LPGA NWA Championship Report
Posted on Friday, July 4, 2008
Tulsa pro feeling at home Stacy Prammanasudh knows she won’t be the fan favorite at the Northwest Arkansas Championship because former Arkansas Lady Razorbacks star Stacy Lewis will have that sewn up.
Still, Prammanasudh should have her share of fans who make the trek from Oklahoma. Prammanasudh, of Enid, Okla., played at Tulsa before graduating in 2002.
“Let’s hope,” Prammanasudh said of having a nice following. “I’m somewhat local, but not as much as [Lewis ] is because she went to school here. My family will be here.” Prammanasudh has won twice on the LPGA Tour, most recently in 2007 in a tournament in Hawaii. She arrived in Northwest Arkansas on Wednesday after enjoying an extra couple of days at home.
It’s a luxury that only one other tournament provides Prammanasudh. The SemGroup Championship was held in Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa, in early May.
“It’s really great,” Prammanasudh said. “I get to stay in my own bed for a couple more nights than a normal tournament week. I love it. I love to have all the fans out.” In a perfect world, the Northwest Arkansas tournament would be held the week after the Broken Arrow event. The LPGA schedule didn’t allow that, although it was an attractive idea for the tour because having consecutive trips in one region would be great for the pros in regard to travel. “That would be nice,” Prammanasudh said. “Unfortunately, that’s not the way things work.” Hey rook ! Three tour youngsters were in the spotlight, literally, at this week’s tournament. Players officially in their first year on the LPGA Tour are required to attend Rookie Hours, which can include everything from communication skills to riding around the course with a rules official to observe the pace of play and the players’ reaction to the galleries during a round in which rookies are not playing. Exempt rookies are required to complete 16 hours of Rookie Hours training per year, eight hours for nonexempt players. Three Koreans — exempt Su A Kim, Jin Joo Hong and non-exempt Eunjung Yi — experienced a simulated news conference in the interview room at Pinnacle. Ashley Cushman, the tour’s communications coordinator, moderated like she would for any player in contention for a tournament title, welcoming the player and seeking comments about her round of golf.
“We’ve got a pretty good staff out here that’s helping them adjust,” LPGA senior vice president Mindy Moore said, referring to the liaisons who speak Korean with so many Asian players joining the tour annually.
The LPGA has a private consultant, Shirley Shin, and the tour’s manager of international development and member services, Sean Pyun, who help Korean players adapt.
The tour also has its share of newcomers who are American as well, though Moore said they have the advantage on getting a headstart.
“I think through the junior programs in place now and the NCAA, when a lot of them come through here now they’re ready,” Moore said.
The three Koreans all appeared nervous commenting amid the bright lights of the interview area, and Hong chose to speak Korean as she answered a few mock questions from Cushman and a reporter.
But they grew more comfortable speaking about themselves, with Hong mentioning how much slower the pace of play is back home in Korea and Yi saying she hadn’t done much sightseeing in Northwest Arkansas, basically splitting time between the house she’s staying at and the golf course. Cushman pointed out to all the players to follow the pattern set by world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa of Mexico. Ochoa makes it a point to greet everyone at her news conferences before making any other comments.
In the pink Paula Creamer felt right at home with her pro-am partners Thursday. Creamer often wears the color pink, has Pink Panther covers for her woods and plays with a pink ball during the final rounds of tournaments. She was understandably pleased when her four partners showed up wearing pink — or at least pinkish — shirts. She, of course, was dressed in pink as well. After all, she’s not nicknamed “Pink Panther” because she wears mauve. “It was great,” Creamer said. “To step on the first tee and have your team out there in pink, it’s wonderful. It’s wonderful to come to a place that you feel so welcome.”
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