STELLAR TSENG CAPTURES WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN, BECOMES YOUNGEST TO WIN FIVE MAJOR CROWNS

YANI TSENG

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – Judging by the record books, Yani Tseng is 10 years ahead of Annika Sorenstam.

The 22-year-old Taiwanese won the Women's British Open for the second straight year Sunday, beating Brittany Lang by four strokes and becoming the youngest player – male or female – to capture a fifth major title.

Sorenstam was 32 when she won the 2003 LPGA Championship for her fifth major. Tiger Woods was 24 when he won his fifth at the 2000 PGA Championship.

"It's so great making history on this golf course, and I feel wonderful right now," said Tseng, who is ranked No. 1 and won the LPGA Championship last month. "I hope to keep winning. Next year there are another four majors and I will try and organize and keep working hard."

Tseng became only the third player to win consecutive British titles, joining Sherri Steinhaurer (1998, 1999) and Debbie Massey (1980, 1981).

Tseng shot a 3-under 69 to finish at 16-under 272. She trailed third-round leader Caroline Masson of Germany by two strokes entering the final round. Masson closed with a 78 and tied for fifth.

"I wish to win more, but I am really happy," Tseng said. "I think in my mind I say, wow, five-times major. I never think about that. It just feels really very special."

Lang shot a 67 to finish at 276, one ahead of Sweden's Sophie Gustafson (68). South Korea's Amy Yang (67) was fourth.

Lang was tied for sixth entering the final day, eight behind Masson. She picked up one stroke by the turn but the American bagged four birdies at Nos. 11, 12, 14 and 17.

"I made some really big par putts early on, and from then on played fairly flawless golf," Lang said.

Tseng dropped a shot at the first hole with three putts, missing a 3-footer for par. She birdied the third with a pitching wedge to 2 feet and the long sixth with a chip to 5 feet.

By the turn, she was in command. She was just short of the green off the tee at the par-4 11th and took two putts for a birdie, then dropped a shot at two straight holes. She hit an 8-iron over the back of the green at 12 and then hit the pin off the tee on the short 13th but her ball stopped at the edge of a bunker. She stood in the sand to play her second shot.

Tseng birdied the long 14th and finished with two birdies, holing from 20 feet on the 17th and hitting a majestic 9-iron to 3 feet at the last.

"I was a little nervous before the start, but then I hit a good tee shot and I felt good," Tseng said. "I feel that, having been in this position in a major a few times before, I am getting more mature and can handle the pressure better."

Masson dropped four shots in the first three holes of her closing nine. She finished at 9 under with local favorite Catriona Matthew, the 2009 champion, who had a double-bogey 6 on the final hole.

Sweden's Anna Nordqvist tied for seventh at 280 with South Koreans Sun Young Yoo, Na Yeon Choi and Inbee Pak. American Stacy Lewis had a 68 to rally to a 281.

Sweden's Maria Hjorth was at 282 after a 68 and Americans Katie Futcher and Cristie Kerr were in a group a stroke further back. Futcher equaled the best round of the week with a 64, including an eagle at the 14th, followed by three birdies. Kerr had four birdies for a 68 to finish at 5 under.

Paula Creamer dropped five strokes in the first five holes to be out in 40, then dropped three more on the back nine for a 79. Brittany Lincicome shot 73 to finish at 287 as did first-round leader Meena Lee, who closed with a 74 after opening with a 65 Thursday.

- Story courtesy of The Associated Press/Photo courtesy of Getty Images

AI, CARAMBA! JAPANESE STAR MIYAZATO TRIUMPHS FOR SECOND CAREER EVIAN MASTERS CROWN

AI MIYAZATO

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – Ai Miyazato clinched her first title of the year at the Evian Masters on Sunday and pledged to share her prize money with the people still suffering in the aftermath of the disasters back home in Japan.

Miyazato shot a 2-under 70 to protect her two-shot lead and hold off a surge from Stacy Lewis of the United States, the Kraft Nabisco winner who missed a golden chance to even the scores on the 16th hole.

The 26-year-old Miyazato will now donate at least part of her $487,500 first prize to the relief efforts in Japan.

