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Pettersen heeds Whitworth advice, co-leads at Kraft Nabisco

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:25:00 GMT

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- There is no substitute for wisdom, and that once imparted by Kathy Whitworth struck a chord with Suzann Pettersen, an emotional player who has finished second in the Kraft Nabisco Championship three times.

"I just go out there and literally try to enjoy it, which is probably the hardest thing for me," Pettersen said. "I'll never forget when Kathy Whitworth came up to me. She shook my hand and said don't ever let the passion get in my way. It's really spot on. I just need to get up there and hit the shots that I'm seeing."

Pettersen, a 31-year-old Norwegian, had to have enjoyed the first round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, carding a bogey-free 68 on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club. Her playing partner, Na Yeon Choi, also shot a bogey-free 68 and each was tied for the early lead.

"We weren't really close to making one [a bogey]," Pettersen said. "It was a nice pace of play. It's really nice to get around in just over four hours. It really helps in two-ball. It keeps the flow going. The course is perfect. The greens are rolling pure. It's very playable and I'm very happy."

Pettersen has won 10 LPGA events, including the LPGA Championship. But the Kraft Nabisco has eluded her, piquing her passion. More of what she produced on Thursday would erase that as an issue. "You ask me on Sunday if I can go four bogey-free rounds I'll be very happy," she said.

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Natalie Gulbis treated for illness in Singapore

Alex Myers — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:28:00 GMT

By Alex Myers Natalie Gulbis withdrew before the second round of the HSBC Champions in Singapore due to illness, according to the LPGA. Her instructor, Butch Harmon, fears it may be more serious than...

Provocative Golf Images

GolfDigest.com — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Golf World's cover of David Feherty with his pants down got us thinking about other provocative photos of golfers

Playoff fever? The antidote was a 15-year-old girl

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 22:43:00 GMT

By John Strege

Playoff fever was not particularly gripping on Sunday, unable as it was to deliver -- even with a delivery company footing the bill -- the more compelling golf story.

This is not to suggest that television viewers of the FedEx Cup playoff opener moved en masse from CBS and the Barclays to the Golf Channel and the CN Canadian Women's Open, only that they should have.

A 15-year-old girl, an amateur from New Zealand, was making a historical pass through women's golf with a performance that is best summed up in the texting vernacular of her age group: OMG.

Lydia Ko, 15 years, four months and three days old, to be exact, won the LPGA's Canadian Women's Open by three strokes at the Vancouver Golf Club to become the youngest winner in the history of the tour. Ko also was the first amateur to win on the LPGA since JoAnne Carner in 1969, and Carner was 30 at the time.

Photo by Getty Images

"This is making me feel old," Jiyai Shin, one of those in pursuit at the outset of the final round, told the Golf Channel in the midst of Ko's back-nine assault that included four consecutive birdies and five in a six-hole stretch.

Shin, it should be noted, is 24.

Two days earlier, Suzann Pettersen, 31, took note and said, "It feels like you're being beaten by a kid."

She along with the rest of the field indeed were beaten by a kid, who already had conquered the amateur world, winning the U.S. Women's Amateur two weeks earlier.

Kids making headlines is not a novelty on the LPGA. Another precocious teen, Michelle Wie, was doing likewise when she was 15, but as good as she was -- and a case could be made that Wie was better then than she is now -- she was not winning an LPGA event. And in 2000, Aree Wongluekiet (now Aree Song) was 13 when she tied for 10th in the Kraft Nabisco Championship, a reflection of the lack of depth in women's golf at the time.

Ko's victory had nothing to do with a lack of depth. She was playing head to head with Stacy Lewis, the LPGA's leading money winner and the second-ranked player in women's golf, and outplayed her by five shots, closing with a five-under par 67 that was borderline flawless.

"I can't see anything she does not do well," Judy Rankin said on the Golf Channel.

Pettersen made the argument that Ko's age allowed her to play carefree, providing an advantage against those for whom this is a livelihood. "She's too young to understand where she's at," Pettersen had said. Moreover, Ko had nothing to lose, notably money. The $300,000 first-prize money went to runner-up Inbee Park. Ko received only a trophy for her effort.

