By William Jempty of OTB Sports


The Stanford International Pro-Am features two rookies among its leaders. Both Momoko Ueda from Japan and Yani Tseng from Taiwan shot opening round 68s, one stroke off first round leader Young Kim. They weren’t the only rookies to shoot under 70 yesterday. Carolina Llano and Hee Young Park shot rounds of 69.

The 2008 Rookie Class is already impacting the LPGA tour. Tseng and Momoko are just two of the high profile players emerging from this year's group of rookies. Nine events into the LPGA season, Na-Yeon Choi leads Yani Tseng by 37 points in the Rolex Rookie of the Year standings. Louise Friberg, another rookie, won last month’s Mastercard Classic.

The strong play of rookies on the LPGA Tour is nothing new. Hall of Famers Juli Inkster and Se Ri Pak each won not just tournaments but two major championships apiece in their maiden seasons. More recently Paula Creamer, Seon Hwa Lee, Dorothy Delasin, and Mi Hyun Kim all took home a least one LPGA trophy as a rookie.

It seems a good time to ask why this particular class is playing so well. Part of the reason is that the so-called "rookies" are hardly neophytes when it comes to the rigors of high-level professional competition. Louise Friberg, who hails from Sweden, competed in Europe before joining the LPGA tour. Momoko Ueda won four times on the JLPGA in addition to winning the LPGA’s Mizuno Classic. By the time many of them arrive they are already seasoned professionals, prepared to win at any level.

The Korean LPGA has been a particularly important source of young golfers for the LPGA. Na Yeon Choi won four KLPGA events over three years before qualifying for her LPGA tour card last fall. In fact, the play coming out of Korea has been so strong it is no longer fair to call the KLPGA a minor league to the LPGA. 2006 LPGA rookie of the year Seon Hwa Lee was the Futures Tour leading money winner in 2005. The 2006 rookie class, which some have called the finest rookie class in many years with Julieta Granada, Morgan Pressel, and Ai Miyazato also featured South Koreans Seon Hwa and Jee Young Lee. Yani Tseng played on both the Asian and Canadian tours and won on both.

Tseng's strong showing so far at the Stanford International is another building block in what has already been a good 2008. When asked about her level of play this year, Tseng said "I have a good coach, I have good friends, good manager.” I had a chance to talk with Tseng after her second round and ask her it the explained her quick adjustment to the LPGA Tour. Tseng told me having good people around her helps her relax out on the course.

One of Tseng’s coaches is former two-time PGA Champion Dave Stockton. Stockton, who was known for his remarkable short game when he played the tour in the 60's and 70's, is helping with that aspect of Tseng's game. From what I’ve seen so far out on the course, Tseng has an excellent teacher.

Regardless of where these rookies come from they are not here to serve any sort of apprenticeship or pay their dues. Whether they come to the LPGA out of college, the Futures Tour, The KLPGA, or some other golf circuit, these new lady golfers come to the Tour with one goal in mind - winning.

“I want to win at least one tournament on the tour this year.” Momoko Ueda said yesterday. Safe to say, she speaks for every rookie out on tour this year.