So who’s the best golfer in the world?

With Tiger Woods definitively unable to compete, the otherworldly presence of 53-year-old Greg Norman successfully vanquished, and Phil Mickelson able to log 2008 wins at venerable old Riviera and Colonial, but never better 5th in Major championship play, the answer, unequivocally, is Padraig Harrington.
 
Citing a man who’s won the last two Major championships – as well as three of the last six – as the best hardly amounts to world-class insight, but Harrington has also logged four additional top-5 finishes in America this year, including a T5 a The Masters and a 3rd at Riviera.  More importantly, if the consistent excellence of his play has been impressive, what has really set him apart is the ability to break form when most needed – that is, by finding an extra, impressively powerful gear late on Sunday afternoons.  At Royal Birkdale, this ability manifested itself in a stunning four-under-par run over the final six holes, allowing Harrington to pull away from Norman, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson down the homestretch.  This past weekend at Oakland Hills, his victory in the PGA Championship was accomplished in somewhat similar fashion, with another final-nine 32 lifting him into contention, and the holing of clutch putts measuring 12, 10 and 15 feet on the final three greens once again lifting him to victory.

It is all fine and good to win Major championships, and any which way one accomplishes that is generally good enough.  But by winning these last two in such epic style, Harrington achieved a level of clutch performance rarely seen in modern professional golf.  It was truly special stuff.

And what of Sergio Garcia, whose watery disaster at the 70th cost him his finest chance yet to capture that elusive Major?  One tends to think he’ll break through one of these years, but at age 28, with an impressive (if slightly depressing) nine top-five Major finishes under his belt, it gets harder and harder to be sure.  Attempts at claiming not to be disappointed during his post-tournament press conference certainly rang a bit hollow – but they were a massive improvement over blaming fate, the golfing gods and a box of tarot cards, as he did in 2007 at Carnoustie.  Sergio’s still quite young, but the clock is ticking…

For the moment – and at least into early 2009 – it Padraig Harrington’s world.


Requiem For A Ball-Striker

Overshadowed somewhat by the PGA Championship was the death, at age 74, of 1969 U.S. Open champion Orville Moody, at his home in Sulphur Springs, TX.  Below appears my profile of Moody in 2005’s The Book of Golfers, but I think there are a couple of preliminary points worth mentioning.  First, Moody, though hardly a glad-handing, charismatic sort, was hugely popular among his peers, and widely recognized as one of the nicer men in golf.  And second, this was one hell of a ball-striker.  Indeed, “Sarge” (nicknamed for his Army rank) hit perhaps the single greatest shot I’ve ever personally witnessed, at the Westchester Classic circa 1980.  Playing the Westchester Country Club’s terribly difficult 12th hole, Moody sat a good 225 yards away from a green elevated at least 50 feet above the fairway, and guarded by a severe fallaway front-right.  To make matters (much) worse, his tee shot had come to rest on the forward side of a small fairway mound, meaning that he had to tackle this jackpot off a dangerously downhill lie.  Moody responded with a 1 iron shot that literally never wavered from the flag, carrying easily onto the green and finishing within 10 feet.  Another of the period’s elite shotmakers, Chi Chi Rodriguez, was paired with Moody that day and looked on wide-eyed, ultimately just shaking his head and saying, with immense feeling, “Great shot, Sarge.”  As was his wont in those days, Moody promptly three-putted for bogey – but nearly three decades later, I remain confident that only a handful of golfers in my lifetime could have played that shot.

And so, without further adieu:

ORVILLE MOODY  (USA)

Perhaps with Hollywood’s recent infatuation with golf-themed movies, someone will see fit bring the remarkable story of Orville Moody (1933-2008) to the big screen.  Moody, after all, walked away from a scholarship at the University of Oklahoma in 1953 to join the Army, rising to the rank of staff sergeant over 14 years while also winning the 1962 All-Service golf title.  In 1967 he elected to give the PGA Tour a shot, then scarcely survived a fruitless rookie season in 1968.  But things changed in a hurry at the 1969 U.S. Open at Houston’s Champions Club where a rock-steady Moody shot 281 and, as the other challengers fell away, emerged victorious, by a single stroke, over Deane Beman, Al Geiberger and Bob Rosburg.