The counter argument suggests that this was less a fluke than North America's introduction to the future of women's golf. Ko, in fact, has won on the professional level before -- in January, while still 14, she won the Women's NSW Open on the Australian Ladies Professional Golf tour.

Barton: Augusta National makes long overdue change

Ko, meanwhile, said that she wants to attend college, an admirable goal that is likely to be tested in the heady aftermath of her historical victory on Sunday that earned her the admiration of the women left in her wake.

A few of them ran onto the 18th green and showered her with water, cognizant of the fact that dumping champagne or beer on her would be inappropriate for one who is still six years away from reaching the legal drinking age.

Shin was right, as it were, and could have been speaking on behalf of all of us. Anyone watching Ko on Sunday should be feeling just a little bit older.

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Women In The Golf Industry: Kelly Tilghman

Stina Sternberg — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 18:02:00 GMT

Golf's leading female broadcaster spills the beans on her Olympic summer job, her friendship with Tiger and what it takes to become a TV star.In a new series, Golf Digest Woman profiles some of the...

Trending: Suzann Pettersen has a nice body

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 13:57:00 GMT

Photo by Jeff Lipsky courtesy ESPN The Magazine

If you haven't been paying attention lately, professional golfers on both sides of the gender aisle are getting hotter, with a big reason being the increased emphasis on fitness. So it doesn't surprise us that ESPN the Magazine selected one of the most physically fit women on the LPGA tour in Suzann Pettersen to appear completely naked in the 2012 installment of their Body Issue.

Ranked No. 6 in the world, and coming off of a top-10 finish at the U.S. Women's Open, the issue is hitting newsstands while the proverbial iron is hot. At 5' 9" and 150 pounds, the Norwegian has a naturally muscular build that lends itself to the notion that golfers are indeed athletes; something ESPN has taken notice of in their annual roster of nude photoshoots.

"A lot of the best athletes in the world have done it, and I thought it was great to be asked." Pettersen admitted to USA Today. "I just had to make sure that I was comfortable in doing it. It's as natural as it gets. It's health at its peak.

"I'm in great company."

Related: Who is the hottest golfer?

Pettersen joins fellow LPGA tour players Belen Mozo, Christina Kim, Sandra Gal and Anna Grzebien who have posed in their birthday suit for the Body Issue. And lest we forget the uncomfortable naked spider-pose Camillo Villegas blessed us with in 2010. Alongside the likes of NBA center Tyson Chandler, NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski, recent Home Run Derby runner-up Jose Bautista, soccer forward Abby Wambach and seven players from the U.S. volleyball team, Pettersen knows she's in good company ... just don't expect it to become a regular thing.

"There's nothing to be ashamed about. I am honored that they asked me to be with world-class athletes. I won't be posing nude again, but I'm glad I did it."

ESPN The Magazine's 2012 Body Issue hits stands this Friday, July 13.

-- Derek Evers
Follow @derekevers

Slow play, high scores plague Rd. 3 of the U.S. Women's Open

Stina Sternberg — Sat, 07 Jul 2012 22:53:00 GMT

KOHLER, Wis.-- Beware the wrath of the USGA. After Michelle Wie shot a six-under 66 on Friday at the U.S. Women's Open, and second-round leader Suzann Pettersen told the media that the Blackwolf Run rough...

Pettersen oversleeps, takes U.S. Women's Open lead

Stina Sternberg — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 20:27:00 GMT

KOHLER, WIS. --Suzann Pettersen had a rough morning on Friday. "I thought it was awfully light in the room when I woke up, at 6:40, an hour late," she said after finishing her second round...

On-course betting? Pettersen says no more

Stina Sternberg — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 01:43:00 GMT

The ultra-competitive Suzann Pettersen might be a sucker for a side bet, but on Saturday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, she ended up, well, just a sucker. Paired with an on-form Brittany Lang, who...

Pettersen looks to defend at Sybase Match Play

Alex Myers — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:33:00 GMT

GLADSTONE, N.J. -- Everyone knows about Yani Tseng's 13 tournament titles last year, but one of 2011's most underrated feats in women's golf was Suzann Pettersen's dominant match-play record. Across the continent last year...