Astounding. Fabulous. Epic.
You could search the dictionary for days and still not find quite the right adjective to label Lydia Ko's three-stroke victory at the Canadian Open.
We knew she was good, but becoming the youngest winner of an LPGA Tour event, two weeks after claiming the US Amateur title, suggests she is something quite special.
Better golf minds than mine will be able to assess her swing, her iron play and her putting.
But anyone can see there are levels of charisma and, especially, composure in this 15-year-old starlet that bode well for the future
• .... but give her time
All I would say, by way of caution, is this: Ko is not the first teenaged sporting prodigy, and not all of them have gone on to greatness.
She might turn out to be the most successful female golfer of all time. She might win 20 majors by the time she's 35. She might be Dame Lydia by her 40th birthday.
It is also entirely feasible she will have a merely very good, or even mediocre, career. Or she could flame out completely by the time she's 19. Let's hope not.
For every Tiger Woods and Richie McCaw and LeBron James and Sachin Tendulkar, there are countless examples of rising sports stars who fade away.
Consider:
Michelle Wie: The original women's golf uber-prodigy made the cut at the US Open at 13 and has done very little since.
Freddy Adu: Remember him? The little American footballer was going to be the next Pele. Turned out to be (groan) much Adu about nothing.
Sebastian Telfair: Was supposed to "take over" the NBA at the same time as LeBron. Last seen riding the bench for the Phoenix Suns.
Isaia Toeava: The All Blacks' "special project" was a decent utility back but hardly one of the greats. That's the realist in me speaking. The rest of me is incredibly excited about Ko's future.
• And another thing
This obsession with the Halberg Awards is getting ridiculous.
The ink had barely dried on Ko's first-place certificate when the debate over whether she would be the favourite for New Zealand sport's top award began.
Even our own Farah Palmer, who is on the Halberg judging panel, wrote about it this week.
Two questions:
Does a sporting achievement really need a Halberg Award to be validated?
Can anyone seriously argue a Canadian Open golf title trumps an Olympic gold medal? Seriously?
• The fallen idol
You try to follow your own path in life. You try to hold firm to your beliefs. But often, you have no choice but to go with popular opinion.
Yes, I have finally broken on the Lance Armstrong issue.
His concession of defeat in his fight against doping charges, added to the volume of extraordinary analysis and evidence that followed, has chipped away most of the vestiges of blind faith I had left.
Normally, when a leading sports figure goes down under the weight of doping evidence/allegations, I am among the first to spew forth the invective.
But with Lance, I don't know. I wanted for so long to believe the fairytale was true. Because he was from Texas, my adopted American state?
Possibly. But more because of that little boy inside me who still believes magical, wonderful things can happen in sport.
Plenty will be pleased at Armstrong's demise. But that little boy is terribly sad.
• Pride of South Otago
Brain fades can happen to anyone. Even (perhaps especially) to reporters.
So, I extend a humble apology to exciting new Otago fullback Tony Ensor and the fine people at South Otago High School.
In Monday's paper, I referred to Ensor as a product of Dunstan High School.
Must have had another of the young country boys in the squad, Jayden Spence, in my mind.
It was great to see Ensor get a run for the Razorbacks. And it's excellent that the Otago squad is full of genuinely homegrown players like Ensor, Paul Grant, Scott Manson, Michael Collins, Hayden Parker and the like.
• Sox saga
Crazy, crazy times in American baseball. And - surprise, surprise - my beloved Boston Red Sox are involved.
The Red Sox have just been involved in one of the biggest trades seen in American sport in years.
They sent superstar first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, talented-but-erratic outfielder Carl Crawford and moody pitcher Josh Beckett to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and got an average first baseman and minor league players in return.
It's the sort of deal that most New Zealand fans struggle to comprehend. Imagine the Crusaders sending Richie McCaw, Dan Carter and Andy Ellis to the Highlanders for Doug Tietjens, Ma'afu Fia and Culum Retallick.
Gonzalez and Crawford are both on massive contracts - more than $US100 million ($NZ125 million) each. But the Dodgers are flush with cash (new owners) and ready to win straight away. The dysfunctional Red Sox have staged a "salary dump" to rebuild their team.
• Hall of Fame
I'd encourage sports fans to get in and nominate someone for induction to the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.
The induction panel will consider nominees, who must have been retired from elite sport for at least five years, in November.
You can email the Hall (info@nzhalloffame.co.nz) or call 477-7775 for a nomination form.
• Girls, girls everywhere
It will be a case of "spot the future Silver Fern" when Dunedin hosts the South Island secondary schools netball tournament next week.
This is a massive tournament, widely regarded as one of the biggest on the New Zealand sporting calendar.
Most Silver Ferns have played in it and most top coaches have been involved in it. It's a seething mass of excited, talented young netballers.
Even The Last Word can claim to be a former participant in the event. I was the tournament factotum when the event was held in Oamaru, many moons ago.
It was a tough job for a teenaged boy but someone had to do it.
• Birthday of the week
Rugby league great Graeme "Changa" Langlands is 71 today.
The Dragons, New South Wales and Kangaroos fullback got his nickname at school.
"Langa" turned into "Changa", apparently.
League fans recall the story of how Langlands got a pain-killing injection that went wrong before the 1975 grand final. His entire leg went numb, not ideal for a kicker.
And because Changa was one of the first players to wear white boots, every mistake he made was highlighted.
