2005 Lexus Cup

The third and final day was a series of 12 singles matches. Grace Park sent herself out first, knowing that she would be facing Sorenstam, while Birdie Kim volunteered to face Creamer second. Birdie had felt badly that she had not been able to get a point for her team, but told Grace that she felt she had one good round in her. Alas, it wasn't this day. For though she won the first hole, Creamer soon took control and destroyed Birdie in much the same way she had beaten Laura Davies in the singles at the Solheim Cup, 7 & 5. Grace hung in there longer, but her game was not enough on this day to overcome Sorenstam, and she, too, lost. The Internationals were now only two and a half points away from the win.

The third match featured Jeong Jang against Jill McGill. This should have been a cakewalk for JJ, but in fact McGill led much of the day. JJ rallied, though, and won the match on the final hole, 1 up. Hee-Won Han and Candie Kung won their matches as well, although Han had a tough battle against Baena before she put it away 2 up, while Kung easily beat Janice Moodie. The score was now 10-7.

After their matches, Grace and Birdie went
to cheer their teammates on
(click to enlarge)
SeoulSisters.com photo by Mistdew

The International team sprays the Asians with
champagne after clinching the Lexus Cup...
(click to enlarge)
SeoulSisters.com photo by Mistdew

... And Captain Grace got soaked!
(click to enlarge)
SeoulSisters.com photo by Mistdew

Alas, that was just about the final bit of good news for the Asian team. Meena Lee, another of the Asians' top match play golfers, needed to put away American Natalie Gulbis in her match, but couldn't do it, and lost 3 & 1. When Sophie Gustafson edged out Aree Song on the final hole 1 up, that was pretty much all she wrote. The only Asian who won thereafter was Jennifer Rosales, who managed a 4 & 3 win over Catriona Matthew, although Namika Omata came close to beating Pettersen as well. The final score was a rout, 16-8.

In the end, the Asian players said they were happy to have participated, had fun, and felt they were the team with the better team spirit. "I think we were way better in team spirit and the support for each other; we had more fun," Grace Park said. "Even though we lost, it was a wonderful experience and I'm sure every one of us are going to leave here with wonderful memories". But no doubt she was more than a little sad that things had turned out so poorly for her team. Here's hoping that the Asians can turn the tables on their foes next year!

What's wrong with the Lexus Cup, and how can it be fixed.
The inaugural Lexus Cup competition is over, and the results most definitely did not go the way the Asians would have liked. In fact, they were thoroughly beaten by the International team, and on home soil yet. If this is a freakish result, then probably the Lexus Cup will continue to grow in interest as the years go on and the Asian players become more used to playing team events. But if this is going to be the way things go from now on, I have to believe that the Asian players, who after all have a lot of pride, will not want to show up in Singapore year after year to get butchered, and I suspect the hometown fans will not want to see their heroes suffer that kind of indignity, either. Unfortunately, I think there are problems inherent in the format of this event that weaken it and may lead to its demise. Here is my assessment of what needs to be done to fix the Lexus Cup to make it the best event possible.

Grace congratulates the Internationals after the match
(click to enlarge)
SeoulSisters.com photo by Mistdew

Grace and Annika pose with the trophy

A traditional dance occurred after the event
concluded
(click to enlarge)
SeoulSisters.com photo by Mistdew

1. The teams are inherently unfair
First, the good news. The Asian players were in a down year to be sure. In 2005, the two genuine Asian superstars, Grace Park and Se Ri Pak, were both having their worst seasons since turning pro. Se Ri's season was so bad that she wasn't even able to participate in the competition at all, a crushing blow to the chances for the Asians to win, and Grace, who last year was the second best golfer in the world, managed only a single point in this year's competition, much below what you would expect out of a player of her caliber. As if that wasn't bad enough, Jennifer Rosales and Gloria Park were both struggling with injuries, and Birdie Kim had been off her game pretty much since her win at the Open. In another year, these players might have all been able to contribute more to the effort.

