Bruce,

How do you survey the lay of the land, so to speak, in regard to womens golf at the moment. Annika seems a bit off, Webb OK, some good Asian girls, and the rest are struggling to break par – apart from Ochoa, who IMO is totally dominant. Would you agree?

Lorena only has to beat 20 genuine golfers each week, while Tiger has to beat around 100. Where is the depth?

Big fan of Ochoa and really can’t see her losing that often. She may win 75% of the things she enters this year – would you agree?

Hi Liz

Yes I too am a big fan of Ochoa’s and have been since she came to Australia in 2003 and won the hearts of all us media types with her media savvy ways and lovely polite demeanour. From what I am told there is not a person anywhere who would say a bad word about her.

She has it all in my mind. Charisma, length from the tee, great short game, improved accuracy, a great ability to go low and now with a major behind her it will be a big surprise if she does not start mounting up major titles this year.

I agree that she will again dominate the game in 2008 although there are signs that Sorenstam wants a bit more of the action in 2008 than she had last year. Ochoa’s effort in Mexico after her stunning 11 shot victory in Singapore was perhaps surprising but funnily enough she has never played that event well and you can imagine the distractions and expectations on her in Mexico City.

This week will be an interesting litmus test for where she is at in comparison to her rivals when she lines up against a very strong field at the Safeway event in Phoenix. She won by two over Suzann Pettersen last year with Pettersen later in the year beginning to challenge her domination.

Sorenstam has won twice at this week’s venue so everything points to a great week and perhaps an interesting guide to what lies ahead.

As her lead in the rankings would suggest Ochoa is a long way ahead of the others and provided she remains fit and healthy I can see her dominating the female game for several years to come.

Sorenstam might challenge her at times this year and Pettersen, Creamer, Kerr and Webb might have their moments but until the likes of Ji Yai Shin (who won in Japan last week but does not yet have LPGA Tour status) and Yani Tseng establish their credentials on the LPGA Tour it is hard to see any other golfer mounting a serious challenge to Ochoa’s domination.

I like the way you are thinking. If I was trying to find some value this week it might be Laura Diaz who finished third here last year and has played ok this year already.

Bruce,

It was an amazing first round in Mexico – maybe she was on the Tequila’s the night before! If the Mexican event had been 4 rounds, as Safeway is, she would have caught them and won a tournament with a 78! Quite remarkable – get on board this week, she’ll pump them.

If Lorena had a decent set of lady lumps she would capture a lot more imagination.

What do you think she’d shoot at the Masters?

I think she would do something like 78 77 and beat a lot of blokes home (although not make the cut becasue the course is so long)

She’d beat Michael Campbell.

She hits it longer than the mens Tour average off the tee & she’s more accurate too. She’d do fine at the Masters IMHO. It’s her game from 100m in where she kills the other girls. Simply stunning wedge play.

I think she is a big negative for the LPGA.

The women’s tour is screaming out for a superstar with charisma, and she has SFA of it.

Tell me you are kidding Fyiripu beacuse if you re not then your are obviously not up to speed with the world of women’s golf!!

In my opinion Ocoa is one of the most engaging chrismatic personalites the female game has had for a long time and she can flat out play to boot.

Are you suggesting thet Sorenstam and Webb are more charismatic – give me a break

Bruce – maybe if we got her out to Australia next year she’d win the Oz public over – there’s precious little publicity of the women’s tour outside of the Australian events (which make us think Karrie is a gun, when in actual fact…)

Anika – smiles occassionally, nice girl but that’s it.
Karrie – smiles never, zero on the personality scale.

Ochoa hasn’t got much to beat but gets no media here (besides the ones that look good, but can’t play at all).

Next week no Ochoa – should we load up on Petterson?

Liz

I agree if there was a way to get her down here for either the ANZ or the Aust Open it would be great. The good thing about Ochoa from my understanding is that she is not driven by money or appeancce fee in terms of traveling but I would imagine it is at least an issue to some degree. She did come down here in 2003 but it may be a little more difficult now given the demands on her time.

The other issue that gives Australioans a chance of seeing her at some future stage is that she is manged by her brother so decisions on those sort of things are a family and personal decision rather than a corporate design by a management company.

