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Three weeks ago, Justin Rose had a breakthrough maiden victory at The Memorial tournament in Ohio. It was a breakthrough because at long last, the “can’t miss”, 29 year old Englishman, didn’t. Miss that is.

Rose has been on golf’s stage for almost 12 years now since he dazzled everyone as a 17 year old amateur at the British Open.

Following that performance, Rose turned pro, and almost immediately lost his game. For the next two years he missed the cut in each event that he played in and seemed destined to become a member of the “whatever happened to?” group that litters golf’s history.

Golf can be such a fickle pursuit. It will grant you, your every wish, and then take those wishes away.

In his early 20’s, Rose would slowly find his game again and become a multiple winner on the European Tour. 2002 saw Rose win three events and the ship had been firmly righted. In the fall of that year, Rose’s father, Ken, passed away. Ken had been Justin’s greatest friend and supporter and his sudden death left his son, devastated.

Life. The higher the heights, the harder the fall.

In 2007, Rose was the leading money winner on the European Tour and won the “Order of Merit”. The following year, Rose decided to play the PGA Tour full time and most everyone thought that he would win immediately and often.

He didn’t.

Rose became a player that could play the first 3 rounds of a tournament very well, only to falter on Sundays. There is a word that goes with that and no-one wants to say it or hear it, but you know what it is.

For three years, Rose would have several Top 10 finishes but that first victory proved elusive. The longer that he went without winning, the more the pressure mounted…..to win.

Golf can be a brutal taskmaster. It will test every ounce of your patience and perseverance.

Finally, Rose broke through at The Memorial in June and it was generally agreed that it would now be all systems go, for the affable young Englishman.

Two weeks later, Rose took a four shot lead into the final round of the Traveler’s Championship. Rose played a very steady front 9 on Sunday and increased his lead to 5 shots. Surely he would now coast to back-to-back wins. I mean, Rose had learned to win and this was now a formality, right?

Wrong.

In a painful to watch, 2 hours, Rose would completely disintegrate and end up dropping all the way to a tie for ninth.

Just when you think you have it all figured out…..

This last weekend at the AT & T National Championship at storied, Aronomink Golf Club in Pennsylvania, Rose once again played magnificent golf for the first 3 rounds and was the over-night leader heading into Sunday’s round.

Rose admitted in an interview that he was haunted by his capitulation the week before at The Traveler’s. In admitting to those thoughts, surely he would be destined to repeat them, wouldn’t he?

No.

Playing one of the most demanding golf courses on Tour, Rose played a superb front 9 on Sunday, shooting a 2-under par, 33. He then began his back 9, with back to back bogeys. And the wheels appeared ready to spin right off their axels.

But they didn’t.

Rose was flawless in his last seven holes. He played perfect, intelligent and brave golf on a golf course that punishes even the smallest mistake. Rose’s victory now gives him two PGA Tour wins in his last three starts. Pretty impressive for someone that “couldn’t win”.

And once again this grand pursuit correlates Life in so many ways. Take nothing for granted. Remember all the old axioms. Live each day as if it were your last. Savor each beautiful sacred moment ‘cause we know not when they come again, and never let adversity overcome your will.

With her incredible 12 shot victory at the LPGA Championship yesterday, Cristie Kerr became the #1 ranked women’s golfer in the world.  Kerr is the first American to be ranked #1 since those rankings began in 2006.

With Kerr’s ascension to the top position, that will make her the third player in the last three weeks who has held the ranking.

Jihai Shin from South Korea, was replaced two weeks ago by Japanese star, Ai Miyazato, who in turn was ousted by Kerr.

Since the world rankings were introduced, only 5 players have held the top spot. Annika Sorenstam was the inaugural #1 and she held that position for 60 weeks until being overtaken by the now-retired Lorena Ochoa who would be #1 for 158 weeks before Shin took over for seven weeks.

The LPGA Tour now perhaps, more than ever, needs a superstar. There are as many as 12 players who have the ability to take over that mantle; who will it be?

It is perhaps the most spectacular golf course in America and Golf’s most glorious union of Earth and Ocean anywhere in the world.

This week, Pebble Beach plays host to the 2010 US Open Championship. It will be the fifth time in the storied history of Pebble Beach that it plays host to the USGA’s marquee event. Each of the previous four Opens there provided memorable theater that stays with us today.

