Miyazato, Wie Match still possible at Sybase

Ai Miyazato and Michelle Wie both defeated their respective opponents in first round action at the Sybase Match Play Championship which leads them closer to a final round duel. As I mentioned yesterday, I think this type of golf game will be perfect for Wie (remember her great play against Team Europe at the Solheim Cup?) and, if she can win this event, Michelle will get the much needed confidence that she needs to be a leader in the LPGA.
Here are a few of the notable second-round pairings:

10:30 a.m. Morgan Pressel (14) vs. Sophie Gustafson (19)

10:40 a.m. Amy Yang (30) vs. Juli Inkster (35)

11:20 a.m. Ai Miyazato (2) vs. M.J. Hur (31)

11:40 a.m. Karrie Webb (7) vs. Amanda Blumenhurst (55)

12:20 p.m. Cristie Kerr (5) vs. Sun Young Yoo (28)

12:30 p.m. Azahara Munoz (54) vs. Beatriz Recari (62)

12:40 p.m. Jiyai Shin (1) vs. Hee-Won Han (32)

1:00 p.m. Michelle Wie (8) vs. Hee Young Park (25)

I hope that Barry and I can get over to Hamilton Farm Golf Club tomorrow where we will tweet and send pics from the event.

Why Miyazato, Wie should be paired at Sybase Match Play

Listed below are the Round One pairings for the Sybase Match Play Championship. I'll be curious to see if Ai Miyazato, winner of three LPGA events this season, will be as successful in match-play as in stroke play.

I also want Michelle Wie to make a move into the second round. Match play may be a better format for Wie because she can move past the blow-up holes, regroup and take back control of her round.

Wouldn't it be exciting to see a final round pairing of Wie vs Miyazato? Michelle should probably be paired against Ai in order to learn better how to keep emotions under control. Perhaps Wie may struggle at first but instinct may then prevail with great final round action.

As Michelle mentioned in her pre-tournament interview this week, "It's kind of nice to change it up a bit. I remember I played a lot more match play in amateur events in USGA golf. It's nice to switch it up."

8:50 a.m. Morgan Pressel (14) vs. Jimin Kang (56) 

9:06 a.m. Suzann Pettersen (3) vs. Juli Inkster (35)

9:30 a.m. Jee Young Lee (27) vs. Christina Kim (40)

10:16 a.m. Ai Miyazato (2) vs. Jeong Jang (51)

10:40 a.m. Stacy Lewis (26) vs. Amanda Blumenherst (55)

11:16 a.m. Candie Kung (29) vs. Natalie Gulbis (44)

11:32 a.m. Momoko Ueda (21) vs. Vicky Hurst (37)

11:56 a.m. Cristie Kerr (5) vs. Meaghan Francella (53)

12:08 p.m. Se Ri Pak (17) vs. Azahara Munoz (54)

12:16 p.m. Brittany Lincicome (16) vs. Beatriz Recari (62)

12:32 p.m. Jiyai Shin (1) vs. Kyeong Bae (42)

1:04 p.m. Michelle Wie (8) vs. Stacy Prammanasudh (50)

Golf Channel coverage for the first round of the Sybase Match Play Championship is:

            1:00 – 3:00 p.m. EST (Live)

            6:30 – 8:30 p.m. EST (Tape Delayed)

Will Immigration Reform Negatively Impact Golf in Arizona?

Tourism and golf bring hoards of vacationers to Arizona but, with tightened security measures being imposed in the form of the new S.B 1070 law, will boycotts leave Arizona golf in a hazard?

And, who will help maintain the golf courses if all of its 'illegals' are deported?

Many immigrants coming to America from Mexico are Hispanics seeking a better life for themselves and their families and will take jobs that no one even wants. In the case of Scottsdale, an upscale tourist community, "the city has relied on Mexican labor from its initial founding," states John Harner with the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies. "Somebody has to do the physical work."

On the other hand, as posted on the Laura Ingraham website, "Arizona's illegal immigrant population is costing the state's taxpayers even more than once thought -- a whopping $2.7 billion, according to researchers at the public interest group that helped write the state's new immigration law."

California, once a haven for illegals has also snubbed Arizona along with Texas and New Mexico and is also partly responsible for "forcing a shift in the flow of illegal immigrants that has now turned Arizona into the single biggest gateway for people sneaking into the country from Mexico."

The States may be collectively turning their backs on Arizona because, for most of them, this situation is not happening in their own backyard (NIMBY) but PLEASE let us not forget that this is still the UNITED States of America!

Adding insult to injury, boycotts against Arizona are now popping up from Seattle to Minnesota with organizations pledging to "hold no conventions, conferences, special events or major meetings involving significant travel to Arizona while law S.B. 1070 is in effect."

Ping has also been mentioned on the list of Arizona companies to "boycott".

