LPGA: 'Tis a New Season for the LPGA Tour

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By Stacy Solomon via TheSandTrap.com

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A new season of golf has finally begun. The ladies of the LPGA are slowly returning to their practice routines ready for another exciting year on tour. The rookies will also be in the mix and anything can happen in 2006.

Welcome back to my section at The Sand Trap. I hope everyone has had a nice, relaxing holiday season fortified by the company of good friends, shared family traditions and hearty food.



Frankly it's nice to be back! I don't know about you but I'm tired of watching Big Break IV reruns, Tiger's amateur flashbacks and skills challenges on television. Thank goodness the New Year and a new golf season has finally begun!



I'm especially excited about the 2006 LPGA season and the eclectic mix of both older and rookie players who will surely make this a year to remember. Let's meet some of the new kids on the block and recall a few interesting moments from some of the more established players.

Annika Sorenstam should get the first applause of the season. It seems that everyone wants to throw awards at the Swede. Okay, she's a terrific golfer, the best in women's golf, but now she has also taken home her third straight AP Female Athlete of the Year Award in a landslide decision. Sure there were other entrants. Michelle Wie received four votes! But it seems that Annika again topped every female athlete who was entered, from Venus Williams (who received the same number of votes as Wie) to Danica Patrick who was the first female race car driver to finish in a top-five position.



"Miss 59" has also taken home the European Golf Writer's Trophy, her second award in the last three years and has claimed her sixth Vare Trophy for lowest scoring average as well as her eighth 2005 Rolex Player of the Year Award, not to forget her seventh career Espy. Whew, that's alot of hardware!



Starting with three wins in March (Mastercard, Safeway and the Kraft Nabisco major) Annika rallied to win a total of ten LPGA tournaments with her lowest position on the leaderboard being in a tie for 23rd place.



With a show of strength in her rookie season, it's important to mention Paula Creamer in the same breath as the top girl on tour. While Sorenstam has had a tremendous season the "Pink Panther" has made a sensational path to the top of the ADT Money list falling into second place right behind Annika.



With two wins and nine top-tens in 2005 on the LPGA tour and a skip over to Asia where she won another two JLPGA events, Creamer shows that she's ready for the big time. She's only nineteen and has plenty of drive as well as a great short game. Winning the Rolex Rookie of the Year award is only the first of many trophies for Creamer. I expect her to get only better and more confident as this season progresses.



In spite of the recurring aches and pains which accompany Cristie Kerr's golfing career, she's still in third place on the ADT Official Money List. With two wins and seven top-tens in 2005 Kerr kind of sneaks up on the golfers. She quietly made waves in the season opener tying for second at the SBS Open and grabbing a third place finish at the Mastercard Classic but it was her seventh tournament in May which gave Cristie her first win of the year.



Lorena Ochoa stands in the fourth position on the ADT Money List and is poised for a major victory in 2006 despite her dizzying 2005 season. She only won once at the Wegman's in June but her close encounters with victory at four other tournaments gained her momentum on the money list as well as notoriety on tour. She can either do really well or just as easily claim a snowman at the last moment dropping her out of a chance for the win. It's all in the mental game for Ochoa and I hope her coach realizes it and helps her to stop defeating herself. Then and only then is Ochoa a force to be reckoned with on tour.



From the seasoned players I now shift focus to some of the rookies who just recently won exempt status.



Ai Miyazato has captured not only the hearts of Asians around the world but also the accolades of many Americans. Her decisive victory in Q-School this autumn proved that Ai can handle the pressure of head-to-head competition without losing her head. I don't really believe however that Miyazato is a true rookie. She has been playing on the JLPGA tour for years so I suspect that Ai is ready for the big time.



Morgan Pressel has been playing in LPGA tournaments since her memorable appearance at the tender age of twelve (U.S. Women's Open) and has occupied herself with amateur golf capping off her season with a win both at the 105th U.S. Women's Amateur and a win for her school team. She even tied for second place with rookie Brittany Lang at the 2005 U.S. Open so keep an eye out near the top of the leaderboard for Morgan. Her golfing abilities are strong and so is her desire to win. I see Morgan becoming a top player on tour in the years to come.



