All right, let's get the new year started right, golf-wise, by taking another look at the LPGA's top rivalries. We'll start this series of posts with an overview of the top money winners among the 5 LPGA generations that began their careers during the Sorenstam Era (1994-2008), plus the 1st new one that's looking to cut the Ochoa Era (2003-) short. In addition to career winnings and rank on the career money list, I also list these players' totals in wins and majors. I know--56 players are a lot to keep track of--but there are probably about 80 in all who could win any given week on the LPGA. Putting together my top 30 predictions is going to be even tougher this season than last!
1994-1996: The Sorenstam Generation
[1. Annika Sorenstam (1994) $22.57M (#1), 72/10]
2. Karrie Webb (1996) $14.31M (#2), 35/7
3. Lorie Kane (1996) $6.70M (#14), 4/0
4. Pat Hurst (1995) $6.16M (#15), 5/1
5. Catriona Matthew (1995) $5.49M (#25), 2/0
6. Carin Koch (1995) $4.36M (#33), 2/0
7. Wendy Ward (1996) $4.16M (#35), 4/0
1997-1999: The Pak Generation
1. Se Ri Pak (1998) $10.15M (#5), 24/5
2. Cristie Kerr (1997) $8.94M (#7), 11/1
3. Mi Hyun Kim (1999) $8.29M (#11), 8/0
4. Rachel Hetherington (1997) $5.59M (#23), 8/0
5. Laura Diaz (1999) $4.91M (#30), 2/0
6. Sophie Gustafson (1998) $4.55M (#31), 4/0
7. Maria Hjorth (1998) $4.33M (#34), 3/0
8. Karen Stupples (1999) $3.06M (#55), 2/1
2000-2002: Seoul Sisters
1. Jeong Jang (2000) $6.11M (#16), 2/1
2. Hee-Won Han (2001) $5.64M (#22), 6/0
3. Grace Park (2000) $5.28M (#27), 6/1
4. Candie Kung (2002) $3.95M (#37), 4/0
5. Angela Stanford (2001) $3.82M (#39), 3/0
6. Natalie Gulbis (2002) $3.64M (#42), 1/0
7. Gloria Park (2000) $3.24M (#51), 2/0
2003-2005: The Ochoa Generation
1. Lorena Ochoa (2003) $13.20M (#3), 24/2
2. Paula Creamer (2005) $5.82M (#19), 8/0
3. Suzann Pettersen (2003) $3.94M (#38), 5/1
4. Christina Kim (2003) $3.13M (#54), 2/0
5. Stacy Prammanasudh (2003) $2.74M (#64), 2/0
6. Meena Lee (2005) $2.35M (#73), 2/0
7. Shi Hyun Ahn (2004) $2.25M (#78), 1*/0 [non-member win]
8. Young Kim (2003) $2.18M (#81), 1/0
9. Brittany Lincicome (2005) $1.97M (#88), 2/0
10. Katherine Hull (2004) $1.61M (#106), 1/0
2006-2008: The Young Guns
[I include this generation's numbers of events, majors, wins, top 3s, top 10s, top 20s, and made cuts (along with made cut rate); *=non-member win.]
1. Seon Hwa Lee (2006) $3.18M (#52), 88/0/4/10/23/46/83 (.943)
2. Jee Young Lee (2006) $2.34M (#75), 78/0/1*/6/24/45/73 (.936)
3. Morgan Pressel (2006) $2.15M (#83), 75/1/2/6/22/38/65 (.867)
4. Julieta Granada (2006) $2.15M (#84), 83/0/1/5/10/21/56 (.675)
5. Angela Park (2007) $1.85M (#96), 55/0/0/6/15/22/50 (.910)
6. Ya Ni Tseng (2008) $1.75M (#100), 27/1/1/8/10/18/26 (.963)
7. Ai Miyazato (2006) $1.73M (#102), 69/0/0/4/17/26/56 (.812)
8. Inbee Park (2007) $1.52M (#111), 47/1/1/3/9/15/33 (.702)
9. Brittany Lang (2006) $1.52M (#112), 83/0/0/4/17/32/60 (.723)
10. In-Kyung Kim (2007) $1.23M (#136), 51/0/1/3/12/20/43 (.843)
11. Eun-Hee Ji (2007) $1.16M (#148), 32/0/1/4/10/13/27 (.844)
12. Na Yeon Choi (2008) $1.10M (#158), 27/0/0/3/9/18/27 (1.000)
13. Song-Hee Kim (2007) $1.06M (#160), 51/0/0/4/9/17/37 (.725)
14. Sun Young Yoo (2006) $1.05M (#165), 81/0/0/1/9/21/61 (.753)
2009-2011: New Blood
1. Ji-Yai Shin
2. Shiho Oyama
3. Stacy Lewis
4. Michelle Wie
5. Vicky Hurst
6. Mika Miyazato
7. Anna Nordqvist
8. Mindy Kim
9. M.J. Hur
10. Chella Choi
2 comments:
Prediction - Stacy Lewis will be the first on this list to win in 2009....
MW - winless...still cannot close
Lewis before Ochoa or Shin or Creamer or Tseng? Bold call!
That said, I share your doubts about Wie getting her 1st LPGA win in '09. If Ai Miyazato, Na Yeon Choi, and Hee Young Park (and other much more polished young professionals with established track records and multiple wins on other tours than she is or has) have found it so hard to win on the LPGA, getting that 1st win any time (much less in your rookie year) is a very rare and difficult accomplishment.
But I'd love to see her prove us wrong!
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