The Wilhelmina 7, Suddenly Stylish on Sunday

It's Sunday morning and I'm thinking LPGA. I'm not sure why but maybe it has to do with a few familiar names on the leaderboard heading into the final round of the final Corning Classic.

Not far off the lead of -17 (shared by Mika Miyazato and Soo-Yun Kang) are Minea Blomqvist (-15), Sandra Gal and Mikaela Parmlid (both at -14).

If the leaders should falter, all three would have a shot to win. This being the middle of Memorial Day weekend, I'm going to try to avoid checking the LPGA's real-time scoring and go for the delayed late-night telecast on The Golf Channel.

But to the reason why I'm interested in the three: They are members of the Wilhelmina 7, the group of seven golfers organized in 2008 and represented by the Wilhelmina modeling agency. Moving into its second season, the seven golfers have had mixed results, with most securing their playing status but rarely threatening the very top of the leaderboard.

Commercially, it's been something of a mixed bag, as well. Created by Wilhelmina in hopes that the idea of sponsoring seven attractive, successful female golfers would offer sponsors better visibility and  traction, it seemed a superb idea but has met with unfortunate timing. There have been a few sponsorships that otherwise wouldn't have come the way of the golfers, which include Anna Grzebien, Kim Hall and Joanna Head. (Earlier this year, Paige Mackenzie replaced Stacy Prammanasudh as the seventh member.) Mostly, however, the idea has not quite broken through the clutter of opportunities available to brand marketers.

I've always thought that the "team concept" could help the LPGA raise the profile of players not named Ochoa, Kerr, Gulbis, Wie or Creamer. The idea that the Tour is overrun by South Korean golfers is as much a communications problem as it is a language or cultural issue. The South Koreans and Asians (Mika Miyazato is Japanese, Yani Tseng, who is third at -16, is Chinese by way of Taiwan), well, we simply don't know the details of their individual stories to make for a compelling fan proposition. Which one took up the game at 14? Which one is classically trained in violin? Which one is estranged from her father? It's not enough to tell us they were inspired by Se Ri Pak's U.S. Open win in 1998...because they all were.

In any case, I'll be watching the Wilhelmina 7 Sunday (on tape delay). The four who made the cut: Blomqvist, Parmlid, Gal and Grzebien, are personable. Gal, from the University of Florida, was a rookie last year. Grzebien, from Duke, shot the low round in the final round of the LPGA Qualifying tournament to finish ahead of Michelle Wie and retain her status this year. None of the three -- Blomqvist, Parmlid or Gal -- have won. Maybe today is their day.

Comments

[Tom Quinn]

Lady Luck is surely overly familiar with the number seven.

Can you link me to any golf betting sites?

And lend me some betting money?

[One-Eyed Golfer]

It is a shame Wilhelmina does not think highly enough of Paige MacKenzie to include her picture and bio on their site. Also, the other six biographies are only updated through mid-season 2008.

Otherwise, I'm pretty enthused about the Wilhelmina Six, last year's edition...