With the 4th LPGA major of 2014 just hours away, it's time I unveiled my updated ranking of the top performers in LPGA majors since the start of the 2000 season (excepting the du Maurier, which last counted as an LPGA major that season). What's different than the April 2014 and June 2014 and July 2014 editions? The 1st 3 majors of 2014 (duh!). Please join me in welcoming Mo Martin to the top 50!
You can find more details on my spreadsheet, which is basically a modification of my career ranking system of the LPGA's rookie classes from 2005 to 2014, but in a nutshell its core idea is to reward both consistency and peak performances, with a special bonus for being able to win more than one major and an even bigger bonus for winning the same major more than once (it's kind of like Yahtzee that way!). The formula I use to put it all together results in the following ranking, with the number of points gained or lost since the last ranking [in brackets] following each player's point total (in parentheses):
Simply the Best
1. Annika Sorenstam (3034)
2. Ya Ni Tseng (2030) [-54]
3. Karrie Webb (1948) [-23]
4. Inbee Park (1831) [-3]
The Contenders
5. Stacy Lewis (1613) [-30]
6. Lorena Ochoa (1569)
The Next Best
7. Ji-Yai Shin (1423) [-40]
8. Suzann Pettersen (1406) [+62]
9. So Yeon Ryu (1392) [-49]
10. Se Ri Pak (1342) [-16]
11. Cristie Kerr (1295) [-17]
12. Na Yeon Choi (1142) [-34]
13. Paula Creamer (1117) [-20]
Quantum Leap Candidates
14. Michelle Wie (976) [-20]
15. Morgan Pressel (975) [-17]
16. In-Kyung Kim (972) [-26]
17. Lexi Thompson (865) [-31]
18. Catriona Matthew (814) [-11]
19. Grace Park (795)
20. Eun-Hee Ji (779) [+25]
21. Shanshan Feng (769) [+140]
22. Amy Yang (765) [-20]
23. Juli Inkster (762) [+/-0]
24. Anna Nordqvist (736) [-4]
25. Ai Miyazato (682) [-12]
26. Brittany Lincicome (678) [-12]
27. Angela Park (664)
28. Mo Martin (631) [+564]
29. Angela Stanford (626) [+31]
30. Song-Hee Kim (621)
31. Lydia Ko (580) [-44]
32. Jeong Jang (527) [-6]
33. Hee Kyung Seo (522) [+/-0]
34. Brittany Lang (514) [-8]
The Best of the Rest
35. Sun Young Yoo (487) [-11]
36. Natalie Gulbis (486) [+/-0]
37. Candie Kung (478) [-7]
38. Hee Young Park (453) [-9]
39. Mika Miyazato (453) [-7]
40. Kristy McPherson (418) [-9]
41. Jee Young Lee (413) [-7]
42. Chella Choi (385) [-11]
43. Lindsey Wright (380) [+/-0]
44. Christina Kim (372) [-4]
45. Azahara Munoz (369) [+9]
46. Hee-Won Han (353) [+/-0]
47. Caroline Masson (312) [-24]
T48. Lizette Salas (307) [+/-0]
T48. Julieta Granada (307) [+38]
50. Meaghan Francella (296) [+/-0]
It's interesting to see who performs better in majors than regular events and vice versa--although as you can see from the big movers, there's a bit more volatility on this list than in my career ranking system.
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