Cristie Kerr Regains Top Spot in LPGA Rankings?
by Ryan Ballengee on Oct 25, 2010 11:34 AM EDT
in Pro Golf
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PrintConsider me officially confused by both sets of official golf rankings. By virtue of not winning, or even really coming all that close despite a nice Sunday comeback, at the LPGA's Malaysian tour stop on Sunday, Cristie Kerr became number one in the Rolex Rankings for the second time this season. She overtook Ai Miyazato, who has five wins this season on Tour.
It makes sense that five players are all basically within a half ranking point of first place. Each of the top five has some merit to claim they are the best.
It's good for the game, too. All five are from different countries. Each of the players has a legit chance to win the money, scoring, and Player of the Year honors.
At a certain point, though, who is number one becomes a moot point when faced with comparable resumes like these ladies have. Jack Nicklaus diminished the meaning of the Official World Golf Rankings last week, and he's got a point that applies here, too. Being named number one is great, but proving it every week is the more telling sign of excellence.
All five of these women are great, but I'm not sure one owns the top spot over the others.
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Is Stat-Man officially dead ? Of all people to doubt the Great and Powerful Oz and his rankings computer (it’s behind the curtain) and all the numbers that go into granting that top spot – Stat-Man ? Say it ain’t so ! :-D
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I’m not dead – I mean, I can put together numbers to explain why Kerr is #1 using the formula, but that just doesn’t feel accurate. There are five 1a’s really, no 1s.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Oct 25, 2010 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Must be a problem with generations. Back in the 70’s, we had Ali, Frasier, and Foreman all three beating each other’s brains out for the title. All contenders and all capable of knocking the other two off on any given night. Same thing went in the tennis world with Borg, McEnroe, and Connors. They fought tooth and nail to have the top ranking at the end of every year. It was about bragging rights.
Now, instead of being hailed as contenders doing battle for the honor – there are questions as to the relevancy of the ranking. And if an Ai Miyazato or Ji Yai Shin takes over, there are complaints because their English isn’t very good.
The rankings are goofy – annoyingly goofy – and my biggest complaint is the one you brought up. Kerr took over the top spot after a week where she didn’t play particularly well (neither did any of the other contenders) and it’s just too hard to wrap your brain around a two year ranking points period.
If Kaymer doesn’t win or come in second this coming week in Spain, we’re going to have the same discussion when the men’s spot rolls to Westwood when neither he nor Woods are even playing.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
None of these players are great
True greats are obvious. Sorenstam was great and some the media over use the word.
agreed
But they are the best of the best. The five women being that close means they all played consistently and equally well over the past two years. I doubt Christie is jumping around with a foam finger yelling, “I’m number one, I’m number one…”
I expect Ryan will have a similar post when Westwood ascends to the number one spot next week (BUT HE HASN’T WON A MAJOR! HOW CAN HE BE NUMBER ONE?).
I have a proposal: Let’s anoint the title of World’s Number One to whoever won the last tournament. That way we’ll never have an argument about who deserves the title.
"(I)f you think you've got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated." Saul Alinsky
Dang Bob it D besides
being a good pilot,, ya made a great point, that I have been shouting until my throat hurts…GIVE THE #1 RANKING TO WHO EVER WON THE LAST EVENT….Never mind the all the garbage that is in the past….All hype for TV and sponsors anyway…..STUB
But D - I like arguing
even about who “deserves” the Number One title.
PS You may be a great pilot, but you would never have got me in that aeroplane flying over the desert.
my aviation career ended fifteen years ago. whatever “greatness” I might have possessed (probably none) has been absent for a very long time. thank you for the kind thoughts, though.
"(I)f you think you've got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated." Saul Alinsky
Flying across all those countries?
I’ll do the modesty bit, D, as I have a great deal to be modest about. As far as I’m concerned you’re the bees knees. Thank you for sharing your great adventure with us.