1972 was the first year that Pebble Beach hosted the US Open and was appropriately won by Jack Nicklaus. Nicklaus was in the prime of his career and he has often referred to Pebble as his favorite golf course. A tough combination to beat. He didn’t disappoint and won his third Open by two shots in brutal conditions.

In 1982, Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus were locked in a two man battle until Watson holed one of the most famous chip shots in history. After hitting his tee shot on the 17th hole a little too far long and left, Watson chipped in from an impossible lie in the rough for a birdie that secured his victory.

In 1992, Tom Kite won his first and only Major Championship on these links in the most difficult conditions imaginable. With winds gusting at 40 mph, the greatest players in the world were made to look like rank beginners. The average score in the final round was a colossal 77.3, but Kite survived by shooting a final round even par, 72, that gave him a two shot victory over Jeff Sluman.

The 2000 US Open, gave us one of the most dominant and spell-binding performances ever in a Major Championship. Tiger Woods won by a staggering 15 shots over Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez. Woods so decimated the rest of the field that it seemed as though there were two separate events being played. One by Woods and the other by everybody else. It was complete mastery.

Pebble Beach is not the greatest golf course in the world. In fact there are many purists who would say that is only the third best course on the Monterrey Peninsula after Cyprus Point and Spyglass. It has some very ‘ordinary’ holes. The par 5, 2nd hole is a benign, straightway hole, the likes of which can be routinely found on any municipal facility. Same can be said of the par 4, 3rd hole and the stretch of holes from 12 to 16.

The “teeth” of Pebble happens from the 7th to the 10th holes. If a player comes through this terrifying stretch in even par, they have made up two shots on the field. Navigate these four holes safely and you will have a good round.

There are a great many birdie opportunities at Pebble Beach, more so perhaps than any other US Open venue. Holes 1-4, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 18 are all legitimate scoring opportunities, so why have two of the highest 3 scoring averages in US Open history (1972 and 1982) happened at Pebble?

Wind.
Rough.
Fast greens.

If you play Pebble Beach on a still and calm day, chances are that you will post a very good score but those days are few and far between.

The course was designed to be played in the wind (like some of the classic Scottish links courses) so it is short in terms of distance. From the back tees it only measures 7,040 yards which is very short in modern day golf.

The best example of this is the par 3, 7th, which may be the best short par-3 in the world. You stand on an elevated tee box some 40 yards above the green below with the Pacific Ocean on your horizon. The hole is 125 yards at its longest and more routinely played from 106 yards. Depending on the ferocity and direction of the wind, the choice of club ranges from a Sand Wedge to a 3 iron. On the windiest of days, players have been known to deliberately, “lay-up” with a three iron into the front bunker and this hole is just over one hundred yards long.

The key to playing Pebble well is to always leave yourself uphill putts. Often times a 30 foot uphill putt will be easier than a downhill 3 footer. Most of the greens descend in elevation from back to front. Being “above” the hole is to be avoided at all costs, especially in US Open conditions where the USGA always has green speeds at their most precipitous. When you combine those factors with the Poa Annua greens (because Poa grows at irregular directions it can make a putt that looks like it will break 4 inches from right to left go the entire opposite direction) you have created a recipe for serious combustion.

Each of the first four winners of the US Open at Pebble Beach are members of the World Golf Hall of Fame. It is no coincidence that the cream has always risen to the top at this most magnificent of venues.

Who will it be in 2010?

2010 is turning into a great year for Golf. Young stars are emerging and established young stars are further cementing their place as players to be reckoned with at every event that they play in.

Using your “crystal ball”, who in your opinion will have the most victories at the end of their career from the following list?

ANTHONY KIM. Already a 3-time PGA Tour winner, Kim was having a superb year with several top finishes before having wrist surgery three weeks ago. He is expected to be sidelined for the next two months.

JUSTIN ROSE. Now 29, Rose first burst on to the scene at the 1998 British Open as a 17 year old phenom, recording a fourth place finish in that event. A multiple winner on The European Tour (including being the leading money winner in 2007), Rose won his first PGA Tour event, at last weeks Memorial tournament.

CAMILLO VILLEGAS.  27 year old Columbian heart-throb, Villegas is a three time Tour winner and is in the Top Ten on the money list for 2010. Villegas has developed a large fan base (which includes a great many women!) but definitely has the talent to back up the movie star good looks.