"I haven't decided yet, whether it will be all of the amount or some of it," she said. "This year I was playing for Japan."

Miyazato played with consistency throughout the tournament, dropping shots on just five of the 72 holes overall and finishing with a 15-under total of 273. Lewis also shot a 70 to finish two shots back in second, with a trio of players another stroke behind.

"It feels amazing, this is my favorite tournament so I'm really happy that I could win this again," Miyazato said. "Especially (because) right now, Japan's having a tough time. So I am just really happy to bring some happiness to Japan."

Miyazato had not won a title since the Safeway Classic last August, and she now has seven LPGA titles overall. She won her first at Evian in 2009, and added five more last year.

"There was so much happening at the beginning of the season, to be honest," Miyazato said, referring to the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March. "I always have Japan in my thoughts, it gives me motivation to play."

Miyazato raised both arms in the air after she sank her winning putt, and several players ran on to the green to soak her with water.

Miyazato joins two-time winners Laura Davies of England and Annika Sorenstam of Sweden, and needs one more Evian win to tie Sweden's Helen Alfredsson, the inaugural tournament champion and record-holder with three.

"I want to win it as many times as possible," Miyazato said. "I am looking forward to getting more opportunities."

Lewis, the Kraft Nabisco winner, kept the pressure on and moved one shot behind Miyazato with a birdie on the 15th.

"We played in the same group yesterday, she played well without mistakes," Miyazato said. "Even though she was in front of me I knew she would play solid today."

But, with a birdie chance to level the match on the next hole, Lewis three-putted for a bogey to be two adrift of Miyazato again, her chances slipping away.

"That's the one shot I wish I could go back and hit again. Just left myself in a really bad spot," Lewis said. "When I missed that putt, I looked up and saw (Miyazato) had fallen back to 15 under, so I was kind of disappointed with that."

Lewis had been self-critical after all her previous three rounds, saying she lacked a cutting edge in the last few holes of the day.

"I knew I was in (contention) when I made the putt on 15," Lewis said. "Just kind of disappointed with 16."
Lewis' luck had clearly deserted her when her putt for birdie on the 17th stopped agonizingly short. She could only make par on the 18th, a hole designed for attacking.

Miki Saiki of Japan, Angela Stanford of the United States, and South Korea's I.K. Kim all finished three shots behind Miyazato.

Kim had moved into contention at 10 under following a brilliant third round of 64, but the South Korean's bid was undone by three straight bogeys on the front nine Sunday.

Miyazato started with three birdies and no bogeys on the front nine. On the fifth, Miyazato's drive hit the lip of the green and rolled back, leaving her a 15-yard uphill putt for birdie. She got it close enough to comfortably make par, and then birdied the sixth and had another on the eighth to surge ahead at 16 under. At that point, it looked as if it would be a comfortable victory.

Miyazato then showed signs of nerves on the back nine.

A bogey on the 12th and a birdie from South Korea's Ran Hong, Miyazato's playing partner on the day, trimmed her lead to just one shot.

Miyazato bounced right back with a birdie on the next hole, while Hong then bogeyed to drop three behind and give Miyazato some breathing space, which she needed after another bogey on the 14th.

"I was nervous this morning, but I had a really good feeling with my game and I really trusted myself," Miyazato said. "Even when my lead was down to one I was never in a hurry, I expected that to happen."

- Story courtesy of The Associated Press/Photo courtesy of Getty Images

KERR LEADS PACK CHASING MIGHTY TSENG

CRISTIE KERR

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Cristie Kerr and the rest of the LPGA are taking aim at Yani Tseng, who has established herself as the tour’s dominant player.

The last time Cristie Kerr played in the U.S. Women’s Open at the Broadmoor resort, she was a 16-year-old high school student who shot a pair of 75s and missed the cut. This week, she wants the outcome to be a little different.

“I’ve gotten a lot older and a lot wiser,” said Kerr, 33, the Miami native who is now No. 2 in the world rankings and coming off a third-place finish in the LPGA Championship two weeks ago. “I have the U.S. Open under my belt, so I kind of look at the course differently and pick it apart a little differently. When I was an amateur, I just sort of played.”

