It was only two years ago that Stacy Lewis won the LPGA Tour player of the year and captured the money title. That same year, Lexi Thompson won the Kraft Nabisco at age 19, and Michelle Wie finally broke through with her first major at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
This year only two Americans have won tournaments – Thompson in Thailand and Brittany Lang in the U.S. Women’s Open. With two tournaments left on the schedule, no Americans will be in the running for the $1 million bonus as part of the Race to the CME Globe.
Lang is the only American in the top 10 on the money list, although 65 percent of her earnings ($810,000) came from the Women’s Open.
“The Americans are out-motivated, out-focused and out-driven, and it’s showing up,” said Dottie Pepper, a 17-time winner on the LPGA and now a television analyst. “Nobody wants to hear that. But all you have to do is look at the results.”
What surprises Pepper the most is that the United States won the International Crown this summer, a team event against powerful golfing nations from Asia that are not eligible for the Solheim Cup. England was the only European team in the International Crown.
As for the Solheim Cup? The Americans rallied to beat Europe last September.
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