LPGA Masters

Last weekend I watched the LPGA tournament in Thailand, with Lexi Thompson winning in a walkaway. I still can’t get over the popularity of golf all over the world, in places like India, Chile, South Korea, and Siam. Anna and the king simply didn’t live in a world even remotely like today’s world. About the only places where golf isn’t now a popular pastime are the nations of Africa (South Africa excepted), and, of course, North Korea. I wonder if Greece has any courses. With golf in the upcoming Olympics, it would be appropriate to have a nice layout in Athens.

But back to Lexi and the Thailand Honda Classic. Lexi Thompson is so much fun to watch. She’s athletic, beautiful, and so charmingly unassuming. She was playing in the final round with South Korea’s Amy Yang, another lovely lady. Talk about a contrast in style. Amy has the most fluid, gorgeous swing of almost anyone, male or female. Then there’s Lexi, who simply smashes the ball, up on both toes at impact, and then does that strange follow-through where it looks like she’s going to fall down, a little like the old Arnold Palmer finish where he nearly screws himself into the ground. I swear, now that Tiger is no longer playing, I’m enjoying watching the ladies on tour almost more than the men.

Which brings a question to mind: Why not an LPGA Masters? Would the old Augustan curmudgeons agree to let women desecrate their hallowed halls of ivy? Probably not, even though they love to point to their token black female member, Condoleezza Rice. Which five would be so lucky to stay in the Crow's Nest? Might the winners be donned in pink jackets instead of green?

What would they feel as they crossed Hogan's Bridge on the way to the twelfth green? What stories might they create, like Jack's 1986 win, or Freddie Couples' lucky hangup on the edge of Rae's Creek at twelve, or Tiger's 12-stroke margin in 1997? I'd love to be a witness to their stories. And I’ll bet CBS would get whopping viewer numbers for such an event. How interesting it would be to see how the ladies handled Amen Corner, how they coped with those triple-tricky greens, How they figured the winds on that scary tee-shot on 12, how they’d play the par-5’s, especially those on the back nine. I think Lexi, Michelle Wie, Brittany Lincicome, and other long hitters would probably go for 13 and 15 in two. It’s no longer as it was when Nancy Lopez was the standard in women’s golf. These modern bombers are averaging off the tee between seventy and ninety yards more than Nancy (Nancy – 202.5, Lexi – 290.5). That’s a huge difference. C'mon, Augusta, go for it. I and millions of others would be watching.

This week they’re playing in Singapore, with a field that includes Lydia Ko, Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis, Michelle Wie, Yani Tseng, Suzanne Pettersen, Shanshan Feng and Xi Yu Lin from China, and the two youngsters Brooke Henderson from Canada and Charlie Hull from England. And I’ll be watching.