All right, it's time to share my actual guesses about who will finish in the top 15 at the Ricoh Women's British Open this week at St. Andrews!
1. Miyazato Ai
2. Park Inbee
3. Choi Na Yeon
4. Creamer
5. Ryu
6. Webb
7. Lewis, Stacy
8. Matthew
9. Stanford
10. Kim In-Kyung
11. Shin Jiyai
12. Pettersen
Alts: Kang Haeji; Thompson; Ko
So, who are your picks?
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
Ricoh Women's British Open Monday Qualifying Results
You can see who made it and didn't make it into the Ricoh Women's British Open via Monday qualifying at this LGU site. Here's the quick rundown of the biggest names' results.
In: Carly Booth, Dori Carter, Laura Diaz, Tania Elosegui, Sydnee Michaels, Marta Silva Zamora
Out: Becky Brewerton, Kathleen Ekey, Natsuka Hori, Maria Hjorth, Lorie Kane, Kiran Matharu, Melissa Reid, Alena Sharp, Kristie Smith, Jennifer Song, Cheyenne Woods
Xiyu Lin was medallist at -7. You needed to shoot -3 to get into the playoff for the last spots. Maria Hernandez lost in that playoff.
Here's the updated final field list!
In: Carly Booth, Dori Carter, Laura Diaz, Tania Elosegui, Sydnee Michaels, Marta Silva Zamora
Out: Becky Brewerton, Kathleen Ekey, Natsuka Hori, Maria Hjorth, Lorie Kane, Kiran Matharu, Melissa Reid, Alena Sharp, Kristie Smith, Jennifer Song, Cheyenne Woods
Xiyu Lin was medallist at -7. You needed to shoot -3 to get into the playoff for the last spots. Maria Hernandez lost in that playoff.
Here's the updated final field list!
Ricoh Women's British Open Storylines
The Ricoh Women's British Open is always a huge event in the world of women's golf, but it's even bigger when it's at St. Andrews--and when Inbee Park has a great chance to make history there, well, it's probably the biggest deal since I've started blogging. Tony Jesselli, formerly with this blog and now with his own, is in Scotland with limited internet access and is sending his readers over here for WBO coverage. So let's kick it off with a look at the top storylines heading into the most important week in women's golf in a very long time.
Making History? Inbee Park is going for her 4th major in a row...she's trying to become the 1st golfer in history to do it in the same season...where Lorena Ochoa won at the 1st WBO ever played in St. Andrews. No pressure!
Best Shot for Spoiler Status? Karrie Webb is coming off a big come-from-behind win at the Ladies European Masters and has already won on the LPGA this season. Ashleigh Simon came within a shot of a playoff, notching her 2nd top 5 in as many weeks. Caroline Masson, Sandra Gal, and Christina Kim also had very good weeks. On the LPGA, Beatriz Recari won 2 weeks ago at the Marathon over Paula Creamer, Hee Young Park 3 weeks ago at the Manulife over Angela Stanford. So Yeon Ryu and Catriona Matthew have a silver and a bronze each among their last 4 starts. Angela Stanford has 3 top 5s in a row and counting. Paula Creamer and Jodi Ewart Shadoff have 2 top 5s in their last 3 starts. Meena Lee has 2 top 10s in a row and counting. Stacy Lewis, Suzann Pettersen, and Paula Creamer have 3 top 10s in their last 4 starts. Ai Miyazato has a 5-event top-20 streak. In-Kyung Kim and Haeji Kang have 4-event top-20 runs going. Chie Arimura has 3 top 10s in her last 6 starts. Lexi Thompson has 4 top 20s in her last 7 starts, including a T3 2 weeks ago in Toledo. Chella Choi has 3 top 25s in a row and counting.
Solheim Cup Decision Time. Jennifer Johnson, Morgan Pressel, Michelle Wie, and Gerina Piller are racing for the last three spots on Team USA; Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Sandra Gal, Gwladys Nocera, Charley Hull, and Giulia Sergas are duelling to get onto Team Euro. It's going to come down to captain's picks....
Back on Track? Can former #1s Stacy Lewis, Ya Ni Tseng, Ji-Yai Shin, Ai Miyazato, and Cristie Kerr get back in the passing lane? (Tseng and Shin have 4 of the last 5 WBOs between them, but Shin missed the cut in her last start and Tseng has missed 3 in a row for the 1st time in her career.) Can Paula Creamer or Na Yeon Choi end their victory droughts this week?
Rookie of the Year Race Tightening Up. Moriya Jutanugarn has cooled off a bit of late, and Chie Arimura, Caroline Masson, and Ayako Uehara have been closing the gap on her. They're all in the field this week, along with Austin Ernst, Lisa McCloskey, and Katie Burnett. (There's a chance others might make it in via Monday qualifying.)
Tops from Other Tours. Rikako Morita is the JLPGA money-list leader. Lee-Anne Pace leads the LET Order of Merit. Others high on those lists include Miki Saiki, Mi-Jeong Jeon, Mamiko Higa, Sakura Yokomine, Gwladys Nocera, Charley Hull, and Carlota Ciganda. Ariya Jutanugarn, who got off to a great start in her LET rookie season, required shoulder surgery to deal with an injury she sustained at the Wegman LPGA Championship, so she had to withdraw from the field. (Speaking of who's not there, I don't see any KLPGAers on the field list.)
Lydia Ko Watch. She's playing pretty good golf this year and went low in a recent practice round at St. Andrews. Can she bring it when the starting bell rings?
[Update 1 (3:10 pm): Mechelle Voepel has a good spoiler threat piece at espnw!]
[Update 2 (3:11 pm): She also has a good Inbee Park piece!]
[Update 3 (7/30/13, 11:08 pm): Here's Ruthless Mike's preview!]
Making History? Inbee Park is going for her 4th major in a row...she's trying to become the 1st golfer in history to do it in the same season...where Lorena Ochoa won at the 1st WBO ever played in St. Andrews. No pressure!
Best Shot for Spoiler Status? Karrie Webb is coming off a big come-from-behind win at the Ladies European Masters and has already won on the LPGA this season. Ashleigh Simon came within a shot of a playoff, notching her 2nd top 5 in as many weeks. Caroline Masson, Sandra Gal, and Christina Kim also had very good weeks. On the LPGA, Beatriz Recari won 2 weeks ago at the Marathon over Paula Creamer, Hee Young Park 3 weeks ago at the Manulife over Angela Stanford. So Yeon Ryu and Catriona Matthew have a silver and a bronze each among their last 4 starts. Angela Stanford has 3 top 5s in a row and counting. Paula Creamer and Jodi Ewart Shadoff have 2 top 5s in their last 3 starts. Meena Lee has 2 top 10s in a row and counting. Stacy Lewis, Suzann Pettersen, and Paula Creamer have 3 top 10s in their last 4 starts. Ai Miyazato has a 5-event top-20 streak. In-Kyung Kim and Haeji Kang have 4-event top-20 runs going. Chie Arimura has 3 top 10s in her last 6 starts. Lexi Thompson has 4 top 20s in her last 7 starts, including a T3 2 weeks ago in Toledo. Chella Choi has 3 top 25s in a row and counting.
Solheim Cup Decision Time. Jennifer Johnson, Morgan Pressel, Michelle Wie, and Gerina Piller are racing for the last three spots on Team USA; Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Sandra Gal, Gwladys Nocera, Charley Hull, and Giulia Sergas are duelling to get onto Team Euro. It's going to come down to captain's picks....
Back on Track? Can former #1s Stacy Lewis, Ya Ni Tseng, Ji-Yai Shin, Ai Miyazato, and Cristie Kerr get back in the passing lane? (Tseng and Shin have 4 of the last 5 WBOs between them, but Shin missed the cut in her last start and Tseng has missed 3 in a row for the 1st time in her career.) Can Paula Creamer or Na Yeon Choi end their victory droughts this week?
Rookie of the Year Race Tightening Up. Moriya Jutanugarn has cooled off a bit of late, and Chie Arimura, Caroline Masson, and Ayako Uehara have been closing the gap on her. They're all in the field this week, along with Austin Ernst, Lisa McCloskey, and Katie Burnett. (There's a chance others might make it in via Monday qualifying.)
Tops from Other Tours. Rikako Morita is the JLPGA money-list leader. Lee-Anne Pace leads the LET Order of Merit. Others high on those lists include Miki Saiki, Mi-Jeong Jeon, Mamiko Higa, Sakura Yokomine, Gwladys Nocera, Charley Hull, and Carlota Ciganda. Ariya Jutanugarn, who got off to a great start in her LET rookie season, required shoulder surgery to deal with an injury she sustained at the Wegman LPGA Championship, so she had to withdraw from the field. (Speaking of who's not there, I don't see any KLPGAers on the field list.)
Lydia Ko Watch. She's playing pretty good golf this year and went low in a recent practice round at St. Andrews. Can she bring it when the starting bell rings?
[Update 1 (3:10 pm): Mechelle Voepel has a good spoiler threat piece at espnw!]
[Update 2 (3:11 pm): She also has a good Inbee Park piece!]
[Update 3 (7/30/13, 11:08 pm): Here's Ruthless Mike's preview!]
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Team Euro Solheim Cup Watch: Ladies European Masters Sunday
I'll bet Team Euro wishes it could sign up some South Africans and Australians for the Solheim Cup right about now, what with Order of Merit leader Lee-Anne Pace moving to T16 in the Ladies European Masters after barely making the cut yesterday thanks to a final-round 67 (bringing her even with Cheyenne Woods, who closed with a 73), Nikki Campbell (formerly of the JLPGA) climbing to T12 on the strength of a 67-68 weekend, the unheralded Rebecca Artis shooting a 70 to catch Charley Hull at -8 (T9), and, of course, Karrie Webb going 68-67-65 to finish at -16 (3 shots ahead of fellow LPGAers Sandra Gal and Christina Kim), with only Ashleigh Simon and Caroline Masson having a chance to force a playoff with her. Let's see what happens with that before moving onto the Solheim Cup implications for those like Hull and Gal fighting to join Team Euro.
[Update 1 (10:49 am): Well, Simon couldn't birdie 18. She finished at -15.]
[Update 2 (10:50 am): It's Simon's 2nd top 5 in a row after barely playing in the 1st half of the season. Wonder if she had been hurt?]
[Update 3 (10:51 am): Masson, meanwhile, made 4 birdies in her last 10 holes, but had 2 costly bogeys down the stretch, on 15 and 18, to fall to 3rd at -14. Looks like Webb's opening 30 was what sealed the deal for her!]
