2011 Evian Masters, day 1

Lots of movement in the Evian Master Golf Course, actually in all the city! This little and picturesque town goes nuts when the LPGA comes to visit. Banners and flags with the tourneys logo line up all over the place.

The ideal thing is to catch a flight to Geneva, Switzerland, there you can take a taxi or ferry all the way to Évian-les-Bains; others prefer to fly to Paris, where they take a train to Geneva, Either way, press members, players and caddies are transported by the organizers, both from the airport and the train station all the way to their hotels. There's a lot of place to stay and for all budgets.

If you go to Evian from Geneva by car you should be there in an hour, tops. When you cross the frontier you won't see any kind of officials or checkpoints, you just go through as you owned the place, although there's a tool booth1(.70 euros / 2.41 dollars)

You won't get any sign directions on the road to get to Évian until you're actually 10 minutes away (lots of posters and banners will lead you there). In downtown expect to see all kind of goodies of the tournament, decorating the shop windows, as well as the hotel and restaurant entrances.

Lots of vans, or courtesy cars as they call them officially, around the place, and as I said earlier, they transport media members, players and caddies, this time, from their hotels to the course and vice-versa.

Now, as for the players, they are all here people so there's a lot of activity for being a Tuesday; some of them have been since Sunday! It's been raining a lot, not hard but constantly, nevertheless, players suck it up and keep it going, like Yani Tseng, who's here with her mother. Speaking of Yani, she's very relaxed and is hitting the ball pretty solid

Another gal who brought mom and dad with her is.... yes, you guessed correctly: Michelle Wie. Whom I saw at the putting green and let me tell you people, she wasn't sinking much, but she said "the course is in great shape, regardless of the soggy conditions".

Alison Nicholas is also here and she's watching the Euros pretty closely, and how wouldn't she? The Solheim Cup is around the corner (September 23- 25).

It seems like tomorrow's weather conditions should improve, it hasn't stop raining since early in the morning and it's chilly. Anyways, we have to wait and see if rain becomes a factor, meanwhile, expect quite a show!

The rankings: upside down

The days when golf was dominated by Annika Sörenstam and Tiger Woods are over; a long time ago -at least that's how it feels- both used to tease each other about majors. Today, things are completely different...

Woods hasn't recovered his mental side of the game due to his infidelity scandal, which came to light on November 2009, after he crashed his SUV in Isleworth; meanwhile, Sörenstam left the LPGA in 2008 to pursue two of her biggest dreams: creating her personal brand -ANNIKA- and starting a family. This brought changes in the world rankings.

In women's golf, it was Mexican Lorena Ochoa who assumed the top position, and managed to stay there for 3 years, before leaving the LPGA.

When Ochoa left, the Pandora box opened. After 11 months, we've seen 4 players atop the rankings - three Asian and one from the USA-. Still, non of them has stayed there for more than 15 weeks in a row. They are: Jiyai Shin (South Korea), Cristie Kerr (USA), Ai Miyazato (Japan) and Yani Tseng (Taiwan).

This seems to be expanding rapidly. After 5 years of dominance, Woods left the first place of the Official World Golf Rankings in October 2010, and ever since, men's golf has had an open season. Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer have had the privilege to lead golf, but haven't consolidated up there.

Throw Luke Donald in there, who has a 0.28 point difference with Westwood, and you'll get another guy on track to take over the first spot.

It's clear that the 'Monarchy' has come to an end, but far from being a mishap, it happens to be quite a treat for fans. For the first time in years, there's a range of possibilities ahead, there are no clear favorites, which brings excitement to the table, and to prove it, you have the first two majors of 2011: The Masters and the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Tweet of the week:

Anyone remember when media outlets were slagging the @LPGA for not having one definite #1 player? We are SUCH trendsetters, @PGATOUR!! -@TheChristinaKim-

The first LPGA major is almost here

Everything is set for the 40th anniversary of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the first Grand Slam of the season. After four tourneys, the best women golfers are ready to visit Rancho Mirage, CA.

