The LPGA’s announcement that members will be required to speak English by the end of 2009 has set off strong reactions, from dismay to satisfaction. Is it for the good of tour members, or an arbitrary rule with racist undertones? Will this start a trend in other professional sports, or will it be dismissed as an anomaly? It will be interesting to see how this plays out. What do you think?
Photo: www.seoulsisters.com
Photo: Oakland Hills Country Club
The final major of the golf season is upon us! The 90th PGA Championship will be played beginning this Thursday at Oakland Hills in Michigan, and here at WGT headquarters, we are having a little office competition where each of us picks four players who we think will do best in the tournament. At the end of the tournament, we total up the scores for our players, and the person with the lowest score wins the office bragging rights.
Who are your four picks?
The presence of Greg Norman on the leaderboard apparently couldn’t offset the absence of Tiger Woods.
ABC’s final-round coverage of the British Open on Sunday earned a 3.5 overnight rating, a 15 percent drop from last year (4.1). Padraig Harrington won both years, although last year’s numbers were bolstered by his four-hole playoff against Sergio Garcia. In a report issued last month, Magna’s Brian Hughes notes that the average household rating for four non-major events Woods participated in this year was double that of non-Woods PGA events, a 3.6 compared to a 1.8.
All told, viewership of the majors may hit its lowest since 1997, when Tiger first dominated the Masters. The networks have responded by extensively covering Tiger’s injury during majors, in an effort to generate more interest.
Will you tune in despite Tiger’s absence?
The blogosphere is abuzz with excitement and speculation over rising star Anthony Kim’s win at AT&T National. Why all the fuss? Kim became the first American under 25 to win twice in a year on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods. Will Kim’s rising star fizzle out, or will he prove to be a bona fide rival to Tiger? What do you think?
Photo: Hunter Martin/Getty Images
The U.S. Women’s Open at Interlachen Country Club is underway, and some of the biggest names—Sorenstam, Ochoa, and Wie—are nowhere near the top ten going into Round 2. How will it play out over the weekend, and who will you be cheering on?
Photo: John Mummert/USGA
In a new video on ESPN, Tiger admits he is a “stubborn ass”. Do you think he made the right decision to go ahead and play in the U.S. Open?
The U.S. Open is underway in San Diego, and a couple of WGT staffers will be there tomorrow through Sunday to take in the action. We will be decked out in WGT shirts and hats, and we’ll send a nice gift to anyone we meet wearing WGT apparel. Hint: you will likely find us hanging around the 18th green. Hope to see you there!
Photo by sushpatel79
In case you haven’t heard, Pete Dye, the designer of the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame earlier this month. His imaginative designs on the Ocean Course (coming soon to WGT) made for some truly amazing photography. We can’t wait to unveil the new course in late summer!
Lorena Ochoa is an inspiration to us not only because she’s the best female golfer in the world, but also because she’s real. An accomplished athlete and budding philanthropist, she is known to be humble, caring, and generous. That is why we are cheering her on this week as she attempts to tie the LPGA record of five consecutive wins at the SemGroup Championship in Oklahoma.
As female golfers gain recognition and respect—Ms. Ochoa became the first woman to earn more than $4 million in one season—interest in the game is growing ever more quickly among women. Many of you have asked us for female avatars in WGT, so we wanted to give you a preview of one that will be available in our next release. Below is one of three different outfits you will be able to choose from, modeled on one of three different face/body combinations.
Did I mention Ms. Ochoa’s sense of style inspires us as well?
Enjoy,
Alex
While sitting at home with his new child, Tiger remained in 4th place in the Fedex Cup only 4,950 points behind Steve Stricker (104,950 points) who won this weekend at The Barclays. I can’t help but think this is not what the organizers of the Fedex Cup thought would happen when they drew up the rules last year. Golf is a very interesting sport in that the athletes have more freedom to control their calendars then in any other sport. But then again this is a special situation with Tiger and his dominance is rearing its ugly head to damage the sport. Imagine what would happen if the Red Wings decided to throw the first game in the Stanley Cup Play-offs best of seven just so they could rest?