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The LPGA finally ended its turbulent season with a final round that was almost worth the wait. It was a round worthy of a Sunday afternoon finish with a full gallery and some decent television ratings. Unfortunately, the girls had to close out an exciting tournament on Monday and missed the chance to showcase their talents. There was plenty worth watching at The Tour Championship and The LPGA continues to put on a great product.

Anna Nordqvist goes 33, 32 with five consecutive birdies to beat Lorena Ochoa by two strokes. Some may call Anna the Rookie of the Year: she won a major and The Tour Championship.

Lorena Ochoa shoots 67 and birdies the last to give her the lead in The Player of the Year race. She had to wait for Jiyai Shin to finish and spent the time biting her nails.

Jiyai Shin was her off game but despite a bogey at 17, she still had a chance to win The Player of the Year with a birdie on 18. He birdie chip came up just short.

The Player of the Year Race comes down to the last shot of the tournament and Ochoa wins by one point. Unbelievable.

Ochoa always a classy player, in an emotional exchange with the Golf Channel, congratulated Shin for her great season and thanked her for pushing her all year.

by Jeff Skinner

At least the rain stopped in Houston on Sunday. That’s about the best thing that has happened this week for the LPGA Tour Championship. The tournament started with such promise: There was plenty of buzz thanks to Michelle Wie winning her first tournament, the top players in the world were to be showcased on a weekend without competition from the PGA Tour and the Player of the Year Race was headed for a photo finish. Then the dark cloud that has been following the LPGA all year reappeared again and this time it brought rain and not controversy.

After a weekend of rain delays and false starts play resumed on Sunday but the women will have to start early on Monday to finish the second round then immediately start the third and final round. It is hardly the finale the tour had planned. But, the LPGA has been facing adversity all season and this week is just the latest version of pain and suffering.

When the players do finally get a chance to be on the course they are making this an interesting tournament. At Sunday’s end Kristy McPherson held a one shot lead over rookie sensation Jiyai Shin. Shin’s rival for Player of the Year, Lorena Ochoa, is two back along with Anna Nordqvist and Heather Bowie Young. Reilley Rankin is tied for sixth and trying to earn enough to keep her card for next year. Karen Crouse details in The N.Y. Times how difficult life on the LPGA Tour has become for Rankin and many other players.

The Golf Channel will cover the finish (hopefully) from 4-6p.m. today.

by Jeff Skinner

The shootout that the European Tour hoped would happen at The Dubai World Championship never really materialized, thanks to Lee Westwood. Sitting at number two in the European Tour Money list, Westwood wasted no time in pulling away from the field when he birdied two of the first three holes. Ross McGowan who started two strokes back of Westwood could not keep up Westwood’s sizzling pace as he birdied five of the first seven holes on his way to an opening front side 31.

Westwood shot a bogey free final round, hitting every fairway and green and setting a new course record 64. With only two bogeys all tournament and 25 birdies, Westwood played a brand of golf that no player could match. He finished six ahead of McGowan and eight ahead of Rory McIlroy. McIlroy had led the Race to Dubai coming into The Championship but was unable to match Westwood’s pace.

With the win Westwood pockets $2.75 million and the Race to Dubai Championship. Afterward an emotional Westwood called it his “biggest moment of his golfing career.” With a wide smile he said it was “about as good as I ever played under this kind of pressure.” Recalling his past Order of Merit win in 2000 and his subsequent fall to 250^th in the world in 2002, Westwood fought back tears as he said there was “a phase when I didn’t want to play.” He credited his caddy, Billy Foster, with imploring him to concentrate on his own game and not worry what the others were doing. It was a prudent strategy that enabled him to claim the biggest prize of his career.

Westwood finished tied for third in the last two majors this year. When asked what this win means for 2010 Westwood chose to say he’ll let this win sink in for awhile but wanted “more wins and maybe a major or two.”

The LPGA Tour Championship suffered more rain delays on Saturday and the officials have decided to shorten it to 54 holes. They hope to finish round two Sunday morning and then play then play the final (third) round on Monday. It’s not like they haven’t been keeping busy in Houston. On Friday night they held the Rolex Award reception. Normally all the awards would have been handed out then, but with The Player of the Year still undecided they’ll have to wait until Monday’s outcome to make that presentation.

The Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year award was decided long ago and winner Jiyai Shin stole the show at the awards ceremony with her emotional and heartfelt acceptance speech. Shin has had an astonishing year: Rookie of the Year, leads in Player of the Year points, claimed the money title and won three events. If an American golfer was having this kind of season she’d be all over the sporting news. Because Shin is from South Korea, she blends into the group of dozens of South Korean golfers that play on the tour and that most American golf fans choose to ignore.