This will certainly be a tournament to remember, it will have more than 30 entertainers from music, TV and movies. Of course it'll display a star studded field, with 23 of the top 25 players of the Rolex Rankings.

Expect to see an Asian leader board, probably led by world number one Yani Tseng, who aside from being the defending champion, has had a stelar year so far. For starters, she won her first four tourneys, one in Taiwan, two in Australia (Ladies European Tour) and one more in Thailand (LPGA), and has two top 5 finishes and a T19 in her last three appearances in the LPGA.

South Korean Jiyai Shin will also be a serious contender for the title, even when she started with three ties (35, 11 and 29), last weekend she showed why she's one of the best players, as she finished runner-up at the Kia Classic, one stroke back from German Sandra Gal

Keep an eye on Australia's Karrie Webb, who has already won twice in 2011, at the HSBC Women's Champions and RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup; and also in Michelle Wie, who has two top 10 finishes in three events.

LPGA off to a hot start

The top women's golf tour couldn't be happier with the way the season started. World number 1, Yani Tseng, won the season-opener, Honda HSBC Thailand; while veteran and HOF, Karrie Webb, grabbed the HSBC Women's Champions.

Yani Tseng not only took home the first trophy, she did it the same way as in the last 3 events she's won in 2011, coming from behind. The Taiwanese showed that closing strong is one of her specialties; she left Michelle Wie on the way with a 3 stroke advantage. Tseng's victory strengthened her status as the best golfer in the world and stretched her winning streak to five tournaments.

One week later, Australian Karrie Webb made her experience prevail and pushed Japanese Chie Arimura to 2nd place, even when she had lead for 3 rounds. Webb shot a 69 final round, 13 under overall. With this victory, Webb has 37 LPGA titles and 51 as a pro.

Although the LPGA has been dominated by youngsters in recent years, veterans are still in the fight. Regarding nationality, South Korea keeps dominating, but they're not the only players shinning, here is the top 10 of both tourneys with players' nationality and age:

Honda LPGA Thailand

1. Yani Tseng - Taiwan, 22.

2.  Michelle Wie - United States, 21.

3. Karrie Webb - Australia, 36, and In-Kyung Kim - South Korea, 22.

5. Paula Creamer - United States, 24.

6. Juli Inkster - United States, 50.

7. Amy Yang - South Korea, 21.

8. Maria Hjorth - Sweden, 37; Ariya Jutanugarn - Thailand, 15 (amateur); Catriona Matthew - Scotland, 41; Suzann Pettersen - Norway, 29, and M.J. Hur - South Korea, 21.

HSBC Women's Champions

1. Karrie Webb - Australia, 36.

2. Chie Arimura - Japan, 23.

3. Yani Tseng - Taiwan, 22.

4. Sun Young Yoo - South Korea, 24.

5. Morgan Pressel - United States, 22.

6. Na Yeon Choi - South Korea, 23.

7. In-Kyung Kim - South Korea, 22.

8. Catriona Matthew - Scotland, 41.

9. Stacy Lewis - United States, 26, and Cristie Kerr - United States, 33.

With start studded leaderboards, the LPGA was going through great momentum, but 18 days between the HSBC Women's Champions and the Founders Cup will certainly make media and fans to draw attention elsewhere, while players in a hot streak, like Webb and Tseng, might comeback not as hot.

The note: Sun Young Yoo, Morgan Pressel and Na Yeon Choi grabbed a spot at the season-ending Titleholders, after their results in the HSBC Women's Champions.

Tseng leads women's golf

The 2011 LPGA season started with a first class event, the Honda LPGA Thailand, which was held last weekend at the Slam Country Club with a 1.4 million dollar purse. The player to follow, from day one, was Yani Tseng, since she started the season as world number 1.

The 22 year old has achieved what many player never accomplished in their careers. Tseng has won 3 out of 4 LPGA majors; the only one she's missing is the U.S. Open, nevertheless, she has had good results, -last year she posted a top 10 in Oakmoant.

