"The South Korean players became more shy after a profile of Kyeong Bae in a Canadian newspaper this summer in which she referred to the cartoon character SpongeBob Square Pants as 'Spongie Bob.'"

Karen Crouse introduces us to the LPGA "language labs" and the issues arising in trying to Americanize teach English to non-Americans.

News conferences, in which the players sit onstage and speak into a microphone, are daunting.

“I like this table for talking better than the media center,” Choi said in the clubhouse, with a grand sweep of her hand.

In addition to carrying a spiral notebook and workbook, she keeps transcripts of some news conferences. George has encouraged her not to refer to them, but Choi, in her small, neat printing, has made corrections.
One answer in particular still gnaws at her. At the 2009 Samsung World Championship in San Diego, Choi posted her first L.P.G.A. victory. But that is not what sticks in her mind.

Asked to describe her 63 in the third round, the lowest score of her career, Choi said, “I feel almost perfect everything.” Afterward, she said, she fled to the restroom in embarrassment.

Last week, she pointed to the page where she had written what she meant to say: “I feel everything was perfect.”

“I did wrong answer,” she said. “I disappointed myself.”