Ai Miyazato opened the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup with a sizzling 63 (capped off by a birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie run late in her 1st round), but she couldn't stay ahead of Jee Young Lee, who started the tournament by birdieing 7 of her 1st 9 holes and followed it up with a bogey-free 64 yesterday. A walkoff bogey on Ai-sama's final hole, the par-4 9th, dropped her back to -14, 1 shot behind her fellow LPGA Class of 2006er. With Stacy Lewis lurking at -11, a mix of veterans (Candie Kung, Lindsey Wright, Amy Yang) and newbies (Danielle Kang, Gerina Piller) playing well at -9, and proven performers like Cristie Kerr (-8), In-Kyung Kim (-8), Anna Nordqvist (-8), Sandra Gal (-8), Ji-Yai Shin (-7), Katherine Hull-Kirk (-7), Hee-Won Han (-7), and Jimin Kang (-7) one low round away from putting themselves in contention (not to mention a host of hungry youngsters from Jessica Korda and Lizette Salas to Daniela Iacobelli to Sydnee Michaels), it's too soon to declare this a blast from the past, a 36-hole showdown between 2 of the top "Young Guns" (as I used to call the LPGA generation now known as the "Tseng Dynasty"), but indulge me while I take a walk down nostalgia lane and fantasize about what might go down this weekend.
Back in 2006, Ai Miyazato and Morgan Pressel were the 2 biggest names in that year's rookie class--Miyazato because of her record-breaking win in '05 Q-School and Pressel because of her near-win at the U.S. Women's Open. Both had solid seasons--they both finished in the top 25 on the money list (Miyazato with around $532K and Pressel with about $466K)--but they were passed by Duke's Brittany Lang (who also had a great shot at winning that same Open as Pressel!) and overshadowed by 2 relatively unheralded South Korean golfers, Rookie of the Year Seon Hwa Lee (1 win and #12 on the money list, near $1M in winnings) and Jee Young Lee (#20 on the money list with around $575K in winnings). Seon Hwa, who would garner the moniker "Stone Buddha," was a classic straight shooter, #8 in driving accuracy with 78.7% of fairways found and #2 in putts per green in regulation at 1.75. Jee Young, who came to be known to her fans as "Jelly," was a bomber with touch, ranking #4 in driving distance at 275 yards a pop and #6 in putts per green in regulation at 1.76. Both would continue to excel on the LPGA over the next 2 seasons.
In 2007, Seon Hwa would move into the top 5 on the money list and break the $1M barrier, Jee Young would almost follow her, and Pressel joined them in the top 10, while Miyazato moved into the top 20 with nearly $800K in winnings. Jelly moved up to #2 in driving distance that year, while the Stone Buddha got her 2nd LPGA victory. Seon Hwa was the only '06er to really shine in 2008, again breaking the $1M barrier and notching her 3rd and 4th LPGA wins, but both Jee Young and Morgan had solid years (top 25 on the money list, near $800K and $700K respectively), staying ahead of the resurgent Lang and the surging Sun Young Yoo, while Miyazato suffered an injury in the 2nd half of the season after losing to Seon Hwa in the finals of the Match Play Championship and compounded her problems with ill-advised swing changes, causing her to drop almost entirely out of the top 50. If you look at my early rankings of the '06ers (from my first in May 2007 to my year-end ones in October 2008 and December 2008), you'll see it was pretty clear that the Lees were doing great, Pressel was doing pretty well, and Miyazato was doing all right, but definitely underachieving given her double-digit win total on the JLPGA before coming to the LPGA.
9 Miyazato LPGA wins later and with both Lees still in the midst of deep deep deep slumps (Jelly needed wrist surgery late in 2010, and I still don't know what's really gone on with the Stone Buddha the last few years, but at least she made the cut this week), everything has changed. But once upon a time, Jee Young Lee was the golfer many LPGA watchers thought had the best chance to hang with the dominant Lorena Ochoa and the rising Ya Ni Tseng. Hound Dog and I in particular kept expecting a breakout year from her. Well, it hasn't happened yet. I would love to see her get her 1st win as an LPGA member this week! (Her only win so far was as a non-member in the LPGA event in Korea in 2005.) Of course, I'm not going to be rooting against my favorite golfer on the planet, who's fighting for her 10 career LPGA victory!