Media, in the form of guys like John Farrell are also calling out Arizona. "There are lots of other places to play golf and plenty of scenery elsewhere as we wait for Arizona to come to its senses. The Grand Canyon is not going anywhere."

Much business is done on the golf course. Boycotts and government disillusionment will translate into millions of dollars of lost revenue for Arizona.

Golf-course owners are getting hit from all sides. "Tourism is down, fewer locals are playing, water and labor costs are up and too much competition has forced course owners to lower membership fees and greens fees,"  claimed Roger Garrett of Phoenix-based Insight Land & Investments.

It's time for local professional golfers living in Arizona to take a stand, change the climate and help get Arizona back on its feet.

Who can believe that Superstition Mountain, Wigwam and Quintero Golf and Country Club, a few of the finest Phoenix golf courses, have filed for bankruptcy protection?

On the flip side, immigration reform is not being chastised by everyone. Since 9-11, harsher measures in airport security and in NYC subway tunnels make citizens feel better protected. Is it too much to ask that citizens feel safe?

Scottsdale, Arizona need not worry as Scottsdale golf courses will be getting a boost from this citizen found on USMessageBoard.com:

In honor of the fact that Arizona has the balls to do right by their CITIZENS, the wife and I have decided to start looking for a vacation property near Scottsdale. Some great golf courses in that area, as well as some great dirt bike riding areas. My Pings and KTM 400 will get some serious usage. And the best part is, we'll be contributing to the local economy. Helping to keep our fellow LEGAL citizens employed. It's the american way!

Yes, the American Way is the ideal that anyone can improve their standard of living through determination and hard work. I think it's great that immigrants have an opportunity at the American Dream but how about doing it honestly and with integrity? Sneaking past borders in the middle of the night does not make this country any more safe and over the long term will probably do more harm than good. Also, paying for the rights and services to which Americans already contribute is fair for everyone.

With regards to safety I'm probably as safe on Arizona golf courses as I am anywhere else in this world, except when I hear, "FORE!"

When faced with bad publicity, what can Arizona do next? Rebrand its image!

"No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation." 
---General Douglas MacArthur

Addendum: Just found out that Dora the Explorer may be an illegal immigrant from this mug shot.

Too harsh a golf lesson for Yuko Mitsuka of the JLPGA?

I rarely play a round of golf on the weekends. I'm tired of the 'Sunday drivers' and slow players who search for their brand new, once-hit TaylorMade golf balls while laying tracks on freshly seeded fairways.

There usually is no penalty handed out by the rangers other than a stiff and formal "move it along" with a retort coming from the foursome something like, "it's the guys in front of us slowing down play." The golfers are probably right as the publinks often send out way too many golfers in an effort to collect as much seasonal income as possible. Either way, slow play makes it impossible to enjoy a day on the links.

In the case of Japanese golfer Yuko Mitsuka, there were no excuses given when the JLPGA invoked a two-stroke pace-of-play penalty last week at the World Ladies Championship.

Okay, so Yuko didn't at first bow and willingly accept her punishment.

When first hearing of her incurred two-stroke penalty, Mituska acted like any teed off golfer who just hit a grounder and angrily dropped her golf clubs and walked off the course.

Because Mitsuka quit halfway through the event, a fine imposed by the JLPGA of two million yen (about $21K US dollars) added insult to injury.

Realizing that her behavior was more befitting of John Daly than of a young lady from Japan, Mitsukla accepted the punishment and voluntarily withdrew from a total of eleven events as a sign of self-reproach.

Is this a smart move for Yuko or is she cutting her nose to spite her face, opting out of a few of the larger pursed tournaments to make a point?

On the PGA Tour, $20,000 fines called "The Prize", have also been "awarded" in the past for slow play but "nobody ever does anything about it," chides Rory Sabbatini.

Are "shot clocks" and "ready golf" the best way to move golf along at a more rapid pace or are stroke penalties and dollar assessments more effective for both betting foursomes and professionals?

Although Yuko Mitsuka took her medicine, was the JLPGA too strict in its punishment? Not from the JLPGA's standpoint!

"This will be a lesson to other golfers," said JLPGA chief Hisako Higuchi. "She has to take responsibility for her actions."

Higuchi may be right. How many women golfers in future JLPGA events will consider walking off the course because a penalty was placed on them?

Sybase Match Play Championship celebrates LPGA golfers by naming brackets

Sybase Match Play Championship and the LPGA are celebrating the careers of Annika Sorenstam, Mickey Wright, Kathy Whitworth and Patty Berg by naming the brackets after the lady golfers with the most career wins in history.

The tournament’s number one seed will be placed in the Whitworth Group, while the No. 2, 3 and 4 seeds will be placed in the Wright Group, Sorenstam Group and Berg Group, respectively. All first-round matches will be drawn at a special media event at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18.

Hamilton Farm Golf Club in New Jersey will be the setting for this exciting event. Sixty-four of the top LPGA golfers will compete in match-play format for a purse of 1.5 million dollars.