[Update 4 (11:04 am): So let's talk Solheim Cup implications. Masson solidified her position on Team Euro with her 3rd-place finish, particularly because an Australian and South African ensured nobody eligible for the team snagged more points than she did this week. Gwladys Nocera hurt her cause with a final-round 75 that dropped her to T27 (tied with Laura Davies and Carin Koch, so at least she was in good company). If Captain Liselotte Neumann is impressed by Gal's 68-68-67 (T4), puts aside Hull's weak finish today, and goes with Caroline Hedwall and Jodi Ewart Shadoff, both Nocera and Guilia Sergas would be out in the cold. The WBO could end up being a playoff between Hull, Nocera, and Sergas for the last spot.]
[Update 5 (11:07 am): Tale of 2 finishes watch: Cheyenne Woods closed with a triple on the par-3 18th; Christina Kim got a slick walkoff hole in 1!!]
[Update 1 (10:49 am): Well, Simon couldn't birdie 18. She finished at -15.]
[Update 2 (10:50 am): It's Simon's 2nd top 5 in a row after barely playing in the 1st half of the season. Wonder if she had been hurt?]
[Update 3 (10:51 am): Masson, meanwhile, made 4 birdies in her last 10 holes, but had 2 costly bogeys down the stretch, on 15 and 18, to fall to 3rd at -14. Looks like Webb's opening 30 was what sealed the deal for her!]
[Update 4 (11:04 am): So let's talk Solheim Cup implications. Masson solidified her position on Team Euro with her 3rd-place finish, particularly because an Australian and South African ensured nobody eligible for the team snagged more points than she did this week. Gwladys Nocera hurt her cause with a final-round 75 that dropped her to T27 (tied with Laura Davies and Carin Koch, so at least she was in good company). If Captain Liselotte Neumann is impressed by Gal's 68-68-67 (T4), puts aside Hull's weak finish today, and goes with Caroline Hedwall and Jodi Ewart Shadoff, both Nocera and Guilia Sergas would be out in the cold. The WBO could end up being a playoff between Hull, Nocera, and Sergas for the last spot.]
[Update 5 (11:07 am): Tale of 2 finishes watch: Cheyenne Woods closed with a triple on the par-3 18th; Christina Kim got a slick walkoff hole in 1!!]
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Team Euro Solheim Cup Watch: Ladies European Masters Saturday
Caroline Masson followed up yesterday's opening 63 in the Ladies European Masters with a 69 today to get to -12 heading into tomorrow's final round. That opened the door to several golfers--including Cindy LaCrosse (65, -8), Nontaya Srisawang (66, -7), and Karrie Webb and Christina Kim (67, -9)--but for the purposes of the selection of Team Euro for the Solheim Cup, probably the most important round of the day was Charley Hull's 66 that brought her to -10.
When Hull had finished T40 in the Open de Espana, it looked like her dark horse chances for the last captain's pick were dealt a huge blow, particularly when fellow dark horse Melissa Reid finished T12. But Hull stayed 4th on the LET Order of Merit to Reid's 29th and today the tables turned when Reid shot a 76 to miss the cut. Hull still has to outplay Sandra Gal, who fired her 2nd-straight 68 today, on Sunday and outdo Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Gal at the Women's British Open to get a captain's pick, but a win tomorrow would advance her cause quite a bit, to say the least. It would even give her an outside chance of finishing in the top 4 via the LET's points system if she could outplay Carlota Ciganda and Catriona Matthew and Caroline Masson by a large margin next week and finish high on the leaderboard at the WBO.
Meanwhile, a 70 by Gwladys Nocera left her 6 shots behind Masson heading into the final round. As I wrote earlier this week, I still believe both players are locks to make the team, but it's looking more and more likely that Masson will make it on points and Nocera as a captain's pick. Masson would get 40 points with a win, 24 for a runner-up finish, and 18 for a bronze. Right now, there are 7 players double digits under par and 17 golfers within 5 shots of Masson's lead (although that could change in the next half-hour as the last golfers on the course finish their rounds). So it's too soon to count any chickens for Masson. But things are looking very good for her. Nocera needs to move from T17, where she sits now, into the top 10 tomorrow just to get any points.
In other news, Order of Merit leader Lee-Ann Pace poured it on with a 31 on the back 9 today to fight back to E and give herself a chance to make the cut (which sits at -1 right now). Cheyenne Woods followed up yesterday's 67 with a solid 71 that left her in T17, 6 shots behind the current lead.
[Update 1 (11:55 am): It's also worth noting that Ashleigh Simon's caught Masson at -12; just 2 weeks ago, I was wondering what had happened to her. Now she has a great chance for her 2nd-straight great finish on the LET!]
[Update 2 (12:10 pm): OK, so Klara Spilkova joined Masson and Simon at -12 and it looks like Pace and the others at E will squeak into the final round!]
When Hull had finished T40 in the Open de Espana, it looked like her dark horse chances for the last captain's pick were dealt a huge blow, particularly when fellow dark horse Melissa Reid finished T12. But Hull stayed 4th on the LET Order of Merit to Reid's 29th and today the tables turned when Reid shot a 76 to miss the cut. Hull still has to outplay Sandra Gal, who fired her 2nd-straight 68 today, on Sunday and outdo Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Gal at the Women's British Open to get a captain's pick, but a win tomorrow would advance her cause quite a bit, to say the least. It would even give her an outside chance of finishing in the top 4 via the LET's points system if she could outplay Carlota Ciganda and Catriona Matthew and Caroline Masson by a large margin next week and finish high on the leaderboard at the WBO.
Meanwhile, a 70 by Gwladys Nocera left her 6 shots behind Masson heading into the final round. As I wrote earlier this week, I still believe both players are locks to make the team, but it's looking more and more likely that Masson will make it on points and Nocera as a captain's pick. Masson would get 40 points with a win, 24 for a runner-up finish, and 18 for a bronze. Right now, there are 7 players double digits under par and 17 golfers within 5 shots of Masson's lead (although that could change in the next half-hour as the last golfers on the course finish their rounds). So it's too soon to count any chickens for Masson. But things are looking very good for her. Nocera needs to move from T17, where she sits now, into the top 10 tomorrow just to get any points.
In other news, Order of Merit leader Lee-Ann Pace poured it on with a 31 on the back 9 today to fight back to E and give herself a chance to make the cut (which sits at -1 right now). Cheyenne Woods followed up yesterday's 67 with a solid 71 that left her in T17, 6 shots behind the current lead.
[Update 1 (11:55 am): It's also worth noting that Ashleigh Simon's caught Masson at -12; just 2 weeks ago, I was wondering what had happened to her. Now she has a great chance for her 2nd-straight great finish on the LET!]
[Update 2 (12:10 pm): OK, so Klara Spilkova joined Masson and Simon at -12 and it looks like Pace and the others at E will squeak into the final round!]
Team Euro Solheim Cup Watch: Ladies European Masters Friday
Caroline Masson fired a bogey-free 63 to take the lead in the Ladies European Masters with Ashleigh Simon, 5 shots better than fellow Team Euro Solheim Cup hopefuls Gwladys Nocera, Sandra Gal, and Charley Hull, 9 ahead of Laura Davies, and 11 past Melissa Reid. It's looking like Gal and Hull still have time to impress Captain Liselotte Neumann and try to pry the last captain's pick out of Jodi Ewart Shadoff's hands.
In other news, LET Order of Merit leader Lee-Anne Pace stumbled out of the gates with a 76, while Cheyenne Woods posted another encouraging opening round, this time a 6-birdie 67.
In other news, LET Order of Merit leader Lee-Anne Pace stumbled out of the gates with a 76, while Cheyenne Woods posted another encouraging opening round, this time a 6-birdie 67.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Fantasy Island Family Friday or Symetra Tour in Syracuse?
So we finally had a day with no gymnastics or skating or swimming lessons, no art class or music lesson, no playdates or festivals or movie nights. What to do? In one ring was the Constructivist, lobbying for a trip to Syracuse to catch Tiffany Joh, Hannah Yun, and Mitsuki Katahira and the rest of the Symetra Tour in round 1 at the Credit Union Classic. In the other ring was the Full Metal Archivist, onechan, imoto, and tomodachi-chan, demanding we go to a Fantasy Island Family Friday on Grand Island. I don't need to tell you who won that bout--it was a quick knockout, not least because tomodachi-chan will be back in Chiba next Friday and her favorite part of last year's visit was our visit to the oxymoronically-named Marine Land.
Of course we had a great time--I even got to ride alone with the FMA on 2 rides!--and we even had trouble dragging the kids away before the place closed down for the night. And it turns out it's just as well we missed today's round: Katahira shot the low score of our faves, a 74, while T-Joh opened with a 76 and Yun ballooned to an 85 that included a 10 on the tricky par-4 14th. To add insult to injury, 35 golfers shot par or better and 13 broke 70. (Last week's winner P.K. Kongkraphan led the way with a 66 that included an eagle on the par-5 13th.; Birdie Kim was part of a big group at -1 70.) So it looks like my family made the right call today. And if I had qualified for the NYSGA's Men's Amateur and somehow made the cut, I probably would have missed out on the fun!
Plus there's another silver lining. Given that at least one of our faves won't be playing Sunday, maybe I have a stronger case for a Saturday trip to Syracuse! (Besides alliteration, that is.) The girls might not wake up in time to see much of Joh's or Yun's morning rounds, but Katahira doesn't tee off till 1:40 pm (and she plays with Jean Reynolds and Mallory Blackwelder, who also opened with 74s). We'll see if the girls would rather play golf or drive 3 hours each way to watch golf....
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Pretty Impressive Pairings at the Ladies European Masters
Check out the pairings sheet for the 1st 2 rounds of the ISPS Handa Ladies European Masters!
On Friday off the 10th tee:
7 am: Laura Davies, Karrie Webb, Charley Hull
7:10: Christina Kim, Lee-Anne Pace, Caroline Masson
7:20: Sophie Gustafson, Sandra Gal, Melissa Reid
7:30: Cheyenne Woods, Camilla Lennarth, Danielle Montgomery
7:40: Carin Koch, Veronica Zorzi, Kristie Smith
11:40: Gwladys Nocera, Diana Luna, Joanna Klatten
Also in the field: Helen Alfredsson (#1, 11:50 am), Lorie Kane and Ashleigh Simon (#1, 7:30), Cindy LaCrosse (#10, 12 noon), Pernilla Lindberg (#1, 7), and Maria Hernandez (#1, 12:10 pm).
