Grip It, Rip It, And No PGA Tour For Yani Tseng

If there’s one thing world No. 1 Yani Tseng has learned from the experiences of former teen prodigy Michelle Wie, it’s what not to do. And that, the youngest golfer ever to win five major champions said, is to eschew the PGA Tour -- at least for now.

“Probably not going to play in men’s tournaments,” Tseng told Charlie Rose Thursday night. Golfer and interviewer broke up at that, as they did several times during the 13-minute segment that ran on PBS.

That doesn’t mean the world’s best golfer (sorry, Bubba) has ruled out teeing it up with the guys forever, or that they’ll stop asking. In fact, Tseng declined an invitation to play in the 2012 Puerto Rico Open. Perhaps, someday, if the time is right, she’ll follow in the footsteps of her hero, Annika Sorenstam, and bring it to Bubba and the boys.

“Maybe in the future, like Annika,” Tseng said of the LPGA Hall of Famer’s historic turn at Colonial Country Club in 2003, “if I have some reason, I can go play.”

Wie, of course, notoriously took her considerable skills to the men’s circuit before she had proven herself on the women’s tour. Years later, that ill-considered strategy continues to haunt the 22-year-old Wie, whom critics have slammed for not living up to the huge hype that followed her to the LPGA.

For, Tseng, who’ll go for her fourth victory of 2012 in next week’s LPGA Lotte Championship in Hawaii, she’ll just continue doing what she does best -- and that’s going for broke whenever she can.

“I am very aggressive,” the 15-time tour winner, said about her approach to the game. “I’ve always been aggressive. I think it’s more fun to play. A par-5 you can reach... why do you want to lay up?

“I always say grip it and rip it,” Tseng said with a huge grin.