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| A Look Back: Dec. 18 1938: Harold "Jug" McSpaden wins the Miami Open. 1971: Thirteen-time major champion and single-season Grand Slam winner Bobby Jones dies at age 69. 1975: The United States Golf Association debuts its Associates Program featuring Arnold Palmer as national chairman. 1983: Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller win the Chrysler Team Championship. 1988: Dave Hill and Colleen Walker win the Mazda Champions. |
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Equipment
Nicklaus
Golf Equipment introduces the AIRMAX 430-S SUPERBETA DRIVER with
a 430-cc-sized forged Titanium head. The new club offers more forgiveness
and distance than the AIRMAX 360-S, which has become a top-selling driver
in less than a year.
For
more...
The U.S. Patent Office
confirms the validity of Matrix Golf's claims in its
revolutionary golf tournament scoring system, the Matrix SS. The Matrix
SS evaluates events on different courses in different weather conditions,
allowing companies and organizations to plan and hold several tournaments
simultaneously.
For
more...
Environment
The first Environmental
Yardage Book to be done internationally by The HoleView
and Audubon International has been delivered to Quinta da Marinha
Oitavos Golfe in Cascais, Portugal. The course is the first golf course
in Europe and second in the world to be recognized as a Gold Certified
Signature Sanctuary.
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more...
People
Arthur Hills
/ Steve Forrest and Associates - Golf Course Architects promotes Quentin
Lutz to Vice President of Global Business Development and Marketing
and Media Relations. Formerly the Director of Marketing and Media Relations,
Lutz will take on the additional responsibility of leading the firm's
business development activity around the world.
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more...
Technology
Coyote Creek
in California outfits its two 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses
- The Tournament Course and The Valley Course - with full color, 10.4
inch video display screens that provide golfers with all of the benefits
of ParView's GPS System.
For
more...
Pause Golf
Solutions adds Hidden Oaks Golf Course in Granbury, Texas, to
its' growing list of web related services clients. Effective in late January,
www.hiddenoaksgolf.net will have a new "look" and interactive
elements including forms for event registration, coupon redemption and
other promotional elements.
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more...
Tournaments
The Champions
Tour announces that tickets to the 2003 SBC Classic are
now on sale with proceeds to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Santa
Clarita Valley, Calif. The SBC Classic, formerly known as the SBC Senior
Classic, will return to the highly acclaimed Valencia Country Club in
Santa Clarita for the third consecutive year March 10-16.
For
more...
Players
LPGA Tour Hall
of Famer Patty Sheehan receives the 2002 Patty Berg Award
in recognition of her many contributions to women's golf. The award, instituted
in 1979 by the LPGA Board of Directors, is named in honor of LPGA Founder
and Hall of Famer Patty Berg.
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more...
Briefly
The Golf Warehouse announces it has sales of $3.3 million
to date this holiday season, an increase of more than 75 percent compared
to the same period in 2001, with several shopping days remaining before
Christmas. Company officials say TGW.com sold $1.5 million of golf equipment,
apparel and related products the week after Thanksgiving. ...
Pelz Golf releases the first issue of Inside Scoring, the official newsletter of the Pelz Golf Institute. The premiere Winter 2002-2003 issue contains features on Pelz Wedges, Dave Pelz Scoring Game Schools as well as an instructional tip and research updates from the Pelz Institute and other events and happenings from the world of the Scoring Game. ...
Long known for making Persimmon woods, Louisville Golf introduces a trio of new irons. Louisville Golf proudly introduces SMART Blade, SMART2 and VERITAS irons. These irons will be introduced at the 2003 PGA Merchandise Show and available for purchase Feb. 1.
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Reader's Forum What do you think was golf's biggest story this year and why do you rate it the highest? The decision of Augusta National to not admit a woman member and to maintain its stance in the face of pressure from Martha Burk; Annika Sorenstam's 11 wins in one LPGA Tour season; Tiger Woods claiming two major titles and continuing to dominate men's professional golf; the European team winning the Ryder Cup; the sharing of titles twice in Europe and Australia; the large number of first-time winners on the PGA Tour; or something else? Let us know your opinions by sending your responses to info@gpagolf.com with the subject line RE: Year-end. Also include your first initial and last name, along with your city and state or country. |
Commentary
Wearing the Ruby
Slippers
It is time we all realize that the most dominant player in golf likes to wear red shoes.
