Asian LPGA stars rack up four major titles in current season
Nerve-jangling battles and dramatic shifts in world rankings are not unusual on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour, but the new development that has seen Asian stars rack up all the four major
titles this season has marked a new phase in women’s golf.
Asian players seem unstoppable this season as they not only have captured most of the positions in the top 100 in Women’s World Golf Rankings, but they have also made most of their American rivals disappear
thanks to winning all the big titles in the current LPGA season.
South Korean Sun Young Yoo made a name for herself after she won her first major title at the Kraft Nabisco Championship 2012. She beat her fellow South Korean I.K. Kim in playoff, winning an eye-popping $0.3
million.
Successes from Asian contenders did not end there, as the US Women’s Open 2012 saw another South Korean star storm to victory. Na Yeon Choi was lucky enough to grab her maiden major title at the US Open in
July this year, beating fellow South Korean Amy Yang by four strokes.
Choi has emerged as one of the rising LPGA contenders in recent weeks as her profile speaks for itself. Having grabbed six LPGA titles in her pro career, the South Korean golfer is ready to add yet another
victory in the Navistar LPGA Classic 2012.
Chinese players have not been able to make a name for themselves in women’s golf like their South Korean counterparts, but Shanshan Feng has come out as a fast-learning player. Feng put China in the limelight
after she won the LPGA Championship 2012 in grand style.
South Korean Jiyai Shin also capitalised on opportunities, winning the Ricoh Women’s British Open 2012. Shin also won the Kingsmill Championship 2012 that was held just a week before the British Open.
Observers said that the growing influence of South Koreans in particular and Asians in general has opened the way for transition in the LPGA Tour, with Asia fast becoming the hot spot for women’s golf.
Won-Seok Choi, who is manager at Hi-Mart that has sponsored many LPGA stars, said: “We like to support many Korean women golfers because they have a chance to become a big player, like Se Ri Pak...Asian people
have very strong families, and support is the most important thing".
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