What is it about U.S. Women’s Opens in Colorado that brings out grand slam talk?
Six years ago, when Cherry Hills Country Club hosted the event, the place was abuzz about Annika Sorenstam going for the slam that year after winning the first two major championships before coming to Colorado.
And now, with the Women’s Open returning to the state at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, the main focus of attention is 22-year-old Yani Tseng’s attempt to become the youngest golfer of either gender to complete a career grand slam.
The player from Taiwan has won three of the last six women’s majors — including the recent LPGA Championship by 10 strokes, which made her the youngest female ever to claim four grand slam victories. Now the only major championship hardware she’s missing from her trophy case is the U.S. Women’s Open, and she’ll make her latest bid for that title Thursday through Sunday at the Broadmoor.
The pressure may be on Tseng, but she wasn’t showing it on Tuesday. In fact, she seemed to be embracing the moment.
“I feel less pressure this week than before,” she said. “I always feel so much pressure on U.S. Open courses. But after I see Rory McIlroy (win the U.S. Open by eight) I feel much more relaxed. I mean, you still can beat a course. You’ve just got to come out here and have fun, enjoy the pressure and enjoy the big crowds.”
Tseng hopes to follow Sorenstam’s lead by winning a Women’s Open at the Broadmoor — and by becoming a longtime dominant player in women’s golf. Perhaps not coincidentally, Tseng idolizes Sorenstam. In fact, she purchased her Orlando home from Annika in 2009, and she sometimes joins the Sorenstam family for outings.
Tseng “steps up in the big tournaments,” Sorenstam recently told ESPN.com. “We all want to do that, but she so far has. She’s a big-stage type player who’s talented golf-wise but also mental-wise. It’s harder in majors. That’s why a lot of people don’t win majors. She’s great for women’s golf, so much talent.”
It’s not surprising that Tseng relishes reading and hearing remarks like that coming from a player who has won 72 LPGA events, including 10 majors.
“I’m very happy, because she’s my role model,” Tseng said. “She’s like a big idol. In the future I want to be like her. She’s done so many great things for golf, and it’s not just for golf. “¦ So when she comments, I feel lots of confidence for myself. I don’t feel any pressure.
“The first time, when she said I’m going to be world No. 1 when I was in my rookie year, at that time I was really shocked. I thought she was kidding. But this time I feel it’s different. This time I feel like, yeah, she might be true. So I really enjoy hearing her say that.”
Only six female players have won all four majors in their careers, with Sorenstam joining Louise Suggs, Mickey Wright, Pat Bradley, Juli Inkster and Karrie Webb. Webb is the youngest to have accomplished the feat, at 26 years, 6 months.
The spectators at the Broadmoor seem to know that history might be at hand this week.
“I come out this week and so many people recognize me and know my name,” Tseng said. “I just feel very happy and feel lots of people’s support.”
As Sorenstam noted, big tournaments seem to bring out the best in Tseng. Of her eight LPGA Tour victories, four have come in major championships.
“I just focus more on a major, and I love a tough course. I love a challenge,” Tseng said. “I know at a major you’re not going to be shooting a lot of low scores. You just need to be patient. Lots of people are going to make bogey.”
But winning a U.S. Women’s Open presents more problems than most tournaments, according to two-time Open winner Inkster, one of the six women to have completed a career grand slam.
“The U.S. Open, I think it’s the toughest one to win,” Inkster said. “One, because of the notoriety and the media. And you’ve got to have a golf course to your liking and you’ve got to get some breaks.”
That said, Inkster notes that Tseng “is playing extremely well. She’s fearless. She’s putting good. I think that’s what’s putting her over the edge right now.
“You never think there is going to be another Mickey Wright or another Annika Sorenstam or Lorena (Ochoa), and all of a sudden Yani comes around. Yani has Lorena’s power. I mean, she can bomb the ball. She’s got a lot of passion for the game. She wants to be the best. She wants to get better. So she could be here for a while. She could — if she stays healthy — probably break a lot of Annika’s records.”
King Bidding Quick Adieu to LPGA Tour: Two-time U.S. Women’s Open champion Betsy King, the oldest player in the field at age 55, will be competing in her first LPGA Tour event since 2005. And, she said Tuesday, it will also be her last LPGA Tour event.
“I’m just viewing it as one week back in the competition,” the World Golf Hall of Famer said. “I was thinking about it the other day. It’s a perfect circle for me, because the first event I played as a professional was the ’77 U.S. Women’s Open. I turned professional, played the Open, and then qualified for the LPGA Tour the week after. So it’s the first event I played as a professional. It will be the last event I play as a professional on the tour.”
Having been away from the Tour so long, King’s goal this week is to make the cut.
“I’m already starting to get the golf nightmares,” she said with a smile. “That was one thing that was nice about retirement. It is amazing how long you have that. But, you know, I noticed this week it’s getting a little bit stressful already. But, you know, I’m trying to look at it as vacation.”
For the first time since 1975, King went through qualifying to earn a spot in the Women’s Open. She retired from the LPGA Tour very quietly in 2005 as her father was diagnosed with cancer and her mother with Alzheimer’s.
Wie’s Colorado Memories: Michelle Wie has some mixed feelings about her U.S. Women’s Open history in Colorado. As a 15-year-old in 2005 at Cherry Hills, Wie shared the lead going into the final round. But on Sunday she imploded, shooting 82 and finishing in 23rd place.
“I have a lot of good memories,” said Wie, who is nearing her degree at Stanford. “Obviously I try to forget about Sunday, but Thursday to Saturday was pretty fantastic. “¦ You learn from your mistakes because obviously I made a lot that day. “¦ I was pretty young at the time, so it was kind of a new experience for me.”
Colorado U.S. Women’s Open Trivia: For whatever reason — it may just be happenstance — both of the previous two U.S. Women’s Opens in Colorado have produced champions who made the Women’s Open their first LPGA Tour victory.
Annika Sorenstam did it in 1995 at the Broadmoor, where she notched the first of her 72 LPGA wins and her 10 major championship triumphs. Then in 2005 at Cherry Hills, Birdie Kim posted her first — and only — LPGA victory.
In the 65 U.S. Women’s Opens held to date, only 15 have produced champions who had never before won on the LPGA Tour.
