Well, it is that time of yr once more -- the time when we get inundated with "Best of 2012" indicates and retrospective seems at what did and failed to take place. Although I do not plan to do some thing in-intensity (there's lots of that being completed already), I do want to take a look again at 2012 and select out some of the important gamers and occasions -- and appearance beforehand to what we might also see inside the destiny.
Today I'm looking on the girls. What does 2013 hold for the LPGA and LET?
Clearly matters have changed considering January. While Yani Tseng remains #1 within the Rolex Rankings, I don't suppose all people expects her to stay there. Granted, she may get her game back to where it became twelve months ago... But that remains to be seen.
I think it's fair to say the two new stars on the LPGA are Stacy Lewis and So Yeon Ryu, both of whom seem to have their games in good shape going into the new year. Inbee Park has also resurrected her career after a long quiet spell. Shanshan Feng is a bit streaky but is playing well even when she's a bit off. And Na Yeon Choi has quietly had a very consistent year. I suspect these five players will be the big movers in 2013.
Several gamers who've been pinnacle gamers in years past now seem to be preventing inconsistency -- Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr, Jiyai Shin, Paula Creamer, and Ai Miyazato come to thoughts. Some of that has been the end result of accidents and some of it in reality because they are trying too hard. They are not "washed up" by way of any stretch of the creativeness, but I do not search for their frustrations to move away in the following few months. I think they need to get in a rhythm, and that is tough to do when the gambling time table stays a piece sporadic and requires so much us of a-hopping.
Some of the Euro gamers like Mel Reid, Azahara Munoz, Caroline Hedwall, and Sandra Gal are within the same boat. When you're seeking to get to that elite level consistently, it is smooth to try too tough. They're going to face the equal problems as the ladies inside the remaining paragraph.
Finally, I need to mention Michelle Wie. While several of the typically good players (like Morgan Pressel) have struggled and gotten a pass because of major life changes like getting married, Michelle hasn't. I still think folks are underestimating how disorienting it's been for her to leave the hectic schedule she had at Stanford for five years and try to set up new routines focused purely on golf. I believe Michelle is going to make a serious comeback around middle-to-late 2013.
As for the tours in general, the main thing I expect is for serious talks to start about holding a major in Asia. As I have said in past posts, I expect the LPGA Championship to become a joint LET/LPGA Championship and perhaps rotate throughout Asia. That would give the women two majors in the US, two in Europe, and one in Asia. Although I clearly don't expect it to happen in 2013, I do expect talks to begin.
The LPGA is truly a global excursion now and has demonstrated a willingness to cooperate with the alternative ladies's excursions around the world. That trend is best going to preserve in 2013, and so the ladies's sport will evolve extra than any of the men's excursions going forward. It have to be thrilling to see what the arena of ladies's golfing seems like in twelve months!
0 comments