Tseng: ‘It’s the title that counts’

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March 15, 2012

Yani Tseng is hardly jumping up and down at the news that the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup winner will be paid.

World No 1 Yani Tseng and defending champion Karrie Webb are hardly jumping up and down at the news that this year’s prize winners at the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup will be paid.

They weren’t last year when the LPGA Tour players competed for a purse that all went to charity – and were not doing this year either on hearing that the winner will get $225,000 in hard cash from a real purse of $1.5 million.

Taiwan’s Top-ranked Tseng and Australian star Webb both say they are too busy trying to win tournaments to get caught up in actually worrying about getting paid – and especially at this week’s second edition of the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup.

Tseng said at a press conference on Wednesday ahead of her tee-off on Thursday at the Wildfire Golf Club: “I feel the same, either way. Whether we play for charity or we play for money makes no difference to me because, I mean, everybody wants to win a tournament. It’s not about money, it’s about the title.”

Webb had similar feelings.

“I don’t know for me if it has a different feel,” Webb said.

“I certainly appreciate – and I know all the girls do – the extra support that RR Donnelley contributed this year.

“I think it’s fantastic of them to step up. The only difference this year is that there aren’t any negative questions being asked about such a great concept. I think it’s all positive this year.”

The tournament is the LPGA Tour’s fourth of 2012 and first in the United States this year.

Jessica Korda was the LPGA Tour’s winner at the Women’s Australian Open, Tseng successfully defended her Honda LPGA Thailand title, and Angela Stanford took the HSBC Women’s Champions in a playoff in Singapore on February. 26.

“Winning in Thailand gave me enough confidence to make me believe I can do it again, I know I can play well,” said Tseng who last year picked up seven LPGA Tour titles, including two Majors, the LPGA Championship and Women’s British Open, and overall finished 2011 with 12 worldwide titles.

Webb, in the meantime, won here last year for her second straight LPGA Tour victory and 38th title overall with Brittany Lincicome and Paula Creamer tying for second, a stroke back.

“I feel like I’m pretty close (to her best),” Webb said. “I made some changes in the off season to my swing, just to tidy things up a little bit.

“It’s becoming more consistent. So I need to work on that to where I feel like it’s there day in and day out. My coach, Ian Triggs, will be here next week, so it’s a matter of if I can take it from the range to the course.

“But I’m not quite carrying it out on the course consistently. And sometimes I think that’s just because I’ve done so much technical work on the range that I’m taking that technical thought process out on to the course and I really need to figure it up a little bit.”

Tseng also is tinkering in a bid to improve her distance control.

“I’ve been working really hard through my off season,” Tseng said.

“With the Asian three, I played well, but my distance was kind of off a little bit. I hit farther with my irons, my driver and woods.

“Last week, I was in Orlando with my coach and we worked on some distance to make sure every club is like more consistent to hitting 5 or 7 yards longer. So now I feel very comfortable on my distance. And I don’t have to be afraid if I hit the shot it’s going to go longer or shorter, so I just feel good about it.”

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