RORY McLLROY. 21 year old McLlroy won his maiden US victory a few weeks ago at the Quail Hollow Championship. The prodigiously talented Irishman is perhaps Europe’s brightest young star. We have been recording this remarkable young man’s rise to prominence for the last 3 years, and he is only going to get better.

RICKY FOWLER. Another 21 year old who has yet to seal his first victory but whose time is certainly to come. Twice a runner-up already this year and 12th on the money list, Fowler plays with flair and abandon and is in many eyes, the most talented of the young US players.

ADAM SCOTT. It’s easy to forget that Scott is only 29 years old because he has been a professional for 11 years, and so much has been expected of the sweet swinging Aussie. After struggling for the last two years, he had a comeback win last month at the Valero Texas Open to record his seventh PGA tour win, giving him the most of all the ‘twenty-somethings’.

RYO ISHIKAWA. We have already documented the brilliant young Japanese star in a previous blog, but Ishikawa is all of 18 years old and is already a 7-time winner in Asia. His latest victory came when he shot a closing round 58, to win on the Japanese Tour earlier in the year.

DUSTIN JOHNSON. Very quietly, the long-hitting Johnson has already won three times on the PGA Tour. At 26, and in his third full year on tour, many think that the unassuming South Carolinian is America’s best young player.

SEAN O’HAIR. At 28, O’Hair is also a three time Tour winner. After turning professional at 17, and having overcome many adversities in his young life (including an overbearing father and ‘losing’ his swing for a number of years), O’Hair has refined his swing and is becoming a “Tom Kite” kind of player, consistently playing well.

HUNTER MAYHAN. The 28 year old Mahan has a game with few weaknesses. He has twice been a member of the US team for the President’s Cup and also played on the US’s victorious Ryder Cup team at Valhalla. Mahan has won twice on the PGA Tour and this  steady young player has finished in the Top 30 on the money list in each of his first full four years on Tour.

On the same weekend, two extraordinary young professionals, in two different continents were making history.

Northern Ireland’s, Rory McLlroy distanced himself from a star studded field at the Quail Hollow Championship to win by four shots. This is McLlroy’s first win on the PGA Tour and it will be the first of many.

20 year old McLlroy has been on golf’s stage since he was 12 years old, first garnering international acclaim as a 15 year old by shooting 61 at Royal Portrush Golf Club. By the time he was 16 years old he was the #1 ranked Amateur player in the world. By 17, he was in third place at the British Open after the first round.

McLlroy turned professional immediately after that British Open and then earned his European Tour card as a non-exempt player in the final four months of that season.  He would finish 2007, 95th. on the European Tour Order of Merit which was highlighted by a 3rd place finish at the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

His breakthrough victory on the European Tour came in February 2009 when he won the Dubai Desert Classic.

McLlroy barely made the 36-hole cut at Quail Hollow before his virtuoso performance over the weekend. Quail Hollow is a very difficult golf course. The curly haired Irishman shot 66 on Saturday and a course record 62 on Sunday to beat Phil Mickelson by four shots. The 42 foot putt that he made on the last hole put an exclamation mark on day in which he recorded an amazing, 13 3’s on his scorecard.

By all accounts, this young man has his head firmly on his shoulders. He is polite and respectful of the veteran players, stays calm when things aren’t going his way and is fast becoming a crowd favorite.

Meanwhile in Asia, there was another young superstar being equally phenomenal. Ryo Ishikawa shot a final round 58 to win The Crowns tournament on the Japan Tour. It is the first time in history that a player has shot a competitive round of 58 on a major Tour.

Ryo Ishikawa won his first event while still an amateur at the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup at the age 15 years and 8 months.

Today, Ishikawa is 18 years old and has already been a professional for 2 years. By 2008, he became the youngest player in history to be ranked in the Top 100 Official Golf Rankings.

In 2009, Ishikawa was one of the 12 players representing the International team, in the Presidents Cup at Harding Park. Ishikawa was the leading money winner on the 2009 Japan Tour and this latest win gives him 7 career victories.

The future of golf looks very bright indeed.

Lorena Ochoa’s retirement from competitive golf at the age of 28, has shocked the golf world.

