This Week at WorldGolf.com: April 19, 2005:

As his many fans know, Chris Baldwin, our West Coast bureau chief, has lately been digging up Las Vegas dirt faster than a gopher on crystal meth. Chris just broke a story about the deathwatch of the PGA Tour's Michelin Championship. Before that, he wrote a hard-hitting piece about how curious it is that big-time Vegas hotels continue to steer unwitting tourists to the pricey, Walters Golf-owned Stallion Mountain Country Club, even though conditions there are horrendous, and about Walters Golf’s involvement in a tournament remarkably similar to the original Las Vegas Million-Dollar Shootout. Now, this isn’t Watergate stuff, folks. Just the work of a good reporter asking a few hard questions and passing the information on to readers, warts and all.

This sort of thing is a rarity, it seems, in Las Vegas, where glitz and glamour too often trump everything else. (Come to think of it, given your average golf publication these days, it’s a rarity everywhere.) You won’t find that sort of soft-sell spin here, though. Just witness the recent blog attack on Las Vegas talk radio host Dennis Silvers. A majority of our bloggers were fired up that in his TravelGolf.com blog, Silvers was pussyfooting around matters involving Walters Golf. His explanation ("I make my living from some of these people") was gas on the fire and earned him a one-way ticket back to radio land.

Given this run of stories - and Silvers’ untimely demise as a blogger - you might think the Vegas golf scene to be rather beastly.

But there’s beauty out there too.

This past weekend, playing at the Takefuji Classic at The Las Vegas Country Club, Wendy Ward notched her first LPGA win in almost four years. Her wire-to-wire romp and post-win hug fest was a thing of beauty indeed. But to be honest, I was more interested in the stellar play of 15-year-old In-Bee Park, an amateur who lives in Las Vegas and is a high school junior.

We’ve all heard about Michelle Wie and even South Africa’s Ashleigh Simon. Add Korean-born In-Bee to the list of future LPGA stars. Unlike Wie, In-Bee has only played in two tour events, finishing fifth (at 12-under) this time and eighth last year in the same tournament.

As an amateur, her biggest wins came in the 2001 and 2002 Junior PGA Championship, a tournament that has featured players like Cristie Kerr, Dottie Pepper, Michelle McGann and Vicki Goetz-Ackerman (not to mention guys named Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard and Stewart Cink). What I really like about In-Bee, is how the behind-the-scenes folks running those two tournaments all said she is a class-act and a great person.

Once she’s out of high school, look for her to make some serious noise on tour. Hopefully, next time around, Annika Sorenstam will show for the Takefuji and we’ll get to see the two of ‘em going head to head.

We live for your comments. This week, tell us what you think about Dennis Silvers, Walters Golf, Las Vegas or the talented Ms. Park.

Cancun gearing up to lure high-end
tourists, especially golfers

If you've ever been to Cancun, Mexico you probably packed a swimsuit, sun screen and the hangover cure of your choice, but no golf clubs. That could change. The area is gearing up to grab its share of a much more upscale market, which is where golf comes in, Tim McDonald reports. There are three new courses scheduled to open this year and some predict Cancun will have 15 to 16 courses in the next five to six years.
Full story | Viva Mexico golf

Feel the history at Monifieth Golf
Links on Scotland's east coast

Lying in the shadow of nearby Carnoustie, some golfers may overlook Monifieth Golf Links - don't make that mistake. With stately pine trees lining many of the fairways and framing the back sides of nearly every green, some call Monifieth the most scenic links on the east coast of Scotland. The two courses here - which date back to 1845 and 1912 - have hosted final-stage British Open qualifying rounds and the Scottish Men's Championship and Boy's Championship.
Full story | Golf St. Andrews

Improved fitness helping
LPGA stars raise the bar

These days, an LPGA player who drives the ball 250 yards won't even make the top 40. What’s behind this increase in distance off the tee in the women’s game? The key, writes fitness columnist Susan Hill, is to build a strong foundation for the body, the mind and the basics of an athletic swing. Here Hill gives the concepts that play a critical role in your lifetime enjoyment of the game.
Full story | The great instruction scam