LPGA: Unstoppable Yani

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Though the golf world was buzzing on Sunday with the news of Tiger Woods and his win at Bay Hill, the real focus should be turned to the player who is dominating the LPGA in a fashion that few have done before. World No. 1 Yani Tseng won her third tournament of the year this past weekend at The Kia Classic, only the fifth tournament on the LPGA schedule.

The twenty-three year old Taiwanese player was never threatened as she closed out her four days at La Costa Resort at -14, six shots ahead of Sun Young Yoo. 

This was Yani's 15th career LPGA victory and her sixth win in her last twelve starts. She is now only four points shy of the twenty-seven needed (along with ten years of play) to be inducted into the LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame. That mark in itself is stunning considering she has only been on the tour for five years. 

To give a bit of perspective, when Annika Sorenstam was twenty-three years old she had yet to claim one of her eventual 72 wins. Lorena Ochoa, another former world No. 1 only had 2 wins at the same age. And Kathy Whitworth the all time leader on the LPGA tour with 88 victories, also only had 2 wins. To say that the current No. 1 player is making history would be an understatement. Also worth mentioning that five of Yani wins just happen to be major championships. 

It has taken awhile but the golf world seems to be waking up a bit as Yani is making her performances tough to ignore. Not only does Yani hit the ball farther than most of her fellow players, but there is not a better swing to teach a young golfer making their start-male or female. And as she has worked relentlessly on her golf game the past couple years, she has also devoted countless hours to improving her English so that she can communicate better with the fans. This is a sport that is dependent on sponsors and although she may not be as photogenic as Natalie Gulbis and Lexi Thompson, Yani realizes she has an important role in bringing exposure to the game.

Although every week brings new challengers, none at the moment are playing with the skill or confidence that Yani possesses. The gap between her and the field seems to be getting bigger and bigger every week,  and one has to wonder if we are witnessing the play of perhaps the greatest female to ever take up the game. It is obviously too soon to be making such predictions. But there is one person whose life has a strong parallel to Yani's at this stage, to whom their play I am sure Yani wouldn't mind being compared to. Tiger Woods also had 15 wins at the age of twenty-three, and this past Sunday we saw him add number 72. 

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