It’s a shame that more fans don’t make an effort to follow some of these young ladies. Shin is an intelligent, affable young woman with a world of talent. She not only works hard on her golf game, but she has been working very hard on improving her English. She felt it was important to give her speech in English and according to Beth Ann Baldry, Shin gave an excellent speech.

“Shin paid tribute to LPGA founders, saying the financial troubles the tour now faces are nothing compared to what players like Suggs endured. She dedicated the evening to her mother, who died in 2003 from injuries sustained in a car crash.

‘Some of us play for quiet, shy girls with little glasses who have a song in their hearts,’ Shin said. ‘To those girls I say, ‘Do not be afraid. Dream big.’

She then walked down from the stage and gave Suggs a heartfelt thank you.

Pure class.”

With the LPGA becoming more international each day it would be wise for the American fans to learn a bit more about the ladies that come from other countries. They love the game and have the same dreams that all our favorite Americans do.

Baldry’s Blog

The Korea Times Article

by Jeff Skinner

This isn’t what the LPGA Tour needed in Houston at its Tour Championship. First their biggest drawing card disappears when Michelle Wie has to withdraw with a bad ankle and then the weather refuses to cooperate. The players haven’t been able to complete round two due to rain delays. They’ll continue the second round at 7 a.m. today.

One of those golfers that wasn’t able to start her second round was Stacy Lewis. Stacy is pulling double duty this week as a player and as an impromptu host. Houston is her hometown and she is thrilled to be able to play a tournament in front of her hometown fans. As Beth Ann Baldry notes in Golf Week, Lewis is having a busy week.

With all the issues that have faced the LPGA this year it is easy to miss the fact that the LPGA has great product to sell. These women play great golf at wonderful courses and they are by far one of the most “fan friendly” sports anywhere. These women are approachable on the course and very active off the course. At each tournament stop they always have some charitable activity that they take part in. This week was no different. Stacy and her rookie pal Vicky Hurst visited the hospital where Stacy had her back surgery six years ago. It seems that I have seen Stacy in the pictures of each and every hospital visit that the tour makes. I don’t think she has missed one yet. She is an outstanding person and just one of the many LPGA players that realize how important it is to give something back.

Four days after claiming her first LPGA victory Michelle Wie withdrew from The LPGA Tour Championship. Playing with a limp most of the day Wie posted an even par round on a windy afternoon in Houston. After completing the round and she went to the medical tent briefly and then told tournament officials she had to withdraw due to an injured ankle.

Wie’s ankle has been an issue since she hurt it at The Solheim Cup but she was able to work through it last week when she won The Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico. Wie was disappointed with her withdrawal but realized she could do further damage and did not want to risk it.

The Tour Championship will miss Wie as she has become the biggest draw in women’s golf and with her fine play this year is the new hope of The LPGA. The Tour had a chance to capture some fans and a good share of television ratings as Wie faced off against the best golfers in the world this weekend. Lorena Ochoa leads the rest of the field as they tee off in the second round today.

Just because the boys of The PGA Tour have put the clubs down for awhile doesn’t mean there isn’t any great golf going on. Quite to the contrary, The European Tour and The LPGA are holding their season ending, big finale tournaments this week. The LPGA is in Houston at The LPGA Tour Championship.

The European Tour is in Dubai for the final leg in the “Race to Dubai,” The Dubai World Championship. Here are ten good reasons to take some time and check out the golf in Dubai this week.

10. Miguel Angel Jimenez: He is the coolest guy in golf and any we never miss a chance to catch Miguel on the course.

9. Ski Dubai: Believe it or not there is an indoor ski range in Dubai, yes right in the middle of the desert. It has five ski runs and is open all year. You know they’ll show it on the telecast.

8. No Americans: Since Anthony Kim bailed out, there are no Americans in the field. That means with no Tiger, they’ll show more golf.

7. Major Champions: Paddy Harrington, Geoff Ogilvy, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els are all in the field.

6. The Burj Al Arab Hotel: You know that hotel that looks like a sail that sits on the coast of Dubai? It’s the one where Tiger hit balls off the heli-port a few years ago and we’ll get another tour of it on the telecast.

5. Ian Poulter: He’s always good for some good golf and some better outfits.

4. Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Ross Fisher: These guys all have played great golf this year and are the only ones that can catch money leader, Rory McIlroy.

3. Recession in Dubai: We’ll get to see how the world wide economic crisis has hit Dubai. Those poor guys probably had to use last year’s solid gold Rolls Royce instead of buying a new one.

2. It’s golf: There are plenty of great golfers and we’ll get to see a lot of it on the Golf Channel. They are showing some live 3:00am (delayed) and repeating it throughout the day.