Though something of a stunner at the time, Moody’s victory is really not so perplexing as his superior ball-striking was perfectly suited to Open conditions, an event which traditionally minimizes his gravest weakness, the putter.  Remarkably, Moody never again won on the PGA Tour, three-putting away a golden opportunity at the 1973 Bing Crosby and largely disappearing altogether by the late 1970s.  Though he did manage overseas victories in Hong Kong, Morocco and Australia, Moody’s greatest overall success came – with the advent of the long putter – on the Champions Tour, where he won 11 times between 1984-92 (including the 1989 U.S. Senior Open) and pocketed nearly $4 million.

PGA Tour:  Wyndham Championship

Site: Sedgefield Country Club  -  Greensboro, NC
Yards: 7,117     Par: 70
Defending: Brandt Snedeker 266  (beat T. Petrovic, B. Mayfair & J. Overton by 2)
Field:   World Top 25: Vijay Singh (5)   Other Notables: Mark Brooks, David Duval, Lee Janzen, Davis Love III, Larry Mize & Corey Pavin.

                    ENTRANTS          WEBSITE          GOLF COURSE          AERIAL

 
European PGA Tour:  SAS Masters

Site: Arlandastad Golf  -  Stockholm, Sweden
Yards: 6,835     Par: 70
Defending: Mikko Ilonen 274  (beat C. Cevaer, N. Dougherty, J.B. Gonnet, P. Hedblom & M. Kaymer by 2)
Field:   World Top 25: Robert Karlsson (21)   Other Notables: Niclas Fasth, Anders Hansen, Martin Kaymer, Paul Lawrie & Thomas Levet.

                    ENTRANTS          WEBSITE          GOLF COURSE          AERIAL

 
LPGA Tour:  CN Canadian Women’s Open

Site: Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club  -  Ottawa, Canada
Yards: 6,510     Par: 72
Defending: Lorena Ochoa 268  (beat P. Creamer by 3)
Field:   World Top 20: The entire Rolex top 20 except Ji-Yai Shin (6), Jeong Jang (10), Maria Hjorth (11), Momoko Ueda (16) & Yuri Fudoh (17)    Other Notables: Meg Mallon, Liselotte Neumann, Se Ri Pak, Grace Park & Michelle Wie.

                    ENTRANTS          WEBSITE          GOLF COURSE          AERIAL

 
Champions Tour:  Jeld-Wen Tradition

Site: Crosswater Golf Club at Sunriver Resort  -  Bend, OR
Yards: 7,683     Par: 72
Defending: Mark McNulty 272  (beat Dav. Edwards by 5)
Field:   Ranked: The entire Charles Schwab Cup top 20 except Nick Price (10) & Greg Norman (18)   Other Notables: Everyone who’s physically able.

                    ENTRANTS          WEBSITE          GOLF COURSE          AERIAL

 
Elsewhere…
LET - S4C Wales Ladies Championship of Europe – Llanelli, Wales
JLPGA – NEC Karuizawa 72 – Karuizawa, Japan
Futures - E2 Greater Richmond Futures Classic – Richmond, Va
Nationwide – Xerox Classic – Rochester, NY
European Challenge – Trophee de Golf Club de Geneve – Geneva, Switzerland
European Challenge – Vodaphone Challenge – Dusseldorf, ermany
Canadian – Desjardins Montreal Open – Montreal, Quebec

The PGA Championship

Winner: Padraig Harrington   71-74-66-66   277  (beat S. Garcia & B. Curtis by 2)
Site: Oakland Hills Country Club (South course)  -  Bloomfield Hills, MI
 
