Wednesday, November 27, 2013

The Best to Join the LPGA since 2005, November 2013 Edition

It's only been a little over a month since my last update of my ranking of the best players to join the LPGA since 2005, but there are some significant shifts, with Shanshan Feng, Lexi Thompson, Amy Yang, Caroline Hedwall, Pornanong Phatlum, Gerina Piller, and Hee Kyung Seo rising the fastest and the top rookies from the Class of 2013 falling the farthest.  (In my system, Caroline Masson would have just beaten out Chie Arimura for Rookie of the Year.)

Simply the Best
1. Ya Ni Tseng (3924) [-36]

The Contenders
2. Ji-Yai Shin (3376) [-26]
3. Na Yeon Choi (2824) [-25]
4. Inbee Park (2725) [-4]
5. Stacy Lewis (2702) [+21]
6. Paula Creamer (2695) [-36]
7. So Yeon Ryu (2464) [-46]

The Next Best
8. Ai Miyazato (2218) [-26]
9. Lexi Thompson (1842) [+171]
10. In-Kyung Kim (1759) [-17]
11. Shanshan Feng (1623) [+219]

Quantum Leap Candidates
12. Brittany Lincicome (1487) [-10]
13. Anna Nordqvist (1447) [-5]
14. Michelle Wie (1357) [+26]
15. Morgan Pressel (1355) [-12]
16. Hee Kyung Seo (1259) [+66]
17. Amy Yang (1239) [+137]
18. Mika Miyazato (1227) [-21]
19. Song-Hee Kim (1226)
20. Seon Hwa Lee (1224)
21. Hee Young Park (1188) [-18]
22. Azahara Munoz (1181) [+51]
23. Beatriz Recari (1164) [-15]
24. Sun Young Yoo (1065) [+21]
25. Eun-Hee Ji (1047) [+11]
26. Jee Young Lee (1008) [-9]

The Best of the Rest
27. Caroline Hedwall (997) [+90]
28. Lizette Salas (969) [-16]
29. Brittany Lang (937) [-11]
30. Jessica Korda (862) [-34]
31. Meena Lee (851) [-6]
32. Chella Choi (782) [+47]
33. Carlota Ciganda (768) [-31]
34. Momoko Ueda (765)
35. Julieta Granada (754) [-6]
36. Sandra Gal (730) [+12]
37. Ilhee Lee (726) [-4]
38. Gerina Piller (692) [+68]
39. Jennifer Johnson (688) [+9]
40. Jodi Ewart Shadoff (663) [-9]
41. Jenny Shin (638) [-12]
42. Ji Young Oh (612) [-2]
T43. Kristy McPherson (604) [-3], Pornanong Phatlum (604) [+77]
45. Mi Jung Hur (597) [+13]
46. Caroline Masson (582) [-114]
47. Chie Arimura (562) [-98]
T48. Ayako Uehara (548) [-67], Haeji Kang (548) [+3]
50. Vicky Hurst (525) [-5]

The 2013 ROY, Moriya Jutanugarn, is next with 489 points.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I notice Michelle Wie passed Morgan Pressel. It is because of Wie's extra length off the tee. In the Titleholders Wie averaged 242.63 yds compared to only 242.5 for Morgan Pressel. I think it is that extra 1/8 of a yard off the tee that explains why Wie has 1357 points compared to only 1355 points for Pressel.

The Constructivist said...

Funny!

Actually, my formula doesn't include anything but results-oriented stats. And you're right that miniscule differences in points suggest there's no real difference between the players' careers to date. That's why I break them up into categories of players who my formula suggests have had comparable careers. Any finer-grained distinctions are a matter for further debate!