Monday, May 17, 2010

Money, Ranking Races Tightening Up on LPGA

Check out the new Rolex Rankings:

1. Ji-Yai Shin (9.20)
2. Ai Miyazato (9.11)
3. Suzann Pettersen (8.83)
4. Ya Ni Tseng (8.75)
5. Cristie Kerr (7.58)
6. Anna Nordqvist (6.80)
7. Karrie Webb (6.66)
8. Michelle Wie (6.45)
9. Na Yeon Choi (5.89)
10. Angela Stanford (5.61)
11. In-Kyung Kim (5.56)
12. Song-Hee Kim (5.52)
13. Paula Creamer (5.39)
14. Sakura Yokomine (5.21)
15. Inbee Park (4.72)

With her dramatic playoff victory at Magnolia Grove yesterday, Se Ri Pak jumped 26 spots to #22 (3.59). By contrast, Laura Davies's LET win was only worth 6 spots, pushing her to #50 (2.09) and Sakura Yokomine's JLPGA only allowed her to maintain her position in the top 15.

Once Golfweek updates its Sagarin Performance Index, I'll insert the new ranking here/.

The LPGA money list is also tightening up:

1. Ai Miyazato $597,498
2. Suzann Pettersen $509,047
3. Ya Ni Tseng $468,425
4. Song-Hee Kim $328,804
5. Cristie Kerr $291,914
6. Ji-Yai Shin $245,512
7. Se Ri Pak $237,851
8. Inbee Park $222,518
9. Na Yeon Choi $198,524
10. Jee Young Lee $197,458

And check out the career money list:

1. Annika Sorenstam $22,573,192
2. Karrie Webb $15,453,499
3. Lorena Ochoa $14,862,664
4. Juli Inkster $12,787,288
5. Se Ri Pak $10,838,757
6. Cristie Kerr $10,750,550
7. Meg Mallon $9,044,059
8. Beth Daniel $8,755,733
9. Laura Davies $8,649,818
10. Mi Hyun Kim $8,406,022

Webb managed to outlast Ochoa (at least until Lorena returns!), Pak leapfrogged Kerr, and Kim closed a little bit more on Davies. I wonder who will be the 1st to pass Inkster? Pak and Kerr are neck-and-neck over their careers and in this season!

Looking further down the list, here are the positions and total winnings of some of the most-likely-to-rise-fast on tour:

13. Paula Creamer $6,968,600
17. Jeong Jang $6,199,822
18. Hee-Won Han $6,157,442
19. Catriona Matthew $6,073,109
22. Suzann Pettersen $5,814,605
29. Sophie Gustafson $5,389,815
30. Grace Park $5,347,671
32. Angela Stanford $5,005,435
34. Maria Hjorth $4,860,205
35. Candie Kung $4,610,108
40. Natalie Gulbis $3,984,496
41. Ai Miyazato $3,845,896
43. Seon Hwa Lee $3,702,943
48. Christina Kim $3,516,071
49. Ya Ni Tseng $3,513,961
52. Karen Stupples $3,323,491
59. Stacy Prammanasudh $3,011,582
63. Jee Young Lee $2,893,428
64. Morgan Pressel $2,883,301
74. Na Yeon Choi $2,635,249
75. In-Kyung Kim $2,615,944
82. Song-Hee Kim $2,420,236
88. Brittany Lang $2,261,122
93. Katherine Hull $2,153,833
94. Eun-Hee Ji $2,118,891
98. Ji-Yai Shin $2,052,537
101. Inbee Park $2,012,146

There's not a lot of money separating #100 from #40 on the career list. While money is certainly not a good measure to compare players across eras or generations, many of those most likely to move up the list the quickest are from the Young Gun generation I've been tracking since the Class of 2006's rookie year. It won't be too long before the kids are the elite, but wins by Pak and Davies show they have a long way to go to get Hall of Fame-quality careers.

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