Tseng continues her assault on the record books Sunday, July 31, 2011Comments (0) CARNOUSTIE, Scotland -- In many ways, the four-stroke victory Sunday by Yani Tseng in the Ricoh Women's British Open was more impressive than her 10-stroke romp in the Wegman's LPGA Championship six weeks ago. One was child's play, the other was a woman's work. At Locust Hill CC in June, Tseng was hitting on all cylinders. At Carnoustie, in a July that could have passed for April, she bookended middle-round 66s with a pair of scrambling rounds in which she did what she had to do when she had to do it. And that's what being a champion is all about. Tseng started the final round two strokes behind Caroline Masson, a 22-year-old from Germany who one day may be able to handle being in the last group of a major, but not today. An immediate hiccup by Yani, who is a much more battled-tested 22, came in the form of a missed three-foot par putt on No. 1, falling three back. But by No. 7, Tseng had gone from two down at the start of the round to two up and her margin was never less as she closed with a 69 to finish at 16-under-par 272, four strokes better than Brittany Lang and five better than Sophie Gustafson. Masson finished birdie-birdie for a 78 and T-5 with Catriona Matthew, one stroke behind Amy Yang. So let's talk some history here. Tseng is now the youngest player ever to win five majors -- male or female -- knocking a guy named Young Tom Morris out of the records books. And when you have to go back to the 1870s to find the last time someone did something, well, then it's something special. The win also gave Tseng back-to-back Women's British Open titles and victories in four of the last eight majors. For those scoring at home, Yani now has two British titles, two LPGA Championships and a Kraft Nabisco Championship. (Related: LPGA needs a rival for Tseng) She is just a U.S. Women's Open away from the career Grand slam, and if she manages to win one of those next year or the year after she will break the record held by Tiger Woods as the youngest to complete the career Grand Slam. "That sounds good to me," Tseng said when told she was the youngest to get to five majors. "I just want to keep winning and keep doing my best. I just tried to play consistent golf today. It is so special to win the British Open again and so special to make history on this golf course." Tseng, who was T-15 in the U.S. Women's Open playing under the pressure of trying for the career Grand Slam, and playing under the scrutiny of the media recognition she deserves, came into Carnoustie with reduced expectations. While she was still the favorite, she downplayed that role and talked about the intricacies of links golf. When she opened with a lackluster 71 on a day when Carnasty was Carnicely and 47 players broke par, it seemed like she would not be a factor. But a pair of 66s on Friday and Saturday moved her within two of Masson going into the final round. Not only has Masson never been in a situation like this before, the distance she gave away to Tseng off the tee was down right intimidating. On the 347-yard 11th hole, for example, Tseng drove within nine paces of the green and 26 paces of from the cup -- 100 yards ahead of Masson. She putted to two feet and made the kind of birdie Masson can only make in her dreams -- if there. When it was over, Tseng shared some words of wisdom with Masson. "I told her you have to learn from your mistakes, it's no big deal," Tseng said, citing some of her own final-round failings, like at this year's Kraft Nabisco when she had the lead and closed with a 74 to finish second to Stacy Lewis. Truth be told, if Tseng had putted well on Sunday she would have won at Carnoustie by 10 strokes just as she did at Locust Hill. She missed a half-dozen makeable putts -- until push came to shove. Then she did what champions do. With Lang and Matthew hanging around all day, and with the eagle opportunity awaiting everyone on the 433-yard par-5 17th hole -- yes, you read that right, a 433-yard par-5 -- Tseng knew she had to keep grinding. That's exactly what she did. A par-saving putt on No. 15, after making bogeys on Nos. 12 and 13, righted the ship nicely. "On No. 15, I had a 10-footer for par and that was huge for me because I had been struggling with my putter. After that, I just went." Tseng displayed a bit of moxie on the previous hole when she rebounded from a hard-luck bogey on No. 13 to make a two-putt birdie on No. 14. On the par-3 13th, Yani's tee shot hit the flag stick and rolled off the green to an awkward lie in which she had to stand in the bunker while playing the chip. But she moved on. And then, just to remove any doubt about whether or not she is championship material, Tseng rolled in a 15-footer for birdie on No. 17 and then birdied the final hole when she stiffed her approach shot to three feet after another gigantic drive. Now, Tseng has to wait until the Kraft Nabisco next spring to add to her major total. But consider this: She is half way to Annika Sorenstam's 10 career majors -- two years younger than Sorenstam was when she won her first major. And then, in 2013, the Evian Masters becomes the Evian Championship and is elevated to the LPGA's fifth major, creating another opportunity to add to her total. In a very short period of time the phrase "youngest to do..." just might be replaced with "the only one to do..." At this rate, with her talent level, and after a couple more major wins, the conversation will shift to Patty Berg and her record 15 LPGA majors. Hey, if Yani can knock Young Tom out of the record book, why not Old Patty? Right now, anything seems possible. -- Ron Sirak Read More http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-digest-woman/blogs/golf-digest-woman/2011/07/-carnoustie-scotland----in.html#ixzz1Tje42Izs