STORY         RESULT         MONEY LIST         STATS         INTERVIEWS

 
Elsewhere…
Korean teenager Amy Yang closed with a fine 63 to win the LET’s Scandinavian TPC by six strokes over a foursome ofplayers in Vasteras, Sweden.  Tournament host Annika Sorenstam, playing for the final time on home soil, tied for 6th, seven shots back………Shinobu Moromizato won her third career JLPGA title at the  AXA Ladies in Tomakomai, her 210 total besting Miho Koga by two………Californian Mindy Kim won the Futures Tour’s Falls Auto Group Classic in London, KY, her 206 aggregate edging four-time 2008 winner Vicky Hurst by one………Scott Piercy won the Nationwide Tour’s Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open, defeating Daniel Summerhays, Hunter Haas and Spencer Levin by two with a 22-under-par 262 total………Denmark’s Jeppe Huldahl won the European Challenge Tour’s Lexus Open in Dilling, Norway, shooting 17-under-par 271 to beat Scotland’s Steven O’Hara by two………England’s Carl Mason claimed his 20th European Seniors Tour title at the Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors in Switzerland, riding a second-round 61 to a 19 5 total, and a two-shot triumph over Bill Longmuir.

- Perhaps If Hogan Hadn’t Called It A “Monster…”:  Let me first say that despite having written about it for the upcoming World Atlas of Golf, I have never been to Oakland Hills.  Further, before being too critical of it, I must also note that the famed South course’s back nine is rated among America’s very best by no less a traditionalist than the esteemed designer Tom Doak – so clearly, this cannot be too bad a golf course.  However…  Oakland Hills also holds a notable place in the evolution of golf course design, particularly after being christened a “monster” by Ben Hogan following his victory in the 1951 U.S. Open – the first Major played here following a now-famous 1950 renovation of Donald Ross’s original design by Robert Trent Jones.  Trent’s work largely amounted simply to pinching virtually every driving area with multiple fairway bunkers, an approach entirely antithetical to Ross’s but one which has kept the layout tournament-relevant into the new millennium.  Well, not quite.  With unchecked technology continuing to eat away at the layout’s well-documented bite, the decision was made in 2005 to hire Trent’s son Rees for another modernization, and here things get even more interesting.  For Rees Jones has, to my mind, become golf design’s poster boy for the argument that one really can go a long way in life with a firm handshake and a nice smile – and approach which seems to really set one up well in a field that has long been a refuge for snake oil salesmen anyway.  At Oakland Hills, as with other high-profile “Rees-storations,” the decidedly mundane steps of simply adding new tees (several misaligned, according to reports) and flanking every possible fairway edge with sand were, predictably, Rees’s M.O.  And then there was the alteration of the 16th green, whose back-right section now extends further into the famously adjacent pond.  Doak has called this well-known test “just a water hole,” and perhaps it was a bit overrated to begin with, but as Dr. Brad Klein recently opined in Golfweek, “the idea of hanging the back right of the famed 16th green out over the water befits a second-tier TPC, not a classic course like this.”  Of course, the blame for all of these problems might well be laid at Ben Hogan’s feet, because prior to that 1951 Open, Oakland Hills enjoyed a reputation – at least somewhat based on Donald Ross’s own comments – as a strategically excellent, lay-of-the-land design.  Once Hogan attached the Monster moniker, however, an entirely new image seems to have been embraced, leaving Oakland Hills – like so many other postwar Major championship sites – to focus exclusively on toughness.  In that context, perhaps Rees Jones really was the perfect guy to modernize things, because by simply adding bunkers (no matter how poorly shaped) in all the places where there weren’t any, things likely have become more difficult.  But as Dr. Klein succinctly observed in Golfweek, “Tighter, longer, tougher. It’s not a very imaginative formula for upgrading a golf course.”

Based on realistic chances of winning, not the bookmaker's handle...


Phil Mickelson (USA) (14-1) – Not the strongest of favorites here as his game has been something of a roller coaster of late.  Last week’s T4 at Firestone seems a good omen (as did May’s win at Colonial), but no top 10s among his five other most recent starts is a bit dicey.  Interesting stat: since losing the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, he has only one top 10 (a T5 at this year’s Masters) in his last nine Major starts.
 