Yes, I know Stacy Lewis can take over the #1 spot with a win (Ya Ni made the cut on the dot at -2, so she'll need 2 super-low rounds in a row to make the top 3), and there are all kinds of other stories to follow (by this point, it's no surprise to see Michelle Wie and Laura Davies missing a cut, but Suzann Pettersen and Carlota Ciganda??? Brittany Lincicome and Morgan Pressel?? Vicky Hurst and Sun Young Yoo? Chella Choi and Mariajo Uribe?), but I would love to see Jelly and Ai-sama continue playing so well in all facets of their games that they continue to pull away from the field. If that happens, I'll leave it to others to enjoy watching 2 golfers with such different styles of play duke it out at Wildfire over the weekend.
The Constructivist Family will be driving up to Ontario tomorrow morning for the end of the World Figure Skating Championships, so maybe imoto and I can find a hotel lobby that'll allow us to watch some skating and golf while the Full Metal Archivist and onechan attend the gala? The terrible coverage of figure skating on US tv and of women's golf on Japan TV is leaving us in the dark, but what can we do? Better to pay for the girls' Japanese school, onechan's skating, and imoto's gymnastics and to save money for us all to start golfing this summer (the FMA's weakening in her anti-golf resolve--woo-hoo!) than pay for Golf Channel that I don't even have time to watch this semester!
Long story short, I may not even find out the results of the tournament until late night Sunday. And as for blogging it, we'll just have to see. Sorry about that!
[Update 1 (11:18 am): bangkokbobby is also looking back to Jelly's early career! And Ruthless Mike is praising Ai-sama's putting stroke! Meanwhile, Tony Jesselli is focusing on reports of Natalie Gulbis having caught malaria on the Asian swing, while the Seoul Sisters discussion forum is lighting up with worries about what this might mean about Se Ri Pak's illness....]
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
If You're Looking for Tony Jesselli's Founders Cup Preview....
...you can find it over at his new blog, Tony's LPGA Report, at http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/2013/03/rr-donnelly-founders-cup-preview.html. You can always find the link to his most recent post in the "Mostly Harmless Golfarama" section over on the left sidebar.
I want to thank Tony for everything he did here at Mostly Harmless, but particularly for keeping MH alive while I took a long sabbatical from golf blogging for most of the last five months. For awhile there when he and I were both contributing regularly to MH--and for some time after I took off--it was the #1 golf blog according to Technorati (and was consistently in their top 5 for virtually his entire tenure). Tony's relentless search for new readers and eagerness to reach out to new audiences on discussion forums and fan sites around the world no doubt played a huge role in MH's rise in Technorati's rankings. But I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that it's Tony's ability to capture the big picture concisely and zoom in to focus on significant details and emerging trends that's the true source of his appeal as a golf writer. He always calls it like he sees it, even when it means pointing out that a golfer he likes a lot isn't playing very good golf. These qualities served him well at MH and will serve him well at Tony's LPGA Report.
Tony, I can't wait to see what you do in and with your new digs! Here's hoping that every single Mostly Harmless regular becomes a regular at your place and that you continue to bring new fans and better coverage to women's golf! Best of luck, and don't be a stranger--feel free to cross-post here any time!
I want to thank Tony for everything he did here at Mostly Harmless, but particularly for keeping MH alive while I took a long sabbatical from golf blogging for most of the last five months. For awhile there when he and I were both contributing regularly to MH--and for some time after I took off--it was the #1 golf blog according to Technorati (and was consistently in their top 5 for virtually his entire tenure). Tony's relentless search for new readers and eagerness to reach out to new audiences on discussion forums and fan sites around the world no doubt played a huge role in MH's rise in Technorati's rankings. But I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that it's Tony's ability to capture the big picture concisely and zoom in to focus on significant details and emerging trends that's the true source of his appeal as a golf writer. He always calls it like he sees it, even when it means pointing out that a golfer he likes a lot isn't playing very good golf. These qualities served him well at MH and will serve him well at Tony's LPGA Report.
Tony, I can't wait to see what you do in and with your new digs! Here's hoping that every single Mostly Harmless regular becomes a regular at your place and that you continue to bring new fans and better coverage to women's golf! Best of luck, and don't be a stranger--feel free to cross-post here any time!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
The LPGA's Top Rivalries: Generation Gaps, March 2013
With the LPGA just about to make its 2013 U.S. debut, it's time to reexamine how the LPGA's last 6 generations stack up. Check out the career money list and wins/majors totals for the top players in the generations that span the Sorenstam Era (1994-2008), the overlapping Ochoa Era (2003-2009), and the overlapping Tseng Dynasty (2008-present).
[Note: [square brackets] indicate the player has retired from professional golf; {squiggle brackets} indicate the player is no longer an LPGA member but still playing on another tour; *=includes non-member win; **=includes 3 non-member wins.]
