voices
when no. 1 isn’t your no. 1 goal
struggling on the course is
one thing; it happens to
everyone. golf is truly a
skill you never own, but
rather rent. and sometimes
the lease just runs out.
the key is to renew the
paperwork as quickly as
possible. if the problem is
injury or mechanics, time
and hard work can fix it.
feel like i lost that enjoyment
for playing golf last year.”
that bit of self-analysis
is both insightful and
troubling. sometimes when
you lose something like the
no. 1 ranking, you lose something more—confidence, a
sense of invincibility. there
is a big difference between
being no. 1 and staying
no. 1. the pressure is much
greater when you are
king—or queen—of the
hill. that’s what made
annika sorenstam and
tiger woods special.
the founders cup, the first
lpga event in the u.s. this
year, will provide an idea of
where tseng stands. she
was second at the isps
women’s australia open,
t- 3 at the honda thailand
and t-28 at the hsbc
women’s champions in
singapore. tseng’s last
victory was the kia classic
51 weeks ago. her lead in
the rankings is now only
0.62 points over na yeon
choi and 0.63 over stacy
lewis, with both players
potentially able to pass
her with wins this week.
for me,” tseng said. “so i
just try to smile more
because last year i know
i didn’t smile as much.
this year i want to smile
more and enjoy more, and
then i don’t worry about
those rankings.”
but if it’s mental fatigue or
diminished desire, that’s
more ominous. which is
precisely why you take note
when yani tseng, who has
been no. 1 for 109 weeks,
says it would be no big deal
if she lost the top spot on
the rolex rankings.
tseng has either figured it
out or is trying to talk
herself into playing better.
when her confidence,
however, catches up to her
skill, she will be even more
formidable. my guess is
that she is moving in that
direction. time will tell.
“i don’t want to focus on
world no. 1, i just want to
focus on myself and focus
on everything outside of
golf, inside of golf,” tseng
said tuesday at the Jw
marriott phoenix desert
ridge resort & spa, where
the rr donnelley founders
cup begins today. “i just
want to play as a child, and i
being no. 1 made them fight
harder, and they had the
mental toughness to deal
with the distractions that
come with being best in the
world. se ri pak, on the
other hand, admitted to
burnout, and we’re all
watching with great interest
to see how rory mcilory
handles being top dog.
tseng was relaxed as she
spoke about the rankings.
“what points?” she said with
a bewildered look followed
by a broad smile. “i wasn’t
paying attention about that
because i didn’t know how
they do the rankings.“ she
also said late-season injuries
to her shoulder and elbow
were mostly behind her.
ron sirak
executive editor
we should be watching
tseng as well.
“i know if i enjoy more,
then the result will be there
ezra shaw/getty images
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