U.S. women trying to get back on par
Posted on Friday, July 4, 2008
ROGERS — As the United States celebrates its 232 nd birthday today, American players on the LPGA Tour believe they are moving closer to reclaiming past glory.
The P&G Beauty Northwest Arkansas Championship begins today at Pinnacle Country Club, and if tour history is any indication, an American probably won’t be handed the winner’s trophy Sunday.
American PGA Tour stars like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are still kings of men’s golf, but American women lost their crown more than a decade ago.
“It’s coming around,” said Paula Creamer, who ranks third on the LPGA money list this season and is the top American on tour. “It’s difficult to say the reasoning behind it all, why it doesn’t happen, but it’s coming. This past weekend, the last group [at the U. S. Women’s Open ] was two Americans, 21 and 23. That’s great. When was the last time that’s happened ?” Creamer and Arkansan Stacy Lewis, playing in her first tournament as a professional, made up that twosome. But unlike 2000, when six Americans were in the LPGA’s top 10, only Creamer is there now.
“I think women’s golf is moving forward, and I love coming out and seeing all the young kids that come up to watch,” said American Morgan Pressel, who is 22 nd on the money list. “There was a group from The First Tee out here today, and it’s great to see these girls out and coming out to watch us. I think that shows a great future for women’s golf.” The future may have the potential to be bright, but the present doesn’t reflect it. Of the 144 players participating this week in Northwest Arkansas, 61 are Americans (42 percent ). Contrast that with this week’s PGA Tour stop, the AT&T National, where 91 of the 120 players (76 percent ) are Americans.
It’s a reality most American players on the LPGA Tour seem to have accepted.
“We are such a strong international tour, you’ve got a combination of really good players from all over the world and it really showcases the best in the world,” said American Natalie Gulbis, who has one career victory and ranks 52 nd on the LPGA money list. “We have great American players. We have great players from Korea, Sweden, Norway and Mexico. We have a really good mix.” It wasn’t always that way.
The LPGA was founded in 1950 by a group of 13 women that included Babe Didrikson Zaharias, the tour’s leading money winner the first two years. Americans were the top money winners on tour for the first 36 years until Japan’s Ayako Okamoto broke through in 1987.
Americans reclaimed the top spot thanks to Sherri Turner in 1988 and won six consecutive money titles, culminating with Betsy King’s victory in 1993.
But England’s Laura Davies won in 1994, and no American has topped the money list since.
“I just think there are so many opportunities out there and it’s just a matter of time before the Americans come through,” Creamer said. “Last year was a great year for us, probably the best year that we’ve had in a long time.” The top player on tour is Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa, who is skipping this week’s event. She and Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam, who is also absent this week, have dominated the women’s game in recent years, and the South Korean invasion seemingly gets bigger every week. Four of the top 10 players are from South Korea, including 19-year-old U. S. Women’s Open champion Inbee Park, who is one of the 35 South Koreans participating.
Gulbis said she believes American women are ready to compete with the rest of the world.
“I think we’re there now,” Gulbis said. “I mean, if you looked at just the U. S. Open last week, you had American players up there as well. You’ve had a lot of American winners this year so far.” It depends on how one defines “a lot”. Only three Americans have won in 17 events this season. Creamer won twice, while Lita Lindley has the other victory.
It’s not that the United States doesn’t have good programs, like those at The First Tee. It’s that other countries are doing more.
“I think that junior golf in the U. S. is far behind the other countries. We don’t promote juniors,” said Audra Burks, who grew up in Little Rock and has been the lone Arkansan on the LPGA Tour since 2000. “We don’t want the kids on the golf course. We don’t have junior programs like they have overseas, especially in South Korea.” Creamer said Americans have many options available other than golf, which can be difficult to learn.
“School is very big here and people’s lives and whatnot. I’m not saying it’s not overseas, but just in general, when you’re at home, you only have a couple of hours to practice,” Creamer said. “And there are so many other sports here.... There are so many choices that you can make, and you really have to realize that if you’re going to be a professional golfer, you’re not going to live that ‘normal’ life.” Creamer and Pressel are the exceptions to the rule. They have been able to move straight from junior golf to the LPGA Tour, learning on the job with some success. Lewis also made her professional debut with a third-place finish in the U. S. Women’s Open.
“We have a lot of young players that are up and coming, and the difference is I think a lot of the overseas players are turning pro at a younger age,” Lewis said. “There’s a lot of good, young Americans that are just playing in college, so hopefully with me playing well it’ll kind of get more people behind me to come out and play.” Strides have been made since the 1980 s, when Burks went through the junior programs in central Arkansas and went on to play at the University of Oklahoma.
“I was one of three girls going through the junior program at Rebsamen for the five or six years I was part of it, and we probably had 200 kids every summer,” Burks said.
It has changed, but not that much. Only 13 participated at a recent Girls U. S. Junior Amateur qualifier at Chenal Country Club in Little Rock; there were 34 at the Boys U. S. Junior Amateur qualifier in Hot Springs.
“There’s still not enough girls playing the sport because there are not enough junior programs,” Burks said. “You can go to college now. Almost every school in the U. S. has a women’s program now. You don’t have to shoot in the 60 s or 70 s to get a college scholarship. It’s a free way to go to college.” As many as five Arkansans in the class of 2009 could sign NCAA Division I college golf scholarships.
Conway’s Mary Michael Maggio has committed to play at LSU, Rogers’ Hayley Sanders is going to Ole Miss, Springdale’s Chelsey Cothran is going to Baylor and Fayetteville’s Emma Lavy and Hot Springs’ Taylor Fisher, who qualified for the U. S. Girls Junior Amateur, all could have that opportunity.
Gulbis said television exposure is another important factor. CBS is broadcasting Saturday’s and Sunday’s rounds this year at the Northwest Arkansas Championship.
“That’s a big deal for us to have the event on network TV,” Gulbis said. “We’ll reach a lot more audiences, and every time we get onto network TV, there’s going to be more and more people.
“ We’re excited about the tour, but when you get a sponsor that’s great about putting us on network TV, you get more households, and hopefully those girls are going to be watching us this weekend.” Players by country Most-represented nationalities of the players participating in this week’s LPGA Tour Northwest Arkansas Championship at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers: United States........................................... 61 South Korea............................................ 35 Australia.................................................... 9 Sweden..................................................... 7 England..................................................... 3 France........................................................ 3 Scotland.................................................... 3 Brazil.......................................................... 2 Canada...................................................... 2 Columbia................................................... 2 Japan......................................................... 2 Tawan........................................................ 2 Thailand..................................................... 2
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