I made a prediction in the TST forum that Ai Miyazato would claim rookie honors this year and I'm sticking to it! Erik has chosen Morgan Pressel. Now that Pressel has been allowed full LPGA tour status to commence before her eighteenth birthday, there is a possibility that she could receive that award. Morgan's only problem is her insufferable attitude. She's just not cool, calm or collected enough to let the bad shots go. If there is only one thing that Morgan does to prepare her for the season, it should be to have a coach assist her with her mental game so that she doesn't focus too much on the ups-and-downs of golf or she could wind up like Lorena Ochoa. It's not a bad thing to be in fourth place on the Money List but it isn't first place either.



I like our own Jeff Smith's take on things. His article about newcomer Pressel in September said it all so I'm going to quote him here.



"The future of the LPGA looks bright because of people like Morgan Pressel. The LPGA stands to gain a lot through the addition of fine players like Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie, Morgan Pressel, Natalie Gulbis, and Paula Creamer. We can safely say that women's golf is going to get a lot more attention in the coming years."



But wait a minute! There are a total of thirty-seven rookies starting out this season with the hopes of winning a few tournaments and dethroning Miss 59.







Let's start with Brittany Lang who tied with Morgan Pressel for second place at the 2005 U.S. Women's Open. With a successful sixth place finale at the BMO Financial Canadian Women's Open earlier in the season and her successful bid at the U.S. Open, Brittany decided to turn professional.



In September Lang took top honors at the September Q-School qualifier. With a successful amateur career at Duke University and solid ability to come through when she needs it, I think it's only a matter of time before we start to see Brittany's name at the top of the leaderboard and even winning a major this year.



Virtual unknown Libby Smith will certainly make waves on the tour this year. At the University of Vermont, Libby captained the men's golf team and played basketball but preferred golf. "I've had aspirations to be a professional golfer for a long time," stated the 25-year-old. Smith also placed second at Q-School.



Unfortunately her desires may keep her from winning this season. "I want to keep my card. My goals are really just to become more consistent, and to try and be in contention every week". Smith's fear of losing her card might keep her from achieving her goals.



Q-School finalist Julieta Granada and Future's tour golfer Alena Sharp will also be joining the 2006 roster. Granada is a 19-year-old David Leadbetter student from Paraguay who tied for sixth place and Sharp is a 24-year-old Canadian who almost missed the cut but pulled it all together in the final nine holes to tie for 16th place. "That's what was shocking - it all came together over nine holes," said Sharp. "The whole tournament I played well, but didn't really score well."



Here is the list of rookies and their status on the tour.



Kyeong Bae Exempt South Korea
Minea Blomqvist Non-exempt Finland
Christi Cano Exempt United States
Ha-Na Chae Non-exempt South Korea
Hye Choi Non-exempt South Korea
Rebecca Coakley Non-exempt Ireland
Danielle Downey Non-exempt United States
Cecilia Ekelundh Non-exempt Sweden
Allison Fouch Non-exempt United States
Meaghan Francella Non-exempt United States
Katie Futcher Exempt United States
Julieta Granada Exempt Paraguay
Kim Hall Non-exempt United States
Ashley Hoagland Non-exempt United States
Sarah Jane Kenyon Non-exempt Australia
Na Ri Kim Exempt South Korea
Brittany Lang Exempt United States
Jee Young Lee Non-exempt South Korea
Seon Hwa Lee Exempt South Korea
Teresa Lu Non-exempt Taiwan
Sarah Martin Non-exempt United States
Ai Miyazato Exempt Japan
Shinobu Moromizato Exempt Japan
V. Nirapathpongporn Exempt Thailand
Morgan Pressel Exempt United States
Diana Ramage Exempt United States
Nina Reis Exempt Sweden
Karin Sjodin Exempt Sweden
Libby Smith Exempt United States
Louise Stahle Exempt Sweden
D'Rae Ward Non-exempt United States
Meredith Ward Non-exempt United States
Linda Wessberg Non-exempt Sweden
May Wood Non-exempt United States
Sun Young Yoo Exempt South Korea
Annie Young Non-exempt United States
Veronica Zorzi Non-exempt Italy

Women's golf is finally becoming more attractive to the media. The newcomers are making golf more interesting to watch. The more seasoned players are playing harder and stronger than they once were because of the addition of these rookies. It was great to see the passing of the torch at the Solheim Cup. Players such as Rosie Jones and Juli Inkster happily waved on the new league of golfers hoping that the infiltration of new blood will show the world that the women really do have game.



I just can't wait until the LPGA season starts. I hope it's the LPGA's best season ever!




Photo Credit: © LPGA.com.