SCOTTSDALE -- Most of the "Rwanda Six"--the group of LPGA pros who traveled to the tiny African nation on a humanitarian mission involving AIDS orphans--had a reunion Monday at Desert Highland Golf Club in a fund-raising clinic for Golf Fore Africa, the charity started by Hall-of-Famer Betsy King. King was joined at the clinic by Juli Inkster, Reilley Rankin, Katherine Hull and teaching pro Wendy Poscillico--all of whom went to Rwanda last October--as well as by Pat Hurst and Angela Stanford. Renee Powell, who also made the trip to Rwanda, was unable to attend because of recent knee surgery.

As always, Inkster steals the show when handed a live microphone. When introduced as a member of the 2007 U.S. Solheim Cup team she was quick to add: "The winning U.S. Solheim Cup team," coating the word winning with a ton of emphasis. Asked about the spirit of the competition, in which the Americans won on the road for just the second time, Inkster said: "It's not how you play the game, it's whether you win or lose. That was our team-room motto."

When asked during a question-and-answer session about how she gets back on track when things go awry during a round, Inkster said she takes out an 8-iron and tries to make small swings to get her rhythm back. Then she said, "The key to getting back on track is to put the bad things that have just happened out of your mind. No one was better at that than Nancy Lopez. But we just think Nancy didn't remember the past."

Inkster had a fascinating explanation of her warm-up routine that displayed how individual a golf game is. "I'm a feel player," Inkster said. "My swing is based on tempo and timing. So I hit a lot of short irons in my warm-up. I may only hit two or three drivers. I figure if I set my timing with my short irons the rest will follow. Also, the wedges are your scoring clubs, don't ever forget that."

Hurst is another feel player and when she was asked if she plays a fade or a draw she answered, "It depends on the day. I just play whatever I have that day." Hull also gave a great tip when she talked about laying up to a comfortable distance on par-5 holes you can't reach in two. "Most club players just bang away on the second shot and leave an awkward distance for their third shot. My sand wedge is my 85-yard club. I love that distance and that's what I lay up to if I can't get there in two."

Asked, on a scale of 1 to 10 how nervous they would be in certain situations, Inkster shouted out "zero" when a practice round was thrown out. Hurst, Stanford, King and Inkster have played in the Solheim Cup and agree it's the most nervous they've ever been. Then Inkster was asked how nervous she'd be on the final hole of the U.S. Women's Open if she was paired with Annika Sorenstam and they were tied for the lead. Always the competitor, Inkster stared as if she were imagining the situation and said, "I'd be nervous." Then, after a perfectly timed pause, she added, "But I'd bring her down."

Among those watching the clinic was Cheyenne Woods, the niece of Tiger who'll be heading to Wake Forest in the fall on a golf scholarship. In less than a year of existence, Golf Fore Africa has raised more than $200,000 to help the village of Mudasomwa in Rwanda.

--Ron Sirak

KAHUKU, Hawaii -- With pitchers and catchers flinging the horsehide around in Florida and Arizona, and either Roger Clemens or Brian McNamee slinging horse feathers on Capitol Hill, the good folks of the LPGA gathered in Leilei's Bar at the Turtle Bay Resort to rekindle old friendships, retell old war stories and refocus on a new season. Like baseball, the former national pastime that has become a national nightmare, the LPGA has a real off-season. And that absence has made the heart grow way fonder.

The two-and-a-half months since Lorena Ochoa won $1 million at the ADT Championship to end a fascinating 2007 season in which the Mexican star surpassed Annika Sorenstam as No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings have only served to whet the appetite for whatever is next in women's golf. That story starts to unfold Thursday at Turtle Bay when the SBS Open kicks off the new season with a compelling field that includes Annika Sorenstam, who says she's fit and ready to reclaim the top spot.

But first things first. Before a shot was hit in anger there was the matter of good-natured reunions in which players took verbal shots at each other. A chief target was reigning U.S. Women's Open champion Cristie Kerr for the sizzling cover photo of her in the new Golf For Women magazine. "Six-pack abs, baby, six-pack abs," a beaming Kerr proclaimed as Kelli Kuehne, Beth Daniel, Meg Mallon, and Golf Channel commentator Kay Cockerill teased her about the sexy shot. There were numerous humorous responses to Kerr's line but hey, what's said in Leilei's stays in Leilei's.

