Now living full-time in Orlando, in a home once owned by Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam, Tseng also is a global ambassador for the LPGA. She is the only golfer on Time Magazine's recent "100 Most Influential People in the World" list and is considered the world's most marketable female athlete by SportsPro Media, a sports business communications company.
For Tseng, there is more to fame than merely playing great golf. She is friendly and accessible. Her English is good. As Sorenstam wrote in Time Magazine, Tseng owns an "infectious smile and genuine enthusiasm for golf . . . a rare talent with the ability to energize a new generation of LPGA fans."
JoAnne Carner, another LPGA Hall of Fame member, told Tseng how impressed she was with her when she introduced herself at the R.R. Donnelley tournament earlier this year in Phoenix.
"During the conversation, I thanked her for what a good job she's doing in her interviews," Carner said. "Most people are afraid to flub the English language and don't want to do an interview. But I told her, 'You're really doing good ones, and they're coming across great and showing your personality. Keep it up.' "
Tseng is in a position to have an extended run at No. 1 in the same fashion Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa did before each woman retired to raise a family. But again, she doesn't think of it in terms of fairways and greens and fewest putts.
"I want to be like them in the future," she said. "I want to do more. I don't want to just be a good golfer. I want to be a good person like Annika and Lorena, too. They're helping out the LPGA and so many people around the world, and not just about golf.
"I wish I could be like that in the future, and that's kind of my goal. But now I'm focused on playing golf and starting to do the little things around golf, too."
The golf is good even if it's not always appreciated. Though she won two majors last year to become the youngest golfer - male or female - to capture five major championships, she was passed over for 2011 player of the year by Golf Magazine, which selected U.S. Open winner Rory McIlroy.
The snub prompted LPGA commissioner Mike Whan to fire off a letter on her behalf, saying the magazine erred when identifying "the next one" in golf. Tseng admitted she was a "little upset" at the snub and appreciated Whan's assistance.
"I keep telling myself, 'If I keep playing well, one day they will know who I am. One day they will know what the LPGA is like,' " she said. "Lots of great players [are] in the LPGA, and they can really play golf."
Tseng will be playing the Bay course at Seaview for the third time since the LPGA put the ShopRite Classic back on the schedule. She finished seventh last year after a closing 65, winding up 4 shots behind winner Brittany Lincicome.
She said she plans to pay closer attention in her practice rounds to where she can and cannot hit it.
"The course is not very long, but it's very tricky," Tseng said. "There are shots there I don't feel comfortable with. To get to know that golf course well is very important. Some courses you play a couple of times and then you know, but not at Seaview. This one is tougher. But I think the course is great."
Contact Joe Juliano at 215-854-4494 or jjuliano@phillynews.com. Follow @joejulesinq on Twitter.
