Sunday, August 9, 2009

LET Update: Stupples Stumbles but Beats Yang by 1

Karen Stupples just eked out a win on the LET over Amy Yang, even though she bogeyed 2 of her last 4 holes to drop back to -12 for the tournament. Yang matched her walkoff bogey to preserve Stupples's 1-shot lead. A 69 by Katherine Hull pulled her back into 3rd place at -9, while Becky Brewerton was the top LET regular 1 shot behind her. A 66 by Melissa Reid and a 67 by Anna Nordqvist brought them to -7 for the tournament, good enough for T5. Also getting into the top 10 were LPGA regulars Carin Koch, Laura Davies, and Julieta Granada. If Stupples and Reid had played this well at the Women's British Open, at least one of them may have been a captain's pick for the Solheim Cup, although it's hard to argue with Becky Brewerton's great play of late (not to mention that Reid may need wrist surgery).

The LET money list is now dominated by LPGA regulars, from #1 Sophie Gustafson and #2 Catriona Matthew to #9 Helen Alfredsson. #12 Laura Davies, #13 Karen Stupples, #14 Maria Hjorth, #15 Anna Nordqvist, and #18 Amy Yang make it 8 LPGAers among the top 20 on the LET. Nordqvist has done it in 4 events, Matthew and Alfredsson in 2, and the rest in 3. Admittedly, they all did from well to great in the 2 largest-purse events of the LET season, but just think how much more they'd be winning if they were playing regularly on the LET. By contrast, there are no irregulars in the top 20 on the JLPGA money list (although we'll see how that changes in the coming weeks now that Ji-Yai Shin, Ai Miyazato, Momoko Ueda, and Shiho Oyama are back in town). It's pretty clear which is the #2 tour in the world of women's golf, and it's not the LET.

No comments: