NPR: ‘The Best Player You Probably Never Heard Of’

ON FRIDAY NPR’S MORNING EDITION spent three minutes and 57 seconds telling its large audience about a “little-known” golf phenom named Yani Tseng, the world No. 1 player who is dominating the LPGA Tour and crashing the record books.

Reported Tom Goldman:

Tseng has been powering and smiling her way around golf courses—and making history. She has already done something that no one who has swung a golf club has done before: At the relatively tender age of 22, Tseng has won five major championships.

Tiger Woods was 24 when he won his fifth major. The legendary Patty Berg, who holds the LPGA record with 15 Grand Slam titles, was 25. Hall-of-Famer Annika Sorenstam was 32.

Goldman went on to call Tseng a triple threat, possessing accuracy, touch and power. The tour’s longest hitter, she averages nearly 270 yards off the tee. He also explained that while popular in Asia, where she is stopped on the street, Tseng goes largely unrecognized here as a non-American on the U.S-based LPGA Tour.

“Come on, people,” Goldman said. “Five majors.”

Such is ladies’ golf, especially if you’re from Taiwan and still learning English. Tseng seems to take it all in stride. Currently the most dominant player in the game, she deserves all the attention she can get.

Listen to NPR’s report on Yani Tseng

The next tournament on the LPGA Tour schedule is the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship on September 9-11. The defending champion is Yani Tseng.

−The Armchair Golfer

20 Major Champions Under Age of 25

GOLF.COM PUBLISHED A PHOTO GALLERY of “Notable Major Champions Under the Age of 25.” I’ve included their list below, but in a different order, from youngest to oldest. I’ve also added each player’s majors total. Plus I’ve included a handful of players (at bottom) Golf.com didn’t list.

(I’m not sure why they didn’t mention Ernie Els, who I believe won his first U.S. Open at the age of 24.)

(Photo: Morgan Pressel.)

Many of the retired players on the list went on to win five or more majors. So obviously it’s good to win early. Maybe you’ll win often. Tseng is the quickest to four. McIlroy has one and a world of potential. But there’s no guarantee you’ll win many or any after the first. Just ask Jerry Pate, who won his first and last major, the U.S. Open, at the tender age of 22.




Young Tom Morris, 17, 1868 British Open
Total majors: 4

Morgan Pressel, 18, 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship
Total majors: 1

Yani Tseng, 19, 2008 LPGA Championship
Total majors: 4

Francis Ouimet, 20, 1913 U.S. Open
Total majors: 3 (includes amateur titles)

Gene Sarazen, 20, 1922 U.S. Open
Total majors: 7

Bobby Jones, 21, 1923 U.S. Open
Total majors: 13 (includes amateur titles)

Nancy Lopez, 21, 1978 LPGA Championship
Total majors: 3

Tiger Woods, 21, 1997 Masters
Total majors: 14

Se Ri Pak, 21, 1998 LPGA Championship
Total majors: 5

Jack Nicklaus, 22, 1962 U.S. Open
Total majors: 18

Seve Ballesteros, 22, 1979 British Open
Total majors: 5

Rory McIlroy, 22, 2011 U.S. Open
Total majors: 1

Gary Player, 23, 1959 British Open
Total majors: 9

Brittany Lincicome, 23, 2009 Kraft Nabisco Championship
Total majors: 1

Paula Creamer, 23, 2010 U.S. Women’s Open
Total majors: 1

Annika Sorenstam, 24, 1995 Women’s British Open
Total majors: 10

Others who won a major early: John McDermott (19), Jerry Pate (22), Johnny Goodman (23), Ernie Els (24). (Feel free to help with this list of others, which is probably incomplete.)

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Keith Allison, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

Reaction to Lorena Ochoa Retirement

LORENA OCHOA IS RETIRING from golf. The world No. 1 women’s player who snatched the top spot from Annika Sorenstam in 2007 and has held it for 157 weeks is just 28. Lorena has 27 LPGA Tour wins, including two majors. A press conference is scheduled for Friday during which Ochoa is expected to explain her reasons in more detail, which apparently center around her recent marriage and new family life.

Reaction

Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam (via her blog): “I must admit that I was surprised, but not shocked, when I heard the news yesterday that Lorena is going to retire. She has always said she would play for maybe 10 years and then leave the game to start a family. She just got married and obviously feels that she is ready for that next chapter in her life.”

Hall of Famer and TV analyst Judy Rankin (via AP): “I’m just crushed. We won’t get to see her play golf. Mostly, we won’t get to see her.”

Hall of Famer Amy Alcott (via LA Times and Golf.com): “To lose one of its great stars and great entertainers, that’s difficult. She’s been a great role model for young girls, and that’s what I admire the most about Lorena.”

Me: “Sniffle, sniffle, sniffle.”

−The Armchair Golfer

(Image: Pablo Lancaster-Jones/Flickr)

Yani Tseng Smiles Her Way to Second Major

2010 Kraft Nabisco Championship Recap
Winner: Yani Tseng
Score: 13 under, 275 (69, 71, 67, 68)
Quote: “Stay focused. That’s what I wanted to do, and keep smiling.”
Fact: Favorite club is 8-iron.
Thought: Has tool set to be a dominant player.

ALL PLAYERS LOOK GOOD when they’re winning a golf tournament, because they’re obviously playing well during that particular week. The golf ball is generally going where the players want it to, and a considerable number of putts are usually falling into the cup. That was certainly the case for Yani Tseng at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the year’s first major on the LPGA Tour. Tseng fired 135 on the weekend to nip Suzann Pettersen by a shot. It’s the third win and second major title for the 21-year-old Taiwanese player. In her rookie season she won the 2008 LPGA Championship in a playoff with Maria Hjorth.

Tseng, however, strikes many onlookers as more than a good player who can put together an occasional win. She has talent galore and a bag full of shots. With experience and the right mental approach, she could win a lot more LPGA tournaments and several majors before she’s through. Evidently, she recently had a lengthy chat with a Hall of Famer that was quite helpful.

“I really want to thank Annika Sorenstam,” Yani said Sunday after taking the winner’s traditional jump into the pond beside the 18th green, “because she came to my house and we sit down and talk about two hours, and she helped me a lot about my game, about the mentals, and she told me go step by step.”

With the major victory, Tseng moved up to second in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Jiyai Shin dropped to third. Lorena Ochoa has held the top spot for 155 consecutive weeks, but with the likes of Tseng, Shin and others elevating their games, I wonder how long it will be before Ochoa is knocked off her pedestal.

−The Armchair Golfer