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Living Golf

Sorenstam's Incredible Career; Sorenstam's Short Game Tips; Asian Players Shake Up Women's Golf; Future Stars of Women's Golf

Aired October 02, 2014 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(MUSIC PLAYING)

SHANE O'DONOGHUE, CNN HOST (voice-over): This month on LIVING GOLF, we're by the shores of Lake Geneva in France for the final major of the

year, the Evian Championship. We're here to profile the rising tide in the women's professional game.

We reflect on the past with a living legend.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): When you're competitive, you want to be good at something. You don't like losing. You want to do things

well and there are really no shortcuts to success. You've just got to put in the time.

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): We focus on the present with today's biggest stars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Once you (INAUDIBLE) that scorecard, (INAUDIBLE) game plays along. May the best player win.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): I think after all it's to win. You've got your (INAUDIBLE) out there.

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): And we look into the future with names you'll be reading about soon -- maybe too soon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): I believe in the next three years she's going to be the best amateur in the country, the next 10 years she'll

be the best player in the world.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE: It's Saturday evening at the Evian Championship and an opportunity for the world's best golfers to swap their spikes for their

stilettos at the inaugural Rolex ANNIKA Major Award.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Named after the 10-time Grand Slam champion Annika Sorenstam, this award recognizes the player with the best overall

performances in all of the majors this year.

Most of the contenders are here, France Nabisco champion Lexi Thompson, LPGA championship winner NB Park and U.S. Women's Open champion

Michelle Wie.

Golf icons on the course, style icons off it. Star-studded events like this are now commonplace in the women's game, big names, big sponsors

and a host only too willing to help promote the night and the sport overall.

ANNIKA SORENSTAM, 10-TIME MAJOR WINNER: I'm excited. I mean, I certainly am proud of having my name in an award that is this prestigious,

that being an award that recognizes the players who play the best. Been in the works for a while. Now we're really going to reward the best player

this year in the major championships.

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): The winner will be decided after the conclusion of the Evian Championship.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Overlooking Lake Geneva, a chance to reflect with Annika on a remarkable career. Eighty-nine wins worldwide, eight

Player of the Year awards. Over $22 million in prize money until her retirement in 2008. Try emulating those achievements.

O'DONOGHUE: We're very lucky to interview so many of the great legends of the game and there seems to me to be a common trait, which is

decisiveness.

Do you buy into that?

SORENSTAM: I would, yes. You know, I never second guess myself. I mean, I'm aware that we make mistakes and but at the time, if you think

about all the facts, if you think about the situation and if you make a decision, that, in my opinion, that's all you can do at that time and head

on, try to think of, oh, what if. It's better to do it and then you have the facts or the reality in front of you.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Sorenstam brought a level of professionalism and intensity rarely seen on the tour to that point. Hours and hours spent

on the range, honing a swing that hardly ever broke down. Now her work ethic is copied by nearly every player out here.

SUZANN PETTERSEN (voice-over): Her strength was unique. She was a grind and she was a hard worker and she was definitely the result of hard

work. Pays off.

PAULA CREAMER (voice-over): She changed the face of golf. She brought in being athletic. She brought in being strong. She brought in

just learning how to control your emotions on the golf course.

LYDIA KO (voice-over): Just saying the name "Annika Sorenstam," that's just in capital letters.

(LAUGHTER)

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Do you like to communicate with the current players now and share little secrets from your peak years?

SORENSTAM (voice-over): It's always flattering when a player asks for advice or say, you know, how did you do it or what do you recommendation I

do or -- I mean, I made mistakes going out because that's what you learn, it's a little trial and error and that's just how life is.

And you learn. I mean, 17 is professionally you learn what works and what doesn't work and where you should spend your time. I remember

thinking 10 hours or 12 hours a day, it's just not enough. I need to do more. So if you can be a little bit more efficient, then just being out

there and sort of hitting dozens of balls, maybe think, OK, how can I make this practice worthwhile rather than just standing here and beating ball

after ball?

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): It was in 2003 where perhaps Sorenstam's biggest influence in the sport can be found. Amid much controversy, the

Swede was invited (INAUDIBLE) back of America colonial tournament (INAUDIBLE) since 1945 that a woman had teed it up in a men's PGA Tour

event.

She may have missed the cut, but her appearance highlighted the strength of the women's game.