Padraig Harrington (Ireland) (16-1) – The now two-time British Open champion enters the PGA ranked 3rd in the world and obviously on a roll, his T20 at Firestone (his only post-Open start) being a touch misleading as it was marred by a second-round 75.  Possesses an all-around game that seems to adapt equally well to both links and American parkland-style golf.  Figures to be heard from.
 
Vijay Singh (Fiji) (18-1) – Just when age and iffy recent play had me dropping him to the second tier, last week’s victory at Firestone reminds us that the 45-year-old Singh isn’t quite done yet.  Of course, he hasn’t logged a top-10 Major finish since the 2006 U.S. Open, missing four of nine cuts en route – so form notwithstanding, wager here at your peril.
 
Sergio Garcia (Spain) (19-1) – Perennially rated a Major championship contender but thus far in 2008, he’s finished T18 at the U.S. Open and T51 at the Open Championship after being listed among the low-odds favorites going in.  I don’t know that form much matters here; his tee-to-green game remains elite, his putting less so.  Bound to win one of these sooner or later…but which one seems anyone’s guess.
 
Jim Furyk (USA) (23-1) – Currently ranked 13th in the world, Furyk arrives in solid form, most notably having tied for 5th at last month’s Open Championship.  Possesses the sort of strong tee-to-green game favored by U.S. Open and PGA Championship courses – but it still feels like he’s rated so highly by oddsmakers simply because no other names are jumping out.
 
Ernie Els (South Africa) (24-1) – Big Ernie says his game is coming around – as he’s said this faithfully, whenever asked, since the middle of spring.  While some Butch Harmon-related improvement is apparent, is the game’s once-best swing ready to hold up on a Major Sunday?  Curiously for a man with two U.S. Open wins, Els has recorded only four top 10s in 15 career PGA starts – but three of them have come in his last four appearances.
 
Anthony Kim (USA) (25-1) – America’s best under-25 is a trendy pick wherever he tees it up now, particularly after tying for 7th at the Open Championship.  Twice a winner in the U.S. in 2008, and seems more likely to emerge at Oakland Hills than he did on unfamiliar British linksland.  To borrow from the late Herbert Warren Wind, Kim “does not suffer from an inferiority complex.”
 
Lee Westwood (England) (25-1) – Westwood is another who comes in playing well (3rd at June’s U.S. Open, T2 last week at Firestone) but a tie for 67th at the Open Championship – when he seemed a likely contender – gives pause to wonder.  Has never logged a top 10 in 11 career PGA starts.
 
Kenny Perry (USA) (30-1) – Arguably the world’s hottest player, Perry hasn’t even entered a 2008 Major, and only played in the PGA among golf’s four marquee events last year.  A famously streaky player who’s been running hot since mid-May. Nearly won this title in 1996, bogeying the 72nd hole before losing in sudden death to Mark Brooks.
 
Adam Scott (Australia) (32-1) – The world’s 8th-ranked player remains a Major championship enigma, frequently contending in regular events worldwide (winning twice thus far in 2008) but failing to record a Major top 10 since the 2006 PGA.  At age 28, he should just be entering his prime years…but does he possess a competitive gear we haven’t yet seen?
 
Geoff Ogilvy (Sweden) (33-1) – Running a bit cooler than he was from  March through June, but possesses the sort of game (both physical and mental) that one always expects to see rising high at a Major.  Though he missed the cut at Birkdale and tied for 68th last week at Firestone, Ogilvy has finished among the top 10 in the last three PGAs and seems especially well-suited for Oakland Hills’ U.S. Open-type layout.
 
Retief Goosen (South Africa) (35-1) – Like compatriot Els, Goosen reports his game to be on the mend, but the reality is that prior to last week’s T4 at Firestone, his last U.S. top 10 came all the way back in March at Doral.  Also like Els, this two-time U.S. Open winner hasn’t done much in the PGA, a T6 in 2005 being his lone finish better than 23rd in 10 career starts.
 
