Simply the Best
1. Ya Ni Tseng: She won more money in 2008 than anyone else in her generation ever has in a single season. In fact, she won more in '08 than most of her cohort has over their entire careers. That's not only because she already has a major to her name, but also because she has put herself in contention more often than anyone in her generation not named Seon Hwa Lee. Her average ranking is 4.75, tops in her generation by far. She's a legitimate Player of the Year frontrunner in 2009. Can the same be said of anyone else on this list?
2. Seon Hwa Lee: She was the first in her generation to break the three million dollar barrier, has a commanding lead with 4 career wins, and is the only one on this list to be averaging more than 1 win per season. With an average ranking of 10.75, she's the clear #2 right now. And if Tseng suffers any kind of sophomore jinx, she's poised to take the #1 spot back.
3. Morgan Pressel: Even though her average ranking is only 29.5, she's the only player besides Lee to have more than 1 career victory, and like Tseng and Inbee Park, she's already got a major under her belt. Still, if she can't get those swing changes she's been working on grooved in the off-season, she's in danger of being left behind by a host of her peers. And not just the ones in this category.
4. Na Yeon Choi: Although she hasn't missed a cut in her LPGA career, she joined Tseng in breaking the million-dollar barrier in season earnings as a rookie, and her average ranking is 13.75, she hasn't yet been able to get that 1st win on the LPGA. Until she does, I can't see her moving up these rankings.
5. Jee Young Lee: With a 19.75 average ranking, a non-member win on the LPGA, and better overall stats than Pressel in everything but the win column, I was tempted to put her ahead of Choi, but in the end I just couldn't do it.
6. Angela Park: With an average ranking of 24 and a similar difficulty as Choi in getting her 1st career LPGA win, this is the highest I can legitimately put her. Although she's on pace to outdo Jee Young Lee in career winnings by the end of her junior year, she has way fewer top 20s and slightly fewer top 10s per season.
7. Eun-Hee Ji: Yes, her average ranking is 14.5 and she's got that member win the 3 players I've ranked ahead of her don't have, but as she's going to need another great season to stay on the pace Park alone has set, I just can't justify ranking her higher than this just yet.
8. In-Kyung Kim: Another Super Soph with a win and great stats--her average ranking of 23.75 is the same as Park's--but as Ji has already outpaced her or is on track to in most of them, this is as high as she goes right now.
9. Inbee Park: Despite the fact that she has the same average ranking as Jee Young Lee's, if it weren't for that major win, I'd drop her out of this category in a heartbeat, given her slumps at the beginning and end of 2008. But if she makes like Pressel and gets another win soon, I'd be hard-pressed not to leapfrog her ahead of a host of players with better overall records and stats.
The Contenders
10. Ai Miyazato: Yes, her average ranking is 42.75 and she hasn't won anywhere since 2006, but she's fully recovered from last summer's leg injury and should be driving the ball better and hitting more greens in '09. She's been quietly moving up the GSPI over the 2nd half of the season and should continue to do so. More to the point, nobody ranked below her has proven they can maintain her winnings pace just yet. Even though the JLPGA will be calling her, next season should be her favorite--and best--on the LPGA, with Shiho Oyama and Mika Miyazato (no relation) joining her and Momoko Ueda on the LPGA and her friend Louise Stahle back on tour full-time in '09.
11. Brittany Lang: She came out of a terrible sophomore slump sooner than Miyazato, closed out 2008 in style, and has a better average ranking (34.75), but she needs to keep that pace up for a while longer to catch Ai-chan (having played 14 more events than she has).
12. Song-Hee Kim: Although her average ranking is 20 and she almost made a million dollars in '08, her rookie season set her far behind Lang in top 10s and top 20s. I need to see another $750K+ season in '09 before I consider putting her among the very best in her generation without a win as an LPGA member (N.Y. Choi, Lee, A. Park). Given the strength of her stats, I wouldn't be surprised at all, though, if she were to beat them to the winner's circle next season.
13. Momoko Ueda: Her average ranking of 25.75 is helped by those 7 recent JLPGA wins (including 2 in '08), but there's no arguing with the fact that she made about a million dollars in 32 worldwide starts in '08. It'll be very interesting to see if she plans to continue her jet-setting pace in '09. If so, it'll be hard for her to stay this high in this ranking.
