Sime Darby triumph further cements Asian dominance on LPGA
Asian contenders have been going places on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour for the last two years, but a recent triumph at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia 2012 appeared to
have further cemented their growing dominance in women’s golf.
American stars were besieged by mixed emotions at the four-day battle at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, as they regretted letting an Asian star, Inbee Park of South Korea, lift the title—but
were brimming with confidence too when they opened their first round as they thought a line-up featuring stars like Stacy Lewis was strong enough to do well this time.
Observers said that although the Sime Darby triumph is being taken as a normal event, Asians have proved once again that their line-up is big enough to keep churning out solid performances.
They said that the strongest contender in the Asian roster, current world number one Yani Tseng, may be faltering on the course these days, but she has, for the time being, passed the baton
to other rivals from South Korea, Japan and China, making the competition even more intense for American and European contenders.
In Malaysia, the baton was passed on to Inbee Park who was too fired up to cut all her rivals down to size. A total of 269 was enough to help her sail to victory, but the toughest resistance
she faced was also from an Asian—Na Yeon Choi—who was defending her title.
Commentators said that the confidence of Asian rivals was worth noting at Kuala Lumpur as they knew the crowd support was on their side throughout the four days.
“I think it's pretty same last year. The good thing is I know I cannot control other players' score. So, you know, even tomorrow, go out there, I'm going to watch the leaderboard because
I have to know what is situation, but I cannot control their score,” Choi had said at the end of the third round.
Another big factor that has boosted Asians’ morale is a stellar performance in major championships.
All the four major titles in the 2012 season have been grabbed by Asian stars, with South Korean Sun Young Yoo beating all her rivals in the Kraft Nabisco Championship 2012 in March.
In June 2012, another major battle—Wegmans LPGA Championship—saw Chinese Shanshan Feng prove her mettle by grabbing a two-stroke victory.
South Korean Na Yeon, who has come out as a fast-learning contender on the LPGA Tour in recent months, grabbed the headlines in early July after she won the US Women’s Open 2012.
Since US Women’s Open is regarded as the most important event for LPGA stars, especially Americans, a victory by a South Korean contender let down many local fans.
Finally, South Korean Jiya Shin won the Ricoh Women’s British Open 2012 to further strengthen Asian dominance on the LPGA Tour.
Despite facing a string of defeats in the recent months, there is still a glimmer of hope for non-Asians as American Stacy Lewis has done well in the current season.
Lewis sent golf-crazy American fans cheering after she retook the second position in world rankings from South Korean Na Yeon Choi.
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