No, Tiger Woods doesn't sport red shoes, only shirts, but Annika Sorenstam sometimes shows up in her ruby slippers. Unlike Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Sorenstam can work magic no matter what color shoes she's wearing.
The 32-year-old Sorenstam dominated the LPGA Tour in 2002, winning 11 times in 23 events. Add two international victories to her total and that's more than twice the number Woods racked up this year. Not since Mickey Wright won 11 LPGA titles in 1964 has a golfer on any tour won so often.
Sorenstam set or tied an incredible 20 tour records this season, including lowest scoring average (68.70) and money earnings ($2,863,904).
About the only thing Sorenstam failed to accomplish was bettering Wright's 13 victories of 1963 and winning those two majors -- the LPGA Championship and the British Open -- that she lacks. She won the Nabisco, had a second and a third in the U.S. Women's Open and the LPGA, respectively. The Swede missed the cut in the British, certainly the low mark, the only low mark of a brilliant campaign.
Sorenstam acknowledged that the lack of major titles was disappointing on Monday when she was named Sweden's top golfer for the sixth time.
"If I win four tournaments next year, the right tournaments, then I'll be very satisfied," Sorenstam told the Associated Press. "The biggest disappointment this year was winning only one major. But one win, one second and one third (in the majors) is not that bad."
Is it the best season anyone in golf has ever had? Probably, at least as far as complete dominance of her competitors. Winning 48 percent of your starts on any tour borders on the mind-boggling.
Who has been better? Arguments could be made for Bobby Jones' Grand Slam in 1930, Ben Hogan in ë53 (five wins in six starts, three of them majors) and Woods in 2000 (nine wins in 20 starts, with three major titles).
Like all historical arguments, there's not really an answer to this one.
One of the most interesting aspects of Sorenstam's dominance over the past two years (she won eight times in 2001) is that the arrival and success of Karrie Webb, not to mention Se Ri Pak, in the late '90s seemed to act as a spur for Sorenstam.
After being only second-best in women's golf in 1999 and 2000 (when she had seven wins, none in majors, to Webb's 13 victories, three of which were majors) Sorenstam showed an incredible determination to be No. 1 again. She may not look like an assassin, but Sorenstam has proved that she is the fiercest competitor in women's golf.
And that is at odds with her persona -- a quiet, almost shy woman who obviously does not relish media attention and certainly does not need it. She doesn't hit 190-yard 7-irons or 320-yard drives. You could easily imagine seeing Sorenstam in line at the movie theatre. She seems to be a person much like the rest of us ordinary souls, except that she accomplishes most extraordinary things.
(Sorenstam's response to great opponents makes us wonder how Woods would react to player who won more than he did. That could get otherworldly, as Sorenstam was this season.)
Already Sorenstam has accumulated enough points since winning her first title back in 1995 to make the LPGA Hall of Fame. She will be inducted after the end of the 2003 season. She has won 42 times (tied for eighth on the all-time list with Sandra Haynie) and is 46 titles short of No. 1 Kathy Whitworth's 88.
We might not see Sorenstam even try to beat Whitworth's total. After ending her season last month with a win in the ADT Championship, Sorenstam said she might give golf a few more years, then start a family.
That would be a loss for those of us who love great golf, but, realistically, are the mountains Sorenstam has left to scale enough of a challenge for her to remain active for another 10 years or more?
She doesn't seem to think so. Sorenstam already has said that 50 titles would be a worthy goal. The way she is playing, that could come next year.
"I don't want somebody to ask, 'How many tournaments did Annika Sorenstam win?' I would rather they say she was a great athlete, she loved sportsmanship and she loved what she did,î Sorenstam said in November.
"If they know my name, then they will know I played good golf."
There's no worry about that. Everyone who knows the game knows Annika Sorenstam's name. And they know that she has done more than merely play good golf.