(13 September 2010 – Rogers, Arkansas)
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It took a talking to at the halfway mark of her final round, but it did the trick for Yani Tseng who came from behind to win the P&G NW Arkansas Championship Presented by Walmart on Sunday. Her victim was Michelle Wie, who couldn&apost hold off the fast-finishing Tseng to finish outright second, just one shot off the pace. Japan’s Mika Miyazato blitzed the Pinnacle Country Club course to fire a final round of 7-under par 64 to ascend the leaderboard and finish outright third.
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rnWie, who was looking for back-to-back victories after her win in Canada two weeks ago, was on track after a blistering second round of 7-under par 64 meant she entered the final round at 10-under par with a three-shot cushion over Tseng, Na Yeon Choi and Juli Inkster who was looking to become the oldest winner on the LPGA. However, early on in the second round, it was apparent that the title would be fought out between Tseng and Wie. Choi had made two double-bogeys on par-5’s in her opening 7 holes while Inkster continued to give back any birdies she made shortly thereafter and couldn’t make any inroads into the lead.
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rnBy the 9th hole, Tseng had reduced the lead to two shots but felt like she didn’t really want it enough. At the halfway mark she gave herself a little pep talk, later explaining, “After 9 holes, I feel like my heart is not fighting, I didn&apost feel like I really want to win this tournament. So after 9 holes, I just wrote a lot of things on my yardage book, like, ‘I can do this.’ Just feel like you really, really want to win this tournament.”
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rnIt obviously worked as she went on to make birdies at the 11th and 12th holes and then tying for the lead with another birdie at the 13th. The lead was hers by a shot when she made her fourth birdie in five holes at the 15th. Wie hadn’t done anything especially wrong, it was just that Tseng’s putts were dropping and hers weren’t.
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rnThe lead for Tseng was stretched to two shots when Wie made bogey at the 16th hole and it looked like a comfortable walk through the final two holes. However, Wie wasn’t done with just yet. A sublime tee shot at the long par-3 17th hole saw an easy birdie reduce the lead to one shot with just the par-5 18th to play. In the end, both players made a birdie at the last and Tseng had her fifth career LPGA title, including two Majors. Afterwards when asked about her goals and the inevitable questions about the race for the Rolex World No.1 spot, she said, “My goal is to be…. I want to be a good and nice player. I want everybody when they think about me is, oh, I&aposm a good player, I&aposm a nice player. It&aposs not I&aposm playing really good, to be a good player. I want to be more like everything, like all the personality and the golf, too.”
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rnThe win moved Tseng to the top of the Rolex Player of the Year point’s standings and second behind Korea’s Jiyai Shin on the Official Money List. Of her five career victories on the LPGA, four have been coming from behind where she has averaged 67 in the final round.
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rnIt wasn’t the best week for the ALPG players; however it was an important week for Sarah Kemp, who is in a battle to keep her card for next year. She finished in a tie for 29th and more importantly moved up to 90th on the Money List. Another couple of good finishes should see her move into the Top-80 to keep her card. Lindsey Wright (T57) and Sarah-Jane Smith (81st) were the only other ALPG Members to make the cut.
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rnThe players now have another three-week break before play resumes with the Navistar LPGA Classic starting on the 7th of October.
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Photo by Paul Melville/ALPG.