I like arguing, too 8-)
"(I)f you think you've got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated." Saul Alinsky
for which I am thankful
"(I)f you think you've got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated." Saul Alinsky
ahhh STUBBO,, tapping on my monitor
When do i get my 12 lbs of shrimp ?
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
Dunno Wendy
MW finishing 38th this past week with only one tournament left on her schedule this year has wrapped things up for me on the wager. I’m headed to France and Ireland on business next week and am hoping I can get an e mail from STUB so I can give him my address to send them to. :o) mmmmmmmmm shrimp
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
I'm trying to conjure up sympathy for him
but all I can visualise are ……..shrimp, shrimp, shrimp! Oh, those shrimp!
Where in France & Ireland?
France and Ireland
I’ll be in Montpellier, France for about 8-9 days and then I’ll be in Waterford and Galway, Ireland for about 10 days total between the two. I’m bringing my clubs and hoping for the best, but I have a pretty aggressive schedule planned on the business end of the donkey cart. Yes I’ll be bringing time tested rain gear. LOL
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
careful with those clubs in Waterford – lots of expensive glass to break :-D
Sounds like a great trip
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Court
I think the Waterford Crystal plant in Ireland closed down a couple of years ago and moved to Germany, but I could be wrong, perhaps Wendy or Easing our Euro guru’s could fill us in on that. In the meantime , I’m going to search for some NEW shrimp recipes while in France. { :o)
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
http://www.waterfordvisitorcentre.com/Home
Moving Waterford to Germany would be almost as bad as what Budweiser did by selling to a Belgian beer mogul.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
You're both right
Waterford reopened a manufacturing facility in June this year – but the majority of manufacturing was indeed transferred to Germany some years ago. Thanks for raising this subject because as far as I knew the whole Waterford thing collapsed in January this year, so this news was quite heartening to read.
PG – V. few fancy new recipes for shrimp. In France we simply pile them high, roll up our sleeves, peel ‘em and dip them in mayonnaise or a light curry sauce, or as part of a 3 tier plateau de fruits de mer for two. Couple of glasses of cold chablis or beer and you’re away. Who needs new?
Wendy – have you ever tried mixing some creamy Italian dressing in with your mayo ? Talk about a delicious sauce !
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I don’t don’t believe mayo in France is anything like what you get out of your jar of Hellman’s/Best Foods.
"(I)f you think you've got an inside track to absolute truth, you become doctrinaire, humorless and intellectually constipated." Saul Alinsky
unless it comes out of the jar in France – but you’re probably right. Wendy probably gets the fresh, home made variety…and it’s still delicious with some creamy Italian dressing mixed in.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
I grow my own herbs
& am not adverse to adding a little oregano/garlic, etc to my mayonnaise if you recommend it . Don’t want it with shrimp though – so what else does it go with?
Sadly you're right
Here it’s either Hellman’s pale version or make your own. The rest is unbelievably bad.
I need new because..
For the past 35 years I have lived on a coastal community both in Florida and in NH and eat seafood 5 days a week. So any NEW recipe is always welcome. Currently my favorite shrimp recipe is Cajun Spice Rub and grilled to perfection on the outdoor grill. We also make something called, “Angels on Horseback” which is simply jumbo size shrimp, ( the ones STUB is suppose to be sending me ) wrapped in bacon and cooked on the grill. yummy
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
Angels on Horseback here
means oysters wrapped in bacon.
The best jumbo shrimp I ever had were in Kuwait. We used to eat them 3-4 times a week. I think I’ve still got burnt fingertips taking them off the outdoor grill! Then sometime in September, we’d go to the market – not a shrimp in sight – end of season (to conserve stock). If only I’d been able to read Arabic newspapers I would have been forewarned and bought a ton for the freezer!
