LPGA is undergoing an American resurgence

Call off the search party for America’s top LPGA talent.

With Paula Creamer now holding the U.S. Women’s Open trophy and Cristie Kerr’s record LPGA Championship romp, American women have produced a ringing response to the APB sent out after failing to win any of the season’s first eight events.

“It’s great to see another American win,” Kerr told reporters as Creamer wrapped up her four-stroke victory.

“I think we can all finally stop answering, ‘When are the Americans going to come up to the challenge?’ because winning the last two majors is pretty impressive.”

The last time Americans had won consecutive LPGA majors in the same calendar year was 1999, when Dottie Pepper won the Nabisco Dinah Shore and Juli Inkster followed at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Inkster ran the streak to three by winning the LPGA Championship. That’s a mark this current U.S. roster will try to duplicate in two weeks at the Women’s British Open.

“I think that we’ve proven in the last couple of months that the Americans are there. You know, we are playing good golf,” Creamer said. “I think it’s important that we all learn from each other and we motivate each other.”

It works at the Solheim Cup, where a new guard of Americans has been dominant in recent meetings. But that has come against a crop of Europeans in a down cycle, while the Korean/Asian wave has grown.

It had to be encouraging, though, to see four Americans among the top 12 at Oakmont: Creamer, Brittany Lang, Christina Kim and 15-year-old hotshot Alexis Thompson. And that didn’t even include Kerr, who holds the world No. 1 ranking.

Take 6

Phil Mickelson, who has finished higher than fifth only once at the British Open, will need to do just that to have any chance of toppling Tiger Woods from the No. 1 ranking.

Mickelson will move atop the chart if he wins the Claret Jug, or by finishing alone in second if Woods is outside the top four. A third-place finish works if Woods finishes lower than 14th.

This is Mickelson’s sixth chance to unseat Woods. He has two top-five finishes in that span, but not enough to change the order.

“I know that my window of opportunity is small,” Mickelson said. “Tiger is going to start playing some of his better golf here soon, so I’ve got to get my butt in gear.”

Tap-ins

The Nationwide Tour has played 14 events this season without anyone winning twice. If it goes to 15 at this week’s Chiquita Classic, it’ll match the third longest streak in tour annals. … The U.S. Women’s Amateur drew 1,049 entries this year, the first time it has topped the four-digit mark.

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