If Kerr and anyone else in the field of 156 expects to prevail by Sunday evening, they will have to play superior golf against the most dominant female player on the planet these days. That would be 22-year-old Yani Tseng of Taiwan, less than two weeks removed from her overwhelming 10-shot victory in the LPGA Championship.

Tseng will be aiming at her fifth major title, and no woman has ever gotten to four any faster. If she wins, she also will have the distinction of winning each of the four major championships at least once.

Tseng came to Colorado and said, “I feel very calm and I don’t feel any pressure.” That can hardly be reassuring for the rest of the field, though Kerr was not ready to concede anything.

“On a golf course like this, with all the rough and the greens and all the different factors, and you also have to consider the altitude,” she said. “You should expect to see some of those top players on the leaderboard. I’d like to think my experience (15 previous Opens) … knowing what it takes … that’s a good thing I’ve got under my belt.”

For inspiration, Tseng went over to Annika Sorenstam’s house near Orlando last week to share a few glasses of wine. Tseng, who lives in a home she purchased from Sorenstam two years ago, said she asked her friend, who won her first Open title at the Broadmoor in 1995, “am I putting too high of expectations to win this tournament?”

Tseng said Sorenstam told her, “If you just play the same as last week, you’re going to win.”

It took Sorenstam 15 years to win 10 major championships over her Hall of Fame career. She has already called Tseng the new “face of the game.”

On Wednesday, Sorenstam described her as “a young lady who … has just embraced the golf world. She’s doing so many great things. She’s really taken the No. 1 spot to another level. She’s learning English. She wants to be the best. She wants to be the face of the LPGA. I mean, she’s got the game. I think we all know that. Long hitter and good short game and all that.

“She’s very mentally strong. To come out and win four majors already at the age of 22, I think it’s impressive. What I saw many years ago was just that: I saw an impressive young lady with a lot of potential, a lot of will. She just has the pieces of the game that I thought would make it. And the pieces she didn’t have, she either went and found them or improved whatever she had. … This is just a beginning.”

Juli Inkster, who is in the field this week, also has been suitably impressed.

“You look at Yani and you never think there will be another Mickey Wright or another Annika Sorenstam or Lorena (Ochoa), and all of a sudden Yani comes along,” Inkster said. “Yani has Lorena’s power. I mean she can bomb the ball. She’s got a lot of passion for the game. She wants to be the best. She wants to get better. So she could be here for a while. If she stays healthy, she could probably break a lot of Annika’s records.”

Tseng and Paula Creamer, the defending champion, will be paired in the first two rounds on a course that is the longest in tournament history at 7,047 yards playing to a par 71. There will be typically thick Open-style rough, and the Broadmoor’s greens have been firm and quick in the practice rounds.

“In a normal tournament, I worry too much if I don’t make birdie and other people are going to make a bunch of birdies,” Tseng said. “I think I just focus more on majors. I love a tough course. I love the challenge. You’re not going to be shooting lots of low scores. You need to be patient.’’

- Story courtesy of the Miami Herald

HAWAIIAN TEEN GALDIANO YOUNGEST IN OPEN FIELD

MARIEL GALDIANO

 

It wasn't so long ago that Mariel Galdiano would wait patiently behind the rope to politely request an autograph from her favorite LPGA golfers at tour stops near her home in Hawaii.

Now, just a couple of weeks past her 13th birthday, the rope has been lifted. Mariel is having a hard time believing that she has the opportunity to be on the other side of that rope, and that the players she admired — well, still admires — will be her peers, and that girls might even ask for her autograph. She's been practicing her signature, just in case.

Mariel will be the youngest golfer in the 66th U.S. Women's Open, which tees off Thursday at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.

She qualified by winning a sectional qualifying tournament in May when she was 12 years old and finishing seventh grade. She will be one of the youngest golfers in the history of the tournament (LPGA star Morgan Pressel and Alexis Thompson, now 16, both played in the tournament at age 12), and the youngest ever from Hawaii — breaking the mark of 13 years, 9 months set by Michelle Wie.