Nocera, Gal, and Masson are fighting to join Team Euro in the Solheim Cup. Nocera is on Masson's heels in the LET's points system (not to mention trying to regain the top spot on their Order of Merit from Lee-Anne Pace, who won last week), while Gal hopes to finish well enough to shoot up the Rolex Rankings and, if not, play well enough to earn 1 of the 4 captain's picks.
I'd say Nocera and Masson are in no matter what--1 will qualify on points and the other will be the 1st captain's pick. The 2nd and 3rd captain's picks are most likely to be Caroline Hedwall and Guilia Sergas, who are highly-ranked in both systems that produce automatic picks, just not in the top 4 in either (you can tell they're confident, because they're not playing this week on the LET). The 4th pick is most likely to be between Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Gal, with Ewart Shadoff playing much better all season and especially of late (which us why she's saving herself for the Ricoh Women's British Open and Gal is playing both weeks)--but don't rule out dark horses like Charley Hull, Laura Davies, Melissa Reid, or Carin Koch, who would be sentimental picks for various reasons and who still can impress Captain Liselotte Neumann this week and next in the WBO.
On Friday off the 10th tee:
7 am: Laura Davies, Karrie Webb, Charley Hull
7:10: Christina Kim, Lee-Anne Pace, Caroline Masson
7:20: Sophie Gustafson, Sandra Gal, Melissa Reid
7:30: Cheyenne Woods, Camilla Lennarth, Danielle Montgomery
7:40: Carin Koch, Veronica Zorzi, Kristie Smith
11:40: Gwladys Nocera, Diana Luna, Joanna Klatten
Also in the field: Helen Alfredsson (#1, 11:50 am), Lorie Kane and Ashleigh Simon (#1, 7:30), Cindy LaCrosse (#10, 12 noon), Pernilla Lindberg (#1, 7), and Maria Hernandez (#1, 12:10 pm).
Nocera, Gal, and Masson are fighting to join Team Euro in the Solheim Cup. Nocera is on Masson's heels in the LET's points system (not to mention trying to regain the top spot on their Order of Merit from Lee-Anne Pace, who won last week), while Gal hopes to finish well enough to shoot up the Rolex Rankings and, if not, play well enough to earn 1 of the 4 captain's picks.
I'd say Nocera and Masson are in no matter what--1 will qualify on points and the other will be the 1st captain's pick. The 2nd and 3rd captain's picks are most likely to be Caroline Hedwall and Guilia Sergas, who are highly-ranked in both systems that produce automatic picks, just not in the top 4 in either (you can tell they're confident, because they're not playing this week on the LET). The 4th pick is most likely to be between Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Gal, with Ewart Shadoff playing much better all season and especially of late (which us why she's saving herself for the Ricoh Women's British Open and Gal is playing both weeks)--but don't rule out dark horses like Charley Hull, Laura Davies, Melissa Reid, or Carin Koch, who would be sentimental picks for various reasons and who still can impress Captain Liselotte Neumann this week and next in the WBO.
The Best on the LPGA: Double-Digit Winners, July 2013 Edition
With so much changed in the last 13 months in women's golf, it's well past time I updated my June 2012 ranking of the active LPGAers with 7 or more wins on tour, splitting it for the 1st time time into those with 7 to 9 wins and those in the double digits, arranged as usual by their likelihood of winning (again) this season. [Note: the numbers in parentheses indicate total LPGA wins and majors, respectively.]
Most Likely to Win (Again) in 2013
1. Suzann Pettersen (11/1): She's played dominating golf in brief bursts of late, at the end of 2012 (with back-to-back wins in Asia) and in her last 10 starts in 2013, where she has 5 top 3s and 7 top 10s (including 1 win). Putting aside those 2 bizarre missed cuts in that run, I think she's playing the best golf of anyone in this category and is ready to add to her major total.
2. Ji-Yai Shin (11/2): With all the focus on Ya Ni and Inbee of late, Ji-Yai's been almost the forgotten golfer and it's true she's cooled off since winning 3 times in 7 starts between the end of the 2012 and the start of the 2013 seasons. Her missed cut at Sebonack was only her 2nd as an LPGA member. But she remains the 2nd-ranked player in my career evaluation system and probably just needs to hit a few more greens per week to start contending and winning again.
3. Karrie Webb (39/7): During her 1st 11 seasons on the LPGA, she was a consistent threat for the money-list title (which she took 3 times), Player of the Year award (twice), and Vare Trophy (3 times, the lowest scoring average of the 3 coming in 1999, at 69.43). In her near-20-year-long LPGA career, she's never finished outside the top 30 on the money list, only once had a scoring average above 72, only twice failed to make the top 20 on the money list (once when her scoring average rose above 71.50 for only the 3rd time in her career), and only 4 times failed to enter the winner's circle (in 2 of those seasons, her best finish was 2nd; last year, it was 3rd; for the other, it was 4th). She's already won once this year at the ShopRite and playing well enough to win any time she tees it up. It's only a matter of when, not if, win #40 on the LPGA will come.
4. Cristie Kerr (16/2): 2011 was her 1st season without a win since 2003, although she extended her million-dollar-season run to 8 straight years. That was broken in 2012, even though she did salvage an otherwise disappointing season with a win at Lorena's place. She's started playing--and putting--better in 2013 and already has a win to her credit, but she may be protecting an injury, given her WD at the NW Arkansas event that's her only blemish in what would otherwise be a 6-event-and-counting top 20 run. Let's see how she does in the WBO and Solheim Cup--they could kick her season to a new level or set her back in a big way.
The Contender
5. Ya Ni Tseng (15/5): She's missed 3 cuts in a row and 4 in her last 7 starts (in her previous 128 starts, she missed only 8 cuts). The problems start, as they did last season, with her driver. She's gone from being an Annika/Lorena-style straight-up bomber to more of a Michelle Wie-style wild bomber. This year, she's hitting only 56% of her fairways and despite good putting just is getting into too much trouble off the tee and not giving herself as many looks at birdies as she's accustomed to. She's still tops in my ranking system in top 3 rate and winnings per start and finish, but is falling fast in every category. Still, problems with the driver are something that can sometimes clear up very quickly, when a new club or swing thought suddenly clicks. So as bad as things look right now, I'm thinking a win is still possible for her in 2013.
Quantum Leap Candidate
6. Se Ri Pak (25/5): From 1998-2004, she was one of the 3 best players in the world of women's golf, racking up 22 golds, 14 silvers, 6 bronzes, and 83 top 10s in all. She won the Vare Trophy in 2003 with a 70.03 scoring average, but not in 2002 with a 69.85 one or in 2001 with a 69.69 (thanks, Annika!). She was a 4-time silver medalist on the money list and 2-time bronze medalist during this stretch. She hasn't been nearly that dominant since then, but she won her 5th major in dramatic fashion at the 2006 LPGA Championship, became a 5-time winner of the Farr (now Marathon) in 2007, the year she was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and got her 25th career win at the Bell Micro in 2010. She's been plagued by a shoulder injury the past couple of seasons and between that and her irregular schedule she's suffering a lack of consistency on the course. She's put together a lot of good rounds, but not a lot of good weeks. Still, she fought back over the weekend in Ohio to a T12 when it looked like she was out of it, so I wouldn't entirely put another win out of the question for her this year.
On the Bottom, Looking Up
7. Juli Inkster (31/7): She's gotten 2 top 20s this season, the most recent in NW Arkansas, but she's also missed the cut in 7 of her last 10 starts. She's still driving the ball pretty well, but her game lacks accuracy and precision after that. If she can start hitting her approach shots better, that could be the key to better scoring.
8. Laura Davies (20/4): She's gained a little distance this year, but continues her 3-season trend of bad putting. Until she gets the flat stick working, those last 2 Hall of Fame points she needs are looking further and further out of reach.
Most Likely to Win (Again) in 2013
1. Suzann Pettersen (11/1): She's played dominating golf in brief bursts of late, at the end of 2012 (with back-to-back wins in Asia) and in her last 10 starts in 2013, where she has 5 top 3s and 7 top 10s (including 1 win). Putting aside those 2 bizarre missed cuts in that run, I think she's playing the best golf of anyone in this category and is ready to add to her major total.
2. Ji-Yai Shin (11/2): With all the focus on Ya Ni and Inbee of late, Ji-Yai's been almost the forgotten golfer and it's true she's cooled off since winning 3 times in 7 starts between the end of the 2012 and the start of the 2013 seasons. Her missed cut at Sebonack was only her 2nd as an LPGA member. But she remains the 2nd-ranked player in my career evaluation system and probably just needs to hit a few more greens per week to start contending and winning again.
3. Karrie Webb (39/7): During her 1st 11 seasons on the LPGA, she was a consistent threat for the money-list title (which she took 3 times), Player of the Year award (twice), and Vare Trophy (3 times, the lowest scoring average of the 3 coming in 1999, at 69.43). In her near-20-year-long LPGA career, she's never finished outside the top 30 on the money list, only once had a scoring average above 72, only twice failed to make the top 20 on the money list (once when her scoring average rose above 71.50 for only the 3rd time in her career), and only 4 times failed to enter the winner's circle (in 2 of those seasons, her best finish was 2nd; last year, it was 3rd; for the other, it was 4th). She's already won once this year at the ShopRite and playing well enough to win any time she tees it up. It's only a matter of when, not if, win #40 on the LPGA will come.
4. Cristie Kerr (16/2): 2011 was her 1st season without a win since 2003, although she extended her million-dollar-season run to 8 straight years. That was broken in 2012, even though she did salvage an otherwise disappointing season with a win at Lorena's place. She's started playing--and putting--better in 2013 and already has a win to her credit, but she may be protecting an injury, given her WD at the NW Arkansas event that's her only blemish in what would otherwise be a 6-event-and-counting top 20 run. Let's see how she does in the WBO and Solheim Cup--they could kick her season to a new level or set her back in a big way.
The Contender
5. Ya Ni Tseng (15/5): She's missed 3 cuts in a row and 4 in her last 7 starts (in her previous 128 starts, she missed only 8 cuts). The problems start, as they did last season, with her driver. She's gone from being an Annika/Lorena-style straight-up bomber to more of a Michelle Wie-style wild bomber. This year, she's hitting only 56% of her fairways and despite good putting just is getting into too much trouble off the tee and not giving herself as many looks at birdies as she's accustomed to. She's still tops in my ranking system in top 3 rate and winnings per start and finish, but is falling fast in every category. Still, problems with the driver are something that can sometimes clear up very quickly, when a new club or swing thought suddenly clicks. So as bad as things look right now, I'm thinking a win is still possible for her in 2013.
