between ESPN and TGC for the LPGA tv deal in the works?]

[Update 18 (5/22/08, 12:45 am): Nice recap by TGC's Tom Abbott.]

AnnikaWatch: Going Head-to-Head with a Living Legend

We've been deprived yet again of an Ochoa-Sorenstam Clash of the Titans on Sunday, at least in the head-to-head sense, as Sorenstam played her way on Saturday back into the 3rd-to-last group with Catriona Matthew and Kristy McPherson in the Sybase Classic's final round. But that just adds to the list of players who might be able to tell their grandkids they beat Annika in her final season on the LPGA.

Here's a list of who's played with her so far in 2008 and their record (W-L-T) against her in those rounds they've been paired together.

5 6 players have a winning record:

Juli Inkster (1-0)
[Update (2:31 pm): Catriona Matthew (1-0)]
Hee-Won Han (1-0)
Jee Young Lee (1-0)
Amy Hung (1-0)
Mi Hyun Kim (1-0-1)

6 have broken even:

Lorena Ochoa (3-3) [but Lorena's on a 3-round losing streak]
Paula Creamer (1-1-1) [the one round Paula won, Annika beat her in the playoff]
Karrie Webb (1-1)
Morgan Pressel (1-1)
Lindsey Wright (1-1)
Minea Blomqvist (1-1)

But mostly it's an exercise in futility (more so for some than for others):

Jeong Jang (0-1-1)
Stacy Prammanasudh (0-1-1)
Christina Kim (0-1)
Na Yeon Choi (0-1)
In-Kyung Kim (0-1)
Young Kim (0-1)
Il Mi Chung (0-1)
Meaghan Francella (0-1)
Reilly Rankin (0-1)
Charlotte Mayorkas (0-1)
[Update (2:31 pm): Kristy McPherson (0-1)]
Erica Blasberg (0-1)
Suzann Pettersen (0-2)
Laura Davies (0-2)
Laura Diaz (0-2)
Ai Miyazato (0-2)
Cristie Kerr (0-3)
Natalie Gulbis (0-4-1)
Momoko Ueda (0-4)

Consider that these are the golfers who either got paired with Annika early in a tournament or who played their way into her pairing later in one--the few players the tour considers to be in her league or who have played at the same level as her that week. That's a pretty good record for Annika there, eh?

I wonder if you'd rather say you got beat by her 10 times or you beat her once the one time you got to play with her in her last season on the LPGA?

Vernal Ladies Sunday: Lim for the Win!

It's fitting that at a tournament located in Fukuoka Prefecture, parts of which are a relatively short ferry ride from South Korea, not even Akiko Fukushima could stop KLPGA transplant Eun-A Lim from getting her first JLPGA win in the Vernal Ladies event this week. Lim won wire-to-wire, but it came down to the wire. She squandered 3 shots of her 4-shot lead on Fukushima over 5 holes in the middle of her round. But from the 12th hole on, the pair matched scorecards, while Yukari Baba and Ji-Hee Lee struggled to make up ground on them and the rest of the field essentially played their own tournament. With her gritty play, Lim prevented Fukushima from becoming the first repeat and first back-to-back winner on the JLPGA this season, just as Fukushima had blocked the KLPGA's Ji-Yai Shin (who's now in contention in their first major) from the former feat last week. Lim's reward: a 21-million yen victory in the tournament with the JLPGA's largest purse on the season to date.

Here's how the top 10 and notables finished up:

1st/-7 Lim (65-71-73)
2nd/-6 Fukushima (69-71-71)
T3/-5 Baba (71-69-71), Lee (70-70-71)
T5/-2 Miki Saiki (69-75-70), Na Zhang (72-70-72)
T7/-1 Yuko Mitsuka (72-75-68), Hiromi Mogi (72-73-70), Sakura Yokomine (74-69-72), Bo-Bae Song (70-68-77)

T11/E Michie Ohba (71-72-73), Hiroko Yamaguchi (72-70-74), Mayu Hattori (71-70-75)
T15/+1 Akane Iijima (73-74-70), Miho Koga (73-73-71), Ji-Woo Lee (71-72-74), Yuri Fudoh (68-73-75)
T24/+3 Chie Arimura (74-72-73), Erina Hara (75-70-74), Kuniko Maeda (72-70-77)
T28/+4 Ayako Uehara (73-72-75)
T33/+5 Mi-Jeong Jeon (75-72-74)
36th/+6 Midori Yoneyama (75-72-75)
T37/+7 Yun-Jye Wei (72-77-74), Shiho Oyama (77-71-75)
T46/+8 Mie Nakata (74-75-75)
T53/+10 Shinobu Moromizato (76-72-77)
56th/+12 Yui Kawahara (69-80-79)

And here's where the money list now stands:

1. Fukushima ￥44.58M
2. Koga ￥33.40M
3. Lim ￥32.28M
4. Baba ￥32.15M
5. Yokomine ￥32.09M
6. Song ￥30.09M
7. Uehara ￥26.78M
8. Lee ￥25.10M
9. Yamaguchi ￥23.95M
10. Saiki ￥23.44M