Lorena Ochoa is so completely different from today’s modern athlete. She is genuinely nice, rather than being nice to people that she needs to be nice to. Instead of saying the “right” things (see; politically correct) she actually lives and behaves just as you see her. When giving an interview she looks the interviewer in the eye and when signing an autograph she engages with the person she is signing for.

Ochoa burst into our consciousness as a two-time NCAA Player of the Year at the University of Arizona ten years ago. After turning professional in 2002, her rise to top of women’s professional golf was meteoritic. Over the next eight years, Ochoa won 27 LPGA Tour titles including two Major Championships. She won four, Rolex Player of the Year titles and four Vare trophies (the lowest scoring average over the course of a year).

After taking over the #1 player in the world ranking from Annika Sorenstam on April 23, 2007, Ochoa would maintain that top ranking for 157 consecutive weeks, until today.  Throughout her career, she played the greatest game, with grace, dignity and humility.

Ochoa also dazzled us with a brilliant smile, a sincere warmth and a spirit that would light up any room. She always said that family was the most important thing in her life and that she would one day retire. For once, you can actually believe what you are hearing.

Ochoa married Andres Conesa in December of 2009. Conesa is the father of three children and the couple plan to have more children together.

In a tournament in Thailand in February of this year, Ochoa knew that the time had come for her to retire. In her words: “It was clear to see that I didn’t want to be out there. I was thinking of other things. I wanted to get home. I wanted to start working on the foundation (she is actively involved with several charitable foundations). I wanted to he here (Mexico) close to my family”.

In her retirement announcement, Ochoa went on to say: “I’m simply making the decision today because this is the right time. This is the perfect time. I’ve always said that I wanted to leave at No. 1. I’m really happy. I’ve never been this happy. I’m ready to lead my life in a different way.”

You can believe every word that she says.

We have not seen the last of this remarkable young lady for she will surely continue to shine her dazzling light in everything that she becomes devoted to.

First amongst those will always be her family for which she should be celebrated but we imagine that hers will turn out to be a life filled with glorious accomplishments. Most of which will have been for the human race rather than the race for #1.

Traci Aldridge is one of the most beautiful human beings I have ever known and this is her story.

Traci had her first kidney transplant 13 years ago. After the transplant she wanted to ‘give back’ so became a nurse whose specialty was post-op care for transplant patients. In that role she met Lynn Spradley who was battling for her life at University Hospital in Denver. Traci became very close to Lynn in the year that she was in hospital. Lynn almost died three times in that year and her surgeons gave her little hope of making it through her ordeal. Traci would sit with her three days a week giving her love, compassion and hope. With hope, came a miracle. Lynn not only lived but today enjoys a wonderful, healthy and happy life.

Not long after Lynn was released from the hospital, Traci found out that she would need another kidney transplant. Traci had her second transplant and made a full recovery.

In January of 2009, Traci had to have re-constructive knee surgery because of the medications that she needed to take to maintain her second kidney. This surgery which was extremely arduous, stimulated her immune system and she started to reject her kidney. Despite another difficult month of treatment she was told that she would require a third kidney transplant.

While undergoing evaluation and testing for the potential third transplant with her Doctor in October, he found a lump in her breast. Traci had breast cancer. Surgeons removed the cancerous breast followed by a reconstructive surgery. By this time the need for her third kidney became much more urgent.

In November this incredible lady came to our Invitational tournament at WHP, just to be a part of the event and relax for a few days.  A tonic for her if you will. In all the years that I have known Traci, never once has she questioned why she has had to overcome so much in her life. Traci is always smiling and tells people that she is so grateful for the things that she does have rather than things that she doesn’t.

Traci is most surely an inspiration.  Despite all of her adversity, she cares deeply for her fellow human beings. Traci’s goal is to become more and more actively involved with donation and transplant causes; and her burning wish is to help other people.

We had high hopes in December as there were two new potential donors. Both turned out to be bad matches and it was becoming more and more evident that she would soon need dialysis to support her. Traci was declining rapidly.

Still, never a “why me?”. Never a lament why she should have to overcome more in her life than most people would have to in several lifetimes. Traci celebrates the life that she has, with the abandon of an ecstatic child. Traci would tell you that she is so lucky that she has found the love of her life, Michael. How lucky she is to be surrounded by her three sisters (two of whom had been her earlier kidney donors) and her Mother and Father. By all of her friends; and there are a great many of those.

