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Tseng—The complete No 1 by belle smith
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Tseng—The complete No 1 |
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Sports
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She's called Yani Tseng and at Carnoustie last week she successfully defended the Ricoh Women's British Open. She is 22-years-old, it was her fifth major championship win, she's the youngest winner of five majors in the male or female game in the modern era and if she was a man she'd be the biggest news in golf right now. It was somehow appropriate that Tseng won by playing ping g20 driver at Carnoustie because the legend of Ben Hogan hovers over that venue and the players have two things in common (in addition to multiple major victories): the first is supreme ball-striking skills and the second the fact that both had to learn the knack of converting great opportunities into wins. Hogan learned that art through dogged determination; Tseng did so following sessions with the mind coaches at Vision 54. That work on her mental strength has reaped astonishing rewards, but Tseng - one of the most refreshingly open and likeable interviewees at tournament press conferences - is the first to admit that she has not conquered the nerves; she merely deals with them. In the last two years, she has dealt with them very well indeed. At Royal Birkdale last year she learned how to hold a 54-hole lead with ping g20 irons in a major and maintain it. This year she admitted that, prior to attempting to chase down the 54-hole leader Caroline Masson, "I was nervous, my stomach was hurting." Her 2011 ploy to combat nerves was different - she looked around at the scenery and the galleries. But she did repeat her habit of writing notes to herself in her yardage book. "I wrote 'good posture, good preparation'," she said, "and, yeah, 'smile'." Tseng has worked hard to reach her current position because at the end of 2009 she knew that she was not winning as often as she should. The under-achievement was relative but she recognised how it limited her potential. In addition to working with Vision 54 she talked to Annika Sorenstam. The two formed a bond (and swapped a house) and ever since Sorenstam has cajoled and encouraged Tseng's blossoming as a multiple major champion. And yet what it noticeable is that Tseng's personality has not been neutered by all the mind and body work - her idiosyncratic English, shoulder-hunching giggle and bright-eyed enthusiasm remain infectious. The improvement of her results has also been mirrored in the advancement of her English. At Royal Lytham two years ago I asked about her experiences of Britain. She struggled to answer but desperately and enthusiastically wanted to. Twelve months later at Birkdale I took her aside and asked a question. She pondered it and then conspiratorially whispered with taylormade r11 irons, "That's a great idea, but our secret, right?" This year she conducted confident press conferences, was rarely troubled by language and maintained the smiling playfulness that was there at Lytham and Birkdale. She's had plenty to smile about, of course. In 2010-11 she has played 40 tournaments, completing ten wins and adding another nine top five finishes with titleist 910 d3 driver . The ladies' games, like the men's, had witnessed a "hot potato" scenario following Lorena Ochoa's retirement but Tseng's consistency inevitably saw her assume the number one spot in the Rolex world rankings during the early months of this year. But, alongside the sheer quantity of good results, what makes Tseng special is that she also adds quality: sure she can win anywhere in the world, on whatever tour, on different styles of courses, but what really counts is that, when it matters, in the majors, she continues to win. More information welcome to http://www.heygolfer.com
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