Course: Hamilton Farms Golf Club
Location: Gladstone, New Jersey
Defending Champion: Suzann Pettersen
Final Field: 64 players
Par: 36/36=72
Yardage: 6553
Purse: $1.5 million
Don't let the limited field fool you; this a very strong field. Forty-four of the top fifty ladies on the LPGA priority list will be teeing it up.
Here is the television schedule:
May 17 - GC 6:30-8:30 PM EST
May 18 - GC 6:30-8:30 PM EST
May 19 - GC 3:00-6:00 PM EST
May 20 - GC 4:00-6:00 PM EST
Here are the first-round matches (thank you Kevin "IceCat" for working the numbers):
#2 Na Yeon Choi vs #63 Grace Park (Rolex #225)
#3 Suzann Pettersen vs #62 Jodi Ewart (Rolex #210)
#4 Ai Miyazato vs #61 Mariajo Uribe (Rolex #166)
#5 Cristie Kerr vs #60 Belen Mozo (Rolex #149)
#6 Stacy Lewis (Rolex #7) vs #59 Pat Hurst (Rolex #143)
#7 Jiyai Shin (Rolex #9) vs #58 Jennifer Song (Rolex #136)
#8 Paula Creamer (Rolex #11) vs #57 Jennifer Johnson (Rolex #133)
#9 Brittany Lincicome (Rolex #12) vs #56 Ryann O'Toole (Rolex #132)
#10 Amy Yang (Rolex #13) vs #55 Amy Hung (Rolex #130)
#11 Sun Young Yoo (Rolex #14) vs #54 Amanda Blumenherst [Rolex #128]
#12 Angela Stanford (Rolex #15) vs #53 Wendy Ward (Rolex #127)
#13 So Yeon Ryu [Rolex #18] vs #52 Karin Sjodin (Rolex #107)
#14 Karrie Webb (Rolex #19) vs #51 Tiffany Joh (Rolex #106)
#15 Morgan Pressel (Rolex #20) vs #50 Mindy Kim (Rolex #104)
#16 Catriona Matthew (Rolex #21) vs #49 Candie Kung (Rolex #102)
#17 Caroline Hedwall (Rolex #22) vs #48 Haeji Kang (Rolex #89)
#18 Inbee Park (Rolex #25) vs #47 Hee Won Han [Rolex #88]
#19 Azahara Muñoz (Rolex #27) vs #46 Lindsey Wright (Rolex #85)
#20 Michelle Wie (Rolex #29) vs #45 Mina Harigae (Rolex #83)
#21 Maria Hjorth (Rolex #31) vs #44 Eun Hee Ji (Rolex #82)
#22 Hee Kyung Seo (Rolex #33) vs #43 Jessica Korda (Rolex #80)
#23 Mika Miyazato (Rolex #34) vs #42 Natalie Gulbis (Rolex #79)
#24 Brittany Lang (Rolex #36) vs #41 Julieta Granada [Rolex #78]
#25 Hee Young Park (Rolex #37) vs #40 Karine Icher (Rolex #76)
#26 Anna Nordqvist [Rolex #38] vs #39 Beatriz Recari (Rolex #75)
#27 Sandra Gal (Rolex #40) vs #38 Pornanong Phatlum (Rolex #74)
#28 Meena Lee (Rolex #42) vs #37 Vicky Hurst (Rolex #72)
#29 Song Hee Kim (Rolex #50) vs #36 Katherine Hull (Rolex #67)
#30 Sophie Gustafson (Rolex #51) vs #35 Karen Stupples (Rolex #65)
#31 Jenny Shin (Rolex #53) vs #34 Jimin Kang (Rolex #64)
#32 Chella Choi (Rolex #60) vs #33 Katie Futcher (Rolex #62)
Inbee Park, winner of the Fundokin Ladies Open on the JLPGA tour, moves from #32 to #25.
Christel Boeljon, winner of the Turkish Airlines Open on the LET tour, moves from #51 to #46.
7 comments:
Why all the "above 64th ranked" players? I understand some are not playing, ie S. Ahn and IK Kim, so there will be some above #64, ie 65, #66, etc but what about all the players ranked in the 100's, 200's, etc. Heck J. Jang is ranked 312? How it that possible? Why can't the LPGA give up on the gimmicks and just play a strait 64 rank match play event like the men?
Golfweek has their brackets game up:
hxxp://games.golfweek.com/bracket.asp?ID=6
It's an easy way to keep track of your picks and see how you stand against others.
The presence of lower ranked players has to do with the qualification format used for this event. The first was the top 48 on this year's Priority List. Yes, it is based on last year's Money List, but players can use a medical exemption to have themselves inserted into the slot closely approximating where they were on the Priority List prior to their injury or pregnancy, so that explains why Jeong Jang and Karine Icher are in the field. The cutoff point on the Priority List thus becomes #46, so Ryann O'Toole was the last one in, but there are three players within that 48 that are currently injured and not in the field: IK Kim, Juli Inkster and Se Ri Pak. Those three slots were filled from the other two criteria: The Top 12 on this year's Money List at the end of the Mobile Bay event and the Top 2 after the opening two rounds of the same event, both from among those not already qualified via the Priority List. Belen Mozo and Grace Park are in the field via the two sponsor exemptions.
Plus, if the LPGA didn't use the criteria they did but instead the Rolex Rankings, a good portion of the field would be made up of regulars on the JLPGA, very few of whom have a history of playing overseas with any regularity (too often skipping even majors they've qualified for).
If she can get past Ryu, I'm picking Sjodin to be the high seed that goes the farthest. Gulbis also playing well recently and could go several rounds.
I'm offended that Golf Channel has only allotted two hours of coverage on Sunday. I suppose infomercials are more important, right?
They added a an extra hour on Sunday from 1:00 to 2:00.
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