And never did she utter or think, one word of self pity. One of her favorite sayings is “you shouldn’t feel sorry for yourself, because you never know, the person sitting next to you, may be dealing with more than you can imagine.”

Traci loves Facebook and uses it to stay connected to hundreds of her friends around the world. In January of 2010, Lynn “found” Traci on Facebook. In doing so, she also found out about Traci’s plight and need for a kidney.

After her recovery 8 years earlier Lynn had met, fallen in love with and married Brett Macchietto.

Brett is a police officer in Colorado Springs. In February, Brett offered to become a donor for Traci. He has never met Traci. After the exhaustive tests to determine the quality of the match, it was decided that Brett could be her donor.

On April 20, 2010, Traci will get her new kidney at University Hospital in Denver.

On that same day, the world will have a real hero to admire. Brett Macchietto.

We idolize movie stars and professional athletes, and put them on pedestals that are undeserved.

You have probably never heard of Brett, but you have now. Brett is everything that can be good in the human spirit. An everyday person who the whole world should revere.

Believe in miracles, and know with absolute clarity that when you “pay it forward” as Traci has done for all of her 37 years, that this is indeed a life of wonder.

It was perhaps the most anticipated Masters tournament in modern history and we were not disappointed.

The grand old lady that is Augusta National was never more beautiful. Beauty, however can beguile even the most seasoned warrior. It was a perfect desert sky at night and all the stars came out to play.

Thursday’s opening round saw ageless, Tom Watson tied for the lead with a superb 5 under par 67 and had us thinking about Turnberry in 2009. Watson would run out of steam over the next three days and end up in a tie for 18th at one under par, but it was still a remarkable performance for the 60 year old legend.

Fred Couples had so many of us hoping that he would turn back the hands of time and become the oldest winner in Masters history. Couples played a brilliant front 9 on Sunday shooting 3 under par. Had his putter co-operated he would have been 6 under (he missed three putts inside of six feet) but nobody was swinging the club better than the 50 year old Couples who consistently hit his tee shots further than all the young guns.

Couples was two shots out of the lead after making par on the tenth hole but then made a careless bogey on the 11th hole. When Couples won his green jacket in 1992, he hit his tee shot on the short par 3 twelfth hole onto the front bank of the green. Anytime a player does that the ball will always roll back into Rae’s Creek, which guards this devilish short hole. Famously on that occasion his ball stayed dry and Fred went on to win the tournament. This year, he was not so fortunate and in one of those ironic moments that Augusta so regularly produces, his tee shot on the 12th. hit the bank and rolled back down into the water. Golf.

And then there was the return of Tiger Woods after his six month hiatus from competition. Woods clearly did not have his “A game” but it is a testament to his enormous skills as a golfer, that he started the final day in third place only four shots behind Westwood. Plagued by erratic driving and a sometimes uncooperative putter, Woods was on the periphery of contention but never was able to fire on all cylinders.

Woods tied a Masters record by making four eagles in the tournament but made many more unforced errors than he normally would. His front 9 on Sunday was proof of his rustiness as he bogeyed 3 of his first 6 holes before holing his second shot on the par 4 7th hole for eagle and following that up with a birdie at 8 to give a glimmer of a “Tiger charge” but he could not sustain the momentum and finished with a 69 and tied for 4th at 11 under. After such a long time away from competition, not to mention having to deal with his personal issues, the fact that he played as well as he did, is a tribute to his prodigious talent.

The biggest Sunday charge came for 24 year old Anthony Kim. Kim has really begun to turn his game around and has already won on Tour this year (he now has 3 Tour wins), but seems so perfectly suited to Augusta. Kim played inspired golf on Sunday and shot the low round of the day, a flawless 65. History will say that he finished in third place at 12 under par but he was never really a threat to win. His time however will most certainly come.

Lee Westwood has had his share of heartbreaks in Majors but Europe’s top player seemed finally poised to win his first. Tied for the lead after the first and second days and the outright leader after the third round, Westwood played the steadiest golf of the tournament. Westwood is an old fashioned ‘grinder’ who keeps plugging away, rarely making a big mistake. His nemesis has always been short putts and he missed two very short ones on the back 9 on Sunday that were ultimately his undoing. He has now had 4 top 3 finishes in his last 7 Majors, so one must imagine that will be only a matter of time before he finally breaks through.