14. Jane Park: Got off to a great start in her 1st full season on tour, but couldn't keep up the pace down the home stretch. Her average ranking of 37.75 is more of a reflection of a start-and-stop rookie season, however. Look for her to improve further in '09--only Tseng, Choi, and Ji have done better than her in a similar or smaller number of starts.
15. Hee Young Park: With a 47.5 average ranking, she's the 1st player in this cohort not to outrank Miyazato, so even though she outearned her this season on the LPGA and is one of the best on tour off the tee, I still can't put her any higher than this.
16. Ji Young Oh: With an average ranking of 33.75 and an LPGA win to her name, she could make a good case for being ranked as high as #14 here. But not to me.
17. Sun Young Yoo: Her average ranking of 39 shows the kind of quantum leap she made this season, one in which she basically doubled her previous career winnings and crossed the million-dollar mark. Can she keep it up in '09? She'll have to if she wants to maintain, much less improve, her standing here.
18. Shanshan Feng: Her 63.25 average ranking is deceiving, as the 2nd half of her rookie campaign was as great as her 1st half was awful. Look for her to get off to a fast start in '09 and shoot up these rankings. She's already gotten her 1st top 5 of 2009--on the KLPGA.
19. Louise Friberg: Like Inbee Park, she would have dropped a category without her win, but it's too soon to do to her what I've done to Julieta Granada and Meaghan Francella. Still, her standing as the top Euro in her generation will come under challenge in '09. How will she respond?
20. Teresa Lu: With an average ranking of 43.5, she came close to making as big a quantum leap as Yoo did this season. With Taiwanese compatriots Tseng and Candie Kung leading the way, '09 could be an even better year for her.
21. Amy Yang: Although she doesn't really belong in this ranking, much less this category, based on her LPGA record alone, I'm expecting her to have a better '09 than Jane Park and even Eun-Hee Ji did in '08, what with her 2 LET wins and #4 position on their money list this season, not to mention her runner-up finish in a star-studded LPGA Q-School. In fact, I'm too embarrassed to rank her where I think she actually deserves to be right now. I'll save that for my '09 predictions post!
Quantum Leap Candidates
22. Allison Fouch: This returnee to the LPGA from the Futures Tour had such a fantastic season in '08 that I'm putting her at the top of this category. [Update (1/8/09, 2:00 am): Looks like she's got the right mindset for '09.]
23. Kristy McPherson: She bounced back from a rocky rookie year in a big way this season, so the sky's the limit next one.
24. Sandra Gal. I'm giving the rookie the benefit of the doubt here. She had very good stats in everything but winnings and finishes, so I think she deserves to be ranked this high.
25. Jin Joo Hong: Having improved on a solid rookie season in '08, she's a threat to crack the half-million dollar mark in '09.
26. H.J. Choi: Hung in there during a season that could have gone way south and built some decent momentum for '09.
27. Na On Min: Will she be able to bounce back from a disappointing 2008? At least she'll have every opportunity to do so. As bad as her '08 was, she still made the top 80 on the money list. Barely.
28. Julieta Granada: It's sad to see Ji-Yai Shin's ADT win being compared to hers, when there's no way that Shin will struggle on the LPGA for as long as she has. Still, even without that win, her record is almost as good as Yoo's, so there's no reason to worry that she will go the way of Violeta Retamoza. I hope. Another season like this one and it's back to Q-School for her.
29. Meaghan Francella: Her playoff win over Annika Sorenstam early last season is the only thing keeping her in this ranking--that, and the struggles of those ranked below her!
30. Minea Blomqvist: With comparable stats to Francella's minus that win, she can't go any higher this season, but if her '09 is as good as her '08 was, she'll pass a lot of people in her generation.
31. Linda Wessberg: As expected, she struggled a bit in her 1st full season on the LPGA, but she managed to keep her card and live to play full-time another year. Still among the top 5 Euros in her generation, although she'll have to do better next season to stay ahead of Anja Monke, Anna Rawson, Sophie Giquel, Karin Sjodin, Louise Stahle, and Ashleigh Simon, not to mention 2009 rookies Anna Nordqvist and Tania Elosegui.
32. Kyeong Bae: Will she be able to bounce back from a disappointing 2008? Can she once again become one of her generation's most efficient birdie machines?
For your reference--and mine--here are the stats on which I'm basing this ranking.