But even if the Asian players were at the top of the game, it's asking an awful lot of them to beat the combined might of all the other golfers in the world. The International team won pretty easily this year. One sign that the event is unfair: there were 7 players in the top 20 on the LPGA who could have qualified for the Asian team, while the remaining golfers would have been on the International team. And four of the top five on the money list would have been with the Internationals. So, the Internationals had the depth, the talent AND the bigger pool to tap. A home field advantage just isn't going to be enough to beat that kind of advantage.

This is no knock on the Asians, of course. No continent would be able to go against the rest of the world and be able to compete on an even playing field. It's just a bad idea.

What would be a good team configuration? I think the logical solution would be to pit the Solheim teams against the non-Solheim players. In other words, all the golfers who in the past have been shut out of playing in team events can take on the golfers who have been able to play. That way, the Asians would be able to augment their side with players like Lorena Ochoa, Lorie Kane and the Canadians, the South Americans and the Australians. This might make things a bit more even, and thus exciting. I would be very surprised if something like this does not happen in the next few years, provided the event itself lasts that long.

2. The Teams were badly chosen
This is the case for both sides, of course; had they both been chosen well, the Asians would still have been outmatched. But it certainly didn't help that many qualified Asians were left off the team. On the Lexus Cup website, it explains that the team members are chosen by 'an agreed qualification criteria and '"captain's picks," which will be based on the player's experience, personality and charisma for team play. ' 'Charisma' might explain some of the baffling choices for the team, such as the two young Japanese players, who are certainly attractive ladies, but are neither of them even in the top 100 on the LPGA tour. Meanwhile, other charismatic and frankly great golfers were left off the team. Soo-Yun Kang, 14th on the LPGA money list, and a player who was considered good enough to be named the Pinx Cup Captain just a week before the Lexus Cup, was mysteriously absent, as was longtime LPGA star Mi Hyun Kim. Young Kim has broken through this year with her first top 30 finish on the money list, and certainly fits the description of 'charismatic'. Other top LPGA golfers who could have been chosen and would have been better than some of the actual players include Joo Mi Kim, Young Jo, Sung-Ah Yim and super popular and mysteriously absent Shi Hyun Ahn.

Meanwhile, not a single KLPGA player was chosen for the team. At least three of them would have been welcome additions: Kyeong Bae, Bo Bae Song and Seon-Hwa Lee, all of whom are extremely talented and have proven themselves in international competition in 2005. Song even won a tournament in 2005 in Singapore, the country where the Lexus Cup was contested!!

Grace Candie Kung could have used some more help
(click to enlarge)
SeoulSisters.com photo by Mistdew

Players like Soo-Yun Kang played in
another big pressure team event just the
week before Lexus; better scheduling
would make her available for both

3. The Event's place on the calendar is bad
The LPGA apparently does not recognize this event, so it is forced to take place during the off season of the tour (by contrast, the Solheim Cup takes place in the middle of the season in September, and events are cleared off the schedule to accommodate it). It is very unfortunate that it takes place the week after another major team event, the Pinx Cup. Many of the top Korean and Japanese players are slugging it out at this event, then are expected to fly to Singapore and get psyched for another team event, while the International team is probably resting. They should work to find another date that will not interfere with either a player's vacation or other important pre-existing events.

4. The LPGA needs to recognize the event
Don't know what it will take to get this to happen, but there are many benefits to official recognition. The ability to schedule the event more freely, the increased willingness of league stars to play, and the possibility that American media might get interested are just three possible benefits.

In my opinion, it is important to get the event fixed sooner rather than later. If you keep the same format for too long, you will run into inertia, as officials may claim that they don't want to violate 'tradition' by changing the way things have always been done. This is the same argument that has prevented anyone from making meaningful (and, in my opinion, necessary) changes to the Solheim Cup over the years. Since it is unlikely that that event will be modified to include Asian players any time soon, it is imperative that the Lexus, or something like it, survive to give the rest of the world a chance to play.