Women’s Professional Golf Is Taking a Youthful Course

The future of women’s golf has arrived, braces and all.

Of the 156 players who will begin play here today in the U.S. Women’s Open, 14 -- almost 9% -- have yet to celebrate their 20th birthday.

Ten haven’t started college, two of those haven’t begun high school, seven can’t go to an R-rated movie without adult supervision and two wear braces.

There are so many youngsters whacking balls on the driving range at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, just outside of Portland, that it might be easy to confuse the most prestigious women’s tournament in the world with a junior tournament.

By now, most who follow golf are familiar with 13-year-old Michelle Wie, who won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links championship two weeks ago and played in the final group of the Nabisco Championship -- one of the LPGA Tour’s four major championships -- in April.

But there are so many of Wie’s peers here this week, it’s clear that Wie isn’t so much a prodigy as she is a sign of the times in girls’ golf.

“It does surprise me,” said Annika Sorenstam, the No. 1 women’s player in the world. “But I think it would tell everyone that women’s golf is strong and that there are a lot of good players out there. Even at a young age, they’re that good to be able to play in the Open.”

The U.S. Women’s Open differs from a regular LPGA Tour event because anyone can try to qualify as long as they have an established golf handicap of no more than 4.4. For this year’s U.S. Open, there were 66 players exempt, meaning they met certain requirements and did not have to qualify.

Everyone else, including 13 of the teenagers playing this week, went through a grueling qualifying process. LPGA Tour rookie Christina Kim, 19, was exempt because of her position on the current LPGA season money list.

Bobby Lasken, a golf instructor at Westridge Golf Course in La Habra, works with several top junior players. He is serving as caddie this week for Alice Kim, 18, of Los Angeles, one of his students.

“It’s the new breed,” Lasken said of the influx of young players at the Open this year. “The changing of the guard is starting to happen. Look at all their swings. They all look somewhat similar. These kids are getting to it earlier and then they’re set.”

Fueled by Title IX gender-equity requirements, NCAA Division I women’s golf has nearly doubled in size since 1986, from 102 teams with 894 players to 197 teams with 1,734 players. The lure of college scholarships and the tremendous popularity of Tiger Woods and Se Ri Pak have combined to inspire a new generation of golf-obsessed range rats.

Two years ago, Morgan Pressel attracted quite a bit of attention when she qualified as a 12-year-old, the youngest ever. Seven other players under 20 qualified that year, but they all were either in college or about to start college.

The USGA doesn’t keep records on ages, but veteran USGA officials can’t remember this many teens in a U.S. Open, especially so many pre-college teens.

Seven-time LPGA Tour event winner Michelle McGann and LPGA legend Jan Stephenson were among the dozens of established professional players who tried and failed to qualify. Of the 929 who attempted to qualify, 90 made it.

It’s not clear whether that means the teens are that much better or that the talent among professional women golfers is thin. Since 1998, Pak, Sorenstam, Karrie Webb and Juli Inkster have combined to win 17 of the last 22 major championships. Pak, a South Korean, emerged as a top player by winning the U.S. Open and LPGA Championship as a rookie in 1998. That inspired a slew of Korean girls. Nine of the teenagers playing this week are of Korean descent.

“Once Se Ri started to hit the scene and become a little more popular, that’s when a lot of the Korean girls started to pick it up,” said Alice Kim, American-born but with Korean parents. “That was the big rush for Asian girls.”

Because only four major players have dominated women’s golf over the last five years, there is a perceived lack of depth that has given the teenagers hope this week at the Open. They aren’t intimidated, nor are they afraid to talk about it.

“I want to make top 20; that’s my goal,” said Paula Creamer, 16, the top-ranked girl in the nation. “I’m not just here to be here.”

Wie has been getting most of the attention, but Creamer has won six of the nine national junior tournaments she has played this year and made the cut in two LPGA Tour events. She said the junior circuit is loaded with girls just as good as Wie and hopes the U.S. Open will give them the opportunity to prove it.

“Michelle is just another junior golfer,” she said. “I don’t see her as anything beyond me. I’ve played against her twice and beaten her both times.”

Among those who could break out this week is Sydney Burlison, 13, of Salinas, Calif. She is a two-time runner-up in the California Women’s Amateur championship and has been playing golf for only three years. Nine days younger than Wie, she is the youngest player in the field.

Aree Song made headlines when she played in the final group of the 2000 Nabisco Championship at 13. She has since undergone a name change -- she was Aree Song Wongluekiet -- and, at 17, is an elder statesman among her peers. Aree and twin Naree both qualified this year.

Pressel, who played as a 13-year-old in 2001, is back for her second Open. She missed the cut the last time, but her ability to qualify inspired more girls to try.

“Once you have a few youngsters in the field, the other youngsters in the field see that,” said Kendra Graham, director of rules and competitions for the U.S. Women’s Open. “Then they say, ‘Well, I want to give that a try next year.’ I think we saw that trickle-down effect this year.”

Chasing the dream of success in golf, however, has its pitfalls. The time required to reach the upper echelon requires a great deal of devotion. Five-hour practice days after school are not uncommon, and summer practice sessions last even longer. Creamer said she will have played 30 tournaments by the end of the year.

Wie will have played six LPGA tournaments on sponsor exemptions and men’s events on the Nationwide and Canadian tours. In addition, she has played the U.S. Women’s Public Links, the U.S. Women’s Open and will play the U.S. Girls’ Championship.

Webb, a two-time U.S. Women’s Open champion, worries about the long-term effects of trying to do too much too soon.

“I feel a little sad for [Wie] in many ways,” Webb said. “I just hope she’s doing what she’s doing right now because she wants to. I hope she doesn’t get to a time in her life, like Jennifer Capriati, where she doesn’t want to do it anymore, because that would be a shame.”

Wie has a simple answer to her critics. “How do they know?” Wie said. “I mean, they’re not 13. They’re probably 30 years old watching TV, watching me play. I’m still young and fresh and I can handle it.”

The LPGA Tour has an age restriction that prevents players under 18 from gaining membership. Girls can use a maximum of six sponsor exemptions and would have to qualify for any other tournaments.

Rob Neal, the LPGA vice president of business affairs, said there have been no discussions about removing the age restriction.

“We want to be receptive to these girls as they go through this process,” Neal said. “We want them to feel that the LPGA is a welcoming environment for them and a place for them to come do some special things. And when they are ready to turn professional, we’ll be there for them.”