This honor is probably as exciting as the ladies getting stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and well-deserved!

The new LPGA commissioner, Mike Whan, is sure to draw pats on the back for his thoughtful gesture as he commented, "As we celebrate 60 years of the LPGA, we salute the four champions of our sport with the most wins in LPGA history."


Here is a brief history lesson of these four great female athletes:


Kathy Whitworth
*Won 88 LPGA Tour tournaments in a career which spanned four decades, more than any other player in the history of the game, male or female.
*Six major championships including seven Player of the Year awards, seven Vare Trophies and eight money list titles.
*She still holds the record for the most consecutive seasons with a win at seventeen and records the most career seasons with a victory at 22.

Mickey Wright
*82 wins and 13 major championships in her career.
*The only player to win four LPGA Championships
*One of only two players to win the U.S. Women’s Open four times.
*She still holds numerous all-time records, including the most wins in one season with thirteen.
*Only player in LPGA history to ever hold all four major championship trophies at the same time.
*She won the final two major championships of the 1961 season, the U.S. Women’s Open and the LPGA Championship and the first two majors of 1962, the Titleholders and the Western Open.

Annika Sorenstam
*Won 70 times with 10 major championships.
*Eight Rolex Player of the Year Awards
*Six Vare Trophies
*Led the LPGA Money List eight times.
*The only LPGA player to ever shoot 59 in an official tour event
*First LPGA player since Babe Zaharias to compete in a PGA Tour event when she played in the 2003 Bank of America Colonial.
*The only player in LPGA history to sweep the Player of the Year, Vare Trophy and Money List title five times.

Patty Berg
*One of the 13 Founders of the LPGA
*Won 60 LPGA titles and a record 15 major championships
*Seven Western Open titles, seven Titleholders Championships, and one U.S. Women’s Open, the only time it was played as a match-play event.
*Led the LPGA money list three times, and three times she won the Vare Trophy. In 1955, she became the first LPGA player to achieve both honors.
*In 1978, the LPGA established the Patty Berg Award to reward outstanding contributions to women's golf, to honor Patty Berg and to recognize her diplomacy, sportsmanship, goodwill and contributions to the game.


If Babe Didrikson Zaharias could only see how far the LPGA has come! Did you know Babe met her husand, wrestler George Zaharias, while playing golf in a PGA tournament? Babe's participation in a men's event was sixty years prior to Annika Sorenstam, Suzy Whaley or Michelle Wie's attempts!


And yes, The Sybase Match Play event will be aired on television but sadly not on Network TV. Visit LPGA.com for more details.

Also, we are sorry to earn about the passing of LPGA golfer Erica Blasberg. Only 25 years old, she had much more golf to play.



About the Ladies Professional Golf Association

The LPGA was founded in 1950 and today boasts a membership comprised of world-class LPGA Tour professionals and more than 1,300 dedicated Teaching and Club Professionals (T&CP). Players on the LPGA Tour, who represent more than 25 countries, compete globally showcasing the very best of women’s professional golf.

LPGA T&CP members directly impact the growth of the game through teaching, coaching and management positions and oversee programs aimed at increasing the involvement of women, girls and youth in golf. The LPGA’s Vision is to inspire, empower, educate and entertain by showcasing the best golf professionals in the world. Its Mission is to be a leader in the world of sports, to promote economic empowerment for all members, and to serve as role models on and off the course.

Does TaylorMade, Dick's Sporting Goods TV spot help identify their brands?

TaylorMade and Dick's Sporting Goods are joining forces to help sell more product in the nationwide chain of stores. Will this new TV Spot, "Transported", help to develop both companies' "brand"?

If you cannot see this commercial, click here.

As for the tagline "Victory Lives Here", meant to bridge the identity of each campaign, I feel it misses the mark for TaylorMade but works well for Dick's Sporting Goods, a self-proclaimed "leader" in golf club sales.

Although it was mentioned in a PR piece by Michelle Edelman, president of NYCA (the ad company that created the TV Spot) that TaylorMade is "number one in drivers and number one in irons" this point was not convincingly conveyed in the commercial.

Should Rory Sabbatini have been chosen as a TaylorMade 'face'? He is hardly a positive role model. Just search his name on Google and you will find that Sabbatini is called everything from the "tour jackass of the week" to a "complainer". Do I like him? I met him briefly in Puerto Rico and I shall reserve comment.

Women were also left out of the loop. How about some representation by LPGA stars and TaylorMade Tour Staff pros Natalie Gulbis, Paula Creamer or Nicole Castrale? TaylorMade has a women's section on their website and Dick's Sporting Goods certainly sells women's golf clubs so why the lack of visibility?

The 30 second spot, which will appear on The Golf Channel and ESPN, is an enterprising decision between Dick's Sporting Goods Store and TaylorMade Golf but needs a bit more tweaking to ensure long-lasting positive results.