Well Jump...I'm gonna make ya
wait until the end of the year…However, have kept close touch with my friend down at the golf….He says all shrimp less than last year, but still good….Yea, the Angels on Horseback are really good….As is Shrimp scampi….and any thing with a cold drink is good….Just so ya don’t promise Wendy any….STUB
End of the year ??? Stubbo
ahhhhh, don’t know why, but if you must, you must. MW has only one tournament left to play in and if she wins it 1plus 1 dusn amount to 3. Good thing i’m not a bookie looking for my dough. hahahaha
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
I never pay my bookie
until the fat lady sings…right now, she’s jist warmin up…..STUB
give 'em time
I think you have to look at how far past their “lead chase pack” the top player is (or players are) over time to determine greatness. I’m ok with a group of players being great if they’re all a lot better than the best of the rest—and win tournaments, majors, money list titles, and scoring average titles at a level approaching the great individuals who established their dominance in their own eras.
For Annika Sorenstam to win so often when she had to contend with all the greats of preceding LPGA generations along with Karrie Webb, Se Ri Pak, Lorena Ochoa, and Cristie Kerr speaks volumes to how beyond great she was. It’s unfair to define greatness by Annika’s standard, however. If Kerr, Creamer, Shin, Pettersen, Miyazato, and Tseng can keep it going for a good long time, they’ll end up with 20+ wins in their careers—and since they’ll have to be beating each other and all the new guns on tour to do that, it’ll be harder for any one of them to match Webb or Inkster. But if they do that as a group, who’s to say they’re not great?
It’s too soon to tell right now. All we have to go on right now are arbitrary endpoints, like who’s on top at the end of the season in the LPGA’s various races.
by The Constructivist on Oct 25, 2010 1:50 PM EDT reply actions
I agree, TC. I think we’ll get a better sense of who is in that greatness zone by the end of next year. With Lorena leaving, and no clear successor, that will take time to sort out.
Find me! Email: ryan@thegolfnewsnet.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/waggleroom, or Facebook: http://facebook.com/waggleroom.
by Ryan Ballengee on Oct 25, 2010 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Around 25 years of age appears to be the age
most great players games become fully developed. Ochoa won 6 times the year she turned 25 then 8 and 7 the next 2 years, Annika won 3 times the year she turned 25 then 3, 6 and 4 the next 3 years and then later (early thirties) to another level, Mickey Wright won 6 times when she turned 25 then 10, 10, 13 and 11 times the next 4 years, Kathy Whitworth turned 25 late one year then won 8, 9, 8, 10, and 7 times the next 5 years. Kerr is in her thirties, and Pettersen is 29. Ai Miyazato turned 25 this year and has won 5 times. Creamer will be 25 next year. The rest of the top 10 in the Rolex Ranking will turn 25 in 2012, 2013, and 2014. If there is a next dominate player in the current players we should know in the next 4 to 5 years.
good point
In a sense, Annika and Cristie have been relative late bloomers! Se Ri Pak is one of the few I can think of to get a lot of wins before turning 25.
by The Constructivist on Oct 26, 2010 2:14 AM EDT up reply actions
whoops, Lopez and Webb did it, too
both got 20 wins before turning 26—Lopez had 30 before she turned 29!
by The Constructivist on Oct 26, 2010 3:59 AM EDT up reply actions
there's more to greatness than the Rolex Rankings
Here’s my rundown of how the top LPGAers stack up in terms of wins, majors, Player of the Year points, scoring average, and birdie rate:
http://mlyhlss.blogspot.com/2010/10/theres-new-1-in-town-cristie-kerr.html
by The Constructivist on Oct 26, 2010 2:13 AM EDT reply actions
yeah, I don't expect any separation soon
I think 18 months (from now?) is optimistic. Creamer would need to get healthier, Pettersen would need to become a better putter, Kerr and Song-Hee Kim better finishers, Tseng and Miyazato less mercurial, and Na Yeon Choi, In-Kyung Kim, Wie, and Pressel able to beat the rest more often!
by The Constructivist on Oct 26, 2010 4:06 AM EDT up reply actions
add Shin to that list
Short run: she needs to get healthier. Long run: she needs to keep working on her fitness and endurance.
by The Constructivist on Oct 26, 2010 4:11 AM EDT up reply actions
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