2008 LPGA Money List (rank), stroke average (rank), birdies per round average (rank [in total birdies]), greens in regulation rate (rank): I focus on four key indicators of how well someone played this season--how much money they've made, how they've scored, how many birdies they've averaged per round, and how many greens they've hit in regulation on average per round, plus how they rank in each category (except for birdies, which LPGA.com ranks by total and not by average). I figure I can figure out how well they're hitting their irons and putting by comparing the last three figures, so I don't include putts per green in regulation here. Some of the figures Hound Dog thinks are most important I'm looking at in the career stats (below), where I think they belong. These stats are all about the present and future.
1. Ya Ni Tseng, $1.75M (#3), 70.77 (#4), 3.96 (#1), 68.3% (#7)
2. Seon Hwa Lee, $1.19M (#6), 71.51 (#16), 3.13 (#15), 67.7% (#15)
3. Inbee Park, $1.14M (#8), 71.78 (#26), 3.34 (#22), 61.4% (#109)
4. Na Yeon Choi, $1.10M (#11), 71.10 (#8), 3.58 (#8), 68.5% (#6)
5. Song-Hee Kim, $980.9K (#14), 71.23 (#10), 3.48 (#29), 68.9% (#5)
6. Eun-Hee Ji, $914.0K (#15), 71.47 (#15), 3.24 (#18), 65.9% (#39)
7. Angela Park, $869.9K (#17), 71.99 (#37), 3.26 (#20), 64.9% (#58)
8. Jee Young Lee, $796.0K (#21), 71.38 (#14), 3.65 (#6), 66.3% (#34)
9. In-Kyung Kim, $774.0K (#22), 71.54 (#18), 3.54 (#13), 62.2% (#96)
10. Morgan Pressel, $711.3K (#24), 72.04 (#42), 3.12 (#36), 65.5% (#47)
11. Sun Young Yoo, $689.0K (#23), 71.63 (#20), 3.48 (#5), 66.6% (#27)
12. Ji Young Oh, $680.2K (#25), 71.65 (#22), 3.29 (#12), 65.7% (#44)
13. Jane Park, $631.4K (#29), 71.83 (#31), 3.13 (#31), 66.9% (#24)
14. Brittany Lang, $630.3K (#30), 71.79 (#29), 3.10 (#24), 68.1% (#10)
15. Teresa Lu, $507.6K (#34), 72.24 (#49), 2.80 (#34), 63.9% (#68)
16. Hee Young Park, $474.7K (#35), 71.78 (#27), 3.43 (#15), 65.7% (#43)
17. Shanshan Feng, $472.8K (#36), 72.45 (#57), 3.17 (#49), 67.2% (#20)
18. Minea Blomqvist, $417.0K (#44), 72.45 (#56), 3.24 (#40), 59.7% (#134)
19. Momoko Ueda, $413.6K (#45), 71.74 (#23), 3.17 (#70), 63.6% (#73)
20. Ai Miyazato, $410.8K (#46), 72.19 (#48), 2.78 (#59), 62.1% (#97)
21. Kristy McPherson, $407.2K (#47), 71.86 (#34), 3.22 (#33), 65.9% (#40)
22. Louise Friberg, $395.1K (#48), 72.49 (#59), 2.93 (#59), 65.1% (#54)
23. Alison Fouch, $375.3K (#50), 73.00 (#87), 3.01 (#49), 62.6% (#85)
24. Jin Joo Hong, $339.5K (#53), 72.37 (#53), 2.84 (#76), 62.5% (#89)
25. H.J. Choi, $253.3K (#57), 72.69 (#70), 2.75 (#46), 60.9% (#115)
26. Sandra Gal, $181.2K (#68), 72.03 (#40), 3.13 (#54), 67.2% (#21)
27. Kyeong Bae, $166.1K (#74), 73.00 (#87), 3.07 (#56), 60.7% (#118)
28. Linda Wessberg, $165.1K (#75), 73.23 (#103), 3.10 (#52), 59.8% (#131)
29. Na On Min, $146.6K (#76), 73.19 (#101), 2.63 (#71), 61.7% (#105)
30. Meaghan Francella, $117.7K (#88), 73.75 (#131), 2.40 (#97), 65.2% (#52)
31. Julieta Granada, $101.1K (#100), 73.31 (#106), 2.40 (#92), 58.3% (#144)
32. Amy Yang, $60.8K (#129), 72.45 (?), ?, ?
