The sound you heard emanating from Far East was what you call a counter punch. You see, there is something going on with the LPGA Tour that is not going on with its male counterpart. There’s a fight.

Over on the male side, one player dominates the arena. There is no protest to speak of, no worthy rivals, no serious contention.

But the sound you heard echoing from Singapore was a counter punch. It was the sound of Lorena Ochoa drawing a line in the sand, protecting her turf, announcing her arrival. It was an answer to Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer.

After skipping the first two tournaments on the LPGA schedule, the reigning Player of the Year came out of her corner throwing haymakers. Ochoa put the ball in the air for the first time and brought it back to the clubhouse with a 66 attached, taking the lead at the inaugural HSBC Women’s Championship.

Ochoa has the dominant figure in women’s golf the past two seasons. She won eight times last year, won more money than ever has been won before, captured her first major. She is on top of the world, but she is not alone at the summit.  

To underline the point, and to re-establish her own prominent piece of landscape, Sorenstam won the first event of the season in Hawaii. Bothered by injuries the last season and a-half, the sensational Swede did not win an LPGA stroke-play event all of last season — the first shutout of her storied career.

But at age 37, Sorenstam isn’t ready relinquish her throne. She’s itching for the fight, as she proved with her win in Hawaii, making birdies two of the last three holes to hold on. At the same time, Creamer has her own credentials. She became the youngest winner of an LPGA multi-round event during her rookie season in 2005. In just over two years she surpassed the $3 million mark in earnings, the youngest player ever to do so.

She saw Sorenstam’s win, then raised the ante with a victory last week at the Fields Open in Honolulu. While everyone was paying attention to how Michelle Wie was faring, Creamer shot rounds of 66-68-66 to get her fifth title while still awaiting her 22nd birthday. On Friday, Creamer kept coming, tailgating Ochoa with a 67, one shot in arrears.

Creamer is answering the bell, as well. “Kind of every week you have to go out and you're kind of the underdog when the No. 1 player in the world is here,” Creamer said. “I'm sure (Ochoa) is prepared and I'm sure she's ready to go, and Annika, as well.”

Where the LPGA is concerned, less is not more, more is more. The women’s game has more players playing at the penthouse level than ever before. And most of them are under 30. The average age of a winner last year on the tour was 26.65. Ochoa and Suzann Pettersen are 26, Natalie Gulbis 25, Brittany Lincicome 22, Morgan Pressel is 19 … and so on.
 
Yes, Ochoa is the reigning champion, she’s wearing the belt. But there are a number of players anxious to enter the ring and go toe to toe. You don’t hear the other combatants talking about “two tournaments” going on, as they do on the men’s side. When Ochoa is in the field, be it Sorenstam, Pettersen, Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Se Ri Pak, Angela Park or several others you might name, no one is “playing for second place,” as the men seem too willing to accept when Tiger Woods is around.

The faces are so bright, you gotta wear shades. The rules of engagement are so contentious, a player of Karrie Webb’s ilk almost gets lost in the shuffle.

“I just believe that there's more players that play at that top standard,” said Webb, who has 35 career wins, seven majors and two Rolex Player of the Year trophies. “I think when I first came on the Tour, there was probably only 20 players that really could compete at a top level for most of the year.

“But now I think it's at least half the field have the ability to hang in there week in and week out and play consistently good golf. That then raises the level of what the top players have to do to stay up with what the 50th player in the world plays at. So I think that's what the difference is.”

Maybe you remember how this works. There used to be a fight on the men’s side, many years ago. Sure, Jack Nicklaus was recognized as the sheriff, but there were a lot of deputies around who could wear the badge, players like Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Johnny Miller, Gary Player, Larry Nelson. And before that, Nicklaus had to arm wrestle “The King,” Arnold Palmer, for his crown.

There was a battle going on, a degree of unpredictability. It rarely seems that way anymore. Now, people talk about Woods winning a single-season Grand Slam, talk about it matter-of-factly. Now, people ask whether Woods can go undefeated — undefeated of all things.

Certainly, there is poetry in watching such a player excel, awe in seeing him perform in a manner others are incapable of performing, amazement in watching Woods master a game that is historically impossible to master.

But there is little left to chance, little room for drama, no room to fight. Over on the LPGA side, they have their dukes up.

“You know, we all know how good Annika is and Paula,” Ochoa said. “And I'm not surprised that they won. So I'm really excited for this season. I think it's going to be tough because there are so many good players.”

 “But it's nice to be able to just go out and play golf and not kind of deal with the stuff that goes along with that. But it's nice to have a goal, too. That's something to look forward to.”

For those who enjoy competitive golf, it’s nice to have an actual competition.