To the Kraft Nabisco Championship, LPGA Championship and Women's British Open, Tseng ha added three more crowns at the LPGA Corning Classic, P&G NW Arkansas Championship and, most recently, the Honda LPGA Thailand.

The later was important because not only secured her another week as the best in the world, she also won for the fourth consecutive time. Yani kick-off 2011 in the Taiwanese tour, where she won the Ladies Open Taifong. Later, she participated in the Ladies European Tour, taking away the first two tourneys -ISPS Handa Women's Asutralian Open and ANZ Ladies Masters RACV- after coming from behind.

Tseng went to Thailand hoping to grab the first title of the LPGA season; the first day it was In-Kyung Kim who took the lead, after posting a 9 under round and leaving Yani 3 shots behind. However, she kept it cool and as in previous tournaments, she recovered lost ground and railed to win the title, leaving behind Michelle Wie, Karrie Webb and Paula Creamer.

"Nini" will have a shot to win her 5th event in a row this week, when the tour stops in Singapore for the HSBS Women's Champions. This also represents a chance to keep a larger advantage between her and South Koreans Jiyai Shin and Na Yeon Choi; American Cristie Kerr, and Norwegian Suzann Pettersen, which are looking to take Yani down from the first spot of the Rolex Rankings.

The note: Yani Tseng, Michelle Wie and Karrie Webb secured their way to the season-ending Titleholders.

2011, the LPGA and its players

The new LPGA campaign promises more excitement than in 2010, not only for the new tournaments and formats, but for the players who will contend for the top spot of the Rolex Rankings and the awards given by the tour.

Like every year, there will be a rookie class that will fight for the Rookie of the Year Award. American favorite is Jessica Korda, who was runner-up in the Q-School and at age 17 became professional to play on the tour.

Korda will be joined by Americans (14), South Koreans (3) and Japanese (3) players, plus one from each of the following countries: Australia, Canada, England, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Wales.

The newcomers will contend with the best of the world, a task difficult to achieve, especially since the top 5 of the rankings, Jiyai Shin (1), Yani Tseng (2), Cristie Kerr (3), Suzann Pettersen (4) and Na Yeon Choi (5) haven't slow down for a while.

Shin and Tseng have already seen action this year, after playing in the season opener of the Ladies European Tour. Both were part of the ISPS HANDA Women's Australian Open field, and it was Tseng who took the trophy home, plus enough points to move up from fifth to second place in the Rolex Rankings. Shin finished T2, which ensured her stay, for 15 weeks in a row, as world number one.

It's also important to keep an eye on Ai Miyazato (6) and In-Kyung Kim (7), both won in 2010 and made clear that when they're "on fire" there's no way to stop them.

We'll also see Paula Creamer's resurrection; she's finally healthy, after two complicated seasons, due to a stomach virus, that struck in 2008 and 2009, and a surgery in her left wrist, in 2020, which pushed her to kick-off her season on June, but paid off, when she won the U.S. Women's Open.

Michelle Wie will remain in the public's taste, despite continuing her studies at Stanford University, which sometimes interferes with her schedule, but hasn't put her outside the winners' circle, last year she lifter her second professional trophy, in the CN Canadian Open.

Finally, we can't leave outside the Asian contingent, which has proved to be the strongest group on the tour, not only because each year it brings more member to the LPGA, but also because it has better results.

Near the end

The 2010 LPGA season is almost over and up until now there have been 17 champions. This hasn't happened for several years. From 2003 to 2008 Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sörenstam dominated women's golf largely.

In 2009 someone else draw attention to the tour, South Korean Jiyai Shin, who not only won the Rookie of the Year honors, but also came one point short of grabbing the Player of the Year award, a situation that was defined in the last tournament of the season.

While some players have already shown they had the talent necessary to have a place among the best, Shin was the first to shoock Lorena's reign, who in turn supplanted Annika in 2007.

With their retirement, the LPGA was left without a leader, but soon resurfaced with great diversity, which goes from Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer, who have already won this year and are also favorite for their physical appearance, to Yani Tseng, Shin Jiyai and Ai Miyazato, Asian players with personality and enormous talent, and finally to Cristie Kerr, U.S. veteran who has already savored the glory of being the best in the world. 