Career LPGA Money List (rank), # of LPGA events entered/majors/wins/top 3s/top 10s/top 20s/cuts made (made cut rate): About the only thing these stats are useful for is comparing people who entered the LPGA in the same year (although if you count generations by 3 years, it can be interesting). Between inflation, changing purses, and length/timing of careers, it's very hard to compare and contrast winnings across generations of LPGA greats. Fortunately the Young Guns haven't been at this all too long, so the career money list is a decent stat for comparing them, even if it's a bit unfair to people who have not been exempt over the course of their careers. What would really be great is if we had a world money list in inflation-adjusted dollars, with inflation- and exchange-adjusted other cash denominations added in (or just totalled up separately to avoid comparing dollars and yen), which included all each golfer earned as a professional on any tour. But even the guys don't have that, so that'll have to remain a dream for now. I include these other ways of seeing how the Young Guns finished relative to their competition in the tournaments they entered because they reveal a lot about how well someone is able to compete at every level, from just making cuts to grinding out top 20s and top 10s to contending for wins. So here's how they stand at the end of '08.
1. Seon Hwa Lee, $3.18M (#52), 88/0/4/10/23/46/83 (.943)
2. Jee Young Lee, $2.34M (#75), 78/0/0/6/24/45/73 (.936)
3. Morgan Pressel, $2.15M (#83), 75/1/2/6/22/38/65 (.867)
4. Julieta Granada, $2.15M (#84), 83/0/1/5/10/21/56 (.675)
5. Angela Park, $1.85M (#96), 55/0/0/6/15/22/50 (.910)
6. Ya Ni Tseng, $1.75M (#100), 27/1/1/8/10/18/26 (.963)
7. Ai Miyazato, $1.73M (#102), 69/0/0/4/17/26/56 (.812)
8. Inbee Park, $1.52M (#111), 47/1/1/3/9/15/33 (.702)
9. Brittany Lang, $1.52M (#112), 83/0/0/4/17/32/60 (.723)
10. In-Kyung Kim, $1.23M (#136), 51/0/1/3/12/20/43 (.843)
11. Eun-Hee Ji, $1.16M (#148), 32/0/1/4/10/13/27 (.844)
12. Na Yeon Choi, $1.10M (#158), 27/0/0/3/9/18/27 (1.000)
13. Song-Hee Kim, $1.06M (#160), 51/0/0/4/9/17/37 (.725)
14. Sun Young Yoo, $1.05M (#165), 81/0/0/1/9/21/61 (.753)
15. Ji Young Oh, $.83M (#201), 51/0/1/1/5/12/36 (.706)
16. Teresa Lu, $.79M (#206), 70/0/0/1/6/16/51 (.729)
17. Kyeong Bae, $.76M (#211), 78/0/0/2/7/12/54 (.692)
18. Jane Park, $.70M (#221), 37/0/0/3/4/8/31 (.838)
19. Meaghan Francella $.63M (#232), 54/0/1/1/4/9/30 (.556)
20. Minea Blomqvist, $.58M (#241), 57/0/0/1/3/8/35 (.614)
21. H.J. Choi, $.56M (#244), 55/0/0/0/6/11/38 (.691)
22. Jin Joo Hong, $.50M (#258), 43/0/0/0/2/7/28 (.651)
23. Kristy McPherson, $.49M (#264), 42/0/0/0/6/9/30 (.714)
24. Hee Young Park, $.47M (#267), 28/0/0/0/4/7/22 (.786)
25. Shanshan Feng, $.47M (#269), 26/0/0/1/5/7/15 (.577)
26. Na On Min, $.46M (#272), 45/0/0/1/2/5/28 (.622)
27. Momoko Ueda, $.41M (#281), 19/0/0/0/3/5/16 (.842)
28. Louise Friberg, $.40M (#285), 24/0/1/1/3/4/16 (.667)
29. Alison Fouch, $.38M (#287), 25/0/0/1/3/6/17 (.680)
30. Linda Wessberg, $.33M (#308), 37/0/0/0/4/6/24 (.649)
31. Sandra Gal, $.18M (#388), 22/0/0/0/0/3/17 (.773)
32. Amy Yang, $.06M (#512), 7/0/0/0/1/2/5 (.714)
Other Career Measures: Rolex Ranking (as of 12/29/08) and rank, Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index (as of 12/28/08) and rank, Hound Dog ranking (as of 11/24/08), and Mostly Harmless ranking (as of 11/28/08), International and Non-Member LPGA Wins (as of the end of the 2008 season): This is a way of seeing how those Young Guns who sometimes or regularly or often compete on other tours stack up over the course of their careers to date (the RR includes results over the past 104 weeks on the LPGA, LET, JLPGA, KLPGA, and Futures Tour; the GSPI includes results over the past 52 weeks on all these tours except the KLPGA).
