Lu Wins Two Straight Majors

- Apparently all Teresa Lu needed was a little confidence boost. After not winning a single professional tournament in her career, Lu has now won four tournaments in two years. These tournaments include the Mizuno Classic, a joint LPGA/JLPGA tournament, and three tournaments this year, including the last two majors. After joining the LPGA Tour eight years ago and not being able to do much in her four years in the states, it's easy to forget that Lu is only 27 years old. She entering the prime of her career, and now knows how to seal the deal. It will be interesting to see if Lu has any eyes on the LPGA Tour once more.

- Shingo Katayama is still the man. After captivating American audiences with his cowboy hats and his strong finishes in majors, it seemed like Katayama was done as a big figure in Japanese golf. His final round 65 at the Casio World Open showed otherwise. It was Katayama's 28th Japan Tour victory, and his first in 2014. He has been playing a lot better lately, and I'm sure he'd like to qualify for those majors once again.

- A couple of players did not help their major chances this week. The strong surging Hiroshi Iwata missed the cut by a stroke, meaning he will need a really big week this week to jump into the top 3. Koumei Oda finished T14, which doesn't help him and means he may need a victory next week to jump into the top 50 in the world and get an invite to the Masters (though he appears to be a lock for the Open Championship). Ryo Ishikawa once again had a mediocre tournament, the fourth Japan Tour tournament he's played this season where he has made the cut but has not contended. The pressure appears to be on for these players, as they continue to play meaningful tournaments in 2014.

- I don't know what planet Jordan Speith was playing on this weekend, but it certainly wasn't Earth. On a tough golf course in difficult scoring conditions, Speith shot a final round 63 for a seven shot victory at the Emirates Australian Open. Speith's 63 was five shots better than the next best score on Sunday. This wasn't an easy field, either - Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott were among the players that headlined this event. Something clicked in Speith this week, and if he keeps that same energy going into next year, watch out.

News Grab-Bag: 11/28/2014

- In honor of Black Friday and Cyber Monday (which I don't know is still a thing or not), the PGA Tour store has a bunch of different deals. If you're looking for some golf goods over the off season, now would be a good time to grab them. You can also find some end of the season deals at the LPGA Pro Shop, though that seems unrelated to Black Friday.

- Tiger Woods found his newest swing coach, and that is Chris Como. Up until recently, it was thought that Tiger would go without a swing coach, but he shocked the world this week when he announced the relatively unknown Como as his newest swing coach. It is unknown what kind of work Como will do with Tiger and whether or not he plans on retooling his swing as other coaches in the past have done.

- European Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter says he looks forward to the day when he gets asked to captain the squad, but said he has another ten years before getting asked. Poulter also confirmed that Darren Clarke is the favorite to be the captain in two year's time, and that Clarke has a great relationship with the players, which has helped his candidacy.

- The idea of a "world tour", which was suggested in the past, received new light as PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem suggested that the PGA Tour satellite tours, which includes minor tours in Canada, China, and Latin America, may be part of a "bigger picture". While the idea of growing the game globally excites me, perhaps the Tour should first look at making the World Golf Championships more global, instead of having three fixed locations in the United States every year.

- When Adam Scott played in Australia last year, he was playing as the new number one player in the world and recent Masters champion. This week, he comes in at world number three as Henrik Stenson passed him following Stenson's victory in Dubai last week. If Scott can win this week, he will retake the number two position. While Rory McIlroy seems to have the number one spot locked down, the spots behind him will likely remain fluid all season. After Adam Scott, the rest of the top five are Bubba Watson and Sergio Garcia. Hideki Matsuyama, who won the Dunlop Phoenix last week, moved up to 16th in the world.

- After the great season she had, it would be understandable if Michelle Wie felt content after winning twice, including a major. Instead, Wie seemed to suggest that she was frustrated that she got injured and was unable to capitalize on her strong play in the summer. Wie said her goal for next year is to become number one in the world. She is currently ranked 6th in the world, and among the players she would need to pass to achieve that goal if phenom Lydia Ko, who won three times and took home $1.5 million in one week, as well as Stacy Lewis and Inbee Park, who are among the most consistent players we have ever seen on Tour. It would be an incredible task if Wie is able to pass these players, as she would likely need to win about four times next season.

- Brooks Koepka was among the finalists for the PGA Tour Rookie Of The Year award, despite not playing a full season on that Tour and being ineligible for the playoffs. He got some redemption this week as Koepka won the European Tour Rookie Of The Year award. Koepka finished 8th in the Race to Dubai standings and is going to be playing a full time schedule on the PGA Tour this season.