Quantum Leap Candidate
6. Se Ri Pak (25/5): From 1998-2004, she was one of the 3 best players in the world of women's golf, racking up 22 golds, 14 silvers, 6 bronzes, and 83 top 10s in all. She won the Vare Trophy in 2003 with a 70.03 scoring average, but not in 2002 with a 69.85 one or in 2001 with a 69.69 (thanks, Annika!). She was a 4-time silver medalist on the money list and 2-time bronze medalist during this stretch. She hasn't been nearly that dominant since then, but she won her 5th major in dramatic fashion at the 2006 LPGA Championship, became a 5-time winner of the Farr (now Marathon) in 2007, the year she was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and got her 25th career win at the Bell Micro in 2010. She's been plagued by a shoulder injury the past couple of seasons and between that and her irregular schedule she's suffering a lack of consistency on the course. She's put together a lot of good rounds, but not a lot of good weeks. Still, she fought back over the weekend in Ohio to a T12 when it looked like she was out of it, so I wouldn't entirely put another win out of the question for her this year.
On the Bottom, Looking Up
7. Juli Inkster (31/7): She's gotten 2 top 20s this season, the most recent in NW Arkansas, but she's also missed the cut in 7 of her last 10 starts. She's still driving the ball pretty well, but her game lacks accuracy and precision after that. If she can start hitting her approach shots better, that could be the key to better scoring.
8. Laura Davies (20/4): She's gained a little distance this year, but continues her 3-season trend of bad putting. Until she gets the flat stick working, those last 2 Hall of Fame points she needs are looking further and further out of reach.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
The Best on the LPGA: 7-to-10-Time Winners, July 2013 Edition
With so much changed in the last 13 months in women's golf, it's well past time I updated my June 2012 ranking of the active LPGAers with 7 or more wins on tour, splitting it for the 1st time time into those with 7-9 wins and those in the double digits, arranged as usual by their likelihood of winning (again) this season. [Note: the numbers in parentheses indicate total LPGA wins and majors, respectively.]
Most Likely to Win (Again) in 2013
1. Inbee Park (9/4): She's going for her 7th win of the season, her 4th major in a row, and is still putting like no one has in recent LPGA history. If her playing competitors are starting to feel encouraged by her 2 so-so finishes the last 2 weeks, she won each of the 1st 2 majors of the year with similarly rough patches right before them. The only golfer in this bunch who puts herself in contention more often than Park does over the course of their careers is ranked right below her
2. Na Yeon Choi (7/1): I'm putting her ahead of the former world #1 because she's so due. She's the best of this bunch at making cuts, finishing in the top 20, and racking up top 3s. The only thing she needs to start notching wins again is to heat her putter up just a little bit. It's shocking to me that she hasn't yet entered the winner's circle in 2013. This can not last.
3. Stacy Lewis (7/1): She's coming into St. Andrews with 2 top 10s in a row and 3 in her last 4 starts after going through a little bit of a rough patch by world #1 standards (3 starts in a row outside the top 25). True, 3 of her worst 4 finishes of 2013 have come in majors thus far, but with the pressure of being #1 off her shoulders, all the media attention on Inbee, and rising confidence (not least from shooting a 64 in the final round of the Marathon Classic to cross the $5M mark in career winnings), I'm thinking her 3rd win of the season isn't that far away.
4. Paula Creamer (9/1): Having recently crossed the $10M mark in career winnings and just missed getting her 10th career victory last week (snagging her 3rd top 10 in her last 4 starts in the process), she's primed for the WBO, Solheim Cup, and beyond. I crunched her numbers in my database of the top players from the rookie classes of 2006 to 2012 and, lo and behold, she beats them all out in top 20 rate and is surpassed only by Na Yeon Choi for top 3 rate, top 10 rate, finish rate, and winnings per start (Inbee Park also squeaks ahead of her in winnings per finish). In my career ranking system, Paula is a mere 2 points ahead of the Queen Bee and over 100 behind NYC. The only reason she's this low in this ranking is that I'm figuring those who are used to winning have an advantage over someone trying to break through for her 1st win since the 2010 U.S. Women's Open.
5. Ai Miyazato (9/0): She's just a little off this season, playing well enough to be on a 5-event top-20 run heading into the WBO, but not well enough to have more than 2 top 10s in 2013 or to prevail at the RR Donnelley. It's been a year since her last victory, so I'd say she's super-due. To me, the key is for her to hit more greens, so she can give herself more birdie opportunities. She's not yet having a great putting year by her standards, but many players would kill to be putting as well as she has this season. With her 2 best shots at getting her 1st LPGA major coming up in the next 2 months and plenty of rest/prep time between them, I expect her to kick it up a notch!
On the Outside, Looking In
6. Helen Alfredsson (7/1): She's only played once in 2013, missing the cut at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. The only tournament in 2012 that she entered was the Evian and she missed the cut there, too. I'm thinking her competitive career is just about over.
Most Likely to Win (Again) in 2013
1. Inbee Park (9/4): She's going for her 7th win of the season, her 4th major in a row, and is still putting like no one has in recent LPGA history. If her playing competitors are starting to feel encouraged by her 2 so-so finishes the last 2 weeks, she won each of the 1st 2 majors of the year with similarly rough patches right before them. The only golfer in this bunch who puts herself in contention more often than Park does over the course of their careers is ranked right below her
2. Na Yeon Choi (7/1): I'm putting her ahead of the former world #1 because she's so due. She's the best of this bunch at making cuts, finishing in the top 20, and racking up top 3s. The only thing she needs to start notching wins again is to heat her putter up just a little bit. It's shocking to me that she hasn't yet entered the winner's circle in 2013. This can not last.
3. Stacy Lewis (7/1): She's coming into St. Andrews with 2 top 10s in a row and 3 in her last 4 starts after going through a little bit of a rough patch by world #1 standards (3 starts in a row outside the top 25). True, 3 of her worst 4 finishes of 2013 have come in majors thus far, but with the pressure of being #1 off her shoulders, all the media attention on Inbee, and rising confidence (not least from shooting a 64 in the final round of the Marathon Classic to cross the $5M mark in career winnings), I'm thinking her 3rd win of the season isn't that far away.
4. Paula Creamer (9/1): Having recently crossed the $10M mark in career winnings and just missed getting her 10th career victory last week (snagging her 3rd top 10 in her last 4 starts in the process), she's primed for the WBO, Solheim Cup, and beyond. I crunched her numbers in my database of the top players from the rookie classes of 2006 to 2012 and, lo and behold, she beats them all out in top 20 rate and is surpassed only by Na Yeon Choi for top 3 rate, top 10 rate, finish rate, and winnings per start (Inbee Park also squeaks ahead of her in winnings per finish). In my career ranking system, Paula is a mere 2 points ahead of the Queen Bee and over 100 behind NYC. The only reason she's this low in this ranking is that I'm figuring those who are used to winning have an advantage over someone trying to break through for her 1st win since the 2010 U.S. Women's Open.
5. Ai Miyazato (9/0): She's just a little off this season, playing well enough to be on a 5-event top-20 run heading into the WBO, but not well enough to have more than 2 top 10s in 2013 or to prevail at the RR Donnelley. It's been a year since her last victory, so I'd say she's super-due. To me, the key is for her to hit more greens, so she can give herself more birdie opportunities. She's not yet having a great putting year by her standards, but many players would kill to be putting as well as she has this season. With her 2 best shots at getting her 1st LPGA major coming up in the next 2 months and plenty of rest/prep time between them, I expect her to kick it up a notch!
On the Outside, Looking In
6. Helen Alfredsson (7/1): She's only played once in 2013, missing the cut at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. The only tournament in 2012 that she entered was the Evian and she missed the cut there, too. I'm thinking her competitive career is just about over.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Stacy Lewis Crosses $5M Mark in Career Winnings
Congrats to Stacy Lewis, who got her 2nd top 10 in a row last week and crossed the $5M mark in career winnings as a result. In 113 events, Stacy's averaging over $44 per start and over $50K per finish, thanks to 7 wins, 15 top 3s, 46 top 10s, and 63 top 20s. With 3 finishes of T7 or better in her last 4 starts, I'd say she's getting her game back in gear just in time for the Women's British Open and the Solheim Cup!
Monday, July 22, 2013
The Best on the LPGA: 3-to-6-Time Winners, July 2013 Edition
It was only March when I wondered who would be the next player to graduate from the group of 3-to-6-time winners on the LPGA to the 7-Up Club and said of Inbee Park that "She can win any event she enters." Well, for awhile there it looked like she was going to win every event she entered. Although her winning streak ended at 3 tournaments in a row, it was enough for her to graduate from Club 36. And yesterday Beatriz Recari joined the club, moving from the head of the class of 2-time winners on tour to...well, I'll let you find out where she ranks in this group! [Note: The numbers in parentheses following each player's name represent LPGA wins and majors.]
Most Likely to Win (Again) in 2013
1. In-Kyung Kim (3/0): In March, I wrote, "Her playoff loss to Beatriz Recari...had to hurt, but at least it signalled that she's ready to win again, after dealing with injuries most of 2012 (not to mention the psychological and emotional fallout of her everything-but-the-tap-in performance at last year's Kraft Nabisco Championship)." In fact, since the Kia, she's finished in the top 6 5 times. She's more due than ever for that next win.
2. Beatriz Recari (3/0): If she can keep her putter hot, there's no reason she can't keep contending. And if she does that, given that 3 of her 4 top 3s in her LPGA career are wins, I wouldn't put another victory past her before the summer is out.
3. Angela Stanford (5/0): In March, I wrote, "She's the kind of player who can contend any time her putter heats up." And she did exactly that in Waterloo, going 64-64 over the weekend and -26 in all yet still not prevailing over an equally-hot Hee Young Park. That was her 4th top 5 of the season. Wonder how many more are coming?
4. Catriona Matthew (4/1): In March, I wrote, "don't be surprised if she starts contending soon." Well, a playoff loss to Inbee Park at the Wegmans LPGA Championship and a hot start to the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic later and she's making me look pretty good! And guess which major she's already won at? Yup, the Women's British Open--and it's on her home turf this year.