One had the feeling though that this was Phil Mickelson’s tournament to win. Throughout the week, Lefty had played his best golf in a long time. He has an unabashed love affair with Augusta and it certainly suits his game better than any other Major championship venue. Augusta rewards those with the best short games and no-one is better around the greens than Mickelson. Wayward tee shots, which are his weakness, are not nearly as severely punished as other courses which is just as well because Mickelson hit some tee shots into different area codes.

Mickelson scrambled and hit recovery shots that no other golfer is capable of. He also hit some breathtaking iron shots and was only the third player in Masters’ history to make back to back eagles on the 13th and 14th holes on Saturday. After making a birdie on 15, Mickelson had played these three holes in 5 under par and evaporated Lee Westwood’s, 5 shot lead. It was then, that you had the feeling that it was his week.

Mickelson was accompanied this week by all of his family. It was the first time in almost a year that his family had come to a tournament with him as his wife Amy has battled cancer. You could almost see a more joyful and relaxed Mickelson as he made his way around the azaleas and dogwoods.

After hooking another drive off the tee on the thirteenth hole, Mickelson produced another one of those, “Phil the Thrill” shots. From 205 yards away and directly behind a tree, Mickelson hit an incredible shot that landed only barely over the creek and three feet from the hole.  It will become a shot that will be revered in the annals of Augusta. Although he missed the eagle putt, his birdie gave him a two shot lead over the gritty Westwood.

A birdie on 15 and steady pars on 16 and 17 a closing birdie on the last hole, gave Mickelson a three shot victory over Westwood who had played with such courage all day.

Mickelson now enters the ranks of all-time pantheons of Augusta lore. Three time winners of the Masters include Nicklaus, Palmer, Snead, Demaret, Player and Faldo. Lefty can now takes his place with these legends.

The Solheim Cup was a riveting spectacle of pure golf.

The bi-annual competition between Europe and the USA produced some of the best competitive golf of the year, and the players put on a show for the ages.

Perhaps the most poignant aspect of this event is that none of the players get paid to play in it. They play to represent their country or continent and they play for the sheer love of competition and the pride that comes with representing your country. It is perhaps these reasons that make the Olympics or the World Cup in soccer or the mens version of the Solheim Cup, the Ryder Cup, so special.

The first two days of better ball (aka four-ball) and foursomes (alternate shot), was a see-saw of emotions and superb golf. After the first day the US team lead by a score of 4 ½ to 3 ½ which did not augur well for the underdog European team because no team has ever won the Cup after trailing after the first day’s play.

Saturday was a day filled with remarkable shots and nail-biting finishes. In the morning four-ball matches, the European team were inspired by a run-away 5 and 4 victory by Helen Alfredsson and LET’s, (Ladies European Tour) Tania Elosegui. The 27 year old Elosegui is from Spain and 2009 is her first year on the LET. The elegant Spaniard has had a very accomplished Amateur career and has all the tools to become a really good player.

By mid-afternoon, the US had not only lost their lead but with only two afternoon matches remaining on the course, the Euros’ had an overall 8-6 lead. At this time two young American players really showed their best form. Playing against the long-hitting duo of Alfredsson and Europe’s best player, Suzann Peterssen; fiery US players, Morgan Pressel and Kristy McPherson played flawless alternate shot golf. McPherson and Pressel shot 5 under par in the most diabolical of all golf formats, and won their match 2 up on the final hole.

There were heroes on both sides but perhaps nobody was as spectacular as Michelle Wie.

The 19 year old phenom whose star has dimmed in the last two years, finally made her entrance into the world stage that so many have expected for so long.

Wie played absolutely inspired golf in the Friday and Saturday matches going an undefeated 2-0-1 before dispatching indomitable Helen Alfredsson in a thrilling singles match to finish the event with a 3-0-1 record. It will be remembered as one of the great rookie performances in the history of the Solheim Cup.

Up until now, there has been a reticence on behalf of the LPGA players to embrace Wie (largely of Wie’s doing). Too many times, Wie has seemed to be going through the motions while playing tournaments, and has played without passion or success.