SORENSTAM (voice-over): My intentions were never to prove that women can beat men. It was more I want to learn from the very best. How can I

get better? I feel like within me, I can get better, but I just didn't know how.

It tested me in a different level and then, of course, being in the limelight, I learned a lot about myself and really being committed to what

I wanted to do. So when the week came, I'd -- I've never experienced anything like it.

For me, it wasn't about the results. It wasn't about playing the weekend. It was about the journey, the things I learned about myself and

the steps I had to take. It was just -- it was incredible. When I speak to women having a big decision to make, we're all so scared, it's easier to

say no because then you don't have to worry about the consequences of it. But you're always going to wonder what it would be like.

It was a big turning point for me as a person and I think for women's golf. And just understanding that, for athletes, we want to get better.

We want to learn from the very best. And to put yourself in that situation, that was extreme -- an extreme test.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE: Well, we are by the shores of the beautiful Lake Geneva here in Evian-les-Bains, but earlier in the season I spent some time with

Annika at her academy in Orlando to get some serious golf lessons. Here's a "Hot Shot" from Annika Sorenstam.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): It's a good time to get your thoughts on how to approach long putting, because you don't want to waste shots, certainly

not towards the end that we're at.

SORENSTAM (voice-over): No, to me, there's nothing worse than a three-putt. A lot of people care about how far they hit it how straight.

But they really don't practice long putting. I mean, how do you practice long putts? Well, number one to me is importance of knowing the speed.

And to do that I think you have to have the fundamentals of the game.

Again, you need some feel but also the basic techniques. And then the golf swing, you would have the putter more in your fingers. I recommend

when you putt that you have it more in the hand, because the more you have it in the fingers, you be a little risky. Good players, they do not use

their wrist when they putt. Really feel like you have a good, solid contact. And also when you putt, that the putter's a little bit more

straighter.

You know, this is really just straight from your arm and down and hand in the motion for consistent distance and accuracy.

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): OK. Let's give it a go.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE: Don't think I hit that hard enough.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE: So that was the line I wanted, though. I'm quite hapy with that.

SORENSTAM (voice-over): That's interesting, how you said you didn't hit it hard enough. I think that when you putt, it's not so much a hit.

It's probably more the ball getting in the way, because that's how you get that smooth stroke and you get the ball rolling pretty quickly.

Take it a little lower and longer and slower back so it doesn't become that poppiness where you want that nice, smooth stroke.

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): OK. Let me try another one.

SORENSTAM (voice-over): How did that feel?

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Felt much better.

SORENSTAM (voice-over): Is it getting any closer?

Oh, yes. Nice. It was a lot smoother because, again, the back, the length of the back swing determines the length of the putt. And like, you

know, the previous one was a little short and stabby.

Well done?

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): It does require practice. So that's what I certainly need to do.

But a pleasure to have Annika again for this "Hot Shot" on LIVING GOLF.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Coming up after the break, we get up close and personal with those who are taking the game to the next level.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): The $3.25 million Evian Championship, the fifth and final major of the year.

(INAUDIBLE) Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa and Se-Ri Pak may have been dominant over the last couple of decades, today's tour is all about

strength in numbers of quantity and of quality. On any given day, any number of players can really make their mark.

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): The influx of Asian players has certainly raised the level of competition. Since 2008, South Korean players alone

have won nearly a quarter of all the majors. Their work ethic, such an important part of Korean life, has made players from other continents have

to up their games creating a tour every bit as competitive as the men's.

INBEE PARK (voice-over): You have so many people that in the competition in the league, only one person's going to win so we've got to

try hard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Once you're given that score card, it's game face on and may the best player win.

CHARLEY HULL (voice-over): I think everyone wants to win. You've got to (INAUDIBLE) out there.

SO YEON RYU (voice-over): You know, on the golf course, we are all fire. We change right away. We're so focused on our game that not really

talk that much.

AZAHARA MUNOZ (voice-over): You know, obviously you want to beat everybody. But at the end of the day, it's not that generally mean to them

or something like that.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Marketing has also played a significant part in raising the game's profile. Ten years ago, women's golf was seen as the

poor relation to the various men's tours. Not now. Many players have become household names, accessible to the global golf fan, perhaps even

more than their male counterparts.

Much of the success is down to the new approach taken by the LPGA.