"It still hasn't sunk in yet," Mariel said shortly after arriving in Colorado on Friday. "Maybe it will when everyone is staring at me."

Mariel qualified for the U.S. Women's Open when she sank a birdie putt on the final hole of the 36-hole qualifier to win that tournament by one stroke. She entered the qualifying tournament for the experience and never expected to win, yet that birdie putt set her off on a wild summer adventure.

A week after her school year ended, Mariel packed her large red suitcase and flew to the U.S. mainland with her father, Roger. Over the course of eight weeks, they will crisscross the country as Mariel plays in five tournaments, from Oregon to Rhode Island.

All this only eight years after Roger Galdiano first bought his daughter a set of golf clubs, so a 5-year-old Mariel could accompany him on his daily trips to the course and driving range.

It wasn't long before Mariel advanced from what she described as "just hacking away" to participating in the junior golf program at Ko Olina, the club in Hawaii that hosted the LPGA's Fields Open from 2006-08.

Mariel was competitive on the junior circuit and won her share of tournaments against girls her own age.

Roger, a construction foreman, quit playing the game himself so he could focus on his daughter's burgeoning career. Mariel had a coach several years ago, but now Roger handles the coaching and caddying duties as he and his wife, Marivic, dream of Mariel earning a college scholarship to play golf.

"For us, it was either golf all the way or no golf," Roger Galdiano said.

Still, for Mariel, golf is just plain fun. While she enjoys shopping and watching movies with her friends, nothing beats an afternoon on the course.

She seems more excited to meet some of her favorite players — such as Paula Creamer and Annika Sorenstam, who will conduct a clinic at The Broadmoor on Wednesday — than she is nervous about actually playing in the biggest tournament in women's golf.

"I don't really expect to make the cut. This is about playing with pros and really just learning how they play," Mariel said. "And I can never forget to have fun. That's pretty much what this whole summer is about. Who knows when I'll ever qualify for this again?"

Pressel, now 23 and the owner of one major title, would likely agree with that mind-set.

"My advice to her would be to just have fun. When I played (in the U.S. Women's Open at age 12 in 2001), it really solidified my decision that this is what I wanted to do with the rest of my life," Pressel told The Denver Post at a tournament in Illinois last month. "I remember Karrie Webb winning, and seeing Annika and all these great players that I looked up to forever. To play against them, on the same golf course, the same week, it was pretty special. I just hung out in the locker room. I thought it was the coolest place to be, because the players were all people I looked up to."

- Story courtesy of the Denver Post

TSENG CHASING CAREER GRAND SLAM

YANI TSENG

Yani Tseng has this habit of smiling when she's nervous. She smiles when she's happy, too.

"The people don't know which one I am," the LPGA's No.1 player said with, well, a smile. "It makes me feel very relaxed. I think if I smile more, people will enjoy watching me."

When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you, and it eases the sting on those you've just dusted on the golf course.

Tseng, 22, has put the women's No.1 ranking on lockdown with six wins worldwide, including her 10-stroke romp at the LPGA Championship. That triumph was her third major title in the past 15 months and fourth overall — the youngest to accumulate that many.

The Taiwan native already has more majors than Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez (3) or Lorena Ochoa (2), the LPGA's last dominant No.1. And with a victory at this week's U.S. Women's Open, Tseng can become the youngest to achieve the career Grand Slam.

"She's really the new face of the LPGA," suggested Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam, who's become an adviser and close friend.

Said coach Gary Gilchrist: "She is playing the best golf with the amount of expectations and pressure that's been put on her, which is No.1 in the world. It's awesome to watch."

Even as the spotlight grows, Tseng downplays any talk of a dawning "Yani Era."

"I feel like there's a long way to go," Tseng said. "After 10 years, maybe we can have the discussion. ... All the great players that come on the tour now — if you have a couple of bad weeks, people are going to catch you."

At the moment, it's the rest of the LPGA that's trying to catch up to Tseng. Her 69.31 scoring average is nearly a full stroke ahead of anyone else, and her total of 163 birdies and eagles is 30 more than No.2 Cristie Kerr.