Stewart Cink (USA) (45-1) – Remains a popular weekly pick in some quarters due some very impressive spring and early summer form, but in two starts since his June win at Hartford, he missed the cut at Royal Birkdale and tied for 43rd last week at Firestone.  Tied for 16th as rookie at the 1996 U.S. Open here…but that hardly seems relevant now.
 
Robert Karlsson (Sweden) (45-1) – Though not a winner in 2008, few golfers have played more consistently excellent golf worldwide than Karlsson.  Having never bettered 29th in six career PGA starts, he may not look a likely winner – but this is a fine darkhorse pick, generally pulling 50-1, at least.
 
Ian Poulter (England) (45-1) – Lifted an otherwise nondescript year with a charge to 2nd place at the Open Championship, and appears to still be in decent form following a T16 at Firestone.  Tied for 9th at the ’06 PGA at Medinah – but that’s his only other career Major top 10.
 
Henrik Stenson (Sweden) (45-1) – Has enjoyed a quietly strong season in Europe, failing to win but recording eight top 10’s, including a T3 at July’s Open Championship.  Of course, that was his first Major top 10, and his record in limited American appearances is hardly head-turning.  But with his blend of power and touch, he figures well for a place like Oakland Hills.
 
K.J. Choi (Korea) (48-1) – Though the halfway leader at the Open Championship, Choi closed with 75-79 to tie for 16th, a performance fairly representative of his year since finishing 41st at Augusta.  Still, his game appears at least somewhat on the upswing, he’s finished among the top 10 in two of the last four PGAs and he’s as mentally tough as they come.
 
Trevor Immelman (South Africa) (50-1) – Okay, so his form has been less-than-elite (save a playoff loss in Memphis) since winning the Masters, but this is an undeniably elite talent who will not stay quiet for long.  I’ve seen him listed elsewhere at 80-1...and that’s a good bet.
 
Justin Rose (England) (55-1) – Adam Scott II, only he’s ranked 13th instead of 8th.  A genuine world-class talent, but 2008 finishes of T36 (the Masters), MC (U.S. Open) and T70 (the Open Championship) just aren’t good enough.  Still, he started young, and is only 28…
 
Mike Weir (Canada) (55-1) – More a hunch than anything else.  Hasn’t bettered 17th in a 2008 Major but has two top 5’s in his last five PGA Tour starts.

The PGA Championship

Site: Oakland Hills Country Club (South course)  -  Bloomfield Hills, MI
Yards: 7,395     Par: 70
Defending: Tiger Woods 272  (beat W. Austin by 2)
Field:   World Top 25: All except Tiger Woods (1) & Luke Donald (21)   Other Notables: All who are physically able.

                    ENTRANTS          WEBSITE          GOLF COURSE          AERIAL

Elsewhere…
LET – Scandinavian TPC Hosted by Annika – Vasteras, Sweden
JLPGA – AXA Ladies – Tomakomai, Japan
Futures – Falls Auto Group Classic – London, KY
Nationwide – Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open – Wichita, KS
European Challenge – Lexus Open – Dilling, Norway
European Seniors – Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors – Bad Ragaz, Switzerland

PGA Tour, etc.:  WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

Winner: Vijay Singh   67-66-69-68   270  (beat S. Appleby & L. Westwood by 1)
Site: Firestone Country Club (South course)  -  Akron, Oh
 
    STORY         RESULT         MONEY LIST         STATS         INTERVIEWS
 
 
PGA Tour:  Legends Reno-Tahoe Open

Winner: Parker McLachlin   68-62-66-74   270  (beat B. Davis & J. Rollins by 7)
Site: Montreux Golf & Country Club  -  Reno, NV
 
    STORY         RESULT         MONEY LIST         STATS         INTERVIEWS
 
 
Japan Tour:  Sun Clorella Classic

Winner: Takuya Taniguchi   70-72-74-68   284  (beat H. Tanihara by 1)
Site: Otaru Country Club  -  Otary Japan
 
