redux: Is Annika slipping?
With Tiger taking a break and not much PGA excitement until the US Open nears, my thoughts turn to the LPGA and the many interesting stories to be found on that tour. For example, I have been noticing that last year's break-out star Paula Creamer has not been in contention in too many events (although she was still in the Top 10 on the LPGA money list before this week).
But after today, I think the story needs to be whether Annika Sorenstam is in decline. She went into today's final round of the Florida's Natural Championship as the leader and posted a +3 score of 75 to finish two back. (Leaderboard here.) Perhaps everyone is catching up, but today's effort suggests she is slipping.
UPDATE: The chatter around the LPGA has picked up. As Cristie Kerr says, "Maybe it's changing." More here.
2 Comments:
Is Annika slipping? Maybe but I sure am not going to base that decision on one round. I was as surprised as anyone that she did not win going away taking the lead into the last round. But that was one bad round, lets not extrapolate that over the entire year just yet.
Since Colonial, she has won slightly over 40% of the events she has entered. This year she is 1 for 4, 25%, about what Tiger has done the last few years. If she wins her next event, this week, she will be right at 40% for the year.
Talk of her slipping after one bad round reminds me of all the people saying she is finished after the 3rd round of last years Womens US Open. How Wie and Pressel were going to dominate Sorenstam. It later came out Annika had a hip injury mid way through the 2005 season. Sorenstam has something like 5 wins since then, Wie and Pressel combines are still looking for win #1.
I said it before and it’s still is ringing true, the story is not Annika the story is where are all the Americans? Don't get me wrong I got nothing against the 8 Lee sisters running away with every event but I thought this was the break out year for Pressel, Wei, Creamer, Gulbis and such. In stead it's the Ochoa, Kim, Moon, Lee, Lee, Lee, Sornstam, Alfedsson and Webb show so far this year.
We love to prop our heroes up as high as we can; almost as much as we love to tear them down when we see the first kink in the armor. Annika is one of the best women’s golfer ever, but some day she will not be physically able to win tournaments on a constant basis. Is that time now? Only history will be able to tell us someday, but lets not break out the song "Ding Dong the Witch is dead." for the Swede just yet. Let’s at least give her a shot at failing before we pronounce her career over.
Look at it this way Annika has won this year Pressel, Wei, Creamer, and Gulbis have not.
Side notes: Saved money by testing out golf clubs for an hour at Edwin Watts Golf Shop instead of going to the range. Accidentally farted when I sneezed. Spent half and hour trying to pick up my skycaddie with my toes.
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