"Yani's playing unbelievable out there," rival Suzann Pettersen said. "If she hits the fairway and makes her fair share of putts, she's going to be a tough competitor all year round."

While fellow pros rave about Tseng's distance off the tee and improved putting, her strides this year stem more from the mental side. In years past, bad shots or untimely bogeys easily could chip at her confidence.
Gilchrist acknowledges his biggest task hasn't been to maintain Tseng's swing as much as improve her outlook.

"The more you can trust in what you're doing," he said, "the better it gets."

He cited the LPGA Championship's second round, where Tseng carded a 70 after missing a couple of short putts. Afterward, she told Gilchrist her confidence had fallen by "maybe 30 percent."

They went out to the practice green, but didn't stroke a single putt.

"Yani, let's look at it logically," Gilchrist told her. "Your name's still on top of the leaderboard; you're leading by one. That means you're doing a lot of things really well. You miss a 5-foot putt, it's just a putt missed."

An hour later, a smiling Tseng walked off the green. Weekend scores of 67-66 delivered the trophy.

"If your attitude's good," she said, "I think it's going to come out good more often than bad."
Spoken with a smile, of course.

- Story courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel

TSENG SETS RECORD EN ROUTE TO MAJOR CROWN

YANI TSENG

PITTSFORD, N.Y. - Yani Tseng wasn't satisfied with merely winning the LPGA Championship and, at 22, becoming the youngest to win four LPGA majors.

Once she made the turn with a 10-stroke lead Sunday, the best female player in the world set her sights on making a little more history.

"I was like, what's a new goal for me?" Tseng said. "And that's why I told myself I wanted to set a record, to make 20 under."

She missed by one stroke in what was the only minor blemish in one of the most dominating performances to date from Tseng.

In closing with a 6-under 66 to finish at 19-under 269 at Locust Hill Country Club, Tseng matched the LPGA record low at a major, most recently by Cristie Kerr a year ago when she shot the same score to win the tournament by 12 strokes. Dottie Pepper (1999 Kraft Nabisco) and Karen Stupples (2004 Women's British Open) also finished at 19 under.

There is one mark Tseng can claim as her own by bettering Se Ri Pak, who was 24 when she won her fourth major. By comparison, Tiger Woods didn't win his fourth until he was 24. And Tseng's well ahead of her idol, Annika Sorenstam, who was 24 when she won the first of her 10 majors - the 1995 U.S. Women's Open.

"It's very special," Tseng said. "Now I'm thinking about a grand slam."

It's one step at a time for the top-ranked Tseng, who won her second LPGA Championship and has won three of the tour's last six majors. The only major she's missing is the U.S. Women's Open title, which she'll have an opportunity to complete her career slam in two weeks at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Morgan Pressel (71) finished second. Kerr (69), Suzann Pettersen (67) and Paula Creamer (69) tied for third at 8 under.

"Pretty unbelievable," said Kerr, who rallied late with a birdie on No. 16 and an eagle on 17. "Yani's doing what I did last year. Obviously, it's hard to beat. I'm not surprised. Yani's a great player."

Pressel initially thought she'd have an outside chance to catch Tseng before the final round began. Pressel dropped that hope once she dropped a shot with a bogey on No. 2.

"It's definitely a dominating performance," Pressel said. "She didn't make many mistakes out there."

Tseng didn't, in claiming $375,000 at the $2.5 million event. Wearing a smile for much of the day, Tseng raised her arms and tipped her hat as she was greeted by the gallery upon arriving at the 18th green.

After a bogey on No. 1, which she chalked up to nerves, Tseng reeled off five birdies on her next seven holes to run away from the field. Tseng added three more birdies on the back nine, while bogeying 13, and had a chance to get to 20, before missing a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 18.

"The birdie on No. 2, it felt like a turning point for me because I bogeyed the first hole," Tseng said. "It was huge for me."

Tseng went wire-to-wire as the tournament leader after opening with rounds of 66, 70 and 67. In holding one-shot leads after each of the first two rounds, Tseng began running away from the field on Saturday in building a five-shot edge.

Tseng finished with 27 birdies, six bogeys and a double bogey. She hit 38 of 56 fairways and 57 of 72 greens in regulation.

