Title: Tseng geared up for first LPGA event
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Blog Entry: World No 1 Yani Tseng believes she is better prepared with TaylorMade Ghost TM-110 Tour Putter than she has ever been for her opening stab this year at an LPGA Tour title. And this especially so as the Tour's opening event of the year, the Women's Australian Open, is being played at the country's famed sand belt course at Royal Melbourne in what will be the first time a women's professional tournament has ever been staged there. Until now, Royal Melbourne, which hosted last year's Presidents Cup won by the United States, has been strictly reserved for elite, mens events, so the field teeing off there on Thursday will contain very few contestants, if any, with first-hand competitive experience of it's shortish, but tough and unforgiving layout. Fully aware of this important factor, Tseng, who opened her season in 2011 with a victory in this very tournament and then went on to win 12 tournaments in all around the world, two of them majors and seven LPGA Tour events, carefully studied video clips of the Presidents Cup before going out and playing nine holes at Royal Melbourne on Monday, both to familiarize herself with the course and to launch her new easier, but more powerful TaylorMade Ghost TM-110 Tour Putter swing which she has been perfecting during the off-season On the video clips she studied, the 23-year-old Taiwanese icon told Australian Associated Press on Tuesday:."I watched many holes and I learned a lot from the TV. I know, for instance, which places you better not go and the strategy to play with TaylorMade Ghost TM-110 Tour Putter . It worked out pretty well. "We are going to need a lot of imagination to play on this course." "It was pretty tough," Tseng added when talking about her practice round. "The greens were fast, but I am very excited and I can't wait to go out and have fun. We have a good field this week and a great golf course. "The course is not long, but you need to be very focused on every shot. If you just miss-focus on one shot, you can get in to big trouble. This week Royal Melbourne will be like a major course. You'll need to be smart, patient and focussed on every shot." Six of the top 10 on the Women's World Rankings list are competing at Royal Melbourne, the tournament having been added to an expanded LPGA schedule after increasing it's prize money to $1.1 million.( TaylorMade Ghost TM-110 Tour Putter ) Along with Tseng in the 156-strong field, other Tour big guns playing this week include World No 2 Suzann Pettersen of Norway, World No 4 Cristie Kerr of the US, South Korean Jiyai Shin, the World No 7, and Americans Stacy Lewis, the World No 9, and Brittany Lincicome, the World No 10. Also in the field is Australian star Karrie Webb, who is seeking her fifth Australian Women's Open title. But they are all likely to be chasing Tseng, the defending champion, who, not for nothing has twice walked off with LPGA Player of the Year awards in each of the last two years. "I always seem to have a good start here in Australia and hopefully I'll get away to another good start with TaylorMade Ghost TM-110 Tour Putter this year. "Last year is over. I have been working real hard in the off season to change my swing a bit, to make it more consistent, and I think I am ready for this year, said Tseng who, in a bid to add to the five major titles she has already collected, has been working at increasing her physical strength and modifying her swing. "I have tried to get physically stronger, so my swing can match my physique," explained Tseng who already last year was one of women golf's longest hitters "I have more power now, but I don't swing as hard as before; I feel I am swinging easier and striking the ball better. "Now I feel that if I swing 70-80 percent, the ball is still flying better than before. I always tried to swing really hard. Now I don't swing so hard, but the ball still goes that far. I am very happy about that; that I can still rip it."
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