1994-1996: The Sorenstam Generation
[1. Annika Sorenstam (1994) $22.57M (#1), 72/10]
2. Karrie Webb (1996) $17.44M (#2), 38*/7
3. Catriona Matthew (1995) $7.72M (#16), 4/1
4. Pat Hurst (1995) $6.92M (#20), 6/1
5. Lorie Kane (1996) $6.91M (#21), 4/0
6. Wendy Ward (1996) $4.96M (#43), 4/0
{7. Carin Koch (1995) $4.44M (#47), 2/0}
Ever since Matthew and Hurst both passed Kane in the 2nd half of last season, Kane had been playing much better golf than she has in years, so we now have a real fight for the #4 and possibly the #3 spot. Koch is living in Sweden and playing exclusively on the LET, so unless she does well in future Women's British Opens and Evian Championships--or moves back to the States--she will fall further behind her peers from here on out. A more interesting question is whether Webb will be able to catch Sorenstam (in winnings, not wins)!
1997-1999: The Pak Generation
1. Cristie Kerr (1997) $14.38M (#4), 15/2
2. Se Ri Pak (1998) $11.83M (#6), 25/5
[3. Mi Hyun Kim (1999) $8.62M (#13), 8/0]
4. Sophie Gustafson (1998) $6.16M (#25), 5/0
5. Maria Hjorth (1998) $6.06M (#26), 5/0
[6. Rachel Hetherington (1997) $5.73M (#32), 8/0]
7. Laura Diaz (1999) $5.15M (#41), 2/0
8. Karen Stupples (1999) $3.94M (#52), 2/1
9. Janice Moodie (1998) $3.68M (#56), 2/0
Even though Kerr's passed Pak on the career money list, she'll have to join her in the Hall of Fame to have her name on the generation, too. Even with Kim's
2000-2002: Angela and the Seoul Sisters
1. Angela Stanford (2001) $7.34M (#18), 5/0
2. Hee-Won Han (2001) $6.89M (#22), 6/0
3. Jeong Jang (2000) $6.54M (#24), 2/1
4. Candie Kung (2002) $5.60M (#35), 4/0
[5. Grace Park (2000) $5.44M (#38), 6/1]
6. Natalie Gulbis (2002) $4.65M (#45), 1/0
{7. Gloria Park (2000) $3.28M (#69), 2/0}
8. Heather Bowie Young (2000) $3.10M (#72), 1/0
9. Dorothy Delasin (2000) $2.65M (#86), 4/0
10. Jennifer Rosales (2000) $2.62M (#89), 2/0
11. Nicole Castrale (2002) $2.36M (#100), 1/0
12. Guilia Sergas (2002) $1.89M (#120), 0/0
Stanford is now the top player of this generation in terms of winnings (hence the change to the generation's name), although it's hard to argue that her overall career tops the now-retired (and much missed) Grace Park's. It'll be interesting to see if Han, Jang, and Kung can make up any ground on Stanford this season. The "other Park" is on the KLPGA, so I've expanded this list to include those who I think have a chance of catching her.
2003-2005: The Ochoa Generation
[1. Lorena Ochoa (2003) $14.86M (#3), 27/2]
2. Paula Creamer (2005) $9.70M (#7), 9/1
3. Suzann Pettersen (2003) $9.39M (#8), 10/1
4. Brittany Lincicome (2005) $5.05M (#42), 5/1
5. Christina Kim (2003) $4.10M (#49), 2/0
6. Meena Lee (2005) $3.89M (#53), 2/0
7. Katherine Hull-Kirk (2004) $3.42M (#63), 2/0
8. Stacy Prammanasudh (2003) $3.39M (#64), 2/0
9. Shi Hyun Ahn (2004) $2.65M (#87), 1*/0
10. Lindsey Wright (2004) $2.47M (#93), 0/0
11. Karine Icher (2003) $2.42M (#96), 0/0
{12. Young Kim (2003) $2.36M (n.r. [~#100]), 1/0}
13. Jimin Kang (2003) $2.24M (#106), 2/0
With Lorena looking less and less likely to ever come back to the LPGA full-time, the only real question is how close Creamer and Pettersen can come to matching her career. The race between the 3 mid-level Americans, 2 Australians and 3 Koreans below them will be of interest, as well, as Lincicome has broken out of the pack, but Young Kim will need to rejoin the LPGA to participate in it (don't know why her name no longer appears on the career money list). She's playing in her 4th season in a row on the JLPGA and seems to be liking it, so I don't expect her to return to the LPGA anytime soon. The newly-included Icher and Wright have already passed her and it's only a matter of time before Kang does, too.
