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LPGA Tour Notebook: Inkster has plan to help Korean players fit in

- AP

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- For all the fuss over LPGA Tour players who can't communicate well during pro-ams, Juli Inkster believes the issue goes far beyond language, particularly with Asian players.

The LPGA contemplated a policy demanding English efficiency from its players until it backed down under public criticism. There's still plenty of discussion of the topic, though, and Inkster said earlier this month that it was more about culture.

"The Asian players ... it's kind of a respect thing, a pecking order thing," Inkster said. "They are brought up to really honor their roots and their grandparents, and the people before them, and the higher-ups. So all of a sudden, you put an 18- or 19-year-old girl that's maybe not really comfortable with her English.

"Playing with four CEOs -- men or women -- she is not going to feel comfortable going up there and making small talk. That's not the way they are brought up."

Her solution? Have them accompany a veteran who makes everyone comfortable in pro-ams -- and there's no shortage of those on the LPGA Tour, whether it's Inkster, Meg Mallon or Lorena Ochoa.

"Count that as their pro-am, just so they can learn," Inkster said. "It's teaching these girls how to play a pro-am more than teaching them English. If I get four Korean men in this pro-am, even though I don't speak their language, I'm going to make it fun for them."

THE PERFECT HOST: Morgan Pressel, who last year signed an endorsement as Kapalua's touring pro, had a share of the lead going into the final round of the inaugural Kapalua LPGA Classic last weekend. She said she tried to stick to her routine by going to dinner and getting to bed.

Turns out there's more to the story.

Upon learning that Kapalua officials were meeting with a potential sponsor Saturday night, Pressel invited herself to dinner to meet with company officials. Then, she went out on Sunday and won the tournament with a 15-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the 18th hole.

LEWIS WAITS: Stacy Lewis closed with a 66, the best score of the week at the Kapalua LPGA Classic, to tie for sixth. Now she waits six weeks before her biggest event of the year -- the final stage of LPGA Tour qualifying.

If not for a puzzling policy, Lewis wouldn't have to worry about Q-School.

Lewis made $47,077 at Kapalua, pushing her earnings in seven events to $247,464, which would have put her 57th on the money list. Those finishing the equivalent of the top 80 on the money list get their cards. But the LPGA does not count earnings from the U.S. Women's Open -- Lewis finished third in her pro debut -- for nonmembers.

Instead, Lewis was credited with $84,977 from her six sponsor exemptions. She missed the cut in one event after flying across the country for the first stage of Q-School.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

 
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