It is easy to get lost in this October madhouse of sports as the NFL heats up, the World Series begins, NCAA Football starts to really matter not to mention the start of the NHL and NBA. The LPGA has a difficult time getting any notice during the golf season when there is interest in golf. With the sports news stacked against it in the fall it is even tougher.
But Mike Whan and his globetrotting ladies of the LPGA fear no sports league. After all these women have been travelling the world playing golf for a fraction of what the men earn since the 1950’s.
But Whan and the ladies aren’t afraid to pack their clubs and go where the money is. Asia has an appetite for women’s golf like few other regions of the world and the LPGA has no qualms about taking their traveling show on the road.
Much like the old Bob Hope and Bing Crosby series of “Road” films the LPGA is “on the road again” as they make their way through their fall Asian swing.
Since they last played in the States in Alabama in September they have teed it up in China, Malaysia, South Korea and this week they are back in China for the inaugural Blue Bay LPGA.
After this stop they will have three more tournaments, Taiwan, Japan and Mexico before their season ending finale back in the states at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples.
The makeup of the LPGA rank and file is heavy with golfers from these countries and companies are willing to put up the sponsorship dollars to have the LPGA play there. For Mike Whan it’s a slam dunk: have tour will travel is his motto. And it works as this ’14 LPGA schedule 33 tournament, a significant up swing from a few years ago when the tour struggled.
Plenty of big names will compete in the Blue Bay LPGA including Lydia Ko, Lexi Thompson and Michelle Wie is back in action.
Wie says she is now fully healed from the finger injury that sidelined her and her first start in Korea last week did a fine job in shaking off the rust. After a rough start of 76 in the first round she went 67-67 on the weekend to finish just two off the lead and a tie for fifth.
“It was definitely rusty coming back. Especially the first day with that much wind. I felt so flustered out there,” she said.
“Every day I felt a little less rusty. Definitely some of the mistakes I made on Saturday and Sunday I don’t think I would’ve made in the heat of the season,” said Wie. “I still feel like I’m working on my touch. My wedge game, my short game. I still need to shake some rust off but everyday feels a little bit better. Making less and less mistakes hopefully. I feel stronger everyday which is good.”
And true to her fun loving and adventurous nature Michelle always like to immerse herself in the customs of the local culture, especially when it comes to shopping (of course) and eating.
Check it out, that’s a live squid she’s eating. She likes her fun…and her squid.
Live coverage of the Blue Bay LPGA airs tonight on The Golf Channel at 11:30pm EST.
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