Yani Tseng is finishing off a season for the ages, exceeding accomplishments of other golf phenoms we've come to enjoy such as one Eldrick Tiger Woods. Yet Yani doesn't seem to get the respect given what she has accomplished on the golf course this year on the LPGA Tour.
World No. 1 Yani Tseng is earning more attention lately for an off-the-course comment about maybe, someday competing against the guys on the PGA Tour, than the youngest golfer ever to capture five major championships has for her other-worldly-on-course accomplishments.
It didn't take long for a tournament coordinator to respond and extend an invitation to Yani. The Puerto Rico Open Tournament Chair said he would welcome Tseng to next year's event, and Team Tseng is trying to put the brakes on movement quickly.
"We appreciate that Puerto Rico has responded so soon, but Yani has more goals to accomplish such as completing the Grand Slam and qualifying for the Hall of Fame," Tseng's advisor Ernie Huang gold Golfweek on Monday. "To play on the PGA Tour now will be too much distraction for her."
Tseng has dominated the LPGA Tour and could possibly benefit from teeing up against the men, but is it time? Tseng dialed up 11 worldwide wins, including two majors, this year, and could become the second woman in history to make the cut in an official PGA Tour event. It's more likely that - like Suzy Whaley, Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie - she would miss weekend play, but that outcome hardly slowed down Sorenstam. After her May 2003 PGA turn at Colonial Country Club - where she won a slew of new fans with her skill, poise, and dignity under pressure. Soresntam went on to capture 29 of 72 LPGA titles, including six of her 10 major championships.
It's in the area of connecting with the fans that Tseng might benefit most by teeing up against the guys. She'll be the focus of attention, especially if she chooses Puerto Rico as her venue. She'll be given every opportunity to establish what Yani Tseng is all about and if handled well, she could well be on her way to assuming the top spot on LPGA Tour Billboards, regardless if the event is being played overseas or in the United States.
