Here we are just days away from the magical mystery of Christmas. It seems like just yesterday that we were beginning the year 2008. My how time flies when you’re having fun! So much happened this year in the world of golf and the world in general, for that matter. So while we wait for Santa to climb down the chimney to leave presents for all us good girls and boys let’s take a quick look back at the year that’s about to end.
In the world of men’s golf Tiger won the U.S. Open on one leg then left the PGA Tour to have reconstructive surgery on his injured knee. The face of men’s golf changed significantly without Tiger’s presence. Padraig Harrington was the dominant force winning major after major only to succumb to his whirlwind schedule and leave the European team in a lurch in the Ryder Cup. In spite of Tiger’s absence, the US team dominated play at Valhalla in Louisville Kentucky. Captained by Paul Azinger the US Ryder Cup team thrashed the Nick Faldo led European team. Perhaps the US squad has finally learned how to play as a team. On a more serious note we saw one of golf’s great, Seve Ballesteros, felled by a brain tumor and having to undergo multiple brain surgeries. The good news is that he is out of the hospital and currently undergoing chemotherapy. We wish him the best!
On the women’s side the LPGA said goodbye to Annika Sorenstam perhaps the greatest golfer the women’s tour has ever seen. In her stead Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer and Ji-Yai Shin rose to the challenge of fighting for the number one spot in women’s golf. There are others that are posed to make their run to the top of the leaderboard. Just recently Stacy Lewis and Michelle Wie earned their tour cards to play full-time on the LPGA circuit in 2009. Katherine Hull started the season with less than stellar results but by the midway point was in contention in almost every event she played. There is great potential for a new rivalry to surface and give the LPGA a much-needed marketing boost.
The key issue that was (and still is) paramount as the season progressed was the affect the economic climate would have on both the PGA and the LPGA tours going into 2009 and beyond. Sponsors have been lost, ticket sales are down and pro-am spots remain open in what is most certainly the toughest economic times we have seen in our lifetimes. What will be the look and feel of golf in the future? That remains to be seen. Like all other industries there will certainly need to be a tightening of the belt and the improvement of the product for marketability and sustainability.
No matter what, in the grand scheme of things golf is a just game that will continue to be enjoyed by those that truly recognize the beauty of its challenges? Perhaps we won’t play as often as we used to for the time being but I can’t imagine we will enjoy it any less.
On behalf of Ladies on the Tee Golf Blog @ www.sherrytabb.com I thank you for visiting and joining in our golf community.
Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy and Prosperous New Year to each and every one of you.
Tags: Annika Sorenstam, golf, Katherine Hull, Lorena Ochoa, LPGA, Michelle Wie, Padraig Harrington, Paula Creamer, PGA, Ryder Cup, Seve Ballesteros, Stacy Lewis, Tiger, Women's Golf
December 25th, 2008 at 12:28 am
Great tips, thanks!
December 25th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Great summary for the year 2008 for Golf. I am sure that future of the game is not in doubt.
Neville’s last blog post..Adding Read More to a Post
December 30th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Let’s not forget the LPGA’s ill thought proposal about requiring players to learn a certain level of English, regardless of their skills on the course.
And let’s raise a glass to Golf for Women and hope that someday female players will have another magazine as good as this one dedicated to them. I just received my first issue of Golf Magazine and I was surprised that there wasn’t one photo of a woman (except for ads)anywhere in the magazine. I guess the title should really be “Golf for Men”.
December 30th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Janine,
Great point about the “English-only’ debacle. Can’t believe I forgot to mention that!
It’s a shame that women are so under-represented in the golf marketplace especially with women as a group being the greatest growth segment currently in the industry. Can you say ‘Clueless”??