The Contender
5. Brittany Lincicome (5/1): I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm still waiting for her to go on a real run and put herself in contention over several events in a row. At this point in her career, I'm starting to seriously doubt whether she has the desire, the temperament, and the work ethic to do any of that. And that's not just because she only has 1 top 10 in 2013 and 7 MCs. But that isn't helping, either. Still, she's the kind of golfer who can contend out of the blue and it's time she started getting up for the Solheim Cup. Maybe at the WBO?
Quantum Leap Candidates
6. Candie Kung (4/0): She was looking good at the start of the season, with an early 2-event top-10 streak. But she hasn't gotten a top 25 since and has not only missed the cut 3 times but also withdrawn from 2 events in that span. Her ball-striking stats are still pretty solid, but her putting is really letting her down. 2.47 birdies per round will not cut it on the LPGA for long.
7. Hee-Won Han (6/0): She's also slowed down of late, with only 1 top 25 finish since a decent start to the season when she had 2 top 25s. In that span, she's missed the cut 7 times, withdrawn once, and failed to break into the top 50 every start except that lone T25 in NW Arkansas. All she needs is 1 win to join Club 7-Up, but that's looking less and less likely each year. The key to her turnaround is to hit more greens and give herself better birdie chances.
8. Maria Hjorth (5/0): With 5 missed cuts, her best finish a T42 in the waterlogged Bahamas, and her next-best finish a T54 in the 1st event on U.S. soil of the season, her 2013 is shaping up to be the worst year of her career. She must be getting a fair amount of her approach shots close to the hole, as she's hitting 69% of her greens in regulation, averaging a horrific 1.876 putts per green in regulation, but still averaging 2.95 birdies per round. So maybe there's a glimmer of hope she can turn things around soon?
9. Seon Hwa Lee (4/0): As long as her slump has been and as bad as she's been playing this season, she's still doing better than everyone else in the next category (which probably isn't saying much). She's driving the ball as accurately as ever, roughly speaking, but she's having trouble hitting greens (as attested to by her 60% GIR rate) and making putts when she does (her PPGIR rate is better than the others' in this category, but she's averaging only 2.23 birdies per round). With 8 MCs, 1 WD, and only 2 finishes in the top 40, she's running out of chances to get into the top 100 on the money list and is in danger of dropping out of the top 125, which would leave Q-School as her only option to return to the LPGA in 2014.
On the Bottom, Looking Up
10. Lorie Kane (4/0): With 9 missed cuts and no top 40s thus far this season, she's also fighting to keep her LPGA career alive. Can she kickstart her putter before the clock runs out?
11. Pat Hurst (6/1): Despite having the worst putting stats of anyone on this list, with 1.905 putts per green in regulation, 31.58 putts per round, and only 2.21 birdies per round, she's gotten a top 30 to go with her 8 MCs.
12. Sophie Gustafson (5/0): I'm guessing she's injured, as she's finished exactly 1 event, a T63 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, withdrawn from 2, and missed the cut every other time (9 in all) in 2013. She's skipped the past 2 events to regroup and prepare for the Women's British Open.
13. Wendy Ward (4/0): I've said it before and I'll say it again: unless she does something about her putting, her days on the LPGA are numbered. She's certainly not getting it done this year, as she's averaging 1.898 putts per green in regulation, 31.45 putts per round, and only 2.31 birdies per round. Her best finish is a T52 in North Texas, but she's not going to get many chances to improve on it, as she hasn't qualified for the WBO and there are only 2 North American full-field events on the LPGA schedule left this season.
Most Likely to Win (Again) in 2013
1. In-Kyung Kim (3/0): In March, I wrote, "Her playoff loss to Beatriz Recari...had to hurt, but at least it signalled that she's ready to win again, after dealing with injuries most of 2012 (not to mention the psychological and emotional fallout of her everything-but-the-tap-in performance at last year's Kraft Nabisco Championship)." In fact, since the Kia, she's finished in the top 6 5 times. She's more due than ever for that next win.
2. Beatriz Recari (3/0): If she can keep her putter hot, there's no reason she can't keep contending. And if she does that, given that 3 of her 4 top 3s in her LPGA career are wins, I wouldn't put another victory past her before the summer is out.
3. Angela Stanford (5/0): In March, I wrote, "She's the kind of player who can contend any time her putter heats up." And she did exactly that in Waterloo, going 64-64 over the weekend and -26 in all yet still not prevailing over an equally-hot Hee Young Park. That was her 4th top 5 of the season. Wonder how many more are coming?
4. Catriona Matthew (4/1): In March, I wrote, "don't be surprised if she starts contending soon." Well, a playoff loss to Inbee Park at the Wegmans LPGA Championship and a hot start to the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic later and she's making me look pretty good! And guess which major she's already won at? Yup, the Women's British Open--and it's on her home turf this year.
The Contender
5. Brittany Lincicome (5/1): I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm still waiting for her to go on a real run and put herself in contention over several events in a row. At this point in her career, I'm starting to seriously doubt whether she has the desire, the temperament, and the work ethic to do any of that. And that's not just because she only has 1 top 10 in 2013 and 7 MCs. But that isn't helping, either. Still, she's the kind of golfer who can contend out of the blue and it's time she started getting up for the Solheim Cup. Maybe at the WBO?
Quantum Leap Candidates
6. Candie Kung (4/0): She was looking good at the start of the season, with an early 2-event top-10 streak. But she hasn't gotten a top 25 since and has not only missed the cut 3 times but also withdrawn from 2 events in that span. Her ball-striking stats are still pretty solid, but her putting is really letting her down. 2.47 birdies per round will not cut it on the LPGA for long.
7. Hee-Won Han (6/0): She's also slowed down of late, with only 1 top 25 finish since a decent start to the season when she had 2 top 25s. In that span, she's missed the cut 7 times, withdrawn once, and failed to break into the top 50 every start except that lone T25 in NW Arkansas. All she needs is 1 win to join Club 7-Up, but that's looking less and less likely each year. The key to her turnaround is to hit more greens and give herself better birdie chances.
8. Maria Hjorth (5/0): With 5 missed cuts, her best finish a T42 in the waterlogged Bahamas, and her next-best finish a T54 in the 1st event on U.S. soil of the season, her 2013 is shaping up to be the worst year of her career. She must be getting a fair amount of her approach shots close to the hole, as she's hitting 69% of her greens in regulation, averaging a horrific 1.876 putts per green in regulation, but still averaging 2.95 birdies per round. So maybe there's a glimmer of hope she can turn things around soon?
9. Seon Hwa Lee (4/0): As long as her slump has been and as bad as she's been playing this season, she's still doing better than everyone else in the next category (which probably isn't saying much). She's driving the ball as accurately as ever, roughly speaking, but she's having trouble hitting greens (as attested to by her 60% GIR rate) and making putts when she does (her PPGIR rate is better than the others' in this category, but she's averaging only 2.23 birdies per round). With 8 MCs, 1 WD, and only 2 finishes in the top 40, she's running out of chances to get into the top 100 on the money list and is in danger of dropping out of the top 125, which would leave Q-School as her only option to return to the LPGA in 2014.
On the Bottom, Looking Up
10. Lorie Kane (4/0): With 9 missed cuts and no top 40s thus far this season, she's also fighting to keep her LPGA career alive. Can she kickstart her putter before the clock runs out?
11. Pat Hurst (6/1): Despite having the worst putting stats of anyone on this list, with 1.905 putts per green in regulation, 31.58 putts per round, and only 2.21 birdies per round, she's gotten a top 30 to go with her 8 MCs.
12. Sophie Gustafson (5/0): I'm guessing she's injured, as she's finished exactly 1 event, a T63 at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, withdrawn from 2, and missed the cut every other time (9 in all) in 2013. She's skipped the past 2 events to regroup and prepare for the Women's British Open.
13. Wendy Ward (4/0): I've said it before and I'll say it again: unless she does something about her putting, her days on the LPGA are numbered. She's certainly not getting it done this year, as she's averaging 1.898 putts per green in regulation, 31.45 putts per round, and only 2.31 birdies per round. Her best finish is a T52 in North Texas, but she's not going to get many chances to improve on it, as she hasn't qualified for the WBO and there are only 2 North American full-field events on the LPGA schedule left this season.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Marathon Classic Sunday: Beatriz Recari Holds Off Paula Creamer
Beatriz Recari fired a bogey-free 66 and Paula Creamer a bogey-free 67 to finish 1-2 in the Marathon Classic today, 3 shots ahead of Lexi Thompson and Jodi Ewart Shadoff, on a day that felt very Solheim Cuppish. 8 of the top 11 finishers were American or European, with a 62 by Meena Lee vaulting her into low Korean at -9 and tied for low Asian with Lydia Ko (68) and Chie Arimura (71).
3rd-round co-leaders Recari and Creamer made it feel like match play all day, with Creamer birdieing 3, Recari 4, Creamer 5, Recari 6 and 7, and Creamer 7 to start the day. They could only manage 3 birdies between them the rest of the day, as they continued to grind out pars during the middle of the round. Recari struck first with a birdie on the par-3 14th and both players birdied the par-4 16th, so it all would come down to the closing pair of par 5s at Highland Meadows. When neither player could birdie either hole, Recari had secured her 2nd win of the season and 3rd as an LPGA member. Even as Recari was about to start her round on Thursday, I wrote in my ranking of her rookie class about her, "she's shown the ability to close the deal when she's in contention. The next step is for her to get into contention more often. The key for her is to get those putts to drop!" Well, she was under 30 putts every day, taking 3 fewer than Creamer. And she made the key one when it counted, a 4-foot par save on the 72nd hole to avoid a playoff with Creamer. The Pink Panther didn't drive the ball as accurately this week as she usually does, but she still hit a lot of greens (only So Yeon Ryu matched her and Thompson and Ewart Shadoff beat her) and did everything well but win. She's got to be considered a front-runner to deny Inbee Park her 4th-straight major in a couple of weeks.
Other notable rounds today included Stacy Lewis's 64, which vaulted her into a tie for 7th at -9, only 1 shot behind Angel Stanford (67) and Jacqui Concolino (70), Lexi's finish, which included a hole in 1 on 14 and birdies on 17 and 18, and a 66 by 5-time-winner of this event Se Ri Pak to follow on yesterday's 67. Meanwhile, it wasn't a very good week for the Koreans in the spotlight, as defending champion So Yeon Ryu got it to -10 with 8 holes to play but played them in +2, allowing Pak and Haeji Kang (67) to catch her, and world #1 Inbee Park (72) had her 4th-worst finish of the season, leaving her tied for 33rd with Na Yeon Choi (69) and Amy Yang (72).