With six tournaments remaining, there is a lot at stake. From October to December the most prestigious titles have yet to be defined:

Player of the Year: Yani Tseng, Ai Miyazato, Cristie Kerr, Na Yeon Choi, Shin Jiyai and Suzann Pettersen.
Vare Trophy: Na Yeon Choi, Cristie Kerr and Suzann Pettersen.
Money List: Jiyai Shin, Na Yeon Choi, Yani Tseng, Ai Miyazato, Cristie Kerr and Suzann Pettersen, all with more than $ 1.3 million dollars.

After Ochoa's retirement, everyone thought the tour would be in crisis, but everything points to a new era, which has been accepted by the fans, as they have more than one option in each event, which has brought emotion rather than uncertainty.

Everything under the sun

Many things have happened in golf in the past few days... Tiger Woods' season was quite a mess, Kia Motors America extended its sponsorship contract with the LPGA and more, so keep reading and find out what's been going on.

The first sectional qualifier of the LPGA Q-School took place in Rancho Mirage, California. After four rounds, only 30 from the 112 players on the filed advanced to the final stage. Colombian Eileen Vargas earned medalist honors after shooting 10 under overall.

Tiger Woods left the 2010 season earlier than expected, his last event was the BMW Championship. For the first time in his professional career he didn't have a single victory and missed the final stage of the FedEx Cup.

The USA squad will try to defend its title at the 2010 Ryder Cup to be held in Celtic Manor, Wales. Euro player, Lee Westwood, might miss the tourney due to injury; meanwhile US members Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler made the event through Corey Pavin's picks.

Kia Motors has shown its trust in the LPGA with an extension of its sponsorship contract. Now, the company will move the Kia Classic to Los Angeles, California. This marks the first time the tour stops in the area since 2005.

Former world number one, Lorena Ochoa, will be part of a new reality show, exclusive for Latin American golfers. The show will be aired in 2011 in the Super Golf Star channel (Galleon Holding PLC). The winner will secure a place for the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

Taiwanese Yani Tseng managed to come from behind and defeat Michelle Wie at the P&G NW Arkansas Championship. Tseng has three victories this season, tops the "Player of the Year" points race and is second in the money list with over 1.4 million dollars in earnings.

The best are back (2)

World's best golfers are in Portland, Oregon, to play the Safeway Classic. The tourney should be very interesting, since players 5 to 2 are fighting to get the first position of the Rolex Rankings and a win might boost any of them to the top. Meanwhile, number 1 will do her best to increase her advantage.

5. Yani Tseng: the Taiwanese player won two majors in a single season, something no one had accomplished since 2005. She's only 21 years old and has become one of Asia's most promising golfers. Yani has won every season since she became a LPGA member, back in 2008.

4. Suzann Pettersen: won her first title in 2007, she finished that season with five victories including a major, the LPGA Championship. This year she's been runner-up four times, one of those came after losing to Se Ri Pak in the Bell Micro Classic playoff.

3. Jiyai Shin: went through an appendectomy in June but came back in style and won the Evian Masters played in July. The South Korean golfer has already been atop the Rolex Rankings and, this season, has won more money that anybody else on tour, $1'211,252 dollars.

2. Ai Miyazato: had an amazing season opening and won the first two events of this year's schedule (Asia) and quickly grabbed a couple more (Mexico and USA), that's why she became the player to follow as well as the best golfer in the world (two times).

1. Cristie Kerr: in 14 seasons as a LPGA member, she's collected 14 titles, including two majors. This year she's already won at the LPGA Championship and the LPGA State Farm Classic. She's one of only two United States' players to make the Rolex Rankings top 10.

Finally, it's important to mention that, since Lorena's retirement, no golfer has been able to stay atop the Rolex Rankings for more than 11 weeks; Ochoa managed to do so for 158 weeks.