That all changed this weekend at Rich Harvest Farms in Illinois. The players clearly warmed to Wie and the galleries thronged to her group more than any other. Wie played with emotion but more importantly she played brilliantly. Only time will tell, whether this serves as the catalyst which will propel her into the superstardom that so many have predicted for her, but Michelle Wie must certainly feel, that she now belongs.

The timing of the Wie’s resurgence and the electric atmosphere of the Solheim Cup, could not come at a better time for the LPGA Tour. Struggling to replace sponsors that the Tour has lost in the last year and in the process of finding a new Commissioner (the Tour fired Carolyn Bivens last month after her disastrous tenure at the helm) this may be the ‘dawn of a brand new day.’

“These girls can play!”

And play, they did.

There were the established stars, like Paula Creamer, the ageless Julie Inkster and Christie Kerr for the Americans and Europe’s, Peterssen, Laura Davies (playing in her record-11th Solheim Cup) and Alfredsson but there were a lot of unheralded players who captured the spotlight as well.

You would be hard pressed to find a better golf swing than that of Welsh player Becky  Brewerton who has played predominately in Europe. Twenty-one year old Swede, Anna Nordqvist, who won the LPGA Championship earlier this year, is most definitely one young star. American, Brittany Lincicome (you have to love a player whose nick-name is “Bam”), who won the 2009 Kraft-Nabisco Championship, and who hits the ball a mile, is another.

The 2009 Solheim Cup was the most competitive of the 11 contests to date giving us drama, fun and a lot of incredible golf. The outcome was in doubt until the last minutes of the afternoon, with the Europeans appearing to have the edge twice, during the singles matches (the ebb and flow of match-play can be the best of golf theater), but in the end the Americans were victorious.

The final result was Team USA 16 to Team Europe 12, but the real winner here was, golf.

Y.E. Yang did more than just win the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club today, he proved that the invincible Tiger Woods, is a mortal after all.

Tiger Woods had up until today, never lost the lead of a Major Championship, after holding the over-night 3rd. round lead. He was a perfect 14 out of 14, until today.

Paired together in the last two-some, Yang and Woods played good solid golf on the front 9, on a course that was becoming increasingly difficult. Up until Sunday’s final round, Hazeltine, while by no means easy, had not really bared its teeth.

Combining difficult pin placements with gusting winds which blew in a different direction than the first three days, Hazeltine was not only the longest course in Major Championship history, but today it became one of the hardest. The lowest round of the day would be a 2 under par 70.

Yang made up his two shot deficit on the front 9, shooting an even par 36 while Woods was 2-over par. Even though they were still tied on the 14th. tee, one had the feeling that it was only a matter of time until Yang would capitulate, and Woods would win his fifth PGA.

Both players hit good drives on the reachable par-4 14th hole. Yang was just short of the green and Woods was in the greenside bunker. Tiger hit his bunker shot 12 feet below the pin. And then Yang, did to Tiger what Tiger has been doing to everyone else for 14 years. He chipped in for an eagle two. Woods made his birdie putt to leave him a stroke behind, but the pendulum had firmly swung.

The last three holes at Hazeltine are perhaps the three hardest closing holes in Major Championship golf. Both players parred the 16th. and made bogeys on the 17th.

Faced with a shot of 208 yards from the first cut of rough on the left side of the 18th, fairway, Yang hit the second best shot of the Championship, a high, fading, 3 utility to within 8 feet of the cup. Woods’s approach drew a little too much and he was unable to hole his chip shot, before Yang sank his birdie putt to cap a 3 stroke victory.

37 year old Y.E. Yang becomes the first male Asian player to win a Major Championship, which is in and of itself a wonderful accomplishment. That he did it by beating the greatest ‘closer’ the game has ever known makes his achievement even more remarkable.

Once again golf proved that there is no such thing as a “sure thing” and that we are humans playing an esoteric sport that will not be mastered. Tiger Woods has made us believe that he was immune from the failings of other golfers in some situations. Today he proved that while he is as close to perfect as we have ever seen, even he is human.

A former weight lifter, the South Korean is in his second year on the PGA Tour (this is his second win this year having won the Honda Championship earlier in 2009). The self taught Yang will now become an icon, and it is so richly deserved. He did not play professionally until he was 32 years old having been in essence a club professional in South Korea and New Zealand until he joined the Asian Tour in 2004. Today at Hazeltine, he became part of golf history.

In every way, Yang put the YE into YE-S! You can.