Let's just say this: One of the joys about the LPGA is that it remains in touch with its roots. It's 58-year struggle for equal footing on the publicity stage with other sports has fostered an extremely healthy us-versus-them attitude around which the players unite in a sisterly effort to get the attention they deserve. Much more than any other sport -- certainly much more than the PGA Tour -- the players hang together, joke together and project a distinct air that they are all in this together. It's a fun group.

There are a lot of ways to measure the popularity of a sport. One is how much people are talking about it. And another is how much people are writing about it. Dan Jenkins, the esteemed Golf Digest columnist who has written 10 novels, several about golf including the classic "Dead Solid Perfect", has made the LPGA the setting for his newest work, "The Franchise Babe," which comes out in May. Jenkins has never obeyed the political correctness police and there will be those in Daytona Beach offended by parts of the book, but when seventy-something legends notice your product you are doing something right.

Ochoa isn't on hand for the SBS Open. She has indicated she will play fewer than the 25 events she has averaged her first five years on the LPGA and will pick up the tour in two weeks at the HSBC Champions in Singapore. Sorenstam, on the other hand, will play five of the first six tournaments as she tries to re-establish the dominance she displayed in a staggering five-season stretch from 2001-05 in which she won 43 of 104 LPGA events. She's 37, starting her 15th season on tour and thinking about a business life after golf, but she has also made it clear this year will be all about golf after an injury-plagued 2007. 

Sorenstam will have an interesting test right out of the box. How's this for an opening-round threesome Thursday: Sorenstam, defending SBS Open champion Paula Creamer and Natalie Gulbis? That's the first group of the afternoon session -- teeing off at 1:30 p.m. local time just as Golf Channel comes on the air -- and it's followed immediately by Morgan Pressel, Stacy Prammanasudh, Suzann Pettersen, 2007 Rookie of the Year Angela Park, Christina Kim, Kerr, Laura Diaz, Ai Miyazato and Carin Koch.  Not even Jenkins could have scripted that any better.

The other notable absentees besides Ochoa include Karrie Webb, Se Ri Pak and Juli Inkster -- all in the top 10 of the Rolex rankings. Also missing is Hawaii native Michelle Wie, who will return to competition next week at the Fields Open after a disappointing 2007 in which she battled injury, anxiety and her swing. By all accounts, she has found new joy in her freshman year at Stanford, where she will skip the spring quarter to try to get her competitive legs back under her on the golf course.

An interesting addition to the LPGA this year is Momoko Ueda of Japan, who earned a tour card by winning the Mizuno Classic last fall. The massive Japanese media presence that has been following Miyazato for the last two years is now focused on Ueda, which could be a blessing in disguise for Ai, who has struggled under the weight of national expectations. With the attention elsewhere, Miyazato may fulfill her considerable potential and have the kind of breakout year Pettersen had in 2007, when she won five times including a major championship.

The SBS Open is a 54-hole event ending on Saturday. Being a three-round event, getting off to a fast start is more important that usual. That will make the first round even more fun to watch. And since the final round is Saturday, that means things will be jumping Saturday night at Leilei's. Let the season begin.

-- Ron Sirak

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -- The LPGA announced Wednesday it had acquired the Duramed Futures Tour, the developmental circuit with which it has had a relationship since 1999. During that time 32 players, including Rolex Rankings No. 1 Lorena Ochoa, have earned LPGA cards off the Duramed money list. Currently, the top-five players on the season-ending Duramed money list are granted playing privileges on the LPGA Tour for the follow season.

"We will look back at this day as a demarcation in women's sports, certainly in women's golf," LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens said in making the announcement. Deputy commissioner Libba Galloway said no immediate changes would be made to the number of cards granted to Duramed players or to the size of purses or number of events, but that all will be considered down the road. The Duramed tour had already committed to a minimum purse size of $100,000 for 2008.

"This proves a membership of over 300 women can keep a secret for more than six months," said Zayra Calderon, president and CEO of the Duramed Futures Tour who acquired the operation in 1996. "We are going to take out time. We are going to do the right thing."

The LPGA has 35 tournaments worldwide and the Durmaed has 19 events in 14 states. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Galloway said Duramed would remained branded as the title sponsor at least through the 2008 season.

The most immediate impact of the acquisition will be the consolidation of back-shop operations of the two tours at LPGA headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla. An immediate benefit players will experience is easier movement between the two tours permitting, for example, an LPGA player working her way back into competitive form after maternity leave a place to play.

For more on the Futures Tour, check out this Golf For Women feature.

-- Ron Sirak