MIKE WHAN, LPGA COMMISSIONER (voice-over): The U.S. was going through a bit of a recession and our business was feeling it as well. People

weren't spending money on hospitality and I said to the players, it's time for us to get back to basics, what we've always been good at is delivering

an experience for the customer like no other.

And I would tell you today, I believe that we're the most customer focused sport in the world, which maybe not saying much because a lot of

other sports don't focus on the customer. We do. And I think that's really what's been the difference over the last five years for us.

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): There is clearly a wonderful product but how do you get it to the masses?

WHAN (voice-over): The reality is, over the last few years, we really started to focus on broader TV coverage. Back in 2010, we had about 200

hours of television, 60 percent of it tape delayed. Today we have over 400 hours of TV and 95 percent of it live.

And so really it was just a matter of giving our fans the opportunity to see us on a regular basis. We were hard to find. And that's no longer

the case.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): All of these women are succeeding on their own terms, understanding the importance of promotion in a very crowded

marketplace. Many have embraced the digital age to create an aspirational lifestyle, a persona fans and sponsors buy into, a new type of girl power.

WHAN (voice-over): I always tell players that you have a lot of swing coaches out here that will tell you to pull the hat down, put the glasses

on and have no emotion, which is great. But it's difficult for us as fans to get engaged to that.

So the social media is a chance for them to talk about who they are and what they're doing off the golf course.

So putting their Twitter handles on the back of caddy bibs, making sure that when we're promoting, we're promoting their Twitter handles, not

ours. And the result has been phenomenal, (INAUDIBLE) both for their business and for ours.

RYU (voice-over): You know, when we put photos up on Instagram, it's not everything about our playing or how putting was going that day. It's

(INAUDIBLE) today we've gone to the beach or we're taking a selfie.

MUNOZ (voice-over): I love it. You know when people tell you like how great you played that day or they really like you (INAUDIBLE).

You know I think it's that I get more and more. I'm only Twitter and Facebook at the moment, so I think that I have to jump on Instagram and

(INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): When you think about professional golf or you think it's (INAUDIBLE) all we do is play golf, but it's tough.

I travel 30 weeks of the year. And if somebody can see that through Instagram or Twitter, whatever, that's pretty cool that you can have that

relationship. I know I post a lot about my dog and how (INAUDIBLE) but he is -- he's awesome. How could you not want to post little pictures of him?

So sorry to everybody about that, but he is like the apple of my eye.

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): In what was perceived as a male-dominated, testosterone-fueled sport, these women are offering an attractive

alternative.

WOODS (voice-over): I think that's the one that's unique with female sports is that you do see the athlete as a woman. She's able to balance

her athleticism, her feminism So I think that it's kind of cool that girls can be out there and they can still look cute, wear what they want to wear,

be free but then also be competitive and be fierce.

WHAN (voice-over): Well, the reality of it is I'm lucky I'm the commissioner living in the fitness era. These are incredibly fit athletes.

They're incredibly self-disciplined and they're the best in the world at what they do. It's easy to turn the camera on them and me get out of the

way.

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): For now, promotion of the sport can wait. There's a major to win. Playing the 18th on the final day, it looks as if

seven-time major winner Karrie Webb's experience will pay off against 19- year-old South Korean Hyo-Joo Kim.

But with a one-shot lead, Webb chips her third shot past the hole. Kim up next.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): She makes birdie to move level with Webb. Karrie can only make bogey to give victory to Kim, her first major title on

the LPGA Tour. A star is born.

Despite having to withdraw from the tournament through injury, it's Michelle Wie with enough points from the previous four events to win the

inaugural Rolex ANNIKA Major Award.

Coming up, we look into the future of the women's game.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): We've looked at the past and present of women's golf. Now to delve into the future.

There's no doubt the women's game is getting younger. Just one look at the leaderboard at this Evian Championship and you'll see 14 players

aged 20 or below. They're young and they're fearless. And there's a saying in golf, if you're good enough, you're old enough.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): It's scary to see how good they are at such a young age, these new players coming up.

