Golfer Paula Creamer is "calling for a women's Masters" at Augusta National Golf Club and would "love for organizers to at least listen to the idea" of women playing a tourney in consecutive weeks with the men's event, according to Janie McCauley of the AP. Creamer yesterday said, "I think the patrons and everybody would love to have two weeks there, two tournaments. Why wouldn't you? Hopefully, we will see something change and happen." McCauley noted while Creamer "hasn't heard from anyone official at Augusta, there has been plenty of positive feedback since she made the comments." Creamer: "It's 2015. I think Augusta and the Masters and everybody with that event, they want to grow the game so badly. That's what it is, about growing the game and giving people opportunities. The Chip and Putt, all of that for the kids to be able to come out there. There's no reason why we can't do that in women's golf. We're just as much a part of growing the game" (AP, 4/21). GOLFCHANNEL.com's Randall Mell noted Augusta National Chair Billy Payne "shot down the notion of a women's Masters" in his pre-tournament address earlier this month. Creamer: "There is no reason why you can't revisit things and you can't look at it. I think somebody's got to speak up and say something. ... I don't think that people should be ashamed to talk about it. I would like to know truthfully why we wouldn't be able to have a tournament there" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 4/21).
WHOLE LOTTE LOVE: In California, Larry Bohannan wrote the final round of the LPGA Lotte Championship last Saturday "produced one of the more remarkable finishes to a tournament." The playoff win by Sei Young Kim was "remarkably exciting golf," but the "question is, how many fans actually had a chance to see the unreal finish?" The tournament concluded on Saturday, and because it was held in Hawaii, that "meant a finish" after 11:00pm ET. Bohannan: "For the most part, you have to give the LPGA credit for trying anything different." The LPGA has a "wonderful product these days, and the last two tournaments have shown that." It also "puts out a strong, competitive show within its parameters" and is a tour that "deserves more viewers than it is getting, whether it is finishing on a Saturday or a Sunday" (Palm Springs DESERT SUN, 4/21).
