A Turning Point for Women's Golf?

Women's golf has always lagged behind men's golf -- in prize money, media attention, and quality of play. Unlike women's tennis, where there is almost complete parity in terms of prize money and popularity, women golfers have played second fiddle to Arnie and Jack and Tiger.

That may be changing. Earlier this year, 16-year old phenom Michelle Wie turned pro, signed with Nike and Sony, and immediately vaulted into second place in the world rankings. Wie threatens to change the face of women's golf: she hits the ball farther than any other woman golfer (and makes more money in endorsements than any woman golfer) and has brought a huge amount of attention to the woman's game.

However, no one player on her own -- no matter how talented -- can truly transform the game. What will lift the LPGA into a new level of popularity will be the development of a rivalry similar to that which developed between Martina Navritilova and Chris Evert in the 1970s. Those two women met in many finals, and though they had different styles of play, one never truly dominated the other and the drama of their contests helped women's tennis achieve a place equal to the men's game.

Women's golf has a true number one: Annika Sorenstam. Although she is having a less than stellar year (even though she just won the top tournament in women's golf, the U.S. Women's Open, everyone -- Michelle Wie included -- guns for Annika. But what's making the women's game so interesting right now is that it's not just Annika and Michelle who are contending for championships. Paula Creamer, a 20-year old who always wears something pink, is both pretty and pretty damn good. She has a champion's fire and is working to show the world that she belongs at the top. Then there's Lorena Ochoa, a Mexican player who is the leading money winner on the tour this year. Add Natalie Gulbis and Brittany Lincicome, two more talented teenagers, plus wily veterans like Pat Hurst, Juli Inkster and Karrie Webb, and you've got some amazing competition.

This weekend all the top players came together for the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship. For those of you unfamiliar with golf, most tournaments are stroke play: everyone plays the same course at basically the same time and whoever shoots the lowest total score wins. Match play, on the other hand, is one golfer against another. You play hole by hole. Whoever wins the most holes wins. The tournament progresses like a tennis tournament, with the losers being eliminated the winners going on to play the next challenger.

Tomorrow are the semi-finals and finals, with Lorena Ochoa going up against Brittany Lincicome and Paula Creamer taking on Juli Inkster (who beat Annika today with a birdie on the 18th hole). Although Annika and Michelle have been eliminated (Michelle lost to Brittany in the quarters), this is still quite a line-up, and the golf tomorrow promises to be quite exciting. I predict Paula Creamer will beat Juli, and then best Lorena Ochoa in an upset in the final. I know the network (like me) was hoping for an Annika/Michelle final. And if it had come to pass, it would have vaulted the women's game into the stratosphere. Still, the fact that there are four great players contending for this title -- and so much attention on it -- represents a turning point for women's golf.