Stacy Lewis vs Na Yeon Choi – the better player?
American Stacy Lewis and South Korean Na Yeon Choi are two LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) stars who have emerged as the strongest contenders after current world number one Yani Tseng.
Both Lewis and Choi have been trying to overtake each other in the Women’s World Golf Rankings. Currently, Lewis appears to have subdued her archrival as she has now retaken the second position in the world
rankings.
On the other hand, Choi had grabbed the second spot a couple of weeks back, but could not stand her ground in the face of tough resistance from Lewis. Moreover, the American star displayed a good performance
in some of the recent tournaments, improving her position and image.
Although both the rivals share many things in common, Choi seems to have attracted fans due to her first major victory at the US Women’s Open in July this year. Whereas, Lewis has consolidated her position
thanks to resilience and consistency.
Choi turned professional in 2004, and has recorded six LPGA titles so far. In addition to making her mark on the LPGA, she also proved her mettle on the LPGA of Korea Tour.
Although Choi has been around for a long time now and has recorded a number of wins, she rose to prominent after she racked up her major title. Analysts said that the 24-year-old South Korean is one of the
rising stars on the LPGA Tour, and she has now managed to get on track.
They said that winning 6 titles in her long professional career is something to be proud of, but the victory at the US Women’s Open appears to have helped her cast off her image as an underperformer.
The young prodigy recorded her first LPGA triumph in 2009 — about five years after she turned professional. She displayed a stunning performance at the Samsung World Championship in September 2009, as she outrivaled
Japanese Ai Miyazato.
Then in November 2009, she grabbed attention once again after she won Hana Bank-Kolon Championship by beating Yani Tseng and Maria Hjorth by one stroke.
Choi has proved that she has no trouble rattling Lewis, as she has shown recently by improving her position, but she is keen to point out that she finds Yani Tseng hard to beat.
She conceded in one of her interviews that she might have been performing well in the 2012 season, but toppling Tseng from the world number one position is an uphill task.
“I think to catch Yani is more difficult. I'm really scared of the water, but I think when she's playing well, she looks like a very intimidating player, I think. She plays so well this day and last week and
two weeks ago. I mean, she's an amazing player right now,” the major winner said.
“I couldn't tell you. She's playing so well and there are a lot people chasing her right now, so nobody knows”.
On the other hand, Lewis appears to be far better than Choi when it comes to the duration of her professional career. The American golfer joined professional golf in 2008, and has racked up 3 LPGA titles so
far.
In addition to normal events, Lewis is giving a tough time to Choi on the major front. The 27-year-old from Ohio made a name for herself after she recorded her first major title at the Kraft Nabisco Championship
April 2011. She had displayed a superb performance as she beat Yani Tseng by three strokes.
Overall, Lewis appears to be doing better than Choi on some fronts. However, it does not necessarily mean the South Korean will walk away without putting up a tough fight.
Tags: