LPGA Q-School Preview/Predictions

Futures Tour Q-School medalist Tiffany Joh provides the theme song for this year's LPGA Q-School. As usual, the field will be competing on LPGA International's Champions and Legends courses. And as usual I'll be arguing that players have to go in with a mindset to go low rather than play it safe. Even without the KLPGA's Hee Kyung Seo, So Yeon Ryu, Sun Ju Ahn, and Ha Neul Kim, or the JLPGA's Shinobu Moromizato, Sakura Yokomine, Chie Arimura, Mi-Jeong Jeon, Miho Koga, Ji-Hee Lee, or Miki Saiki, the field is still very deep. In fact, even after expanding my predictions list to a top 40--based on the 3 priority status categories players could claw their way into with good performances this week--there are just about as many golfers I'm not happy about leaving off the list as I put on it. But here goes:

1. Amanda Blumenherst
2. Azahara Munoz
3. Pernilla Lindberg
4. Yuko Mitsuka
5. Tiffany Joh
6. Tania Elosegui
7. Mariajo Uribe
8. Marianne Skarpnord
9. Gwladys Nocera
10. Paola Moreno
11. Beatriz Recari
12. Emma Cabrera-Bello
13. Maria Hernandez
14. Charlotte Mayorkas
15. Julieta Granada
16. Alison Walshe
17. Dewi Claire Scheefel
18. Mallory Blackwelder
19. Ashleigh Simon
20. Tamie Durdin

21. Sung Ah Yim
22. Kris Tschetter
23. Sarah-Jane Smith
24. Cindy LaCrosse
25. Iben Tinning
26. Reilley Rankin
27. Erica Blasberg
28. Jane Chin
29. Hannah Jun
30. Nontaya Srisawang

31. Diana D'Alessio
32. Miriam Nagl
33. Sophia Sheridan
34. Kitty Hwang
35. Nannette Hill
36. Pornanong Phatlum
37. Stephanie Connelly
38. Carolina Llano
39. Il Hee Lee
40. Esther Choe

My apologies to Lisa Strom, Virada Nirapathpongporn, Aree Song, Lauren Doughtie, Nikki Garrett, Mollie Fankhauser, Dorothy Delasin, Meredith Duncan, Nicole Hage, Christine Song, Angela Buzminski, Gerina Mendoza, Briana Vega, Leah Wigger, Liz Janangelo, Maru Martinez, Ayaka Kaneko, Stephanie Na, Angela Oh, Kim Welch, Lisa Ferrero, and Jessica Shepley. But I just couldn't justify putting you ahead of my picks. Here's hoping y'all prove me wrong!

And here's hoping the LPGA clears up an ambiguity in its qualifying rules and decides to only count players in the top 20 who have improved on their money-list standing. It seems unfair for anyone who, say, finished #86 on the money list and #20 in Q-School to knock out a player at #21 in Q-School who would get a tour card really worth something if that #20 finish weren't counted. Ditto for someone at #31. If they're going to be exclusive and only count the top 20 in Q-School for premium status, irrespective of their status via the '09 LPGA money list, they ought to rewrite their rules to state that more clearly, as I suggested last December. Q-School pressure is hard enough to take without also having to deal with uncertainty over what it takes to join the LPGA.

[Update 1 (7:37 am): Here are the pairings for Wednesday and Thursday.]

[Update 2 (8:42 am): Here's a little interview with and mix tape from Tiffany Joh.]

[Update 3 (12/2/09, 11:15 pm): Here are previews by Hound Dog, Brent Kelley, and Ryan Ballengee.]