1. Rory McIlroy: Rory leads the Euro Tour in money and he has had a phenomenal year. The 20 year old is the hottest young star in the world. All he has to do is finish ahead of Westwood, Kaymer and Fisher and he’ll win The Race to Dubai. It’s kind of like the FedEx Cup, but less money and more sand.

The LPGA Tour gets to ride the “Michelle Wie Wave” this week into its final tournament of the season. The LPGA meets at The Houstonian Golf & Country Club in Houston for The LPGA Tour Championship. All the top women in the world are in the 120 player field led by three time winners Jiyai Shin and Lorena Ochoa.

The Player of the Year battle is going right down to the wire with Shin leading Ochoa by a mere eight points. Shin has already run away with The Rookie of the Year trophy and is looking to become the first player since Nancy Lopez in 1978 to claim both honors. Ochoa is trying to make it four years straight as The Player of the Year.

This looks to be shaping up to be very competitive tournament and the since The PGA Tour has wrapped up its season the ladies will get some much needed television time. They don’t have to worry about another golf tournament taking their viewers; all they have to worry about is NFL football, ouch.

This should be an interesting and spirited tournament. There are plenty of great golfers who can make a charge at this trophy and many interesting stories.

Jiyai Shin: #1 on the money list, 3 wins, 2^nd in scoring average, leads in Player of the Year points, tied for 2^nd in scoring average, tied for 1^st with Ochoa in putts per GIR, #2 in the World Rankings. Technically a rookie, but has 3 wins last year to go with her 3 wins this year.

Lorena Ochoa: #4 on the money list, 2^nd in Player of the Year, tied for 1^st with Shin in putts per GIR, #1 in scoring average, 3 wins and still #1 in the world.

Cristie Kerr: 1 win this year, #5 in the world, tied for 2^nd in scoring average, 2^nd in the money list and third in Player of the Year points. Kerr plays as hard as anyone out there.

Ai Miyazato: 1 win this year and third on the money list and fourth in scoring average. She could easily win here.

Paula Creamer: She is the highest player on the money list without a win. She has 10 top tens, hits more greens than anyone and comes off a second place last week. She is determined to get a win this year and this is her last chance.

Angela Stanford: 1 win and 11 top tens this year, 10^th on the money list. A Texas girl that would love to win in her home state.

Michelle Wie: Can she keep it up? The tour would love it if she could. Wie is playing well with 3 top tens in her last five tournaments, including last week’s win.

Stacy Lewis: Dark Horse pick for the hometown girl. Lewis has two top tens and hasn’t been setting the world on fire but she has had a good rookie season and this is her hometown. I’ve been following her all year so I have to give her some props at her hometown tournament.

Lob Shots…

Coach Jim Harbaugh of the Stanford Cardinal will have Tiger Woods as an honorary team captain for Saturday’s “Big Game” against arch rival California. That’s a great move coach, not quite as cool as running up the score against your buddy Pete Carroll and USC, but still a good move. Don’t forget to share the love and have Michelle Wie do the honors also. After all, she won a pro tournament while still a student at Stanford and she intends to graduate.

Mr. Nice Guy, Fred Funk, has had knee replacement surgery on Monday morning. Funk has been living with knee issues for over a year and had no choice but to have the knee replaced. He hopes to return to play in 2010. Let’s hope Freddy can come back healthy to the tour as soon as he can.

The Royal and Ancient has made a rule change that will give Tom Watson an additional five year exemption into the Open Championship. After watching Watson come one stroke short of winning The Open at 59, the R & A realized that keeping those past champions that can compete with the youngsters around a little longer is a win for everyone. The R & A got this one right. Having champions like Watson continue to play is great.

Doug Barron’s request for a restraining order to let him play in the second stage of Q-School was denied. Barron is the first PGA player to be banned for failing his drug test for performance enhancing drugs. There is something wrong here. The PGA seems to be playing an unusually tough brand of hard ball here. Barron will have is day in court to try and prove that his drugs were prescribed by a doctor for a medical condition. Let him play in Q-School by adding one more slot and then wait for the hearing to determine if he should be banned.

Good News, Bad News for the LPGA. One day after the official start of The Michelle Wie Era (ha ha) the LPGA announced another new tournament on next year’s schedule. The Shop Rite LPGA Classic will be played in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The bad news: it will take place the same weekend as The U.S. Open. I guess you can’t have everything.