1. Ya Ni Tseng, 9.31 (#2), 69.83 (#8), #5, #4; 0
2. Seon Hwa Lee, 4.56 (#11), 70.51 (#15), #9, #8; 3
3. Momoko Ueda, 4.06 (#14), 70.80 (#26), #35, #28; 7
4. Jee Young Lee, 4.06 (#15), 70.52 (#16), #22, #18; 2
5. Eun-Hee Ji, 4.01 (#17), 70.43 (#14), #13, #14; 4
6. Morgan Pressel, 3.81 (#19), 71.40 (#47), #27, #25; 0
7. Inbee Park, 3.59 (#21), 71.09 (#34), #11, #13; 0
8. Angela Park, 3.53 (#23), 70.90 (#27), #25, #21; 0
9. In-Kyung Kim, 3.45 (#25), 70.90 (#28), #20, #22; 0
10. Na Yeon Choi, 3.33 (#27), 69.92 (#9), #10, #9; 4
11. Song-Hee Kim, 2.78 (#34), 70.63 (#21), #18, #17; 0
12. Ai Miyazato, 2.68 (#36), 71.33 (#45), #49, #41; 14
13. Brittany Lang, 2.41 (#46), 70.99 (#31), #31, #31; 0
14. Jane Park, 2.27 (#47), 71.02 (#32), #34, #33; 0
15. Shanshan Feng, 2.13 (#48), 72.69 (#104), #55, #45; 0
16. Ji Young Oh, 1.91 (#53), 70.94 (#29), #23, #30; 0
17. Sun Young Yoo, 1.91 (#54), 71.15 (#37), #33, #32; 0
18. Hee Young Park, 1.84 (#59), 71.35 (#46), #43, #42; 4
19. Teresa Lu, 1.78 (#61), 71.15 (#38), #40, #35; 0
20. Minea Blomqvist, 1.60 (#66), 71.55 (#53), #51, #50; 5
21. Kristy McPherson, 1.43 (#70), 71.79 (#63), #45, #48; 0
22. Louise Friberg, 1.42 (#72), 72.21 (#82), #54, n.r.; 0
23. Allison Fouch, 1.28 (#83), 72.62 (#101), n.r., n.r.; 0
24. Jin Joo Hong, 1.23 (#85), 72.09 (#77), #60, n.r.; 2
25. Amy Yang, 1.21 (#87), 71.80 (#64), #57, n.r.; 3
26. Meaghan Francella, 1.10 (#92), 73.66 (#172), n.r., n.r.; 0
27. H.J. Choi, 1.08 (#93), 72.45 (#91), #66, n.r.; 1
28. Linda Wessberg, 1.01 (#97), 73.21 (#136), n.r., n.r.; 6
29. Na On Min, .97 (#104), 73.14 (#126), n.r., n.r.; 0
30. Julieta Granada, .82 (#116), 73.39 (#151), n.r., n.r.; 0
31. Sandra Gal, .76 (#124); 71.69 (#58), #53, n.r.; 0
32. Kyeong Bae, .66 (#139), 73.22 (#139), n.r., n.r.; 3
FYI, here's my 2009 schedule:
February: Class of 2006 (pre-HSBC)
March: Class of 2007 (pre-Kraft Nabisco)
April: Class of 2008 (post-Corona)
May: Young Guns (post-Corning)
June: Class of 2006 (post-Wegmans)
July: Class of 2007 (pre-WBO)
August: Class of 2008 (post-Safeway)
September: Young Guns (post-Longs Drugs)
October: Class of 2006 (post-Korea)
November: Class of 2007 (post-Stanford)
December: Class of 2008 (post-Q School)
January '10: Young Guns (final 2009 ranking)
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