LPGA Rookie Profiles: Sadena Parks and Cindy Feng (Videos)
Aug 17, 2014; Pittsford, NY, USA; Fans watch the action on the 9th green during the final round of the Wegman
LPGA rookies Sadena Parks and Cindy Feng are definitely going to be players to watch this year. I followed both of them last year at the Symetra Tour’s Self Regional Healthcare Women’s Health Classic and was captivated by their grace off the tees and their icy focus on the greens. I was fairly confident that I’d be seeing both of them this year on the LPGA Tour. Although they’ve traveled very different paths, they’ve arrived simultaneously at golf’s Big Stage, and they’re both ready and eager to take on the challenge they’re facing this year.
Sadena Parks
Sadena Parks is an all-around athlete. Her first love was basketball, an emotionally charged, high-energy sport that suited Parks’ temperment.
I am a very emotional player on the [basketball] court, and I thrive on the adrenaline and competitiveness.
Golf came along a bit later, and while she was good at the sport, it wasn’t until high school that she realized her short stature — Parks is 5’3″ — placed her at a disadvantage in basketball competition but not in golf.
She set her sights on a pro golf career and got to work, playing collegiate golf on a scholarship at the University of Washington, then moving in 2012 to the Scottsdale, Arizona area to keep working on her game.
I knew I had the talent, but on the mental side I had a long way to g0 . . .
She qualified for the 2013 Symetra Tour through LPGA Q-School, finished her first pro event at T21. It would turn out to be her best finish in 2013. There was more work to do.
2013 brought five top-10 finishes, two of them victories — at the Credit Union Challenge in July and the New England Charity Classic in August — redemption for the Big Break, Florida washout who was being urged by close friends to find a new career goal.
Parks bounced back after her Big Break loss, ending her 2nd year on the Symetra Tour in 4th place on the money list and with her LPGA Tour card in hand she’s feeling ready at last to take the next step in her career.
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Cindy Feng
Cindy Feng, a David Leadbetter student, was the youngest player on the Symetra Tour in 2014, but you certainly couldn’t tell if you were a regular on site. Her golf game, and her mental makeup for that matter, is mature beyond her years in part because golf has always been a part of life.
Lots of kids from her generation took the path of golf all because Tiger came to China and introduced the game to the Chinese people. – Feng Delin
In 2001, 5-year old Feng got hooked on the game when she played two holes with
. Feng’s father, Feng Delin, recalled that moment for ESPN’s Dan Washburn:
Like Demi Runas, Cindy Feng’s going to have back-to-back rookie years on the Symetra and LPGA Tours. Last year Feng finished runner up in her 2nd pro event, won the third, Florida’s Natural Charity Classic, and just didn’t stop. She followed her victory with a pair of 5th place finishes and when she season was finished Cindy Feng had 5 top-10 finishes, a victory, and a ticket to the 2015 LPGA Tour.
Feng dipped her toe into the LPGA waters when she qualified for the 2014 US Women’s Open. When she finished in a tie for 13th, ahead of Chella Choi, Juli Inkster, Brittany Lincicome and Paula Creamer, and walked away from Pinehurst with a bit more than $77K, folks were taking notice of this youngster who’s looking like she has what it takes to challenge Lydia Ko, Lexi Thompson, and Charlie Hull, the Tour’s circle of young stars.
By the numbers, both of these LPGA Rookies will be keeping pace with the veterans off the tee and they’re more likely than some of the wilder hitters to be taking their second shots from the short grass. Both of them, however, will need to dial in on their short game. That’s where they’re the weakest and that’s where they’re going to be scrambling.