The European Tour’s Race to Dubai gets under way this week. Rory McIlroy leads a strong contingent of golfers into The Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. The top golfers on the European Tour money list will look to cash in on the big payday at Dubai. McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Ross Fisher will do battle in the Euro’s version of the FedEx Cup. Rory is the favorite.

by Jeff Skinner

As the LPGA season heads into its last tournament this week the race for LPGA Player of the Year is about as close as it can get. Jiyai Shin and Lorena Ochoa will decide who wins the Player of the Year at the LPGA Tour Championship in Houston. Shin has already claimed The Rookie of the Year and Ochoa has won The Player of the Year for the last three years but there is another award the LPGA should be handing out this week. The LPGA should be giving The Comeback Player of the Year to Michelle Wie.

Here’s the thing: the LPGA doesn’t have a Comeback Player of the Year. They should start awarding one right now. Michelle Wie’s first career victory at The Lorena Ochoa Invitational certainly illustrates how far Wie has come after years of unfulfilled potential and soap opera dramas that plagued her professional career.

As difficult as it is to comprehend, the fact remains that Wie is still a rookie on tour and has only just turned twenty years old. How then, you may ask could she possibly be a Comeback Player of the Year. No golfer playing on or anywhere near The LPGA Tour has endured the ups and downs, the injuries, the emotional breakdowns and the horribly mismanaged career that Wie has lived through these past years.

Wie turned professional in 2005 when she turned sixteen and huge endorsement contracts and high expectations followed. Wie’s management team seemed more concerned with playing men’s tournaments and making her a celebrity then they did with making her a successful women’s golfer. She never tried to become a full fledged member of the LPGA, instead using sponsor’s exemptions to play the tour. She spent her time speaking of her goal to play in and win The Masters. The resentment from the female golfers grew as Wie showed up at each event with an entourage of handlers, managers, agents and of course her parents.

When she concentrated on playing LPGA events the results were less than spectacular. Each time that Wie would be near contention she always found a way to self-destruct. Her putter was notorious for letting her down and she could be counted on to slice a drive or hook an iron when the pressure was on. Until this year, her first as a card carrying tour member, the best she could manage was three seconds in 2005 and one second place finish in 2006. In 2008 her best finish was a tie for twelfth, hardly the resume that “the next big thing” was expected to have at that time in her career.

The 2007 season was emblematic of a career in free fall. Wie injured her wrist and probably kept playing when she shouldn’t have. In seven events her best finish was 19^th and earned only $23,000 for the year with a scoring average near 77. She withdrew twice from tournaments, once in the middle of the round when she was on her was to shooting a score in the high eighties. The LPGA has a rule that forbids any non-member from playing in any future tournaments in that year if they shoot a score of 88 or higher. It was suspected that Wie’s team told her to withdraw, claiming injury, so she wouldn’t be banned from the tour for the rest of the year. To complicate matters, she was out practicing days later for the next tour event and drew criticism from the best player on tour at the time, Annika Sorenstam.

Wie has gone through more agents, caddies and handlers in the past years than most players do in a career. Last season when she decided to try and qualify for the LPGA through Q-School it signaled a new attitude from Wie and her team. She would play the LPGA as a member and try to be just one of the girls. After a career of bad decisions and self-inflicted wounds she was ready to play golf. Play professional golf and go to college full time, not an easy task. But for Wie the sheltered life of a college student would be a welcome change from the scathing, vicious spotlight that comes with carrying the weight of women’s golf.

Wie is enjoying her college life and has even had a social life away from golf and away from her parents. She has found time for a boyfriend and spends plenty of time studying and with friends. It sounds like she’s a regular kid, living a regular college life. At the same time her golf game has flourished.

This season has seen her scoring average drop to 70.5 (ninth best on tour), she has eight top ten finishes, finished second to Jiyai Shin in the Rookie of the Year race, earned close to a million dollars, led the US Team to a victory in The Solheim Cup and topped it off with her win here.

Considering where she has come from the past four seasons, Michelle Wie certainly has had a new beginning. Is it possible for a twenty year old rookie to have a career resurrection? If you saw Wie hit her bunker shot on the eighteenth hole on Sunday to kick in birdie range, you saw a girl take command of her career.

With this win Wie starts another phase of her career. The first few years were a disaster; this season has been her “coming out party.” At the Solheim Cup she was allowed to become one of the girls and rose to the occasion to carry the load for her team. After witnessing her play at The Cup it looked like she was ready to win her first tournament and she proved that thinking correct this week.

Michelle Wie is the biggest star in women’s golf and her win comes at an opportune time for the tour. It needs its biggest stars to be in the spotlight, it needs all the positive press it can get. Michelle Wie has started doing her share for the tour. Comeback Player of the Year? Why not, she certainly has had a long, difficult, emotional journey to get here. Now it’s up to her to keep it going.