No one else was close. Tseng's playing partner, Cindy LaCrosse, unraveled. She was 5 over on Sunday to tumble into 14th.

Pettersen had the best round among those at the top of the leaderboard, getting to 9 under for the tournament before a bogey on No. 18.

"I think I started too late in this tournament," Pettersen said, while also acknowledging Tseng's performance. "You take her out of consideration and I think the rest of us were fighting for second and third."

For the star from Taiwan, it was her eighth career LPGA Tour victory, second in a row and third of the season. She has three other victories this year, sweeping the Australian Open and Masters and winning in Taiwan.

With four majors, she moved into a tie for 15th among women with four majors, joining a group of six others, including Laura Davies and Meg Mallon.

"She's only 22," Kerr said, noting she played with Tseng in South Korea about seven years ago. "We knew she was going to be good. I didn't know she would be this good. She is pretty dang good."

Tseng is good friends with Sorenstam, and even bought the retired star's home in Florida two years ago.

Sorenstam paid tribute, calling Tseng "The new face of the LPGA," in a phone interview with Golf Channel during the final round.

Tseng noted she received a text from Sorenstam earlier in the day.

"She texted me, 'Great playing. Bring the trophy home,'" Tseng said. "I was smiling, saying, `Yeah, I will."


- Story by The Associated Press/Photo courtesy of Getty Images

POND: SHIN TO OUTLAST KERR, FIELD FOR CROWN

JIYAI SHIN


Predicting a winner in any golf tournament that didn't feature Annika Sorenstam was always a real crapshot. Throwing darts at a board littered with players' names gave you just as good a chance of picking a winner as sitting around hours studying statistics, past performances and other methods of trying to correctly prognosticate the champion did.

With Sorenstam now long since retired, there is no star atop the women's game. However, there is a pretty consistent group of players finding their way into the top 10 of each tournament. And I see, for the most part, that group of stars dominating the upper part of the leaderboard this week at the Wegmans LPGA Championship.

Cristie Kerr is hoping to defend her title at Locust Hill Country Club in suburban Rochester, N.Y., which would mark the first time since Sorenstam captured three consecutive LPGA Championship crowns between 2003-2005 there would be a repeat champion.

Kerr is arguably the hottest player in the world. Ranked second in the latest Rolex rankings, Kerr has reeled off three straight second-place finishes and has wound up no worse than fourth in five of the last seven events during the 2011 campaign.

Kerr will be in the thick of things come Sunday, much like she was last year as she blew away the field with a closing-round 66 to complete her record-breaking, 12-stroke victory in the major championship. But something has to give with Kerr, who must be frustrated mentally about not being able to put together four great rounds for victory thus far.

That said, I'm throwing my support behind South Korean standout Jiyai Shin and looking for her to bring home her second career major championship. Shin, who won her first major title at the 2008 RICOH Women's British Open, has finished second twice this season and most recently eighth in the LPGA State Farm Classic.

Most importantly, Shin has won this tournament before when she triumphed in the 2009 edition of the event before it became to one of the tour's four major championships. The world's fourth-ranked player has won eight times in her career and seems poised this week to make a major toward another crown.

WEGMANS LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH:

Winner: Jiyai Shin

Runner-up: Suzann Pettersen

Third: Brittany Lincicome

Fourth: Cristie Kerr

Fifth: I.K. Kim

* Photo courtesy of Getty Images

KERR SET TO DEFEND LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP CROWN

It won't be easy, but Cristie Kerr seems poised to make another run toward her second consecutive LPGA Championship this week in upstate New York. Kerr, who pulled off a Rory McIlroy-like victory with her record-breaking, 12-stroke triumph last year at Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, N.Y., has been stellar this season.

Kerr has five top-five finishes in nine starts, with three straight second-place finishes coming into this week's major. However, she has yet to reach the winner's circle thus far this season.

A victory by Kerr this week would mark just the fifth time in the tournament's history a defending champion would repeat as the winner and first since golf legend Annika Sorenstam captured three crowns between 2003 and 2005 in the tournament's history.