‘Korean LPGA dominance here to stay’

Kathy Whitworth, Karrie Webb, Amy Alcott, Sandra Palmer, Pat Hurst, Sun Young Yoo, and Judy Rankin at the ANA Inspiration Champions Dinner hosted by Rolex In honor of the thirty-three past champions of the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, California. (AFP)Reuters/Rancho Mirage, CaliforniaSouth Korean-born players have dominated the LPGA circuit this season, winning six of seven tournaments to date, and the juggernaut will be difficult to stop at this week’s ANA Inspiration, the first major of the year. World number one Lydia Ko, five-time major champion Park Inbee and last week’s winner Kim Hyo-joo are just the tip of a very large wave of talent flowing out of the east Asian nation. Since Pak Se-ri won two majors in 1998, Korean players have 20 major titles, one less than the number accrued by Americans. Hall of Famers Judy Rankin and Annika Sorenstam are united in their belief that Korean dominance is here to stay. “Every few months somebody pops out,” Rankin told reporters recently. “Not only do they have great golf swings, but they have an early maturity, at least on the golf course, and they are very composed.” Sorenstam believes Ko is the pick of the bunch, as much because of her attitude as physical attributes. “She’s just very consistent in every area,” 10-time major winner Sorenstam said of 17-year-old Ko, a New Zealand citizen who has already won six LPGA events. “I think the strongest part is between her ears. She just has this composure about her which she does so well under pressure. That’s what it takes to be number one.” If Sorenstam is amazed by Ko, then Rankin can hardly find enough superlatives to describe Kim, the 19-year-old who won the Founders Cup in Phoenix nine days ago. “We’re going to be stunned throughout the year at how often this player contends,” Rankin said of Kim, who already has a major title under her belt after winning the Evian Championship last year. “She has one of the very best golf swings I’ve ever seen. If she can figure out how to make that golf swing score, I think she’s going to be there for a long time.” Karen Stupples, who won the 2004 Women’s British Open, says a mix of fearlessness and sound fundamentals makes the Korean players formidable. “Every one of them I look at and think, wow, she can hit the ball great,” said Stupples. “Players like Se Ri Pak have paved the way for them to come over here and play. It’s a much more comfortable place to be now than it ever used to be, and I think they’re all just finding their feet.”Webb, Tseng not ready to concede spotlight to new breedAs the LPGA focus turns to the glut of youthful talent, two former number ones are showing that women’s golf is not exclusively a preserve of the very young. Karrie Webb and Yani Tseng have won 12 majors between them but are not prepared to rest on their laurels and might just make their presence felt at this week’s ANA Inspiration in California, the first major of the year. Webb has made the cut in all six starts this year, while Tseng tied for second at the Thailand Open in February. Webb, 40, retains youthful enthusiasm that belies her age, motivated primarily by a desire to represent Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympic. “If I didn’t have that long-term goal, I don’t know if I’d be playing full time right now, so that’s keeping me out here,” seven-times major champion Webb told reporters recently. Webb, who won twice last year to bring her career haul to 41, says she does not feel like an elder stateswoman, even if she is twice the age of many of her rivals. While some players undertake punishing training regimens that seem to have little relevance to golf, Webb has focused on taking steps to ensure her longevity as a player. “For me it’s always been about flexibility and avoiding injury rather than being the strongest or the fittest out here,” she said. “Some girls are bombing it past me now, but I don’t feel like what I used to think 40 was.” While Webb has maintained a high level of consistency throughout her two decades on tour, it’s been a different story for Tseng. She emerged from Taiwan to win 15 times between 2008 and 2012, a haul that included five majors. Nobody, man or woman, has won so many majors at such a young age. Tseng, 26, has not won since. She admits she lost confidence but sounds like she is on the right path again. “Last two years I don’t really enjoy it as much, and I always tell people I’m happy, but actually, I’m not. In my mind I’m just really, really disappointed in what I do, very upset,” said Tseng. “But now I feel the confidence is coming from the inside ... so it feels very different. Now I feel I love golf so much even more than when I was a kid, so I want to play my best.”