Sunday, April 1, 2012

Kraft Nabisco Championship Questions

With Karin Sjodin unexpectedly catching Ya Ni Tseng at -9 at the top of the Kraft Nabisco Championship leaderboard after 3 rounds, after the world #1 made more bogeys (4) in her last 12 holes than in her previous 42, can the world #1 shake it off and come through on a major championship Sunday one year after she failed to do so?

Can another unheralded player like Haeji Kang at -7 get into the final-round mix?  What about comeback kids Eun-Hee Ji at -6 and Katherine Hull and Vicky Hurst at -5?  Have they and Sjodin reached the point where it's about time to go all Icarus on the field, or can they keep rising?

Can the Seoul Sisters at -6--from hole-in-1 girl Na Yeon Choi to 267-yards-off-the-tee Saturday surpriser In-Kyung Kim to 2011 Rookie of the Year Hee Kyung Seo to last week's runner-up Sun Young Yoo--bust a move and snag the 1st Korean win of 2012 on tour?  What about Se Ri Pak at -5 or Amy Yang and Ha-Neul Kim at -4?  Or Ji-Yai Shin, Inbee Park, and Hee Young Park at -3?  I'm not seeing a lot of great play on Mission Hills's back 9 from many of them thus far, but you never know!

What about the LPGA's other big names?  Suzann Pettersen, Azahara Munoz, and Lexi Thompson are 5 back, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, and Angela Stanford are 6, Karrie Webb is 7, and Stacy Lewis and Shanshan Feng are 8 off the pace.  Can we expect any magic from that far back in the pack?

What's up with Ai Miyazato?  All of a sudden, she's been having trouble breaking 70 and moved well back over the last 3 holes on moving day.  Is there something in the California air that doesn't agree with her?  She didn't light it up at the Kia, either....  Anyway, I'll be rooting for some early Sunday fireworks from her, Mina Harigae, and Seon Hwa Lee from the middle of the pack!

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