Golf sensation Ai Miyazato has skyrocketed to stardom on the world stage seemingly overnight after her record 12-stroke victory to win her tour card at the LPGA qualifying tournament.
In a featured article in Monday's edition of the New York Times, the 20-year-old is placed in the same company as New York Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui for her rising popularity and mentioned in the headline as "Golf's Latest Big Thing."
It describes how Miyazato, who finished way in front of Libby Smith and Lee Ann Walker Cooper at 17-under, was flanked by Japanese and American reporters alike as well as television camera crews, and that twice as many media members compared with last year's qualifying school were present to chronicle her every move.