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CalhounGolf.com

  Sorry, guys, but unless something changes in a big way before the end of the year, the women will continue to outshine you. Women’s golf is on fire right now.

I tip my hat to the young amateurs who hit the golf scene this year like an afternoon Florida thunderstorm -- fast, beautiful and electrically charged. This year, they’ve hit the grass with power, and they refuse to back down.

Take, for example, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel and Michelle Wie. Creamer, 19, said her goal this year was to make the Solheim Cup team as a rookie, and she did it. Whether or not you agree with Wie’s decision to play more professional than amateur tournaments, you must acknowledge the fifteen-year-old has had very high finishes in the professional majors. And Pressel, 17, (my favorite) came in second in the U.S. Open and later in the summer, went on to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship as well as other tournaments.

What’s more, the Korean program has taken off. I don’t know what they’re doing, but their formula works. This year alone, they’ve produced two major champions -- Birdie Kim, who won the U.S. Open with a dramatic holed-out bunker shot, and Jeong Jang (JJ), who won the British Open over the likes of the great Annika Sorenstam.

Nobody can deny these ladies have class and style. I’m impressed by their demeanor when a reporter asks them about Annika Sorenstam’s success. They don’t seem annoyed; rather, they say they respect what she’s done to bring light to women’s golf. Then, they go out and work that much harder to warrant their own headlines.

I’ve watched women’s golf for many years, and I’m thrilled with the ladies’ competitive attitude and dedication to the game. The LPGA is growing, too, and will continue to do so under the direction of new commissioner Carolyn Vesper Bivens, the first female to serve in that role.