No end in sight for Webb

2008-11-06

Share this article:  Digg |  StumbleUpon |  del.icio.us |  Reddit

By Andrew Both PA SportsTicker Golf Writer

SHIMA SHI, Japan (Ticker) - Karrie Webb has no intention of following Annika Sorenstam into retirement. At least not anytime soon.

Webb, speaking here Wednesday on the eve of the LPGA Tour’s Mizuno Classic, indicated she had not even given a serious thought to giving up the game.

“I don’t think that Annika retiring makes me think about when I’m going to retire,” said the 33-year-old Australian, who only a few years ago was Sorenstam’s fierce rival as they traded the LPGA’s No. 1 ranking. “I think knowing the age that I am, I am probably closer to the end of my career than when I started.

“I think it is always in the back of your mind, thinking about when it will be enough is enough. Right now, I am still working as hard as I have been, so I don’t see an end in the near future.”

With the recent dominance of Lorena Ochoa and a bevy of upstart Korean players, the Webb-Sorenstam rivalry seems like ancient history to some. Nonetheless, their dominance around the turn of the century provided one of the better rivalries in recent memory.

“We definitely have pushed each other to reach high levels,” said Webb, who won five majors in a sizzling seven-event stretch at the peak of her career between 1999-2001. “I guess I just feel pretty lucky that I was able to compete well with a player that probably is one of the best players to ever play on the LPGA.”

Webb skipped the first two events of the LPGA’s Asian swing, which wraps up here after visiting China and Korea, preferring instead to return to Australia before arriving in Japan last week.

Her early arrival allowed her to take in a game of the Japan Series baseball championship between the Yomiuri Giants and the Saitama Seibu Lions, but her thoughts for the next three days will be focused on golf as she tries to end a somewhat disappointing year on a high note.

“I have swung the club really well, and I just haven’t been able to get it in the hole as quickly as I would have liked,” said Webb, who is 20th on this year’s LPGA money list. “I think the putting has turned around a little bit, and hopefully I can put everything together this week.”

The 78-woman field here at Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club is split equally between Japan Tour and LPGA members.

The local contingent has an extra incentive, because a victory earns automatic membership on the LPGA Tour.

That’s how Momeko Ueda secured her spot on the American-based circuit last year.