Reflections on Sunday
by Mulligan Stu
on May 4, 2008 8:14 PM EDT
in News
Anthony Kim and Paula Creamer. Very good, and very interesting, winners on the PGA and LPGA tours today.
AK: First, let's not get carried away. 2008 is not 1997, a 5-stroke win is not a 12 stroke win, the Wachovia Championship is not The Masters. Anthony Kim is not Tiger Woods.
But is he Phil Mickelson? Getting warmer. This isn't the start of the "Anthony Kim era," but I do think that someday golf fans may look back on this as the start of ... something good.
One year and one week ago, I wrote this:
Kim ... is the next great American golfer. Mark it down.
No, he won't be Tiger Woods great - nobody will. But he'll definitely be, at least, Davis Love-Jim Furyk great.
He's got the game, and he's fearless.
A win at age 22, against a stellar (albeit Tiger-less) field, on a challenging course, with a record score, and in complete control, is most definitely a sign of things to come.
As Mark O'Meara recently said:
At 22, Tiger had already won six tournaments and I think Tiger's mental game was probably stronger," O'Meara, 51, told reporters on Tuesday during preparation for this week's Buick Invitational.
"But technique-wise, I reckon Anthony's swing is better at 22 than what Tiger's was. I think I'm a pretty good judge of what I see in somebody's bag and what they've got in talent, and that kid has got it."
...
"He could win multiple tournaments a year easily and win major championships. That's how talented he is in my opinion."
And Paula Creamer? Bully for her, winning this week after her quasi-collapse last week - and after faltering down the stretch again this week.
I think Creamer is in the same place now that Lorena Ochoa was several years ago. She's won a few tournaments, she's shown a world of talent - but she hasn't yet won a major, has sometimes shown weakness down the stretch, and she hasn't won quite as many times as one might have expected.
Who's the one player on the LPGA Tour with enough untapped potential to take a huge step forward? It's Creamer. We already know what Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb are capable of; Suzann Pettersen had a breakout year in 2007. Of all the top players on the LPGA Tour, Creamer is the one who hits the most loose shots, who has the most misses.
But she's still this good. And yet, Creamer has never really challenged in a major. She's posted some good finishes, but she's never really been in the mix on Sunday. And this goes back to her amateur days - she never really threatened to win a USGA championship, either.
That has to change, doesn't it? With a player with this much talent? Sorenstam is the only player in the short-term who can challenge Ochoa, but Creamer is the one with the best shot of doing it several years out.
And let's clear up some misinformation passed along by ESPN2. In words and in on-screen graphics, the network said that Creamer's first victory in 2005 made her the youngest-ever winner on the LPGA Tour. Not true. Marlene Hagge won twice in 1952 at a younger age than Creamer. The LPGA media guide concurs.
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just the beginning
Tiger Woods was something completely new to the world of professional golf, and over the last 12 years, he has completely beaten into submission golfers of his rookie season, and the generation that came along over the last six years.
If Tiger started developing his unbeatable mindset between the age of 2 and 4 - the Anthony Kims of the world didn't pick up the cue until they were at least 6 to 10 years old. Kim is 22, so he was 10 when Tiger came on the professional scene - his confidence and skill are just coming into their own - and he has yet to seriously meet his mentor face to face on the golf course.
Comparing Woods' resume at age 22 to Kim's doesn't seem like a fair comparison because of their starting ages. Tiger's first win wasn't at The Masters - it was in a playoff in Las Vegas in 1996. Woods had been through the fires a few times before collecting his first major - not to mention that Woods had played at Augusta three times before turning pro. He knew the course much better than Kim.
I'm a little surprised to hear O'Meara just talking about Kim's swing mechanics compared to Woods'. Of all people, you'd think he would know that Woods' dominance had less to do with his mechanics than the gray matter between his ears.
Personally, I'm hoping that Kim, or maybe Jason Day...or both...or someone else soon to appear...will be much more than Davis Love or Jim Furyk. I'm hoping they will be more like Tom Watson, or Raymond Floyd, or Ben Crenshaw, or even Johnny Miller were to Nicklaus. Guys who may have lost more often than not to Nicklaus, but never gave up and loved the battle.
Love, Els, Furyk, and even Mickelson, have all pretty much conceded to Woods and don't really pose any threat or challenge to his dominance.
Tiger was an original - I have to think that facing all that experience and talent is going to be harder and take longer to challenge than when Tiger started obliterating the record books.
I'm not going to say that Anthony Kim is going to go on a roll and start racking up wins and challenging Woods for majors right away - but he has the tools and the confidence working in his favor. Let's hope he can hang onto them when Woods is on the course at the same time.
(O'Meara said "I reckon" ?? And they get on Boo Weekley !) :-)
About Paula Creamer, aside from her relative lack of distance off the tee (she's still getting out hit by the likes of Inkster, who was winning tournaments before Creamer was even born), I keep thinking that she has been fighting the ghosts and pressures of her rookie season. When you come out firing the way she did, the expectations are pretty high.
Add to that her second season with the wrist injury and she's been digging out of a pretty deep hole for the last couple of years.
Unless she can add at least 15-25 yards off the tee, I can't see her making any sort of serious challenge to Ochoa...unless that goofy neck twist move Ochoa has takes an eventual toll on her performance.
All the same, I'm happy for Creamer and hope that her confidence and that "killer instinct" kicks in and her talents can at least close the gap with Ochoa.
About ESPN - wouldn't it be nice if these networks put a LITTLE bit of effort into finding announcers who would work a little harder at their craft ? I was pretty annoyed at Judy Rankin's "insight" when explaining that Inkster was standing at the top of a ridge, and she would be putting downhill to the hole. No kidding ? She really has this topography and gravity thing licked.
by courtgolf on May 4, 2008 11:55 PM EDT 0 recs
'07 KLPGA ROY won, too
Ha Neul Kim--will be interesting to see how Ji-Yai Shin responds to the challenge from her generation of young 'uns on the KLPGA this season--and whether any of them will join her on the LPGA next season....
I think Jee Young Lee has as much potential as Creamer to make that quantum leap and regularly challenge Ochoa. But the consensus on Seoul Sisters is that the next LPGA #1 will come from someone younger than either:
I'm not so sure--MS's comments about Creamer being where Ochoa was a few years ago make a lot of sense to me. I think with the increased competition on tour it's harder and harder for rookies to make big splashes and it usually takes 3-6 years even for those who do to really come close to their potential.
But if we're going to get hung up on distance, JY Lee is a better pick.
by The Constructivist on May 5, 2008 1:46 AM EDT 0 recs
two more young'n's did well
by courtgolf on
May 5, 2008 9:24 AM EDT
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