Low profile

Yesterday, the Ricoh Women's British Open congratulated its new champion, Taiwanese Yani Tseng, who has been showing her talent in the LPGA for quite a bit. Nevertheless, Nini's new crown didn't surprise many, since she's been in contention almost all year long and she barely draws attention, different from players like Jiyai Shin, Ai Miyazato or Michelle Wie.

 

From 2004 to 2006 she was considered the top amateur golfer of her country.

Since the first round, Yani displayed her "A" game, which gave her a 68 scorecard, that was enough to top the leader board. This was just the beginning of a resounding presentation in England, which ended with a 11 under par, 277 overall; which, by the way, was accompanied by an inspirational speech from one of the greatest golfers of all time, Annika Sörenstam.

Yani's victory is quite an accomplishment by itself, 'cause it came in the fourth major of the season, that is played under tough climate conditions; rain, cold and wind are determining factors in all scores.

Still, Tseng's success in the LPGA isn't new, in fact, she became a player to follow in 2008, when she won the Rookie of the Year award and grabbed her first victory at the second major of the season, the LPGA Championship. Besides, "Nini" won the LPGA Corning Classic (2009) and the Kraft Nabisco Championship (2010); with this, she has four wins and is one shy to complete the Career Grand Slam, only accomplished by six players: Mickey Wright, Louise Suggs, Pat Bradley, Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb and Annika Sörenstam.

Yani is the second Asian player to win more than one major in a single season and joins other 15 golfers to carry out the feat, which hasn't been accomplish since 2005 when Annika Sörenstam grabbed the Kraft Nabisco Championship and the LPGA Championship.

Even when she's had a great performance throughout the season, "Nini" is fifth in the Rolex Rankings, but if she keeps playing this way she'll be atop in no time.

Making the turn

This month the LPGA will welcome the second half of the 2010 season, which executives and fans are waiting for impatiently since the tour wasn't as spectacular as expected and brought some bad moments during its first part.

Tournaments:from February to May there were 9 events, compared to 17 that will be played from June to November. From those disputed in the first semester, the most interesting were the Kraft Nabisco Championship, first major of the year, and the Tres Marías Championship, which was Lorena Ochoa's farewell as an active member of the tour.
Thus, the second part of the schedule will certainly make the ratings raise, since the top players will dispute the remaining Grand Slam tourneys -LPGA Championship, U.S. Women's Open and British Open- as well as the prestigious Evian Masters.

Lorena Ochoa: her decision to leave the game was shocking because, even when Jiyai Shin became world number 1 -after a very consistent 2009 season- it's gonna be tough for the LPGA to find another player with Ochoa's charm. Perhaps the youngsters, such as Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie, Brittany Lincicome and Anna Nordqvist, can take Lorena's legacy, but their game hasn't been as mature as it should be to become the boss in the most competitive women's golf tour.

Erica Blasberg: the decease of the 25 year old North American shook the LPGA and its members in a very particular way. The cause of death is still unknown, therefore there have been lots of theories about ex-Wildcat's relationships and way of living off the course. With this background, it will take at least 3 more weeks for the coroner to release further information.

Paula Creamer: she's, by far, one of the favorite golfers around and, even when she's one of the most devoted players of the tour, the Pink Panther hasn't seen action in 2010 after going through surgery in her left hand, as a result of an injury that had been bothering her since last year. Now it's just matter of weeks before she comes back and makes her debut at the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Asian players: once again it was pretty clear who leads the tour. The golfers from the Far East won 7 of the 9 tournaments played from February to May, after displaying quality and consistency on the course. Besides, they lead the top 5 of the Rolex Rankings: Jiyai Shin (1), Ai Miyzato (2) and Yani Tseng (4). It's gonna be very interesting to see their performance in the remaining events, but it's almost a fact that they'll continue to dominate.

The best of the season is still to come, so expect lots of emotions and many youngster winners because the average age of those who have lifted a trophy in 2010 is 24.7 years.

