Wed Mar 30 06:55pm EDT
For the LPGA, this could be the year of the Americans
You ready for a crazy, crazy stat? An American hasn't won the LPGA Player of the Year since 1994. Wow. With the play of ladies like Laura Davies, Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa over the last decade and change, there hasn't been much room for an American in the fold, and some might say the same with the recent play of Yani Tseng, but I feel differently.
I think 2011 will be the year of the Americans. This thought is obviously in conjunction with the Kraft Nabisco Championship that kicks off on Thursday, but look at some of the Americans in the top-10 in the Rolex Rankings; Cristie Kerr, Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer, with names like Morgan Pressel and Brittany Lincicome nipping at their heels.
Along with them you always have the likes of Christina Kim, Angela Stanford, and Stacy Lewis that could win at any event on any week. It seems the product from the States continues to improve, and it just seems time for the Americans to dominate the majors.
Where does my inkling come from? Well, for only the second time since 2000, two American players were major winners in 2010. Along with that, it seemed that Creamer took a step up, along with Kerr, who played fantastic golf at the end of the season. Also, it seemed that Lincicome came into her own at the end of last year, and already has a major championship under her belt.
With Wie continuing to show flashes of greatness the last two seasons, and Pressel always being a threat, the product the United States can throw at these big events continues to rival anything else we see in the world.
So, mark it ... 2011 is the year of the Americans on the LPGA Tour. Maybe I'm not Ben Crenshaw, but I have a feeling ...
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