FENG (voice-over): I'm 25, but they make me feel like I'm 40 because they're just so good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): I never feel old out here. But in the real world, I'm really not that old. But when you playing with 14-,

15-year olds that have been out on tour for 2-3 years, it's interesting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): They're saying the teenagers are fearless and everything, but sometimes what goes in my head goes around in

my head is the like showing up there.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But is the trend going too far? Juniors such as France's Pauline Russe

(ph), Anne Bourchard (ph) and Mathilde Flass (ph) practicing here at the Evian driving range, seem somewhat older in comparison to younger girls

making their mark around the world.

These girls realize if they're not honing their skills, somewhere, someone maybe younger is.

Nearly 5,000 miles away from Evian in Florida, 10-year-old Alexa Pano is a girl on a mission.

ALEXA PANO, PRETEEN GOLFER (voice-over): My goal is to be an all-PGA Tour player and when many tournaments such as the U.S. Open like Michelle

Wie, and someday be good enough to be in the Hall of Fame.

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Already a five-time world champion and a winner of over 40 national and regional competitions, Pano finishes school

every day at 11:00 to hit up to 1,000 balls on the range at Winston Trails Golf Course.

Coached by Brian Symonds under the watchful gaze of her father, Rick, expectations are high.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the way to strike a golf ball, all the way.

RICK PANO, ALEXA'S FATHER: Alexa, you know, has probably had as much as if not more success than anybody that's been under 10 years old ever.

But the bottom line is that means zero. Each year the competition level gets tougher. So what you see is no different than any other sport. You

will see certain players that will work over and above and not be denied. And that's when you find out how good they are.

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Concerns are obvious, how normal a childhood is alexa experiencing?

RICK PANO (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) right here.

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): But both coach and father insist the drive, the determination all comes from the player.

BRIAN SYMONDS, COACH (voice-over): Every day she can't wait to get here. Every day she can't wait to work at her game. It's not her father

doing it; it's not me doing it. It's all about her. Andwhen I met her, she said, when I asked her her goals, "I want to be the best woman player

ever."

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Perhaps the best person to speak about the subject lives just down the freeway from alexa. The biggest former child

star in the women's game, 24-year-old Michelle Wie.

Back home on the beach with friend and manager Jamie (ph), after picking up her big award in France, Michelle can finally reflect on a

career come good.

MICHELLE WIE: Yes, there's definitely always going to be ups and downs in my career. I feel like they're very exaggerated. But when I came

to the (INAUDIBLE), I want to be really consistent and I think I've been doing that so far.

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): As with many girls today, michelle started early and soon found success. Like Tiger Woods a few years before her, the

pressure was on. For a few years, Wie struggled, juggling a teenage and tour life, withdrawals from tournaments, time away from the game. Rumors

circulated in the golf world that maybe it was just growing pains.

WIE (voice-over): You know, I think when I first started off, you know, you kind of like think, oh, everything's going to be great and

everything's going to have this projectile (sic) the rest of my life, I'm never going to come back down. I kind of have unrealistic expectations of

yourself when you're really young and you always try to set timelines and life doesn't happen like that. There's obstacles in the way and stuff

happens. And I learned that very quickly. (INAUDIBLE) helped me to realize that you're going to have ups and downs and you have to just roll

with it. And in the end, it's just whether or not you're happy or not. And that's the most important thing.

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Eventually, it all came good with an improved short game to match her prodigious length, Wie began mixing it

with the best again.

Earlier this year, she won her first major, the uswopen at Pinehurst, a fairy tale for all up-and-coming girls out there.

WIE (voice-over): I think the only advice would be just do what makes you happy. It doesn't matter what other people think of you; it odesn't

matter what others want you to do. It doesn't matter how many tournaments you win. You've still got to enjoy every single one of them. You've got

to enjoy the ground as well, too. Try your hardest and go with the flow of things.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

O'DONOGHUE (voice-over): Age issues aside, the women's game has never been in ruder health. But what does the future hold? Where will the game

and these women be in 10 years' time?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): I think that global growth is going to continue, more tournaments, more stability. The prize money is growing

significantly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Olympics is going to (INAUDIBLE). I think that's just such a big step in that we're going to be on the same

showcase as the men. That's what we want.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Where the game's going to go in five, 10 years, I mean, who knows? I think the level of golf is just going

to get better and better.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) in 10 years' time, a bit older, (INAUDIBLE) gray hairs and still (INAUDIBLE) golf course.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE). I don't know if I will play in golf.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): I have no idea. I don't think that far (INAUDIBLE).

Until next month on LIVING GOLF, see you.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END