    STORY         RESULT         MONEY LIST         STATS         INTERVIEWS
 
 
LPGA Tour, etc.:  RICOH Women’s British Open

Winner: Ji-Yai Shin   66-68-70-66   270  (beat Y. Tseng by 3)
Site: Sunningdale Golf Club (Old course)  -  Sunningdale, England
 
    STORY         RESULT         MONEY LIST         STATS         INTERVIEWS
 
 
Champions Tour, etc.:  U.S. Senior Open

Winner: Eduardo Romero   67-69-65-73   274  (beat F. Funk by 4)
Site: The Broadmoor Golf Club (East course)  -  Colorado Springs, CO
 
    STORY         RESULT         MONEY LIST         STATS         INTERVIEWS
 
 
Elsewhere…
Ryan Hietala parred the first hole of sudden to defeat David Branshaw after the pair tied at 265 at the Nationwide Tour’s Cox Classic………Australian Andrew Tampion won for the first time on the European Challenge Tour, his 280 total edging Richard Bland and David Drysdale by one at the Challenge of Ireland in Athlone.

- If The World Ended Now…:  I’d look like a genius, with Yuri Fudoh and Ji-Yai Shin, yesterday’s blog postergirls, now sharing the halfway lead at the Women’s British Open.  The pair have posted matching 66-68 scores, and marched further in lockstep by each recording three birdies, one eagle (both at the par-5 10th) and one bogey during their Friday rounds.  So…can they win?  Though clearly the more accomplished player overall, Fudoh strikes me as being the less likely prospective champion, based largely on a Major championship record that lags a bit behind her knockout JLPGA ledger.  Indeed, she has yet to log a single top-10 finish in 15 career Major starts – though it is perhaps worth noting that her best effort to date was a T11 at last year’s Women’s British Open at St. Andrews.  Shin, on the other hand, is one of the world’s elite young players, a golfer likely more talented than the cadre of young Asian stars that are already making waves on the LPGA Tour.  Because she has thus far toiled primarily on her native KLPGA Tour, Shin is largely an overlooked commodity in the west, but she has already won 19 times back home – at the tender age of 20!  More importantly, she proved herself the equal of the LET’s best last winter in Australia when she lost a sudden death playoff to Karrie Webb at the Australian Women’s Open, and she sounded a loud warning shot in America at the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open, when she rather anonymously finished 6th.  At this point then, winning might better fit Shin’s expectations of herself…though observers of the JLPGA may well scoff at that remark.  And then there is the competition…  Among other world-class players, first-round leader (and seven-time Major champion) Juli Inkster sits only one back after posting a two-under-par 70, 2007 U.S. Women’s Open winner Cristie Kerr is among those grouped two behind, and, perhaps most importantly, world number one Lorena Ochoa is lurking quietly at 137, only three off the pace.  Also worth mentioning are a pair of players tied with Ochoa, Natalie Gulbis and the young Japanese star Ai Miyazato, both of whom have struggled this season but now appear to be playing their best golf.  This event – played at legendary Sunningdale – versus the Tim Finchem Invitational at Firestone?  I guess ABC/ESPN knew exactly what they were doing when they walked away from the PGA Tour…

- A Sure Cure…: …For insomnia!  Watching the first round of Tim Finchem’s beloved WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, it once again struck me that perhaps more than any other facility, the South course at the Firestone Country Club has come to symbolize the evolution of post-World War II golf design.  Created in 1960 when Robert Trent Jones completely rebuilt a fairly nondescript layout that had occupied the property since 1929, the South soon became the flagship of the Trent Jones fleet, its mix of length, narrow fairways and copious bunkering launching it to great fame both as a PGA Tour venue (where it remains a perennial fixture) and in the magazine rankings, where it actually cracked Golf Digest’s top 20 during the mid-1970s (!).  But as Trent’s brawny, not-terribly-interesting stylings fell out of favor, so has the South course; indeed, the layout today manages to crack the top 20 in the state of Ohio, but misses most national Top 100s by a wide margin.  More importantly (at least for our present purposes), it is a tremendously boring layout on which to watch a competitive event.  I mean, seriously, if the 667-yard 16th were 100 yards shorter, there might be some go-for-it-or-not interest there (but it isn’t) and after that, I find it difficult to tell one hole apart from another.  And so far as the event goes…  The quality of the field guarantees a a real measure of prestige for the winner – never a bad thing – but with the Open Championship only just receding in the rearview, and the PGA Championship coming up next week, this otherwise solid event is automatically relegated to also-ran status.  I would suggest moving it back a few weeks (towards where the old World Series of Golf was scheduled) but that might impede upon the climactic drama that is Finchem’s even more beloved FedEx Cup…
 
