Associated Press
“Top-ranked Yani Tseng played a seven-hole stretch on the back nine in 7 under and finished with a 7-under 65 on Thursday for a share of the first-round lead with Hee Young Park in the LPGA Founders Cup.
Tseng birdied the 11th, 13th and 14th holes, eagled the par-5 15th, and birdied the 16th and 17th. She had a 4-foot try for another birdie on 18, but pulled her putt just left.”
To continue reading article, click HERE.
For the full 2012 Founders Cup leaderboard, click HERE.
CATHAL MCNAUGHTON/Reuters
There’s lots of stuff out there worth taking a moment or two to gloss over with regard to the weekend festivities in the Solheim Cup, but the Golf Channel’s Randall Mell offers a most interesting take on what he refers to as the “Gaelic Classic” HERE, with Mell opining that despite the American dominance in the Solheim over the past 3 events, “The Europeans, who had lost the last three competitions, transformed the event with a comeback as thrilling as any you’ll see in this sport.”
Congrats to the European ladies for winning the 2011 Solheim Cup.
American Players Performance (matches won – matches lost – matches halved):
Michelle Wie 1 – 3 – 0
Paula Creamer 3 – 1 – 1
Cristie Kerr 2 – 1 – 2 (Sunday Singles Match conceded because of injury)
Brittany Lang 1 – 3 – 0
Brittany Lincicome 2 – 2 – 0
Vicky Hurst 1 – 1 – 0
Stacy Lewis 1 – 3 – 0
Morgan Pressel 4 – 0 – 0
Angela Stanford 0 – 3 – 0
Julie Inkster 0 – 2 – 1
Christina Kim 1 – 0 – 1
Ryann O’Toole 2 – 0 – 2
Karrie Webb wins LPGA Founders Cup – Tours & News – Golf.com.
Congrats to Karrie Webb, who continues her impressive run this season.
And congrats as well to all of the ladies in the field this week, who freely gave of their time and effort to do some wonderful good to the number of charities that will be benefiting from their goodwill gestures.
I guess it’s just my curious nature, but if the charitable proceeds from the controversial “mock purse” at the upcoming Founders Cup tournament have doubled (no doubt an effort to quell the player grumblings) – I feel compelled to ask this question: what was the initial intent with the “other half” of the revenue this event would generate? I may have overlooked the answer to this question elsewhere in my reading, but there hasn’t been too much talk about that aspect of this debate.
“I certainly could have done a better job of initially articulating the details to players and media, as that has led to some confusion about the tournament’s goals and objectives.” – LPGA Tour Commissioner Michael Whan, talking about the modifications implemented to satisfy the concerns of the tour’s players – regarding the discrepancy in total purse money and the amount being donated to charity in the upcoming Founders Cup tournament in March.
Not sure what to make of this… on one hand I think it could send a message to some of the fans across the country that the ladies aren’t above coming out and playing for charitable reasons and the love of the game, but could it also send the (obvious) message that their product is overvalued to begin with? (Not because they’re women, but because of the lack of overall interest….)
Is this a compassionate gesture, or has Michael Whan and Co. basically run out of ideas to better market their product?
Thank goodness that dude made the putt. That’s all I’ve got to say. Well, that, and the fact that Creamer could easily be one of the Price is Right gals.
Paula Creamer Wins Women’s US Open
Just a few months ago, Paula Creamer wasn’t certain that she would ever play golf again. A nagging thumb injury would require surgery, and as a result she would end up missing a good portion of the first half of the tour season. In retrospect, maybe the time away from the game did her some good.
Last week we saw a different Paula Creamer than what we’ve become accustomed to seeing in major tournament settings of the past. She appeared to have a genuine eagerness to simply be out on a golf course competing again. Instead of seeing someone who would struggle with her emotions and the high level of expectations that were placed upon her, a confident, relaxed player had somehow emerged from the past four months away from the spotlight. She’s always had the talent and the desire to win, but last week she had the perfect mindset as well, as she played the most outstanding golf of her career. Well done, Ms. Creamer. May it be the first of many more to come.
Steve Stricker’s Remarkable Comeback Continues
After holing the last putt on the 72nd hole in the John Deere Classic last Sunday, Steve Stricker admitted that he’d gotten away from his strategy that had given him a 6-shot cushion heading into the final round on Sunday. “It’s a position you want to be in, you know, with a big lead, but you know, you have everything to lose, and this is exactly the same way I felt at Northern Trust. It was difficult. It’s a hard round to play. I wasn’t the same player as I was for three days, for sure, today. And you’re just afraid to make a mistake, and that’s hard to play golf that way.”
But just as he did back in the Northern Trust tournament at Riviera earlier in the year, Stricker somehow kept it together well enough to come away with the win, earning him his second victory of the season. The PGA Championship is a little over a month away, the final major of the year. It will be played at Whistling Straits, a links-style course in Stricker’s home state of Wisconsin, where he hopes to add a major championship title to his ever-growing resume of accomplishments. There could be no better time or place for Stricker to define his remarkable comeback story.
A Round Like No Other: Goydos Becomes 4th Player in PGA Tour History to Shoot 59
Al Geiberger did it back in 1977. Chip Beck did it 14 years later, in 1991. Eight years would pass before it would be done again, courtesy of David Duval at the Bob Hope back in 1999. Last week during the opening round of the John Deere Classic, the 4th player in the history of the PGA Tour posted that ever-elusive round in the coveted 50’s – Paul Goydos. Goydos couldn’t keep pace with Steve Stricker last week, but he did make a Sunday charge to keep Stricker honest. Goydos finished two shots back of Stricker, and in addition to having his name permanently etched in the annals of scoring history, he also earned a trip to St. Andrews for the Open Championship this week. It was certainly a memorable week for Paul Goydos.
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