Rocking chair ladies still rock

Although LPGA youngsters get the hype, the veterans get a lot of the glory

Laura Davies still hits it as far as she used to, even if fewer people seem to notice. In the late '90s, when she was at her peak, Davies' big drives dwarfed those of her competition -- a phenomenon like none the LPGA Tour had ever seen.

This year, Davies is eighth in driving distance. Her drives haven't gotten shorter. The tour's new wave of young talent has caught up. Funny thing is, she's still in the top 15 on the money list.

That's the state of things in women's golf these days. The cheerful, often blond, charismatic young Americans who seem to be taking over the tour -- Morgan Pressel, Brittany Lincicome, Paula Creamer -- get all the attention. But look at the final pairing on any given Sunday or the top of the money list, and a lot of the same names will be there that have been there for years.

The tour's slogan may be "These Girls Rock!" but the ladies, so to speak, can still rock, too.

"I think it's probably a little bit blown out of proportion, in that the old players, it makes it look like if we have a good week it's a miracle," Davies said. "But Juli [Inkster] is up there most weeks and I've had mine, if not as many as I should have had. There are a lot of players, and you could name a lot more than that."

Perhaps only two of the top nine at the LPGA Championship were 30 or older, but eight of the top 20 were. Of the top 25 on the LPGA Tour money list, 10 are 30 or older -- including three over 40.

Look at the Monday playoff at last year's U.S. Open, and it was 36-year-old Annika Sorenstam outdueling 37-year-old Pat Hurst for the title.

The so-called changing of the guard may be a bit overblown.

As it turns out, that's fine with many of the LPGA Tour's veterans, who saw the same faces for years on the American team at the Solheim Cup -- the women's version of the Ryder Cup -- while other countries seemed to be providing the tour's best young talent.

There's no question that has changed now.

"We were very concerned that we didn't have young American players coming up," said Meg Mallon, 44, who won her second U.S. Open in 2004. "So for Juli and Rosie [Jones] and Beth [Daniel] and Betsy [King] and myself, we're very happy to see the American resurgence and see these good young players coming up and playing.

"There's no resentment by age by any means, because we were concerned about the future of our tour. And it's looking pretty good."

For many veterans, that's a point of pride. They helped build the foundation for the LPGA Tour's youth movement.

As for those building upon it, they openly acknowledge the work done by their predecessors.

"We're excited just to help them out and be a part of this with them," Lincicome said. "Because to stand by an Annika or Juli Inkster, you looked up to them growing up so to be hitting on the range by them means you've accomplished a lot. There's no rivalry. They're happy when we win and we're happy when they win."

The biggest change, veterans say, is the depth of talent on the tour. Between the young American stars and the massive influx of South Koreans, it's never been tougher to win.

That's different from a few years back, when the same elite group of players -- with Sorenstam at the head of the list -- would win the vast majority of tournaments.

"We're seeing a lot of new faces," Sorenstam said. "We're seeing a new generation on the tour and the depth is there. It's a lot more competitive, and that's good for the game. The players are a lot better today than they were 10 years ago and it's much tougher to win out there today."