The most dominating athlete in 2013 anywhere in the world - any sport - is Â鶹ÊÓƵ Korea's Inbee Park on the Ladies Professional Golfers' Association tour.
In early August, at the Old Course at St. Andrew's Scotland, Park will go for golfing history when she attempts to win her fourth consecutive major championship, the 2013 women's British Open.
Park had one major to her credit going into 2013 (she won the 2008 U.S. Open). But this year, she has stepped above the crowd and is becoming a household name among those who follow golf, and is even getting recognition from mainstream (non-golf) media outlets.
Winning three tournaments in a row is amazing. Winning three majors in a row is almost unprecedented on the LPGA circuit. You may have heard of Tiger Woods, who won four straight men's majors over two years and got a little bit of publicity as a result. The only other woman golfer to win three majors in one season was Babe Zaharias in 1950.
So Park's performance this year has brought some wonderful attention to the LPGA. 'Grand slam' talk is everywhere but even if Park wins the British, she still won't have the 'slam' because there are five major tournaments in the women's pro game. The Evian Masters, in France in September, was recently granted 'major' status, so a Grand Slam now consists of five majors. Hardly fair, but what an accomplishment it would be if Park can somehow win at St. Andrew's Aug. 1-4 and follow it up with a victory in France. Her smiling face would be everywhere - TV, magazines, newspapers, cyberspace. To the LPGA Tour, it would be Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic, Armstrong walking on the moon. Five majors in one year - wow!
Among those excited about Park's run are her LPGA colleagues. " It's great what she's doing," said American Stacey Lewis, displaced in April by Park as the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world. "It's creating a lot of headlines for us, which is good."
Another American, Paula Creamer, said Park's incredible run is raising the LPGA bar: "It's elevating all of us. It's where we need to be. If we're not, she's going to leave us all in the dust."
That cloud of dust is definitely forming.
Greg Cote of the Miami Herald: "The Panthers made Finnish centre Aleksander Barkov the No. 2 overall pick in the amateur hockey draft. He is 17 but said to be ready for the NHL. At 17, I wasn't even ready to decide between a Whopper and a Big Mac."
Cote again: "The Texas Rangers signed Manny Ramirez, 41, to a minor-league contract. Remember when 'Manny Being Manny' was sort of charming? At this point, Manny being still here is sort of annoying."
R.J. Currie of sportsdeke.com: "According to Merriam-Webster, having one wife is monogamy. According to Tiger Woods, it's monotony. "
Currie again: "Breaking news: In a freak playbook mishap, Bombers quarterback Buck Pierce ran into a bookmark and is out for the season."
Another one from Currie: "Sources say Helsinki hockey team Jokerit will join the KHL in 2014. Jokerit? Who's their arch-rival, Gary Batman?"
Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald: "The new turf at Nebraska's Memorial Stadium is 35 degrees cooler than the old turf. For those of you unfamiliar with the way we do things in Nebraska, selecting turf for our football field is similar to choosing a new governor, only 10,000 times more important."
Dickson again: "According to reports, David Beckham turned down an offer to try out for an unnamed NFL team. Considering he's a 38-year-old man who's never played the sport, I think we can narrow it down to the Jets and -- well, it must've been the Jets."
Another one from Dickson: "Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen took their kids to Disneyland. Someone asked Brady if he wanted to see Grumpy and Snow White. His response: 'Belichick and Tebow are here?' "
Headline at SportsPickle.com: "NFL announces deal with Lexington National Bail Bonds to become the official bail bonds of the NFL."
Lucy Millsap, 19, to NewsOK.com, when asked what she named the 72-pound catfish she caught barehanded to win the 14th annual Okie Noodling Festival: "Dinner."
Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: "No truth to persistent rumors of a 5.2 earthquake in Cleveland last Sunday. Alas, it was just Prince Fielder stealing second against the Indians."
NBC's Jay Leno, after Joey Chestnut ate 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win the annual Nathan's Fourth of July contest: "How is that possible? My garbage disposal doesn't work that fast."
Perry again: "Canadian curler Matt Dumontelle (the fifth man on Brier winner Brad Jacobs' rink) has been suspended for two years after testing positive for an anabolic steroid. Suspicions were aroused when he started chucking his stones overhand."
