Lewis-Tseng rivalry will continue to grab headlines in 2013
Stacy Lewis and Yani Tseng are the two LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) stars whose on-course rivalry has breathed a new life into women’s golf.
It makes sense not to think of the Lewis-Tseng rivalry as much hyped as the rivalry between Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods in men’s golf. But the two female golfers are responsible for much
of the limelight that the media has given to the LPGA in the past few months.
Unlike McIlroy and Woods who have subdued each other in the course of their professional career, Tseng and Lewis have been fighting a much different war.
Lewis, despite all the passion and determination to become the best in women’s golf, still has not been able to rattle the current world number one Tseng in world rankings.
In men’s circuit, young McIlroy is standing at the top right now while Woods currently ranks third.
The media is abuzz with how a much-younger McIlroy has trampled Woods who ruled men’s golf for years before getting himself embroiled in a career-threatening adultery scandal.
Still, Woods has never spoken of his ambitions to outsmart McIlroy. On the other hand, McIlroy has often played down the hype, saying he does not wish to compare his skills to that of former
world number one.
But the third-ranked Lewis, who is still as concerned about becoming the number one as she was a year ago, has often talked of beating Tseng. The American star has said in several of her interviews
that her biggest goal for the 2013 will be to snatch the number one spot from Tseng.
Yet, Lewis seems to be heavily influenced by Tseng. She said in one of her interviews that comparing herself with Tseng only helps her improve her game and she has learned a lot from the top-ranked
prodigy.
“I’ve learned a lot from Yani. How to win, how to be successful. When we get in contention, we want to beat each other but we also want the other person to win if we can’t,” Lewis said while
speaking to Golfchannel.
“When we walked to the 18th tee in Japan, I had just made two birdies in a row and Yani said, `One more, you got this, one more.' It is just really cool to have that special relationship,”
Lewis added.
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