NiceBallz - Play Ballzy

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?

The No. 1 ranked player on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour recently announced her retirement and it barely registered. No extensive coverage on ESPN, no screaming headlines in USA Today. There was a collective yawn, as if asking, “Lorena who?”

Of course, Lorena Ochoa’s decision was revealed during the National Football League (NFL) draft, which dominates sports news. Oh yeah, and volcanic ash crippled the world’s air travel. But in any other major professional sport, the top player’s abrupt retirement would make national news. Kobe Bryant. Peyton Manning. Alex Rodriguez. Tiger Woods. All men, you say? If race car driver Danica Patrick retired in her prime you’d know about it.

To be honest, I didn’t even know Ochoa had decided to step away until our partners at Speaking of Golf, a syndicated golf talk radio program, mentioned it days later as a topic for our latest appearance. I’ve been busy and I was traveling – not paying close attention to the news. Even still, you’d think I’d catch a headline in the airport or a hotel lobby. Nope.

What does this lack of news coverage tell us? Unfortunately, no one cares. Well, maybe a few people – LPGA brass, tournament sponsors and some golf bloggers – but not many. The media gives the people what they want, and apparently it’s not women’s golf. That’s too bad because there are talented players and seemingly the potential for sponsors to reach women consumers who often control the purse strings.

Ochoa has dominated her sport for several years, winning nearly 30 times including two major championships and holding the top spot in the Rolex Rankings for three years. However, candidly I didn’t even know she was still No. 1, and supposedly I’m a golf blogger. I thought Yani Tseng was the top-ranked female professional golfer. Oops.

At only 28 years old, Ochoa’s retirement seems sudden. Hasty, even. She’s spoken of wanting to start a new life, and presumably have children – though she’s already a stepmom to three children reportedly between the ages of 7 and 14. The rationale for retirement is not entirely clear. She seems to want to follow in Annika Sorenstam’s footsteps, who recently retired in her late 30s after a decade of dominance. Only Ochoa seems insistent on retiring with her slim lead in the rankings intact, something Sorenstam did not do.

Whatever her reasons, I applaud Ochoa’s decision. She’s going out on top. Ochoa’s won the last four consecutive Player of the Year awards. She’s already wealthy, having earned nearly $15 million in career earnings alone – not to mention endorsement income. She’s accomplished nearly everything there is to achieve, although she steps away two years short of qualifying for the LPGA Hall of Fame, which requires a certain level of achievement points (a threshold Ochoa has met) and a minimum of 10 years as an active member on tour. Ochoa would have been eligible for entrance into the Hall of Fame in 2012. Perhaps she will return or the rules will be altered.

Regardless, she can do whatever she wants. The criticism is not of Ochoa and her personal interests or decisions. But, her departure is the latest indictment of the LPGA and reflects the waning interest in women’s golf. Not only are total tournaments and prize money down, but now the best player is leaving and – worse yet – sports fans have hardly noticed. Irrelevance, anyone?

The LPGA intends to expand its fan base and grow the sport, and the organization needs to increase interest from non-traditional consumers. If the world’s best golfer – a woman who is universally acclaimed for her polite interaction with fans and sponsors and for playing and winning the right way – can’t attract new people to the sport, who will? Are we to believe that, say, Christina Kim, a mid- to upper-tier player with a flair for fashion and a history of outlandish remarks, will attract new interest? Maybe. But, probably not for the golf.

Maybe the LPGA will rebound with the economy. Perhaps it will become less about the quality of the golf and more about the entertainment value. Whatever happens, Lorena Ochoa has decided she won’t be a part of it. And, unfortunately, judging from the general silence, it sounds like many fans and the media have already forgotten her.

Lorena who?

What do you think the tepid reaction to Ochoa’s departure means for the future of the LPGA Tour? Speak up – you’ll be one of the few who do.