It was, however, a very good week for Jennifer Johnson (71), whose top-10 finish was crucial in the penultimate event before the U.S. Solheim Cup team is selected, vaulting her into 9th in the points rankings. It's still all going to come down to the Women's British Open, but Gerina Piller (73, -4, T27), Lizette Salas (69, -2, T41), Morgan Pressel (75, -2, T41), and Michelle Wie (71, -1, T45) didn't do themselves any favors this week. It's highly unlikely that Johnson will make up the 61-point deficit on Brittany Lang (68, -8, T12) at St. Andrews or pass Lizette Salas in the Rolex Rankings, but she definitely made herself a front-runner for the 1st captain's pick if she fails to pass Pressel in the Rolex Rankings (or stay ahead of her--it's hard to predict who will be ranked higher tomorrow). Barring something crazy at St. Andrews, it's probably down to Piller vs. Wie for the 2nd captain's pick right now....
3rd-round co-leaders Recari and Creamer made it feel like match play all day, with Creamer birdieing 3, Recari 4, Creamer 5, Recari 6 and 7, and Creamer 7 to start the day. They could only manage 3 birdies between them the rest of the day, as they continued to grind out pars during the middle of the round. Recari struck first with a birdie on the par-3 14th and both players birdied the par-4 16th, so it all would come down to the closing pair of par 5s at Highland Meadows. When neither player could birdie either hole, Recari had secured her 2nd win of the season and 3rd as an LPGA member. Even as Recari was about to start her round on Thursday, I wrote in my ranking of her rookie class about her, "she's shown the ability to close the deal when she's in contention. The next step is for her to get into contention more often. The key for her is to get those putts to drop!" Well, she was under 30 putts every day, taking 3 fewer than Creamer. And she made the key one when it counted, a 4-foot par save on the 72nd hole to avoid a playoff with Creamer. The Pink Panther didn't drive the ball as accurately this week as she usually does, but she still hit a lot of greens (only So Yeon Ryu matched her and Thompson and Ewart Shadoff beat her) and did everything well but win. She's got to be considered a front-runner to deny Inbee Park her 4th-straight major in a couple of weeks.
Other notable rounds today included Stacy Lewis's 64, which vaulted her into a tie for 7th at -9, only 1 shot behind Angel Stanford (67) and Jacqui Concolino (70), Lexi's finish, which included a hole in 1 on 14 and birdies on 17 and 18, and a 66 by 5-time-winner of this event Se Ri Pak to follow on yesterday's 67. Meanwhile, it wasn't a very good week for the Koreans in the spotlight, as defending champion So Yeon Ryu got it to -10 with 8 holes to play but played them in +2, allowing Pak and Haeji Kang (67) to catch her, and world #1 Inbee Park (72) had her 4th-worst finish of the season, leaving her tied for 33rd with Na Yeon Choi (69) and Amy Yang (72).
It was, however, a very good week for Jennifer Johnson (71), whose top-10 finish was crucial in the penultimate event before the U.S. Solheim Cup team is selected, vaulting her into 9th in the points rankings. It's still all going to come down to the Women's British Open, but Gerina Piller (73, -4, T27), Lizette Salas (69, -2, T41), Morgan Pressel (75, -2, T41), and Michelle Wie (71, -1, T45) didn't do themselves any favors this week. It's highly unlikely that Johnson will make up the 61-point deficit on Brittany Lang (68, -8, T12) at St. Andrews or pass Lizette Salas in the Rolex Rankings, but she definitely made herself a front-runner for the 1st captain's pick if she fails to pass Pressel in the Rolex Rankings (or stay ahead of her--it's hard to predict who will be ranked higher tomorrow). Barring something crazy at St. Andrews, it's probably down to Piller vs. Wie for the 2nd captain's pick right now....
Samantha Thavasa Ladies Sunday: Yumiko Yoshida Chases Down Junko Omote, Wins in Playoff
Yumiko Yoshida trailed Junko Omote by 5 shots heading into the final round of the Samantha Thavasa Ladies, but by the time they reached the 14th tee today, Yoshida had a 1-shot lead, thanks to 5 birdies in her 1st 13 holes and 2 bogeys in a row by Omote on the 12th and 13th holes. But Omote, who had made only 1 bogey in her 1st 46 holes, bounced back on the par-5 15th with her 19th birdie of the week, to force a playoff. When Yoshida birdied the 2nd playoff hole, the 7th-year pro earned her 2nd victory of the season and 3rd of her career. The 26-year-old continues the trend of young winners from Japan dominating the JLPGA this season. 23-year-old Kumiko Kaneda tied 26-year-old Sun-Ju Ahn for 3rd at -13, 3 shots behind Yoshida and Omote, while 19-year-old Mamiko Higa continued her fine play this season, finishing at -12, and 21-year-old Harukyo Nomura got back on track with a -10 total that tied her with Mi-Jeong Jeon and Korean teen sensation Hyo-Joo Kim in 11th place.
With money-list leader Rikako Morita suffering her worst finish since missing the cut in late April, her closest pursuers inched closer to her, but the 23-year-old's lead remains over 30 million yen.
1. Rikako Morita ￥89.57M
2. Natsuka Hori ￥58.65M
3. Miki Saiki ￥56.46M
4. Mi-Jeong Jeon ￥50.61M
5. Mamiko Higa ￥47.97M
6. Yumiko Yoshida ￥47.25M
7. Sakura Yokomine ￥47.03M
8. Hiromi Mogi ￥35.88M
9. Junko Omote ￥34.57M
10. Kumiko Kaneda ￥33.83M
11. Ritsuko Ryu ￥33.82M
12. Onnarin Sattayabanphot ￥33.00M
13. Yuki Ichinose ￥30.92M
With money-list leader Rikako Morita suffering her worst finish since missing the cut in late April, her closest pursuers inched closer to her, but the 23-year-old's lead remains over 30 million yen.
1. Rikako Morita ￥89.57M
2. Natsuka Hori ￥58.65M
3. Miki Saiki ￥56.46M
4. Mi-Jeong Jeon ￥50.61M
5. Mamiko Higa ￥47.97M
6. Yumiko Yoshida ￥47.25M
7. Sakura Yokomine ￥47.03M
8. Hiromi Mogi ￥35.88M
9. Junko Omote ￥34.57M
10. Kumiko Kaneda ￥33.83M
11. Ritsuko Ryu ￥33.82M
12. Onnarin Sattayabanphot ￥33.00M
13. Yuki Ichinose ￥30.92M
14. Teresa Lu ￥26.68M
15. Yukari Baba ￥26.55M
16. Maiko Wakabayashi ￥24.28M
15. Yukari Baba ￥26.55M
16. Maiko Wakabayashi ￥24.28M
17. Bo-Mee Lee ￥23.07M
18. Mayu Hattori ￥22.84M
19. Na-Ri Lee ￥22.55M
20. Shiho Oyama ￥22.34M
20. Shiho Oyama ￥22.34M
21. Erika Kikuchi ￥22.14M
22. Sun-Ju Ahn ￥22.01M
23. Young Kim ￥21.12M
24. Misuzu Narita ￥20.07M
25. Megumi Kido ￥20.04M
26. Asako Fujimoto ￥19.68M
26. Asako Fujimoto ￥19.68M
27. Kaori Ohe ￥19.37M
28. Na-Ri Kim ￥19.30M
29. Miki Sakai ￥18.81M
28. Na-Ri Kim ￥19.30M
29. Miki Sakai ￥18.81M
30. Kaori Nakamura ￥17.76M
31. Rui Kitada ￥17.39M
32. Ji-Hee Lee ￥16.91M
33. Esther Lee ￥16.75M
34. Soo-Yun Kang ￥15.82M
33. Esther Lee ￥16.75M
34. Soo-Yun Kang ￥15.82M
35. Yuri Fudoh ￥15.69M
36. Phoebe Yao ￥15.47M
37. Erina Hara ￥15.10M
38. Yuki Sakurai ￥14.47M
39. Harukyo Nomura ￥13.94M
40. Eun-Bi Jang ￥13.00M
38. Yuki Sakurai ￥14.47M
39. Harukyo Nomura ￥13.94M
40. Eun-Bi Jang ￥13.00M
The JLPGA takes another break, this time for the Women's British Open, and returns in the second week of August with the Meiji Cup in Sapporo, which features defending champion Shanshan Feng on its sponsor page. With the LPGA not returning to action until late August following the Solheim Cup, it'll be interesting to see how many other Asian players travel from Scotland to Hokkaido to compete in this event!
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Marathon Classic Saturday: Inbee Park and So Yeon Ryu Moving Backwards; Paula Creamer and Beatriz Recari Extend Their Lead
Inbee Park's ball-striking hasn't been all that sharp the last 2 events she's played and she finally paid for it in a big way this morning at the Marathon Classic. She doubled the 1st and bogeyed the 4th to fall back to -3 for the week. She's in good company, though, as defending champion So Yeon Ryu also stumbled out of the gate this morning, with bogeys on 1 and 5.
Right now they're 6 shots behind Beatriz Recari, who's 1 shot ahead of Paula Creamer and Alison Walshe and 2 ahead of Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Lydia Ko, and Jacqui Concolino. Hee Young Park and Jessica Shepley have started the hottest and are both -3 so far today. More later!
[Update 1 (10:21 pm): OK, so after imoto's belated birthday party at the village pool and a little tour of Hamburg's own Burger Fest (don't ask), along with an involved discussion with onechan and tomodachi-chan about cultural stereotyping (again, don't ask), I'm finally free to look at the leaderboard, and I have to say I'm impressed at how Beatriz Recari and Paula Creamer kept pressure on the rest of the field. They didn't shoot the low rounds of the day--those belonged to Angela Stanford (64, -6 overall), Chella Choi and Jennifer Johnson (66, -8 overall), and Brooke Pancake and Danah Bordner (66, -4 overall)--but they came close, as both fired bogey-free 67s to get to -12 overall.
That meant that even people who put together very good rounds didn't make up any ground on them, like those who also shot 67s, such as Lexi Thompson (now -9), Hee Young Park (now -7), Morgan Pressel, Eun-Hee Ji, and Dewi Claire Schreefel (now -6), Se Ri Pak (now -3), Sun Young Yoo (now -2). More to the point, it meant that you could break 70 and actually lose ground on them, as Chie Arimura (68, -9), Jacqui Concolino (69, -9), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (68, -8), and Mo Martin (68, -7). And if you had an off-day and moved backwards, like world #1 Inbee Park, who shot a 73 and fell from 5th to 23rd, or former co-leader Alison Walshe, who also shot a 73 and dropped to T11, or Michelle Wie, who shot a 72 and fell back to T48 (tied with fellow Solheim Cup hopeful Lizette Salas, by the way), or Lydia Ko, who offset each of her 4 birdies with a pair of consecutive bogeys on each side and ended up like Walshe, Stanford, Pressel, and Gerina Piller 6 shots behind the leaders--well, you just have to be kicking yourself.
