Hey, Hey Paula

An 8-stroke victory for Paula Creamer at the Tournament of Champions. Yep, pretty tight.

I read something within the past few weeks, perhaps it was in one of the golf magazines, I can't recall for certain. But the gist of it was that of all the young stars of the LPGA - of all the stars of the LPGA of any age - Creamer is the most inconsistent with her swing, the one most prone to wild shots that seemingly come out of nowhere. And the speaker was saying, essentially, "Just wait until her game matures a little more and she gains that consistency."

Maybe the 2007 Tournament of Champions is a sign of things to come from a maturing Creamer.

The next step for Creamer is to make a real run at a major, because so far in her career - even going back to her amateur days and the Girls Junior and Women's Am - she hasn't.

Another thought on the Tournament of Champions: The LPGA should move this tournament to the beginning of the year and let it open the season. Like the PGA Tour does with its equivalent, the Mercedes.

The end of the LPGA season now is a mish-mash of short-field tournaments (Samsung, ToC, ADT) and Asian tournaments (Kolon, Honda, Mizuno). The Asian tourneys get lost because of the time difference and lack of U.S. TV coverage.

And the short-field tourneys - which should be very high-profile events - come right on top of each other and the effect is to dull each's impact. How "elite" can an elite tournament feel if it's just one of a bunch, one right after the other?

But the Tournament of Champions would be a great way to tee off the season.

And on a different note, Golf Babes reveals Paula Creamer's new calendar.