Golf

The women tee it up

By Dave Scheiber and Rodney Page, Times Staff Writers
Published February 14, 2008

Brittany Lincicome has high hopes of picking up where she left off last year on the LPGA Tour.

She won the Ginn Open in April, coming from four strokes back on the last day, surpassed $1-million in career earnings with $871,384 in 2007 to rank 13th, enjoyed four top-10 finishes and was one of four rookies on the triumphant U.S. Solheim Cup team. We caught up with the 22-year-old Seminole resident on the eve of a new season to get her thoughts heading into the 2008 campaign.

Talk about Lorena Ochoa - can anybody beat her?

She's a phenomenal lady on and off the golf course. She is a total sweetheart and her game, oh, my gosh. Two years ago she mentioned wanting to be the best in the world and she went out and did it. It was phenomenal. She does it for her country (Mexico) and everyone there loves her. You should see how many people come to the tournaments from her country. It'll be fun to see if anybody can beat her. It'll be hard to do, that's for sure. To do it one year and come back and do it again is a challenge. But she's working her butt off, I can guarantee that.

What are your thoughts on Annika Sorenstam, coming off a back injury?

Yeah, that injury really took a lot out of her, which was unfortunate. Because you could tell she wants to be the best, and she obviously has been the best for so long. I talked to her a little a few weeks ago and she's trying to get better and get healthy and practice. Hopefully she'll have another good year and keep playing. There's always talk about retirement, so if she doesn't have a good year, she might be retiring. That would be unfortunate. She's getting married, so maybe kids are on her mind.

How about yourself, what are your goals?

I just want to win a major. That's definitely on top of my list. Winning a bunch of tournaments would be nice, too. I'd like to finish in the top 10 on the money list.

Did you learn any lessons from last season that will help this season?

Yeah, I played six weeks in a row, and I think it just took a lot out of me, mentally and physically and being on the road so long. You definitely live and learn, and obviously I can't play that many in a row.

How about the state of the tour?

It's going in a completely different direction than it has in the past. There are a lot of younger girls out there. We're dressing better. We wear more makeup - the whole sex-appeal thing is going to sell. It's not like we do it in a trashy way. It's very tasteful. I think every girl out there is beautiful. It's very good. And I think the tour is going in a great direction."

LPGA opener

The SBS Open at Turtle Bay is a $1.1-million event, with $165,000 to the winner. ... The Arnold Palmer course in Kahuku, Hawaii, is 6,582 yards and a par 72. ... Paula Creamer holed a long birdie putt on 17 to beat Julieta Granada by a stroke last year. ... Michelle Wie will open the season next week in the Fields Open at Ko Olina. ... Annika Sorenstam is making her first appearance in the event, while top-ranked Lorena Ochoa is taking the week off. Creamer, Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr, Morgan Pressel, Natalie Gulbis, Brittany Lincicome and Pat Hurst also are in the field.

LPGA by the numbers

$4,364,994

2007 earnings of Lorena Ochoa, the highest single-season total in LPGA history.

$532,718

Earned by Annika Sorenstam last season, her lowest total since 1994, her rookie year.

124/26

Foreign players/countries represented in 2008.

35

Events on tour in 2008, up from 30 last year.

4

Cuts missed by Ochoa out of 124 events since her rookie season in 2003. She didn't miss a cut in 2006 or 2007.

Schedule

Feb. 14-16 - SBS Open at Turtle Bay, Turtle Bay Resort, Kahuku, Hawaii

Feb. 21-23 - Fields Open in Hawaii, Ko Olina Resort, Honolulu

Feb. 28-March 2 - HSBC Women's Championship, Tanah Merah CC, Singapore

March 14-16 - MasterCard Classic, Bosque Real Country Club, Mexico City

March 27-30 - Safeway International, Superstition Mountain Golf and CC (Prospector Course), Superstition Mountain, Ariz.

April 3-6 - Kraft Nabisco Championship, Mission Hills CC (Dinah Shore Tournament Course), Rancho Mirage, Calif.

April 10-13 - Corona Championship, Tres Marias Residential CC, Morelia, Mexico

April 17-20 - Ginn Open, Reunion Resort & Club, Reunion

April 24-27 - Stanford International Pro-Am, Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club, Aventura

May 1-4 - SemGroup Championship, Cedar Ridge CC, Broken Arrow, Okla.