- At Sunningdale: Doing her best Greg Norman imitation, 48-year-old Juli Inkster took Thursday’s first-round lead at the Women’s British Open with a seven-under-par 65 that included an deuce at the par-4 9th hole.  Inkster, already a Hall-of-Famer and a seven-time Major champion, has certainly earned her stripes, so while recent form (back-to-back MCs before tying for 9th last week in France) don’t suggest greatness this week, she’s certainly climbed the mountain before.  Of greater immediate interest to western readers, however, might be two members of the sixsome that’s tied for 2nd, one stroke back, Japan’s Yuri Fudoh and Korea’s Ji-Yai Shin.  Fudoh, a 31-year-old from Kumamoto City, is a household name in Japan, where she swept JLPGA Player-of-the-Year honors from 2000-05, and has claimed 44 official career victories.  Though perhaps slightly off her peak form of 2003-04, she has won twice this season on her home circuit, and thus cannot in any way be viewed as a fluky interloper here.  The 20-year -old Shin, on the other hand, is old hat to readers of this site, particularly after her strong winter run Down Under against the LET’s top players.  Can she win here?  Considering that she finished 6th at the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst, I’d be inclined to say yes, for it’s only a matter of time before she steps off the Korean tour (where she utterly dominates) and takes her act to Europe and America full-time.  But with 21 players currently clumped within three of the lead, it’s still early…
 
- Avoiding Embarrassment: If nothing else, Michelle Wie avoided making a golfing spectacle of herself on Thursday, carding a one-over-par 73 at the Reno-Tahoe Open, good enough for a fairly solid tie for 77th.  Nobody is going to confuse the field with the WGC event at Firestone, of course, but her score certainly seemed to justify the event’s decision to grant her a sponsor exemption, at least from a golfing standpoint, while also leaving her in position to finally make a 36-hole cut.  The 73 matched former PGA champion Steve Elkington, and beat such live bodies as Alex Cejka (74), Jay Williamson (74), Jeff Maggert (75), Scott McCarron (76), as well as the quasi-living David Duval (78).  But does it justify the decision not  to try the Women’s British Open?  That’s a far, far tougher question…and one which probably won’t be answerable until at least Friday night.

As always, based upon realistic chances of winning, not the bookie's handle...

Lorena Ochoa (Mexico) (7-1) – Ochoa is clearly the world’s best player, and the defending champion, so favorite status is a given here.  However, her form his dipped a bit of late (she’s winless since mid-May) and a T31 at June’s U.S. Women’s Open is by far her lowest finish of 2008.  But who can confidently bet against her?
 
Annika Sorenstam (Sweden (12-1) – Since logging back-to-back victories in late April/early May, Annika has struggled a bit, logging only one top-10 finish in six starts (though that was a T3 at the McDonalds LPGA Championship).  If she’s to be taken at her word, this will be her final Major championship, so motivation should not be an issue.  Tied for 13th when the Open was played here in 2004.
 
Paula Creamer (USA) (14-1) – Such has been the dominance of Lorena Ochoa (and the media appeal of Annika Sorenstam’s impending retirement) that Creamer’s three 2008 victories – a great season most years – seem to generate relatively little buzz.  Still, she’s only missed the top 10 once in her last six starts, and she might be the only entrant as motivated as Annika – because she’s getting20tired of the “best player never to win a Major” tag already.
 
