In 2004, in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links final, two players who could not be more different faced off for the title.
One stood 6-foot-2, already ballyhooed as the Tiger Woods of women’s golf, and at 14, was making lots of noises about playing in the Masters and has already competed on the PGA Tour. The other was a tiny 5-foot-4 waif from Taiwan, who’s a dominant junior player at the age of 15 — but nobody’s ever heard of her.
When Yani Tseng birdied the final hole on the Green Course at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va., she won the grueling 36-hole final, 1-up. The vanquished sobbed in the arms of her parents after failing to defend her title. Her name was Michelle Wie.
That was the closest Wie has come to winning anything ever since. Now at 18, she appears to be all but washed up. Wie is nowhere to be found on the LPGA Tour, with a tired old claim of a bum wrist that’s been bothering her for 18 months now. Her Rolex World Ranking is at No. 136.
Exactly one hundred spots ahead of her and the leading candidate for LPGA Rookie of the Year is none other than Tseng. The feisty little fireplug just claimed second in the Ginn Open. That’s no shame, though, as she finished three shots behind Lorena Ochoa — the real Tiger Woods of the LPGA.
Tseng may never get the $10 million endorsement deals that Wie received upon turning pro in 2006. But her career trajectory looks much more promising. Besides her Publinx win over Wie, she’s defeated Morgan Pressel in the 2005 North & South Women’s Championship and amassed 15 international victories as an amateur — four in the United States.
She turned pro in 2007 and after winning tournaments in India and Canada, went to Q-school and got her LPGA card by finishing sixth. This year, she’s made the cut in all six tournaments, with no worse than a 25th place finish and two second-place showings. Tseng is third on the money list and third in scoring average — behind the grand poobahs of the LPGA (Annika Sorenstam is second on both, if you really needed to ask).
So this is probably the most you’ve ever read about Tseng, or anyone else other than a half-dozen players on the LPGA. The media, meanwhile, continues to obsess about the former child prodigy, though the most interesting thing about her these days is that she’s dating a Stanford basketball player. If you’re wondering why the LPGA isn’t getting the attention it deserves, well, don’t blame the players.
Don’t blame Yani Tseng. Chances are, she doesn’t even care. Chances are, she’s somewhere working on the range to improve her game. Chances are, she will win a major, or two, long before Michelle Wie ever becomes relevant again — as a golfer.