Wednesday Preview - Casio World Open

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! The PGA, LPGA, and European Tours are all done for the season. The big stars head down under for the Australian Open, as Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott will be among the players in Sydney. On the Japan Tour, however, there is an exciting race for the Order Of Merit, and with two weeks left in the season, Japan's next superstar is still waiting to be born.

Course: Kochi Kuroshio Country Club. I am having a tough time finding out the exact length of this course or how difficult it is, but the pictures of the course and the resort it sits on look absolutely stunning. They moved this event to Kochi Kuroshio in 2005, and scores have ranged between -11 and -21. Expect middle teens under par again this week.

Strength Of Field: N/A. Unlike last week, this is strictly a Japan Tour event, with no outside golfers. For that reason, I have decided not to give this event a field strength. If you're looking for the big name players, however, head to Sydney.

Extra Tidbits: The final two weeks of this season is huge for many players in the field. The top 50 in the world ranking on December 31th gets an invitation to The Masters. Also, the top 2 money winners after next week's event get an invite into the Open Championship...The defending champion would be Hideki Matsuyama, who won last week; however, Hideki is not in the final field for some unknown reason...the top ranked player in the field is Koumei Oda at 54th in the world. Hiroshi Iwata is right behind him at 63...Ryo Ishikawa tees it up this week for his forth straight Japan Tour start, Last week's T31 was his best finish in that stretch...Sung-Joon Park, rookie on the PGA Tour this season, will be playing this week, as will former PGA Tour winner Ryuji Imada...former winners of this event include Bernhard Langer, Lee Trevino, and Sandy Lyle.

Fantasy Four:

Hiroshi Iwata - Final round 63 put Iwata in the playoff last week and gave him his 12th top 10 of the season. Currently sitting at 63rd in the world and 4th on the Order of Merit, so he needs a couple of big weeks to get some invites into some big tournaments. Should be well motivated.

Koumei Oda - Two time winner of this event and the leader in the Order of Merit. A win could secure an invite to the Masters. Two wins this season, and has been incredibly close to two others. Missed a top 10 last week by one shot.

Shingo Katayama - Five top 10's to balance out only one missed cut in 2014 shows a resurgence for the iconic Katayama. Finished T9 last week, but could have been much better had it not been for a third round 73. This week will be a test to see if he can string together two good weeks.

Ryo Ishikawa - At some point, something has to click with him. Played better in his two events on the US Tour this season than he had on the Japan Tour since. Perhaps fatigue is getting to him, but he is too good to not find a way to play well in a limited field towards the end of the season.

Last Weeks Team:

Jordan Speith: T3

Hideki Matsuyama: WINNER

Hideto Tanihara: T31

Hiroshi Iwata: 2nd

How Did I Do? Looking Back On My Predictions

At the beginning of the year, I made a few LPGA predictions, most of which were incredibly bold at the time. An entire season has gone by since then, so let's see how much of a physic I was.

- Se Ri Pak will win the HanaBank Championship: FAILURE
It was another injury plagued season for Se Ri, who only made one start on the Asian Swing, and that happened to be the HanaBank, where she withdrew after three rounds. She started the season strong and almost completed the career grand slam at the Kraft Nabisco, but it ended like too many seasons have ended for Pak lately - on the IR.

- Lydia Ko won't win on the LPGA Tour, but will still be Rookie Of The Year: FAILURE
Probably my worst prediction. Ko won three times this season, including the CME Tour Championship, and won the season long CME Globe title. If Ko had not won, then South Korea's Mirim Lee would have taken the title, as she won twice on Tour this season. It was a fantastic rookie class that was ready to win right away, and my doubts of Ko have been completely eliminated. Note to self: never doubt Ko again.

- The five majors will have five different champions: SUCCESS
Lexi Thompson, Michelle Wie, Mo Martin, Inbee Park, and Hyo Joo Kim were the five winners of the majors this season. There wasn't a lot of parity on the LPGA Tour this season, but there certainly was in the biggest events.

- Eun-Hee Ji will win before Yani Tseng: ???
Neither won on Tour this season, so this is an incomplete score.

5) Lexi Thompson will win a major: SUCCESS
Lexi made her leap into the pond and into superstar status when she won the Kraft Nabisco Championship in the first major of the season. Lexi's season took a bit of a tumble following that moment, but it does not change the fact that Lexi is no longer looked at as a young up and coming star. She is a superstar, one of the biggest names on Tour, and is now expected to deliver on the biggest stages.

4) Beatriz Recari will win the most tournaments by a European player: FAILURE
Recari will look back on 2014 as the year she won the International Crown with her fellow Spanish players, but that will be the only good memory she takes away from this season. In fact, all of Europe will likely try to forget this season, as only one player, Anna Nordqvist, won on Tour this season. Off the heels of a successful defense of the Solheim Cup last season, it was expected that the European players would begin to step up, and yet they have all taken a step back. Currently, there is only one European player in the top 10 of the Rolex Rankings, and that is Suzann Pettersen, whose world ranking fell from 2nd to 4th this season. Beatriz Recari has fallen all the way to 58th.