Angela Park (USA) (18-1) – First, is their sounder, more solid swing in women’s golf?  This is yet another of the LPGA’s young warriors, but Park has a real Major championship résumé, having tied for 2nd at last year’s U.S. Women’s Open, and 3rd in this year’s playing, as well as claiming 5th at the ’07 LPGA Championship.  Further, she’s finished among the top 4 in three of her last four starts, including a playoff loss last week in France.  It might well be her time.
 
Suzann Pettersen (Norway) (19-1) – Though twice a winner this year in Europe,  this perennial top-five player has yet to really find 2008 form in America, though she did finish 2nd at June’s Wegman’s LPGA.  For a European, her record at the Open is disappointing (never bettering 24th in six starts, and missing the cut at Sunningdale in 2004) but her game seems somewhat on the upswing, and the overall talent is certainly still there.
 
Na Yeon Choi (Korea) (20-1) – A trendy pick, which is not hard to understand given that s he’s finished  T8, 3rd and T2 (losing last week’s Evian Masters in sudden death) in her last three starts.  This will only be her 5th career Major championship, however, and last week’s loss (wherein she led by four strokes early on the final nine) may well prove deflating.
 
Ji-Yai Shin (Korea) (22-1) – A tough player to handicap because she plays primarily against limited competition on the Korean tour, but this 20-year-old has already proven her mettle in the West by finishing 6th at the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open.  Gave the LET’s best a run in Australia during the winter, and may well be ready to contend here.
 
Yani Tseng (Taiwan) (23-1) – Another trendy pick, and perhaps rightfully so.  This strong, young player had virtually no Major championship experience prior to 2008 but won the McDonald’s LPGA Championship (in sudden death, no less) anyway, and has logged three additional 2nd-place finishes in regular PGA events as well.  An intriguing pick.
 
Helen Alfredsson (Sweden) (27-1) – The 43-year-old Alfredsson might well have been considered yesterday’s news just one month ago, but a 2nd-place finish at June’s U.S. Women’s Open, and a stunning playoff win at last week’s Evian Masters have suddenly vaulted her back into the limelight.  Can she win?  That’s a bold call – but her form certainly suggests she can contend.
 
Cristie Kerr (USA) (30-1) – Though winless in 2008, the 2007 U.S. Open champion has been playing solid golf of late, finishing no worse than 13th in her last five starts.  Also notable are her T5 and  T2 finishes here in 2005 and ’06 – but given her overall level of ’08 play, a victory seems something of a longshot.
 
Jeong Jang (Korea) (32-1) – The 2005 Open champion was running hot back in May (three straight top-three finishes) but has cooled a bit of late, save for a T3 in Rochester in late June.  As always, a threat to crack the top 10 and make a bit of noise, but her reputation for not winning in proportion to her generally high level of play does have some validity.
 
Karrie Webb (Australia) (35-1) – This Hall-of-Fame member has really experienced an up and down season, with four top-five finishes…and numerous lesser ones.  She won this event in 2002 and tied for 3rd the next year, but her overall recent form makes Webb a dicey proposition if you’re betting her to win.
 
Maria Hjorth (Sweden) (45-1) – This long-hitting Swede has had something of an up-and-down season, but the ups include a solo 4th at the Kraft Nabisco and a playoff loss to Yani Tseng at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship.  Hasn’t made much noise in her last three starts, however, so really something of a longshot this week.
 
Karen Stupples (England) (50-1) – Something of a longshot to be sure, but Stupples 2008 performance must be judged in the context of having missed most of 2007 giving birth.  Not a popular pick in most quarters, but having won the 2004 Open at Sunningdale – with a record-tying 19-under-par total, no less – she cannot completely be ignored.
 
Morgan Pressel (USA) (55-1) – I’ve been riding this hunch since the Kraft Nabisco, but Pressel continues to struggle – though at least she hasn’t missed a cut since mid-May.  The 2007 Kraft Nabisco winner did manage a tie for 6th at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship…but I’m still just playing a hunch.