Before Sorenstam announced her late-year wave goodbye to the tour, she added three wins to her total. Photo: Darren Carroll
All except Wie, who is not in the field, have to be considered contenders this year. Wie finished last among those who made the cut in 2007 and will, however, be in the area to play in a U.S. Women's Open qualifier in Maryland the Monday after the McDonald's. Ochoa and Sorenstam are the clear favorites. Ochoa goes into the McDonald's playing the best golf of her life and has Grand Slam dreams. Asked if it is possible, she simply nods her head and says, "Yes," feeling no need to expound on that. Sorenstam is playing her best golf since 2005 and when asked her goals as her career winds down says, "There are three more majors this year."
But don't count out the Pink Panther. Creamer feels she has been toughened by some difficult major experiences, such as the 2007 Kraft Nabisco when she went into the final round one stroke off the lead and shot 78 to finish T-15 in a tournament won by fellow brat-packer Morgan Pressel. "You have to be patient," Creamer says. "You can't be too aggressive. I've learned that [in majors] you have to be under control and that pars are good things. I've learned lessons. I've learned some of them painfully, but the point is I've learned."
So with Sorenstam announcing her retirement at the end of the year, when she will be 38, and the 26-year-old Ochoa saying she would like to leave the game in her early 30s, does Creamer have retirement plans? "Yeah, I'm next," she says with a giggle. "I'm 21, time to pack it in." Then, turning serious, she adds: "No, that's not going to happen anytime soon. I have a lot of good golf to play."
And there is that little matter of shedding the label of the best without.
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