Top players endorse pace-of-play rules

Before the season, the LPGA sharpened the teeth in its pace-of-play regulations. A player can be penalized for undue delay if she takes more 60 seconds to play a shot, putts included, or if she exceeds by more than 10 seconds the average amount of time for total strokes on a hole.

For example: If the average time to take three strokes on a par-3 hole is 90 seconds, a player will incur a penalty -- two shots in medal play; loss of hole in match play -- if she takes more than 100 seconds to swing three times. Tap-in putts do not count against a player's average time.

"We're playing faster, for sure," said Lorena Ochoa, the world's No.1-ranked player. "I like the [new] rules. Anything we can do to make things faster for the fans, for TV, for us -- it's better.

"It's a lot better mentally. It's a lot easier when you have rounds of 4½-5 hours in stead of six."

Said Annika Sorenstam, Ochoa's closest pursuer in the world rankings: "I play fast anyway. I'd love to see us play in four hours, but I don't know if that's going to be possible since we put 144 players out there [on Thursday and Friday] and we split tees all the time. It's very tough to cram 70-something players [onto half of a course and still expect brisk play]."

Even so, she said, "I think we need to play faster for fans and TV. I really think we need to be role models for pace of play. So yes -- I'm all for it."

A call for vigilance

Sorenstam, a noted conditioning and training advocate, said the LPGA's drug-testing program, put into place following the 2007 season, "hasn't affected my daily routine. I've always been careful about what I take. I haven't really changed anything. I'm still on some vitamins and some protein shakes. But that's all."

She said the program "makes you think a bit more about what's in some products. You really need to be careful because this policy, obviously, it can change a player's career."

Is the program necessary?

"Well, I think it's -- unfortunately, I think it's necessary," she said. "I'm not really sure we have an issue on our tour, but as a leading organization, we need to stay up with the times and set precedents for the future, for young and upcoming players."

She said it is important that youngsters realize that "this is a sport and sports have rules and we need to follow the rules. Maybe [the testing program] will help in some way."

Here's the catch

Sorenstam said her proficient play with her short and medium irons -- a skill that enabled her to avoid trouble on more than one occasion yesterday -- is the result of an unusual workout regimen.

"I love to practice wedges," she said. "I do. Terry [McNamara], my caddie, he stands out there with a baseball mitt and catches my shots from 40 yards to everything up to, well, 6-irons. We spent a lot of time on wedges. It's nice to be able to pull it off when I need it and not just in practice."

A woman's prerogative

Jimin Kang continues to ride the wave of momentum she caught at last week's tournament in Broken Arrow, Okla. Kang began that tournament with a ghastly round (82) but played very well thereafter and finished in a tie for eighth. She played her last round in 4-under-par 67.

Her explanation: "Different mindset. It's a woman thing. [Emotionally], a woman can be anything. Don't you know that? It's all about thoughts."

After shooting 82 in Oklahoma, she said, she sat in her car, weeping, "for almost an hour and a half. Then I was like, 'OK I'm done crying. Now I need to figure out what I'm going to do about it.'"

Kang is tied for 10th at 207 (6-under-par) heading into today's final round at Kingsmill. -- Vic Dorr Jr.