2006-2008: The Tseng Dynasty
1. Ya Ni Tseng (2008) $9.17M (#9), 15/5
2. Na Yeon Choi (2008) $7.82M (#15), 7/1
3. Ai Miyazato (2006) $7.07M (#19), 9/0
4. Inbee Park (2007) $5.50M (#37), 4/1
5. In-Kyung Kim (2007) $5.16M (#40), 3/0
6. Morgan Pressel (2006) $4.70M (#44), 2/1
7. Seon Hwa Lee (2006) $4.04M (#51), 4/0
8. Brittany Lang (2006) $3.71M (#55), 1/0
9. Song-Hee Kim (2007) $3.66M (#57), 0/0
10. Sun Young Yoo (2006) $3.61M (#61), 2/1
11. Jee Young Lee (2006) $3.38M (#65), 1*/0
12. Amy Yang (2008) $2.92M (#78), 0/0
13. Julieta Granada (2006) $2.87M (#86), 1/0
14. Eun-Hee Ji (2007) $2.85M (#80), 2/1
15. Hee Young Park (2008) $2.76M (#89), 1/0
16. Shanshan Feng (2008) $2.39M (#98), 1/1
17. Angela Park (2007) $2.12M (#110), 0/0
18. Kristy McPherson (2007) $1.97M (#115), 0/0
19. Sandra Gal (2008) $1.80M (#123), 1/0
20. Momoko Ueda (2008) $1.62M (#129), 2*/0
21. Ji Young Oh (2007) $1.53M (#134), 2/0
22. Kyeong Bae (2006) $1.44M (#143), 0/0
23. Katie Futcher (2006) $1.28M (#159), 0/0
24. Meaghan Francella (2006) $1.19M (#170), 1/0
{25. Teresa Lu (2006) $1.13M (#175), 0/0}
26. Jane Park (2007) $1.07M (#182), 0/0
The Tseng Dynasty is still strong, but fellow '08er NYC is making some noise and Inbee is buzzing up the list. Will this be the year my favorite golfer breaks through for her 1st major? That Amy Yang gets her 1st win? This generation is the deepest in LPGA history, despite the fact that so many golfers in it have already suffered huge slumps in their short careers. Few LPGA generations have more than 4 players with 5 or more wins, but I'll bet this turns out to be one of them!
2009-2011: New Blood
1. Ji-Yai Shin (2009) $5.76M (#29), 11**/2*
2. Stacy Lewis (2009) $4.39M (#48), 6/1
3. Anna Nordqvist (2009) $2.63M (#88), 2/1
4. Mika Miyazato (2009) $2.60M (#90), 1/0
5. Michelle Wie (2009) $2.60M (#91), 2/0
6. Azahara Munoz (2010) $2.19M (#108), 1/0
7. Hee Kyung Seo (2011) $1.75M (#125), 1*/0
8. Vicky Hurst (2009) $1.33M (#150), 0/0
9. Chella Choi (2009) $1.21M (#165), 0/0
10. Mi Jung Hur (2009) $1.12M (#177), 1/0
11. Beatriz Recari (2010) $1.09M (#180), 1/0
12. Haeji Kang (2009) $.86M (#216), 0/0
13. Jenny Shin (2011) $.65M (#245), 0/0
{14. Gwladys Nocera (2010) $.61M (#250), 0/0}
15. Mina Harigae (2010) $.59M (#255), 0/0
16. Mindy Kim (2009) $.52M (#264), 0/0
17. Ilhee Lee (2010), $.50M (#275), 0/0
18. Amanda Blumenherst (2010) $.48M (#281), 0/0
19. Jessica Korda (2011) $.48M (#339), 1/0
20. Pornanong Phatlum (2009) $.43M (#294), 0/0
21. Mariajo Uribe (2010) $.42M (#295), 0/0
22. Gerina Piller (2010) $.41M (#298), 0/0
23. Jennifer Johnson (2011) $.39M (#302), 0/0
24. Cindy LaCrosse (2010) $.39M (#306), 0/0
25. Caroline Hedwall (2011) $.37M (#311), 0/0
26. Alison Walshe (2010) $.32M (#327), 0/0
27. Dewi Claire Schreefel (2010) $.31M (#336), 0/0
28. Tiffany Joh (2011) $.29M (#344), 0/0
29. Christel Boeljon (2011) $.28M (#348), 0/0
30. Belen Mozo (2011) $.26M (#356), 0/0
31. Ryann O'Toole (2011) $.25M (#362), 0/0
32. Jodi Ewart Shadoff (2011) $.24M (#363), 0/0
33. Pernilla Lindberg (2010) $.23M (#376), 0/0
34. Jennifer Song (2011) $.22M (#379), 0/0
35. Maria Hernandez (2010) $.18M (#395), 0/0
Obviously with this generation, it's really too soon to tell who's going to have a great LPGA career, besides Shin and Lewis. For now, I'm erring on the side of inclusiveness by putting everyone over $150K in career winnings in this generation on this list. As we get further into their careers, I'll slowly start raising the bar, until by 2014 they'll need to have broken the $1M barrier to stay on the list. I'd be very impressed if as many of them did it as in the previous generation in the same amount of time. The problem for everyone who hasn't already done it is they are all competing against each other and are sandwiched between 2 historic generations. Still, this is about the time in a player's career that they start to make quantum leaps. Let's see if Shin and Lewis can pull others in their generation in their wakes.