Enormous: on and off the course

A year ago I had the chance to interview Yani Tseng for Mexican magazine Caras Golf. I remember that I was kind of worried when they assigned me the task, since there wasn't too much information about her, so I went though the LPGA, her official site and other media to put together the questionnaire. Back then the "English only" policy had been recently banned, so my first thought was: we'll have a communication problem due to language...

She's the first Taiwanese to have won an LPGA major tournament.

I must confess that meeting "Nini", as she's known by her friends, was very refreshing. By that time, she was 20 years old and was number 2 in the Rolex Rankings, behind Lorena Ochoa; she became a champion after winning the McDonald's LPGA Championship -second major of the schedule- with only 19 years old, which put her as the second youngest player to win a Grand Slam title, and was named Rookie of the Year.

With that backround, March 11th 2009 was the day when we met. I got into BosqueReal Country Club around 15:30, which was the venue of the MasterCard Classic and where we were having the interview and shooting. Yani came in some minutes later, carrying her own bag and with a huge smile on her face; she said hi and asked where we needed her. Her warmness and accessibility were overwhelming and soon I knew she was also a star outside the ropes.

Maybe the best part and the most surprising one came when she talked about media, never, -in the 4 years I've been covering golf- a player had told me that she had been taking English lessons and preparing to answer questions and give speeches, since the reporters needed to be treated extraordinary.

Yani also told me she was a big fan of Annika Sörenstam, from whom she brought a house and received wise advises last January; she loves pool and she didn't know how to swim, ironically she jumped into Poppie's Pond after winning the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

At the end of the interview "Nini" thanked for our time and waited until the photographer dismantled his equipment, meanwhile she offered her thoughts about Mexico.

Yesterday "Nini" grabbed her third LPGA victory and second major of her career. Which was her secret weapon? just having fun. That was precisely one of Annika's advices and proved she took it to heart, when she bet repeatedly with long time friend Suzann Pettersen during the 3rd round. That simple fact helped her keep cool and not think about it as a Grand Slam tourney.

"Nini" made clear she's a player that has what it takes to keep the spotlight over her; she can either surprise and come from behind to claim a title or maintain the lead in pressure moments.

Her performance is especially important because its obvious that Asian player dominate the most competitive women's golf tour; in the 4th event of the schedule there were 6 players from the far East among the top ten, including the winner.

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Third stop

After one month of inactivity, the LPGA players are back to continue with this year's schedule. This is the first tournament that they'll play in US soil, since the first two tournaments were celebrated in Asia. So, expect coverage for all and lots of fans following their favorites.

This is an inaugural event and will be played in California.

As expected, the field includes the best of the best, 17 of the top 20 Rolex Rankings players will dispute the title. There's also a 1.7 million dollars purse which will be distributed among those who make the cut.

Nevertheless, there are four players that have good chances of taking it away:

Ai Miyazato: the Japanese won the first two tournaments of the year and seems like she's on fire! Ai has climbed through the Rolex Rankings and is already number 3; less than a point from Jiyai Shin (2) and two from Lorena Ochoa (1). Miyazato's momentum might stretch, unless someone steps in.

Cristie Kerr: in Asia, she made clear who's the best North American around. Her game is solid and balanced, that's why she has played 87% of this season's rounds under par. Kerr was 4th in the Honda PTT LPGA Thailand and runner-up in the HSBC Women's Championship; playing in the USA should giver her a good advantage.

Suzann Pettersen: she's by far the best European in the Rolex Rankings and is considered to be number 4 thanks to her performance. This year she's had two top 5 and was close to winning the season-opener, but Ai Miyazato's brilliant final round left her as runner-up. Pettersen is second in the Money List and her short game is better than ever.

Yani Tseng: a year ago "Nini" was number 2 in the Rolex Rankings, today she's 5 and not happy about it. In Asia she gained the confidence lost in 2009, so it wouldn't be rare to see her lift a trophy this season. Yani's approaching shots are very accurate.

Those who might surprise, for their experience and talent, are Lorena Ochoa, even when she hasn't had a great season she becomes dangerous when she finds momentum, and Jiyai Shin, who just needs a couple of good shots to get into contention.