As the LPGA heads across the globe to Singapore for the HSBC Champions tournament, there are loads of great story lines; Paula, fresh off her win at the Fields Open, will try to make it two in a row. Annika, playing well, is determined to regain the number one spot, and Miss No. 1, herself, who's name happens to be Lorena, is about to start her season. Another The South Koreans are at the forefront this veritable tsunami of female golfing might, but players from India, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and China are on the scene as well, and the movement shows no signs of slowing. At all.
Consider this: half of the world's top twenty women golfers are Asian and half of the top fifty are from South Korea, Japan and China. When you consider that the numbers were negligible just a decade ago those facts are all the more impressive.
The LPGA Tour is paying close attention to this Amazin' Asian golf trend and there will surely be more high profile events held in Asia in the future, as they acquire more globally oriented sponsors and build a strong international fan base.
For now, it's on to Singapore, and what promises to be an awesome tournament.
I've got to be honest with you, I just don't enjoy watching the Koreans play. Sorry avout the way it sounds but to me they all play the same way and they all act the same way. I like top athletes but I like them with personality.
ReplyDeleteAnon - can you expand on that a little more ? I see Grace Park and Se Ri Pak and Mi Hyun Kim and none of them play the same way.
ReplyDeleteBy "personality", do you mean the ability to make bubbly conversation in front of a microphone ? All of these women have personalities, and most of them are very nice people, but they just don't speak English very fluently.
Do you mean fist pumping and jumping up and down after a great shot ? (oh wait - Se Ri Pak and Birdie Kim come to mind in their big wins the last couple of years)
Golf isn't football - it isn't full of great highlights, especially on the women's tour. Women, for the most part, play the game from point A to point B - down the middle, onto the green, and two putt for par - if it goes in for birdie, all the better. They aren't the risk takers you see on the PGA Tour. It's a different game.
Court is right, Anon, you just don't know how to watch golf. The Asian girls are amazing. I'd like to know which LPGA players you do enjoy watching. If any.
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with you anon? The Koreans are totally hot and they could teach us all something about hard work, practice and winning.
ReplyDeleteI have always found it interesting that the Asian players are a fixture on the women's tour but are yet to have any real impact at all on the men's tour.
ReplyDeleteAny thoughts on why that is?
http://saturdaygolfer.com/blog/
Hey Saturday Golfer. I was intrigued by that too. In researching the story I came upon a couple of theories:
ReplyDelete1)Men in South Korea have an obligitory military service that's quite lengthy two years I believe, and comes at what would be a crucial time in the development of a golfer.
2)Families are more willing to pull their daughters than their son off the top academic track to pursue intense golf development.
3)The competition is set at a much higher level for men then for women.
Make putts not war! Ok, maybe not... I do think that many of these gals are quite great golfers. Se Ri is already in the Hall of Fame. But I have to notice as many asian players as there are, they don't win big ones as much as the Swedes, Norwegians, Americans and Mexicans. Winners last year...Ochoa, Petterson, Creamer, Kerr, Pressel, Francella etc. I look at the Americans and I think we are doing REALLY well.
ReplyDeleteAs far as personality? Se Ri won our hearts immediately and before she could speak English...which she picked up quickly. I think some of these gals are shy, which is refreshing, but certainly poised and ready to do a good interview when asked. The discipline is amazing. steph
Some of the Koreans are bombers (Jee Young Lee, Se Ri Pak, Grace Park) and others are precision specialists (Mi Hyun Kim, Seon Hwa Lee), so I'm not sure what anon/steph's "playing the same way" refers to.
ReplyDeleteAs for not winning big ones, only six players during the Sorenstam Era have won more than 1 major (and only two non-Hall of Famers), so there's plenty of big-tournament frustration to go around. Cristie Kerr is 2 wins (including 1 major) up on her contemporary Mi Hyun Kim, and Paula Creamer has passed Jeong Jang and is closing on Hee-Won Han and Grace Park in a much shorter career (particularly if she can win a major this year), but things even out when you look at average wins per year. Suzann Pettersen and Seon Hwa Lee have been averaging exactly 1 win per season and Kerr, Kim, Han, and Meena Lee just less over the course of their careers to date. Creamer is the only player to have begun her career in the Sorenstam Era averaging more than 1 win a season. Nobody else is even close.
It's true the Seoul Sisters have been beaten to the finish line a lot in the past year and change, but it's getting harder and harder to win each year on the tour.
Just because they don't get the media attention or individualized coverage doesn't mean they lack personality. Try the Seoul Sisters site for what their fans are saying about them. It might change your mind.
constructivist I believe you attributed another anonymous post to me...I dont' appreciate that. Please pay attention. Steph
ReplyDeletere: 'play the same way'
Sorry, I thought the original anon was partially outing herself. Your first few sentences certainly read like a response to cg's invitation. My bad!
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Thailand.
ReplyDeleteThe Asian girls are pretty good!
If anybody would like to have more information about golf in Thailand please check the websites below.
www.thailandgolfzone.com & www.golfasian.com