Tuesday, June 10, 2014

The Best to Join the LPGA Since 2005, June 2014 Edition

In the midst of an off-week before the U.S. Women's Open follows the guys at Pinehurst, it's a fine time to take another look at how the best players to join the LPGA since 2005 stack up against each other, something I haven't done since April.  For the full rundown, check out my spreadsheet.  The numbers in brackets following the player's name and point total represent how many points they have gained or lost since my last ranking.

Simply the Best
1. Ya Ni Tseng (3790) [-30]

The Contenders
2. Ji-Yai Shin (3376)
3. Lydia Ko (3020) [+662]
4. Stacy Lewis (2975) [+218]
5. Inbee Park (2843) (2762) [+81]
6. Na Yeon Choi (2722) [-46]
7. Paula Creamer (2719) [-33]

The Next Best
8. So Yeon Ryu (2295) [-72]
9. Lexi Thompson (2179) [+20]
10. Ai Miyazato (2131) [-24]

Quantum Leap Candidates
11. In-Kyung Kim (1699) [-35]
12. Anna Nordqvist (1696) [+42]
13. Shanshan Feng (1642) [+44]
14. Michelle Wie (1607) [+55]
15. Brittany Lincicome (1446) [-8]
16. Morgan Pressel (1323) [-23]
17. Azahara Munoz (1256) [-8]
18. Lizette Salas (1248) [+165]
19. Amy Yang (1229) [-8]
20. Song-Hee Kim (1226)
21. Jessica Korda (1195) [+136]
22. Seon Hwa Lee (1177) [-26]
23. Hee Kyung Seo (1170) [-10]
24. Mika Miyazato (1163) [-22]
25. Angela Park (1114)
26. Beatriz Recari (1084) [-31]
27. Hee Young Park (1080) [-14]
28. Eun-Hee Ji (1036) [-8]
29. Sun Young Yoo (1034) [-9]

The Best of the Rest
30. Jee Young Lee (976) [-20]
31. Caroline Hedwall (929) [-14]
32. Brittany Lang (912) [-6]
33. Meena Lee (856) [+18]
34. Chella Choi (853) [-2]
35. Momoko Ueda (765)
36. Gerina Piller (763) [+22]
37. Julieta Granada (761) [+5]
38. Jenny Shin (747) [+88]
39. Sandra Gal (726) [-8]
40. Jennifer Johnson (705) [+58]
41. Pornanong Phatlum (656) [+16]
42. Ilhee Lee (651) [-33]
43. Jodi Ewart Shadoff (637) [+7]
44. Ji Young Oh (590) [-12]
45. Teresa Lu (585)
46. Carlota Ciganda (584) [-45]
47. Kristy McPherson (578) [-16]
48. Mi Jung Hur (562) [-15]
49. Haeji Kang (557) [+27]
50. Caroline Masson (532) [-1]

As you can see, the top point-gainers since April have been Lydia Ko, Stacy Lewis, Lizette Salas, Jessica Korda, Jenny Shin, Inbee Park, Jennifer Johnson, Michelle Wie, and Shanshan Feng.  (Ko's gain is so astronomical because she has so few events under her belt as an LPGA member.  Look for less volatility from her ranking by this time next year!)  The golfers losing the most points since the last ranking are So Yeon Ryu, Na Yeon Choi, Carlota Ciganda, In-Kyung Kim, Paula Creamer, and Ilhee Lee.  These are the golfers playing much better (or worse) in the last couple of months than their career averages would lead you to expect.

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