Young stars have made women’s golf cool... bring on Rio!
WAS it the greatest Sunday in the history of women’s golf? It has to be right up there. From the east coast of Ireland and the Curtis Cup to the west coast of America and the LPGA Championship, time zones were passed and oceans crossed as two events featuring tales of breathtaking endeavour reached their thrilling denouement.
Men-only golf clubs? Goodness, as if we needed anything else to underline how totally ridiculous they sound in this day and age, it was witnessed on this blessed Sabbath.
On this side of the Atlantic at Dun Laoghaire we had a momentous victory for Britain and Ireland’s women against the American behemoth, as they held off a brave fightback by the visitors on the final day.
That trophy has now been added to the Walker Cup claimed by GB&I’s leading male amateurs at Lytham last year to complete a rare double.
Leading the way was 21-year-old Englishwoman Bronte Law, who emerged from this nerve-racking contest with five points out of five. Law, in her final year at UCLA, one of America’s most prestigious universities, has already been named US collegiate golfer of the year.
Only one other player has won five points at a Curtis Cup since it became a three-day contest in 2008 and that particular Miss Perfect, Stacy Lewis, went on to become world No 1.
While you hate to pile pressure on her fair shoulders it will be interesting to see if this particular Bronte can also scale the sport’s wuthering heights. Lewis, mind, has been rather left behind these days by the teen revolution at the top of the pro game. In April we had 20-year-old Charley Hull just falling short against the then 18-year-old Lydia Ko in the season’s first major.
On Sunday in Seattle at the second we had Ko, now 19, taking on 18- year- old Canadian Brooke Henderson.
With nine holes to play Ko was three strokes ahead. How could Henderson possibly stop the phenomenal Kiwi from winning her third successive major?
A 90ft eagle putt at the 11th certainly helped, as did a further birdie to force a play-off. Ko was 20ft away in two on the first suddendeath hole when her fearless opponent took dead aim.
To the delight of the legion of Canadians who made the short hop across the border, her seven iron finished tap-in distance away for a stirring victory.
Why are all these young women suddenly lighting up the game? Quite simply, a lot more of the best young female athletes are now taking up golf, where once they would have been lost to tennis.
The game has a cool vibe right now in America and how good is it going to look at the Olympics in August?
Who’d have thought golf, of all sports, would be presenting the freshest face of all in Rio?