Ochoa’s seems to get a bit of media here I think – certainly on iseekgolf, the biggest and busiest golfing only website in Australia, we cover not only every LPGA event but ladies events in Japan and Europe, especially when an Australian has done well.

In other golf related media work I do I will always mention the LPGA events where appropriate and I think Fox do a pretty good job of covering the LPGA Tour.

Yes Ochoa I taking a deserved break and yes I think Pettersen is peaking. She made a slow start to the year but she is very much on track now. This is a new course this week with no previous form to give us a hand other than it is a Robert Trent Jones layout (redesigned supposedly by Ray Floyd).

If form and class is anything to go by she has a great chance but that Tseng just keeps getting better and will break through before long.

Get on board again this week Bruce. $2.50

What price the Grand slam? She’d have to be a massive chance.

A few years ago we were talking about Karrie Webb like that, then Annika Sorenstam, and what happened to Michelle Wie being the next big thing. The trouble with womens golf is that after the top dozen players the skill level drops off dramatically. I’d like to see a short game challenge between the top ten women and the men ranked say 31 to 40 put them 100mt out and see who comes out on top.

Agree Hybrid
theres a real difference between talk the talk
walk the walk
ya ya same ole cliche
but how true indeed

we as bystanders
with the best of facts can only speculate at the end of the day
incl golf writers…...

as a kiwi i say,
Michael Campbell?
Who the f*@# is that? :)

Ochoa! tied 31st that’s what i call dominating what a joke.

Just a little harsh Hybrid I would have thought.

Ochoa, as you may be aware as someone who appears to be a keen observer of the game, has suffered from the death of two of her close family members in recent weeks and given the family type she is then it may be that her mind has been elsewhere of late.

What’s all this anti women golf sentiment in your responses? This isn’t about drawing comparisons betwen men and women’s golf as there is no comparison at the elite level in terms of ability to produce similar scores on the same layout.

Six wins, two other top fives in and two more top tens in 12 starts this season and 40% more in prizemoney this season than her nearest pursuer suggest to me she is the dominant player in the game.

my commiserations to her then, i didnt know, thanks for telling bruce.

btw without going to much into semantics
hybrid also means a MUTANT

the results show …..

Tell me you are kidding Fyiripu beacuse if you re not then your are obviously not up to speed with the world of women’s golf!!

In my opinion Ocoa is one of the most engaging chrismatic personalites the female game has had for a long time and she can flat out play to boot.

Are you suggesting thet Sorenstam and Webb are more charismatic – give me a break

Ochoa has all the personality of a wet sponge.

another senseless comment from an escapee of the colony !
what a waste of brain activity

I agree that Ochoa is a bit dull, but then again so is the LPGA Tour.

Remember what Jan Stephenson said about it a few years back – spot on.

There is only one tour worth watching and that is the PGA Tour. Anything else is second rate. Why would you go out of your way to watch people who don’t hit is as far etc.

The same old problem for women’s sport in general. Yes they are great athletes, but they aren’t as good as the men.

I agree that Ochoa is a bit dull, but then again so is the LPGA Tour.

Remember what Jan Stephenson said about it a few years back – spot on.

There is only one tour worth watching and that is the PGA Tour. Anything else is second rate. Why would you go out of your way to watch people who don’t hit is as far etc.

The same old problem for women’s sport in general. Yes they are great athletes, but they aren’t as good as the men.

The anti-Pyongyang

different looks / strokes for different folks !
to each its own
courses for horses
u dont like women’s pro golf, i am willing to bet another fella is just as passionately loving it as you dislike it !

i think women’s golf is great…it has its following and mob
its die hards and fans
caters to a certain groupie

just like movies, shows, cars or wines
in other words anything in life

The women drive the ball long pound for pound n it’s great to watch
they putt for dough
and they chip n pitch to score

keep up the great show there folks

Seoul

I think you will find that Jan Stephenson’s comments were targeted at the Asian golfers and more specifically the Koreans and not the LPGA Tour generally and she copped a lot of grief for it.

Jan Stephenson is a great advocate of the LPGA Tour and Women’s golf