A major with added drama
Bivens turmoil overshadowing wide-open women’s field
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - With speculation swirling that LPGA Tour commissioner Carolyn Bivens will soon be asked to resign, women’s golf brings its most prestigious event to Lehigh Valley amid great turmoil, with one eye on an unstable present, the other on an uncertain future. If nothing else, the 64th US Women’s Open will provide all involved a welcome reprieve from what looks and sounds like an ugly soap opera.
Most of the pre-tournament talk has centered on Bivens, whose performance in leading the LPGA Tour has angered and disappointed many players, despite the economic recession that has been felt in all corners of the globe, sports included. Since 2007, the Tour has lost seven tournaments, including a few longtime sponsors, and there could be more. It has been reported that the LPGA Tour has signed contracts for the 2010 season with only 10 title sponsors. The dire situation took a bold turn last week, when 15 Tour players met at the Jamie Farr Classic in Sylvania, Ohio, and drafted a letter urging Bivens to step down, saying they weren’t convinced the Tour’s problems were tied to the economy, and that a change in leadership was necessary. The letter was sent to the LPGA Tour’s board of directors.
“As players, we want to be more involved in what is happening and we want the Tour going in a better direction,’’ said Lorena Ochoa, one of the players at the meeting. “I believe [the board of directors] will do the best for us, and hopefully things will start moving in a good direction, because we are worried that we’re losing tournaments and we want to get back on a good track.’’
Said Cristie Kerr, who was also at the meeting: “I cannot comment on matters pertaining to the LPGA operations as I do not have an official capacity to do that. What I will say is that our player organization is very focused on how these difficult economic times affect our Tour, and we are actively working with our executive board of management to create the best product for our partners and fans.’’
Bivens became commissioner in 2005, the first woman to lead the country’s oldest ongoing women’s professional sports organization. Her contract expires at the end of next year, which could pose problems for the Tour, since it would reportedly cost more than $1 million to buy Bivens out.
Bivens is accustomed to controversy. Less than a year ago, she announced that the Tour would invoke a rule requiring its players to speak English, or risk suspension. After a strong negative reaction from those inside and outside the golf community, the Tour rescinded the stipulation days later.
Bivens hasn’t spoken publicly since news of the meeting surfaced. The US Women’s Open is run by the US Golf Association, not the LPGA Tour.
All of the Bivens talk has taken much of the spotlight away from the season’s third major. It’s the first time the Women’s Open will be played at Saucon Valley Country Club, a course that has been stretched to 6,740 yards, second longest in tournament history. With Annika Sorenstam retired and top-ranked Ochoa still looking for her first Women’s Open title, there really in no clear-cut favorite.
Typical of a USGA championship course, it demands accuracy off the tee and approach shots to small, fast, well-guarded greens.
“Sometimes you can get away with hitting it long and being all over the place, but not this week,’’ said Angela Stanford, who has seven top-10 finishes this season, including one win. “If you’re not used to hitting those long clubs, and then you’re hitting them into smaller greens than you’re used to, it’s going to be a real challenge.’’
Saucon Valley has hosted five USGA championships: the Amateur (1951), Junior Amateur (1983), Senior Amateur (1987), and Senior Open (1992, 2000). The amateur competitions determined a winner by match play; Larry Laoretti (9 under in 1992) and Hale Irwin (17 under in 2000) were the stroke-play winners, when the course’s yardage was comparable to what it will be this week.
Who will it favor? A big hitter, for starters. Yani Tseng, only 20 but already a major champion (2008 LPGA Championship), is second on the LPGA Tour in driving distance, and comes in on quite a roll. Tseng hasn’t missed a cut in 14 starts, hasn’t finished worse than 23d, has eight top-10 finishes, and won the
Ochoa has won a major each of the past two years, and like Tseng, hasn’t missed a cut this season or finished worse than 23d. A win here would get her a step closer to the career grand slam, since she already has victories at the British Open and Kraft Nabisco Championship.
“Winning majors is what makes a really good player, and I’ve never won this tournament before, so I’m going to make sure I give myself a good chance and hopefully it happens for me,’’ Ochoa said.
Paula Creamer has also never won this tournament, or any major, for that matter. She was in the final group at last year’s Women’s Open, a shot off the 54-hole lead, but shot a final-round 78. It has gnawed at her ever since.
“I’ve learned a lot from that round,’’ said Creamer, who received two cortisone shots recently for a lingering thumb injury that forced her to withdraw from the past two tournaments. “I’ve learned from that and hopefully I can take what happened at the Open last year into this one.’’
Creamer, and everyone else looking for their first major, has recent history on their side. The past five major winners - Anna Nordqvist (LPGA Championship) and Brittany Lincicome (Kraft Nabisco Championship) this year, and Jiyai Shin (British Open), Inbee Park (US Women’s Open), and Tseng (LPGA Championship) last year - had never won one.
