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Yep, that’s an actual headline from the Calgary Herald.  Ok it was really ‘Feisty Pressel Hates to Lose’ but let’s not get all caught up in the hyperbole.

I recall Woody Austin riffing on a similar topic during a press conference about how the media portray Tiger Woods as ‘hating to lose’ more than anyone else.  Austin took exception to the idea that the rest of the tour pros were ok with losing.  Or simply didn’t ‘want it’ as badly as Tiger.

In some cases we’d say there’s merit to that position; Adam Scott seems to be busier doing photo shoots than fixing his game.  And in general the ‘young guns’ of the tour haven’t lived up to a great deal of their hype.  But overall, the idea that one of the LPGA’s biggest stars ’hates to lose’ is newsworthy, or merits the lead is pretty silly. 

“Hey Morgan, do you like to lose?”

“Hell no!  I hate to lose!”

“Great, thanks for the scoop!”

That’s how you spell Pulitzer my friends.

The benefit of the doubt should be given to the reporter on the headline as often they aren’t the ones who make the final decision there.  A reporter may even vehemently disagree with what is chosen as a lead.  But the piece overall, while possibly interesting to anyone who isn’t familiar with Pressel’s story, hardly breaks new ground and that is as disappointing as a weak lead.

Pressel undoubtedly has a strong competitive streak.  Though I doubt it is any stronger than say a Cristie Kerr, Suzann Pettersen or maybe even last week’s winner, M.J. Hur.

To that point, it seems like there is a different story that has yet to be told and would have made for a more interesting read. Who is M.J. Hur? Last week most of the coverage around her centered (rightfully) on her winning the Safeway Classic.  But you have to believe there is more here. 

She won with a new caddy who has only been on her bag one week.  She got into golf because of Se Ri Pak, and her father closed and sold his business so he could focus on her development.  Three years ago she barely spoke a word of English.  Now, she easily managed a press conference with media whose Korean is undoubtedly far worse than her English will ever be.

She’s at the Canadian Open this week according to the field listing on the LPGA site.  But maybe she’s tired of doing interviews, or maybe some media are simply tired of writing about Korean golfers winning yet another tournament on the LPGA.  We hope it’s the former.  While stories on Pressel, Gulbis, Creamer, Kerr and others are all well and good, barring any new, news they are also played out.  Stories on M.J. Hur or other less familiar players on the LPGA may not be as obvious on the surface, but they could be as interesting if the media who have the access also showed a desire to dig deeper than the obvious when considering story lines. 

Or, we could simply read about Natalie Gulbis being hot.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.