So Recari, going for her 3rd win on the LPGA, and Creamer, going for her 10th, have a nice little cushion on playing partner Lexi Thompson heading into the final round (along with Arimura and Concolino in the group behind them). Still, on a course that has proven itself vulnerable to low scores over the years, they have to remain conscious that there are 19 golfers within 6 shots of the lead and that a round in the low 60s isn't inconceivable. Add in the extra motivation when people playing pretty well are fighting for spots on their respective Solheim Cup teams--as Ewart Shadoff and Schreefel are for Team Euro and Johnson, Pressel, Piller, Salas, and Wie are for Team USA--and you've got a volatile mix for Sunday in Sylvania. Since a 4 and a half-hour drive to the Toledo area is out of the question tomorrow and we still haven't shelled out the dough for Verizon's sports package (and, hence, Golf Channel), I'm going to have to settle for watching he British Open's final round to get my golf fix.... Guess I'll be following the LPGA's live leaderboard online!]
[Update 2 (10:24 pm): bangkokbobby's got plenty of photos at Fairways and Forehands!]
[Update 3 (10:42 pm): Just noticed that Jennie Lee tweeted that she's playing with Mika Miyazato and Moira Dunn tomorrow! Hmm, if I left here at 5 am, I'd get there in time to follow them all day and still have time left over to watch the leaders finish up. That would mean missing the Inbee/Se Ri group going off #1 at 9:50 and the impressive threesome of In-Kyung Kim, Amy Yang, and Haeji Kang right after them, but I didn't really get to follow Moira or Mika at the Wegmans LPGA Championship (Moira at all and Mikan for any great length of time).... Nope, just can't justify the trip, as much as it hurts!]
Right now they're 6 shots behind Beatriz Recari, who's 1 shot ahead of Paula Creamer and Alison Walshe and 2 ahead of Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Lydia Ko, and Jacqui Concolino. Hee Young Park and Jessica Shepley have started the hottest and are both -3 so far today. More later!
[Update 1 (10:21 pm): OK, so after imoto's belated birthday party at the village pool and a little tour of Hamburg's own Burger Fest (don't ask), along with an involved discussion with onechan and tomodachi-chan about cultural stereotyping (again, don't ask), I'm finally free to look at the leaderboard, and I have to say I'm impressed at how Beatriz Recari and Paula Creamer kept pressure on the rest of the field. They didn't shoot the low rounds of the day--those belonged to Angela Stanford (64, -6 overall), Chella Choi and Jennifer Johnson (66, -8 overall), and Brooke Pancake and Danah Bordner (66, -4 overall)--but they came close, as both fired bogey-free 67s to get to -12 overall.
That meant that even people who put together very good rounds didn't make up any ground on them, like those who also shot 67s, such as Lexi Thompson (now -9), Hee Young Park (now -7), Morgan Pressel, Eun-Hee Ji, and Dewi Claire Schreefel (now -6), Se Ri Pak (now -3), Sun Young Yoo (now -2). More to the point, it meant that you could break 70 and actually lose ground on them, as Chie Arimura (68, -9), Jacqui Concolino (69, -9), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (68, -8), and Mo Martin (68, -7). And if you had an off-day and moved backwards, like world #1 Inbee Park, who shot a 73 and fell from 5th to 23rd, or former co-leader Alison Walshe, who also shot a 73 and dropped to T11, or Michelle Wie, who shot a 72 and fell back to T48 (tied with fellow Solheim Cup hopeful Lizette Salas, by the way), or Lydia Ko, who offset each of her 4 birdies with a pair of consecutive bogeys on each side and ended up like Walshe, Stanford, Pressel, and Gerina Piller 6 shots behind the leaders--well, you just have to be kicking yourself.
So Recari, going for her 3rd win on the LPGA, and Creamer, going for her 10th, have a nice little cushion on playing partner Lexi Thompson heading into the final round (along with Arimura and Concolino in the group behind them). Still, on a course that has proven itself vulnerable to low scores over the years, they have to remain conscious that there are 19 golfers within 6 shots of the lead and that a round in the low 60s isn't inconceivable. Add in the extra motivation when people playing pretty well are fighting for spots on their respective Solheim Cup teams--as Ewart Shadoff and Schreefel are for Team Euro and Johnson, Pressel, Piller, Salas, and Wie are for Team USA--and you've got a volatile mix for Sunday in Sylvania. Since a 4 and a half-hour drive to the Toledo area is out of the question tomorrow and we still haven't shelled out the dough for Verizon's sports package (and, hence, Golf Channel), I'm going to have to settle for watching he British Open's final round to get my golf fix.... Guess I'll be following the LPGA's live leaderboard online!]
[Update 2 (10:24 pm): bangkokbobby's got plenty of photos at Fairways and Forehands!]
[Update 3 (10:42 pm): Just noticed that Jennie Lee tweeted that she's playing with Mika Miyazato and Moira Dunn tomorrow! Hmm, if I left here at 5 am, I'd get there in time to follow them all day and still have time left over to watch the leaders finish up. That would mean missing the Inbee/Se Ri group going off #1 at 9:50 and the impressive threesome of In-Kyung Kim, Amy Yang, and Haeji Kang right after them, but I didn't really get to follow Moira or Mika at the Wegmans LPGA Championship (Moira at all and Mikan for any great length of time).... Nope, just can't justify the trip, as much as it hurts!]
Cheyenne Woods Well Off Pace on LET
After going 64-78 to start the Open de Espana, Cheyenne Woods got off the roller coaster on moving day, ending up where she started the day after making 2 birdies and 2 pars. She's in the middle of the pack with many golfers still on the course, but it's clear she's not going to be winning this week. At -2, she's 10 shots behind 2nd-round co-leaders Lee-Anne Pace and Celine Herbin, who are both -4 through 13 and trying to maintain their 3-shot advantage on the charging Mikaela Parmlid and Joanna Klatten (both -5 through 15 and -9 overall). Pace is #2 on the LET's Order of Merit, right behind Gwladys Nocera, who's fighting to improve on her -3 through 15 holes round today (-6 overall, tied with American Beth Allen, who's #9 on the Order of Merit, and Melissa Reid, a perennial top European player). While #3 Charley Hull fell further down the leaderboard at exactly the wrong time (she's hoping to become a captain's pick for Team Euro in the Solheim Cup), #4 Carlota Ciganda shot the low round of the day thus far, a 66 that brought her to -5 for the week, while her fellow Spaniard Tania Elosegui has a few holes left to try to pass her.
In a nutshell, Woods is being passed by top LET players, but has a chance to get back in the passing lane tomorrow. Let's see if she can do it!
In a nutshell, Woods is being passed by top LET players, but has a chance to get back in the passing lane tomorrow. Let's see if she can do it!
Samantha Thavasa Ladies Saturday: Junko Omote Follows up 63 with 65 to Open Up 5-Shot Lead
Junko Omote is -16 through 36 holes at the Samantha Thavasa Ladies, 5-up on Yumiko Yoshida and 6-up on Hyun-Ju Shin heading the final round. It's looking like the Japanese veterans will be chalking this one up, holding off both youngsters (like Mamiko Higa, 66/-9, and Ritsuko Ryu, 69/-8) and Korean stars (like Mi-Jeong Jeon, 68/-7, Sun-Ju Ahn, 67/-6, and Hyo-Joo Kim, 68/-5). Omote has fired the 2 lowest rounds of the week on consecutive days (63-65) and shows no signs of slowing down. Meanwhile, money-list leader Rikako Morita could manage only an even-par round today. Although she barely made the cut, as did living legend Yuri Fudoh, legend-in-training Sakura Yokomine, KLPGA transplant Bo-Mee Lee, and LPGA transplant Teresa Lu, they are so far behind Omote they're playing for top 20s at best. Unless the pressure of winning twice in 1 season for the 1st time in a 15+-year professional career derails Omote tomorrow, she'll notch her 4th career victory and move into the top 10 on the JLPGA money list. Pretty head stuff. Let's see if she can do it in style!
Friday, July 19, 2013
Samantha Thavasa Ladies Friday: Junko Omote Fires 63 to Open Up 3-Shot Lead
Junko Omote fired a bogey-free 63 at the Samantha Thavasa Ladies in Ibaraki today to take a 3-shot lead on Saiki Fujita and Yumiko Yoshida. Omote's in a great position to notch her 2nd win of 2013 on the JLPGA and 4th in her 15 years-plus professional career, but she'll need to stay ahead of Ji-Hee Lee, Ritsuko Ryu, Natsuka Hori, and Hyun-Ju Shin at -5, Yukari Baba, Akane Iijima, Rui Kitada, and Kumiko Kaneda at -4, and Rikako Morita, Mi-Jeong Jeon, Sakura Yokomine, Bo-Mee Lee, Harukyo Nomura, and Yuko Mitsuka at -3. Ji-Hee Lee at -2 and Sun Ju Ahn at -1 will probably have to do something special tomorrow on moving day to get into the mix, as well.
Marathon Classic Friday Afternoon: Can Anyone Pass Paula Creamer and Beatriz Recari?
With the LPGA near Toledo and the Constructivist family off soon to watch the Buffalo Bisons play against the Toledo Mud Hens and camp overnight in the stadium, I won't be able to finish this post on the afternoon wave at the Marathon Classic, but I can at least start it. Beatriz Recari was the biggest story in the morning wave, as she went birdie-birdie-par-eagle-birdie on the back to post a 65 (without even birdieing either of Highland Meadows's 2 closing par 5s!) and catch Paula Creamer at -8. With world #1 Inbee Park finishing birdie-birdie to close within 2 of them and defending champion So Yeon Ryu only 3 back, the leaders in the afternoon wave--Alison Walshe and Lexi Thompson, in particular--have their work cut out for them, but they also have a huge opportunity to pass the co-leaders and put some distance between themselves and the rest of the field. Let's see if they can do it, or if someone from relatively back in the pack will make like Solheim Cup hopefuls Jennifer Johnson (66) and Michelle Wie (67)....
