Volume 2, Number 3, March 31, 2004
 

Editorial: The Case for Grace
Every once in a while, SeoulSisters.com will print an editorial when the need arises, or just when I feel like it. Here's one now!


Last weekend, Grace Park completed a most extraordinary journey. Her win at the Nabisco Championship now adds 'Major winner' to an impressive list of accomplishments that includes Top Junior Player, Top College Player, Top Amateur Player and 19 top tens in 2003. Yet look around the internet for stories about Grace. They are out there, of course, but are overwhelmed in the hoopla about Michelle Wie and Annika Sorenstam. Even after the results of last weekend. That's not to take away from the accomplishments of those ladies, of course. But my feeling is this: if Grace Park, by the end of 2004, is not a household name in America to the degree Annika is or Venus and Serena Williams are, if she is not a one-name star (simply say 'Grace', and you know who you are talking about), then someone at the LPGA will have seriously dropped the ball.

A while ago, Commissioner Votaw published his (in)famous 'Five Points of Celebrity'; the fives different things a player can work on in order to maximize her success on the LPGA. Most top players do quite well in at least a couple of those categories, but no one could honestly say that they max all the categories out. Until Grace, that is.

Grace holds her trophy high

Fashionable Grace late last year

Think about how perfectly Grace meets the requirements Votaw set down! 'Performance' - how well does she play? After winning the Major and leaping to the top of the money list, could there be any doubt that she is one of the very top players in this category? 'Passion' - Does she communicate her passion for the game? Hurricane Grace? Of course she does! The excitement she expressed as she jumped in the water after her win last week, or when she swigged her victory beer at last year's Michelob Light Championship, or even the times she gets a little upset when she makes a mistake, show how much she is into this game. 'Relevance' - Does she relate well to fans? Do they understand her? Certainly the Korean fans do. And judging by the fact she gets more traffic on the LPGA message boards than almost any other player, she must be doing something right. Nike thinks so, too, or they wouldn't have signed her to the big deal she has gotten. 'Appearance' - do we even need to go there? Grace is not only one of the best looking women on tour, she also dresses impeccably and is a fashion trend setter. And she has uncommon poise and class as well. 'Approachability' - Grace proves that Jan Stephenson was full of crap every day of her life. She LOVES fans to come up to her at tournaments, communicates with them on messageboards, and takes time to sign autographs whenever possible. She is near the top in the league in this category as well.

Grace meets every criterion the LPGA has set down, and not only meets those criteria but excels at them all. And the LPGA has certainly noticed, and uses her frequently in their ads and features her on their site. They even named her recently to the Board of Directors as a representative for the Asian and young players on tour.

But it still isn't enough. Folks, this player is the ideal player, according to the very standards the LPGA itself laid down. Yet many tournaments go by, tournaments at which Grace is in contention or near to it, where she is barely shown on the coverage. Where are the numerous puff pieces during broadcasts, the interviews with Grace, the attempt to expand her familiarity? In the last two weeks, Michelle Wie played in two events and finished 19th and 4th. Impressive for a 14 year old, to be sure. She received a puff piece, an interview, or an extended discussion segment about her in all eight broadcasts from those two events, regardless of whether she was done playing for the day or how well she had done. Meanwhile, Grace, the acme of LPGA excellence according to the five points, got no interviews at any of the tournaments, despite beating Wie at both events. Even after she finished day three leading the Nabisco, she did not get an on camera interview. On Sunday, after *winning* the tournament, they did not bother to stick around to witness the trophy ceremony or her traditional dive into the water, and talked to her for about ten seconds. True, the event was running past its allotted time, but just for a minute imagine what would have happened if Wie had won. Don't you think they would have bent the rules in that case?

Grace during round 4
(AP Photo)

I'm not saying that the other Seoul Sisters, and many other players beside, don't also deserve more respect from the media than they get. Mi Hyun Kim, Se Ri Pak, and especially Hee-Won Han, a great player who has never been featured in a puff piece and is rarely interviewed, are prime examples of underexposed stars. But with all due respect, none of those players has the sheer Q-rating potential of Grace Park. I could see Grace being in Maxim magazine (tastefully dressed, of course!), or on the cover of Self or some other women's interest publication. I could see her holding her own with Jay Leno or Katie Couric. She would be great on 'Golf Talk Live'. Heck, her overall Five Points rating, I would argue, even exceeds Annika, and certainly exceeds Wie, in that she has five more wins than the young prodigy does and is far more approachable. The LPGA needs to step up to the plate and do everything in their power to get this woman more exposure. They will doubtless have a willing partner in Nike. There's just simply no excuse for them not to 'just do it'.

And with Annika looking more and more like she's about to retire, and Wie still being at least two years away from turning pro (I'm convinced she will do so when she is 16, no matter what she says), the LPGA needs more stars to keep their recent growth spurt going strong. They needn't bemoan their fortunes, or wonder where that star is. She's easy to spot. She's the striking young woman in the eye-catching Nike outfit holding the giant trophy. Remember her name: Grace Park. If the powers that be do things right, she will be known throughout the world soon as 'Just Grace'. Let's hope they do.
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