Well, it was another great golf weekend even with no Tiger or Lorena in sight. Sure Lorena was playing in the SemGroup Championship, but she really was never in contention (I guess she can't win them all), and of course, Tiger is still recovering from his knee surgery (the 3rd on the same knee - hmmm...is age catching up to him?)
No, this weekend was for the youngsters on both the LPGA and PGA tours.
Paula Creamer, the youngest winner in the LPGA history, holed a birdie on the 2nd playoff hole against veteran Juli Inkster who was vying to become the oldest winner in LPGA history. What a great match!
I could only watch the LPGA highlights on TV because I can't get ESPN2 in Vancouver. Arg! Thankfully Hound Dog provided some great video on Saturday's round on his blog.
I love both of these ladies, but I was rooting for Paula because she came so close last week, losing that playoff to Annika. She deserved to get one back. But it was tough to cheer against Inkster who is such as wonderful golfer and a great person and mother. I really hope Juli wins another one this year. She's such a terrific role model.
Now...is it just me, or did the announcers go on just a little too much about how hard Paula was on herself because of last week's lost. Sometimes you wonder if they just play things up for TV, but it felt over the top to me.
In my experience, people who are that hard on themselves usually blow it because they can't control their emotions. That didn't appear to be the case this weekend. Paula had some hiccups in her game today, but this week she was rock solid - certainly well above the field, including Lorena. In fact, Juli and Paula were the only two players to end up under par for the week (remind me never to play that course ;)).
As for the men, well, it was 22 year old Anthony Kim all the way this weekend, beating out the field by 5 strokes and becoming the youngest winner on the PGA TOUR in six years.
Kim came to the tour with high expectations and lots of confidence, and he received some ridicule early on for his bold AK belt buckles and cocky style. Do you remember the story on Golf Digest's website last August? Here's how it started...
"When Tiger Woods first laid eyes on Anthony Kim's belt buckle, he feigned disgust. "What is that?" Woods asked, gesturing to the large initials.
"Well, Nike hasn't put my initials on anything yet," Kim shot back, evoking a smile from Tiger."
It certainly is possible, maybe even probable, that Anthony would not have won if Tiger had been in the field, but there is no doubt that the young guns are coming on strong in both the PGA and LPGA tours this year. By the first week in May, we've seen 8 wins by the "under 30" crowd on the PGA. That's one more than all of last year.
And on the LPGA, the world's number 1, Lorena, who shares my birth day, but unfortunately not my birth year, is only 27. Paula's 22, Morgan Pressel 20, Natalie Gulbis 25, Suzann Pettersen 27, Yani Tseng 19, Louise Friberg 28, Jeong Jang 27...the list goes on and on...
Certainly, the veteran greats like Juli and Annika will defy the odds and continue to play with youthful exuberance, and win their share, but the youngsters are not standing by waiting for "their turn".
I do believe that Lorena has years of golf dominance ahead of her. But one starts to wonder if Tiger's age will catch up to him sooner than everyone thinks. The majority believes he is invincible and will remain so for another decade. But 3 knee surgeries on the same knee makes you wonder...does he have that many years left in the number one spot or will someone like Tony, tame the Tiger before Kim reaches 30 or Tiger captures his 19th major to break Jack's record so he can retire.
Golfgal
Paula photo by: © Daniel Raustadt | Dreamstime.com
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