May 8-11 - Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill, Kingsmill Resort & Spa (River Course), Kingsmill, Va.

May 15-18 - Sybase Classic, Upper Montcalir CC, Clifton, N.J.

May 22-25 - LPGA Corning Classic, Corning CC, Corning, N.Y.

May 29-June 1 - Ginn Tribute, RiverTowne CC, Charleston, S.C.

June 5-8 - LPGA Championship, Bulle Rock GC, Havre de Grace, Md.

June 19-22 - Wegmans LPGA, Locust Hill CC, Pittsford, N.Y.

June 26-29 - U.S. Women's Open, Interlachen CC, Edina, Minn.

July 4-5 - NW Arkansas Championship, Pinnacle Country Club, Rogers, Ark.

July 10-13 - Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic, Highland Meadows GC, Sylvania, Ohio

July 17-20 - LPGA State Farm Classic, Panther Creek CC, Springfield, Ill.

July 24-27 - Evian Masters, Evian Masters GC, Evian-les-Bains, France

July 31-Aug. 3 - Women's British Open, Sunningdale GC, Berkshire, England

Aug. 14-17 - CN Canadian Women's Open, Ottawa Hunt and GC, Ontario

Aug. 22-24 - Safeway Classic, Columbia Edgewater CC, Portland, Ore.

Sept. 11-14 - Bell Micro LPGA Classic, Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (Magnolia Grove Golf Course), Mobile, Ala.

Sept. 25-28 - Navistar LPGA Classic, Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (Capitol Hill-The Senator), Prattville, Ala.

Oct. 2-5 - Samsung World Championship, Half Moon Bay Golf Links, Half Moon Bay, Calif.

Oct. 9-12 - Longs Drugs Challenge, Blackhawk CC, Danville, Calif.

Oct. 16-19 - Kapalua LPGA Classic, Bay Course at Kapalua Resort, Maui, Hawaii

Oct. 31-Nov. 2 - Korea Championship, South Korea

Nov. 7-9 - Mizuno Classic, Kashikojima CC, Mie, Japan

Nov. 13-16 - Lorena Ochoa Invitational, Guadalajara CC, Guadalajara, Mexico

Nov. 20-23 - ADT Championship, Trump International GC, West Palm Beach

x-Dec. 20-21 - Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge, Lake Las Vegas Resort, Henderson, Nev.

x-unofficial

Rookies to watch

Momoko Ueda: A member of the Japan LPGA last year, Ueda, 21, won the Mizuno Classic, an LPGA event. She also won four times on the JLPGA and finished first on its money list. How does she feel about earning her 2008 LPGA Tour card? "This is just the beginning."

Sandra Gal: Gal (pronounced Gahl) is from Germany but played at Florida. She won four collegiate tournaments at UF and skipped her final semester to turn pro. How does she feel about earning her 2008 LPGA Tour card? "Super-duper excited!"

Yani Tseng: She is only 17 (from Taiwan), but she can drive it as far as anyone on tour. Could have fans forgetting about Michelle Wie. How does she feel about earning her 2008 LPGA Tour card? "I'm the happiest person in the world."
Veterans to watch

Lorena Ochoa, 26: Catch her if you can. Ochoa won four of her last eight tournaments.

Annika Sorenstam, 37: Last season was injury plagued, so it will be interesting to see if she can regain her form.

Paula Creamer, 21: Won the 2007 season-opening SBC Open in Hawaii and the Tournament of Champions in November, with 13 top-10 finishes in 24 events and just two missed cuts. Could this be the year she wins her first major?

Majors

Kraft Nabisco Championship - April 3-6, Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, Calif. Defending champion: Morgan Pressel

LPGA Championship - June 5-8, Bulle Rock Golf Course, Havre de Grace, Md. Defending champion: Suzann Pettersen

U.S. Women's Open - June 26-29, Interlachen Country Club, Edina, Minn. Defending champion: Cristie Kerr

Women's British Open - July 31-Aug. 3, Sunningdale Golf Club, Berkshire, England. Defending champion: Lorena Ochoa

LPGA in Florida

Ginn Open - April 17-20, Ginn Reunion Resort, Reunion

Stanford International Pro-Am - April 24-27, Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort and Club, Aventura

ADTChampionship - Nov. 20-23, Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach

[Last modified February 13, 2008, 21:21:05]