2012-2014: Generation Prodigy
1. So Yeon Ryu (2012) $1.36M (#148), 2*/1*
2. Lexi Thompson (2012) $.68M (#243), 1*/0
3. Danielle Kang (2012) $.31M (#334), 0/0
4. Lizette Salas (2012) $.31M (#338), 0/0
5. Sydnee Michaels (2012) $.19M (#389), 0/0
6. Mo Martin (2012) $.17M (#402), 0/0
7. Carlota Ciganda (2012) $.12M (#433), 0/0
8. Veronica Felibert (2012) $.11M (#444), 0/0
9. Moriya Jutanugarn (2013) $.09M (#469), 0/0
10. Numa Gulyanamitta (2012) $.07M (#490), 0/0
11. Jane Rah (2012) $.06M (#505), 0/0
12. Chie Arimura (2013) $.06M (#509), 0/0
13. Jacqui Concolino (2012) $.05M (#517), 0/0
OK, why am I so high on this generation if very few from the Class of 2012 made over $50K in their rookie season and only 2 '13ers have joined them? Partly it's because I don't think those already in it have really begun to fight (So Yeon and Lexi has better watch out for Ciganda, Kang, Arimura, Jutanugarn, and Uehara--at least--this season), and partly it's because I'm anticipating that Ariya Jutanugarn and Hyo-Joo Kim will be joining the LPGA next year. And if Lydia Ko changes plans, all bets are off!
Monday, March 11, 2013
Thanks For Two Great Years
I just want to inform my readers that I have started my own blog.
I have spent the last 2 years writing for Mostly Harmless and have made many friends, but it is time for me to move on and try my own thing.
I want to thank the Constructivist for giving me the opportunity to write for this website. It is greatly appreciated.
Women's golf is such an underated sport, and in my opinion, just doesn't get enough coverage. I am hoping with adding another site, I can make a small difference. Keeping women's golf in the news has always been my inspiration to write.
You can find me at:
http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/
I hope you will all give me a look, and support your love for women's golf, by keeping up with both of our websites. I have linked my new website to this location.
Thanks for continued support,
Tony Jesselli
I have spent the last 2 years writing for Mostly Harmless and have made many friends, but it is time for me to move on and try my own thing.
I want to thank the Constructivist for giving me the opportunity to write for this website. It is greatly appreciated.
Women's golf is such an underated sport, and in my opinion, just doesn't get enough coverage. I am hoping with adding another site, I can make a small difference. Keeping women's golf in the news has always been my inspiration to write.
You can find me at:
http://www.tonyslpgareport.com/
I hope you will all give me a look, and support your love for women's golf, by keeping up with both of our websites. I have linked my new website to this location.
Thanks for continued support,
Tony Jesselli
Sunday, March 10, 2013
It's Pettersen Over Park by a Hair in China on the LET!
Suzann Pettersen must love Asia! She won twice in a row in last fall's Asian Swing on the LPGA (matching her 2007 feat there) and has just added another Asian title to her resume by beating Inbee Park in the LET's World Ladies Championship! It was a little bit of a gift from Park, who seems to have a gift for finishing 2nd (both on the LPGA and JLPGA). While Pettersen was screaming up the leaderboard with 6 birdies in her 1st 13 holes, Park followed up a 4-birdies-in-5-holes run as she made the turn with a costly bogey on the short par-4 15th. And even though Pettersen could only par out, Park didn't make a birdie until the final hole to fall 1 shot short. (She and Ha-Neul Kim did team up to win the team title, and if fellow Koreans Soo Jin Yang and Bo-Mee Suh had entered as a team, they would have finished runners-up.) Defending champion Shanshan Feng closed with a 66 of her own to take 3rd place. Looks like the hottest golfers of the end of 2012 not named Stacy Lewis or Ji-Yai Shin are picking up this season where they left off last season!
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