Fore Left! ESPN Drags Title IX, ERA Into Report on Golfer Ochoa

Cindy Brunson's report on Lorena Ochoa's winning streak wasn't a mere double-bogey. Think of it as a shank into the lake, or better yet, that most inept stroke of all: a total whiff. Apparently desperate for a feminist angle on Ochoa's success, the ESPN News anchor decided to drag Title IX and the ERA into her account.

Ochoa's victory at the Ginn Open was her fourth LPGA win in a row. Here's how Brunson reported it during the 5 AM ET edition of ESPN News:

CINDY BRUNSON: It's been 45 years since we've seen someone on the LPGA Tour win four straight tournaments in as many weeks. Back when Mickey Wright pulled off the winning quartet in 1963, both Title IX and the Equal Rights Amendment were still ideas, not laws. And to world's #1 Lorena Ochoa, admittedly feeling fatigued after winning in her native Mexico last week, but poised to rewrite the record books in Tigeresque fashion Sunday.

View video here.

Huh? How much did Title IX, which has led to the creation of more women's college athletic programs, have to do with Ochoa's success? Long before she enrolled at the University of Arizona, Ochoa was already the world's most celebrated girl golfer, with 44 national titles in her native Mexico, and five World Golf Junior Championships. Ochoa left Arizona after her sophomore year to turn pro, in fashion similar to Wright, who dropped out of Stanford to join the LPGA Tour.

And Cindy, we hate to break this to you, but that Equal Rights Amendment? It still is an idea, not legislation. It was never adopted. Oh, and Ochoa didn't "rewrite the record books." As you yourself pointed out, Lorena didn't break Wright's record--she tied it.

Please, Cindy: stick to the sports, and leave the feminist politics to your sister network, ABC News.

Bonus Coverage: FWIW, Ochoa is in my handful of favorite athletes, not only for her talent but her pleasing personality. All the more reason to be dismayed by Brunson's off-kilter account of Lorena's latest accomplishment.