3) The Player Of The Year will NOT come from The Big Three: FAILURE
It came down to Inbee Park and Stacy Lewis, who battled it out with Suzann Pettersen last year. Pettersen has been replaced in The Big Three by Lydia Ko, but Park and Lewis continue to play at a different level.

2) So Yeon Ryu will be the top ranked Korean: FAILURE
I expected a drop off by Inbee Park following her record breaking 2013, and that did not happen. Even if she wasn't playing at her best, she still won three times, including a major. Ryu did win once and had another dozen top 10's, but she will likely look at 2014 for the events she didn't win rather than the one she did. Park will likely be the top Korean for a little while longer, while Ryu remains t great player, but has to look behind her for Hyo Joo Kim, who is now ranked 9th in the world and exploded on the scene in a big way. Kim will play a part time schedule on the LPGA Tour next season.

1) Michelle Wie will win in 2014: SUCCESS
It's amazing to think that this was a really insane prediction to make 11 months ago, but it truly was. The world had given up on Michelle Wie ever attaining a level of success on the LPGA Tour, and yet she exploded with a renewed confidence in 2014, with two wins, including the US Women's Open, and 13 top 10's to her credit. If she wasn't injured for part of the season, Wie might have been part of the conversation for Player Of The Year, and will try and be even better next season now that the expectations have risen for her once again.

Lydia Ko's Really Big Payday

- Lydia Ko is used to breaking records, usually for her age. This week, however, she broke a completely different record that has nothing to do with how young she is. Lydia Ko won the CME Tour Championship, and in doing so, also won the CME Globe race. That means Ko won a grand total of $1.5 million, a record for one player on the LPGA in one day. Ko did it in style, too, firing a bogey free 68 in tough conditions and out dueling Carlota Ciganda and Julieta Granada in the playoff. An incredible year topped off with an incredibly finish, and for the LPGA, they have to be feeling really good knowing that Lydia Ko is their future (as well as their present.)

- Between Lydia Ko and Lorde, it has been a great year for teenagers from New Zealand.

- While Lydia Ko was putting the finishing touches on the CME Globe race, Stacy Lewis was being informed that she won every other major LPGA award. After Lewis' strong weekend and Inbee Park's struggles all weekend, Lewis locked up the Player Of The Year award and the Vare Trophy. The race became much closer at the end of the year than expected, and all credit in the world goes to Inbee for putting on the pressure, but Lewis was so consistent throughout the middle part of the year that she was almost a lock for a top 10 every week. I have a feeling, however, that this won't be the last time we see these two duel it out for these prestigious awards.

- It seems like a long time ago since we've seen Morgan Pressel at the top of the leaderboard on a consistent basis. The last three tournaments she has played, however, she has finished T4, T11, and solo 4th. If the season was just a little bit longer, Pressel looked like she may be on track for her first victory since 2008. This new confidence, which she contributes to Taylor Swift's album "1989", should translate over into next year. And yes, I mentioned both Lorde and Taylor Swift. Find another golf blog that's willing to go deep into pop culture.

- Not all top 10's are created equal. For So Yeon Ryu, her T7 finish should feel somewhat disappointing. At one point on Sunday she was one shot back of the leaders, but three bogies in four holes to end the front nine derailed her chances to win the tournament. For I.K. Kim, her T9 finish should feel like a massive success. Kim has struggled all season. In fact, this was only her second top 10 of the season. To end a frustrating season on a high note should be a relief for Kim, who can now put 2014 behind her.

- Since returning from injury, Michelle Wie notched 3 top 10 finishes in five tournaments, ending with two victories and 13 top 10's this season, easily the best season of her career. With added confidence and a few months to be completely healthy, it will be interesting to see how Wie performs next season for an encore performance,

- I fell like Henrik Stenson is the forgotten man when talking about the best players in the world. Perhaps it is because his major record isn't as good as some of the others, but there is no doubt that Henrik can beat anyone anywhere given the chance. This week, he successfully defended his title in Dubai against the best the European Tour had to offer. His Sunday round of 70 was the first time in twelve rounds that he shot 70 or worse. The man is one fire, and the only thing missing from his resume is a major.

- After not playing for a month and after already capturing the Race To Dubai title, the world would have forgiven Rory McIlroy if he played poorly last week. Instead, he came within two shots of Stenson, and this after he already admitted he was not playing his best golf. If this is Rory's C game, I feel sorry for everyone else.

- There are a lot of people, myself included, who are waiting to see how good Victor Dubuisson really is. He has played primarily on the European Tour so we only get to see him in majors and other big tournaments. Still, he always seems to show up when people forget about him. His final round 68 was good enough to tie him with McIlroy and Justin Rose, which is really good company, and at only 24, we have yet to see Dubuisson's best.

- When people talk about Hideki Matsuyama, they say how good he can be, mostly in comparison to other great Asian golfers. I think we are seeing history in the making - Hideki is likely to become the greatest Asian golfer of all time, and one of the top players in the world. He already has two top 10's on the PGA Tour this year, and just won a big event on the Japan Tour. Is it impossible to think that Hideki could win a major next year? Absolutely not. I for one am excited about the possibility of one of the top players in the world being from Asia. That will truly show how the globalization of golf.

- Hiroshi Iwata did not make it easy on Hideki, as he fired a final round 63 to get into a playoff. Iwata is fresh off his top five performance at the WGC-HSBC Champions event, and has been one of the best players on the Japan Tour this season. I am curious as to whether or not we will be seeing him a few times on the PGA Tour next season. The Sony Open in Hawaii always offers exemptions for the best Japanese players, and with a top finish there, you never know what may happen.

- I am encouraged by Jordan Spieth's T3 finish at the Dunlop Phoenix event. In a completely different country and completely different atmosphere, Speith was still able to make his way into contention and nearly walk away with the tournament. To me, that is an encouraging sign going forward.

Suzy Whaley Elected PGA Secretary

The votes are in and it is now official - Suzy Whaley will become the next secretary of the PGA of America, and in doing so, becomes the first female elected officer in PGA's 100 year history. In what was supposed to be a close battle, Whaley won on the first ballot with 52% of the vote.

The Secretary of the PGA of America typically takes over when the president becomes term limited, which means Whaley will become president of the PGA of America when new president Derek Sprague exits office. Whaley will not only be the first female president of the PGA of America, but will also be the first female president of any of the major non-LPGA specific golf organizations around the world, including the USGA, PGA Tour, and R&A.

This isn't just historic for the PGA of America, it's historic for golf in general. A big knock against golf is that it is a game for white, affluent males, and yet here comes Whaley, a hard working woman from Connecticut to break through that glass ceiling that has been covering the game of golf.

Whaley played a few years on the LPGA Tour, but left to start a family and to become a golf instructor. She married her husband, fellow PGA instructor Bill Whaley, in 1991. She became the Director of Instruction at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. In 2003, she became the first woman in 58 years to qualify for a PGA Tour event when she won the Connecticut PGA Championship, which qualified her for the Hartford Open. Her achievement inspired many young women to take up the game and accept training from a PGA professional.

It is rather fitting that, one month removed from the PGA of America being embroiled in controversy for Ted Bishop's "little girl" comments towards Ian Poulter, that they are now praised for electing the first female head of a major organization. Still, this is a huge crowning achievement for the PGA of America, for Suzy Whaley, and for the sport of golf. The future of the game now looks incredibly bright, and hopefully Whaley's election opens the door to other fine women to take leading roles in golf.

News Grab-Bag: 11/21/2014

- The 2015 LPGA schedule was released this week. There will be 33 events, as well as a new sponsor for the first major of the season. TonyJ over at Tony's LPGA Report did an amazing write up about the ins and outs of the new schedule, so go check that out.

- For any fans of Rory McIlroy who were concerned about his upcoming court case, Rory insists that the upcoming trial will not effect his golf. Rory said that the trial, which starts in February, will not distract him from his quest for the career grand slam when he tee's it up at the Masters in April.

- There's going low in a tournament, and then there is what John Hahn did. During the forth round of the six round European Tour Q-School, Hahn shot a 58, which would have been the record if the Q-School were considered an official round on the European Tour. This didn't seem to help Hahn, though - he shot a 78 the next round and ended up missing out on a Tour card by several shots.

- Looks like we may finally have a timeline for Dustin Johnson's return from suspension voluntary leave of absence. His fiance, Paulina, is set to give birth in January, and rumor has it that Johnson will return to the Tour at the Farmers Insurance Open in February. None of this has been confirmed, however, and the CEO of TaylorMade, Johnson's primary sponsor, hasn't heard from Johnson since he took his leave. One thing that is for sure, however, is that whenever Johnson returns, the golf media will be surrounding him.

- Back in September, Park Gyeol won the gold medal in the Asian Games in golf for South Korea. It looks like Park's career was just getting started, as she was the medalist in the KLPGA Q-School this week. Park won the Q-School by one stroke with a final round 67. I don't expect to see Park on the LPGA for a little while, but she is only 18 years old and immensely talented, so I have a feeling she's going to have quite the career in front of her.