[Update 1 (2:32 pm): Unknowns going in opposite directions. Alison Walshe is -1 through 6 and 1 off the lead. Jessica Shepley is +3 through 7 and -2 overall.]
[Update 2 (2:34 pm): Gerina Piller and Lizette Salas pretty much have Solheim Cup Team USA spots sewn up (at least in my book). But they still need to build some mo' heading into the actual event. Piller is +1 through 3 and -3 overall, while Salas -2 through 5 and also -3 overall.]
[Update 3 (2:39 pm): I've been writing as if Morgan Pressel's position on Team USA is assured, but she'll need to keep playing good golf (-1 today, -4 overall) to maintain her #2 spot in the Rolex Rankings among those not qualified by points or to catch Brittany Lang and beat out Gerina Piller for that last points spot. She's peaking at the right time, with 5 top 26s in her last 6 starts and another shot at improving on her best finish in that run, T3 at the Wegmans LPGA Championship, this week.]
[Update 4 (2:49 pm): Looks like win #6 at this event for Se Ri Pak isn't in the cards again this year. She's bogeyed 3 of her 1st 5 holes today and is E for the week, closer to the projected cut line (+1/+2) than the lead....]
[Update 5 (2:53 pm): Nice to see former Solheim Cupper Ryann O'Toole and rookie Jacqui Concolino playing well--both are -4 for the week off to solid starts today.]
[Update 6 (3:00 pm): Amateur phenom Lydia Ko playing solid golf at -1 today; she's part of a big bottleneck at -3.]
[Update 7 (3:02 pm): Right now Mitsuki Katahira is the only player in the field above the cut line (+4 with 9 holes left to play). Chie Arimura and Ayako Uehara lead at -3, Mika Miyazato -1, Momoko Ueda E. Let's see if they can get something going. I want an excuse to drive to Toledo Sunday morning with the family!]
[Update 8 (3:25 pm): Really surprised that Chella Choi has bogeyed 3 of her 1st 7 holes today to fall to -1 for the week. She's been playing phenomenal golf this year and is so ready to win!]
[Update 9 (3:30 pm): Speaking of surprises on the downside, Na Yeon Choi is in danger of missing only the 3rd cut of her LPGA career. She's finished 131 of the 134 LPGA events she's entered as a member, the best finish rate among her peers in the classes of 2006 through 2012 (and by far the best in her generation). She's E through 10 today and +1 overall. Right not there are 71 players at +1 and 84 at +2.]
[Update 10 (3:36 pm): Walshe (-6) and Thompson (-5) stuck in neutral, but at least they're hanging in there and staying near the top of the leaderboard. Better than Cheyenne Woods in Spain or Jessica Shepley so far today (+4 and counting)....]
[Update 11 (4:06 pm): Lydia Ko has birdied 3 of her last 5 holes to climb to -5, while Morgan Pressel birdied 16 and 17 to join her. Concolino continues to impress--she's also at -5.]
[Update 12 (4:08 pm): Walshe makes her 3rd birdie of the day, on the par-4 12th, to climb to within 1 of Creamer and Recari.]
[Update 13 (4:10 pm): Ah, the life of an LPGA rookie. Brooke Pancake fired bogey-free 34 on back and gave them all back with 3 straight bogeys to start the front.]
[Update 14 (7/20/13, 4:27 am): Well, huge thunderstorms first delayed the game after the 7th inning and then struck right after the Bisons won it 2-1, so the fireworks, movie, and camp-out were postponed till August 16th, but it was quite a memorable night! Biggest lightning display I've witnessed in over a decade! It was a pretty memorable night for some surprises near the top of the leaderboard, as Alison Walshe shot a 69 and with her walkoff birdie ties Creamer and Recari for the halfway point lead, while rookies Jacqui Concolino and Chie Arimura climbed the leaderboard with a 68 that left the former in solo 4th and a 67 that tied the latter with Inbee Park in 5th (along with Lydia Ko, whose 67 was probably less of a surprise, although still the best round she's played against professionals in quite some time). So with Lexi Thompson holding steady and joining So Yeon Ryu and Jodi Ewart Shadoff at -5, we have quite the top of the leaderboard after 36 holes!]
[Update 15 (4:37 am): The cut line ended up at +2, which means that 72 players will be teeing it up later this morning! NYC made it 132 of 135 starts that she's finished, Angela Stanford's closing heroics in the morning were not in vain, and Se Ri Pak and Laura Davies will be playing on the weekend, just to name a few who cut it close. Some neat pairings for those heading out to the course: Pressel/Lang/O'Toole off 1 at 9:40, Miyazato/Uehara/Schreefel next, I.K. Kim/H.Y. Park/LaCrosse at 10:20, Yang/Thompson/Martin at 10:40, and the 3 leading threesomes going off after them. None of the top contenders for the last spots on the U.S. Solheim Cup is paired together for moving day, but Wie gets to watch Pressel all day and Salas will be finishing on the back a little after Johnson does on the front. Should be a very interesting round!]
[Update 1 (2:32 pm): Unknowns going in opposite directions. Alison Walshe is -1 through 6 and 1 off the lead. Jessica Shepley is +3 through 7 and -2 overall.]
[Update 2 (2:34 pm): Gerina Piller and Lizette Salas pretty much have Solheim Cup Team USA spots sewn up (at least in my book). But they still need to build some mo' heading into the actual event. Piller is +1 through 3 and -3 overall, while Salas -2 through 5 and also -3 overall.]
[Update 3 (2:39 pm): I've been writing as if Morgan Pressel's position on Team USA is assured, but she'll need to keep playing good golf (-1 today, -4 overall) to maintain her #2 spot in the Rolex Rankings among those not qualified by points or to catch Brittany Lang and beat out Gerina Piller for that last points spot. She's peaking at the right time, with 5 top 26s in her last 6 starts and another shot at improving on her best finish in that run, T3 at the Wegmans LPGA Championship, this week.]
[Update 4 (2:49 pm): Looks like win #6 at this event for Se Ri Pak isn't in the cards again this year. She's bogeyed 3 of her 1st 5 holes today and is E for the week, closer to the projected cut line (+1/+2) than the lead....]
[Update 5 (2:53 pm): Nice to see former Solheim Cupper Ryann O'Toole and rookie Jacqui Concolino playing well--both are -4 for the week off to solid starts today.]
[Update 6 (3:00 pm): Amateur phenom Lydia Ko playing solid golf at -1 today; she's part of a big bottleneck at -3.]
[Update 7 (3:02 pm): Right now Mitsuki Katahira is the only player in the field above the cut line (+4 with 9 holes left to play). Chie Arimura and Ayako Uehara lead at -3, Mika Miyazato -1, Momoko Ueda E. Let's see if they can get something going. I want an excuse to drive to Toledo Sunday morning with the family!]
[Update 8 (3:25 pm): Really surprised that Chella Choi has bogeyed 3 of her 1st 7 holes today to fall to -1 for the week. She's been playing phenomenal golf this year and is so ready to win!]
[Update 9 (3:30 pm): Speaking of surprises on the downside, Na Yeon Choi is in danger of missing only the 3rd cut of her LPGA career. She's finished 131 of the 134 LPGA events she's entered as a member, the best finish rate among her peers in the classes of 2006 through 2012 (and by far the best in her generation). She's E through 10 today and +1 overall. Right not there are 71 players at +1 and 84 at +2.]
[Update 10 (3:36 pm): Walshe (-6) and Thompson (-5) stuck in neutral, but at least they're hanging in there and staying near the top of the leaderboard. Better than Cheyenne Woods in Spain or Jessica Shepley so far today (+4 and counting)....]
[Update 11 (4:06 pm): Lydia Ko has birdied 3 of her last 5 holes to climb to -5, while Morgan Pressel birdied 16 and 17 to join her. Concolino continues to impress--she's also at -5.]
[Update 12 (4:08 pm): Walshe makes her 3rd birdie of the day, on the par-4 12th, to climb to within 1 of Creamer and Recari.]
[Update 13 (4:10 pm): Ah, the life of an LPGA rookie. Brooke Pancake fired bogey-free 34 on back and gave them all back with 3 straight bogeys to start the front.]
[Update 14 (7/20/13, 4:27 am): Well, huge thunderstorms first delayed the game after the 7th inning and then struck right after the Bisons won it 2-1, so the fireworks, movie, and camp-out were postponed till August 16th, but it was quite a memorable night! Biggest lightning display I've witnessed in over a decade! It was a pretty memorable night for some surprises near the top of the leaderboard, as Alison Walshe shot a 69 and with her walkoff birdie ties Creamer and Recari for the halfway point lead, while rookies Jacqui Concolino and Chie Arimura climbed the leaderboard with a 68 that left the former in solo 4th and a 67 that tied the latter with Inbee Park in 5th (along with Lydia Ko, whose 67 was probably less of a surprise, although still the best round she's played against professionals in quite some time). So with Lexi Thompson holding steady and joining So Yeon Ryu and Jodi Ewart Shadoff at -5, we have quite the top of the leaderboard after 36 holes!]
[Update 15 (4:37 am): The cut line ended up at +2, which means that 72 players will be teeing it up later this morning! NYC made it 132 of 135 starts that she's finished, Angela Stanford's closing heroics in the morning were not in vain, and Se Ri Pak and Laura Davies will be playing on the weekend, just to name a few who cut it close. Some neat pairings for those heading out to the course: Pressel/Lang/O'Toole off 1 at 9:40, Miyazato/Uehara/Schreefel next, I.K. Kim/H.Y. Park/LaCrosse at 10:20, Yang/Thompson/Martin at 10:40, and the 3 leading threesomes going off after them. None of the top contenders for the last spots on the U.S. Solheim Cup is paired together for moving day, but Wie gets to watch Pressel all day and Salas will be finishing on the back a little after Johnson does on the front. Should be a very interesting round!]
Cheyenne Woods Just Missed Going from Low Round Thursday to High Round Friday on LET
Cheyenne Woods doubled 2 holes, bogeyed another 2, and couldn't make a birdie all day to shoot a 78 the day after she opened the Open de Espana with a 64. It's all part of the learning process for the LET rookie, but it's a particularly painful lesson on a day she went from -8 and 2 up on her closest pursuer to -2 and 6 down on the leaders in the clubhouse, Lee-Anne Pace and Celine Herbin. Only a 79 from Stephanie Michl prevented Woods from suffering the high round on Friday after firing the low round on Thursday. [Correction: 4 players helped Woods out by failing to break 80.] Phew! Good news is, Cheyenne made the cut and is actually still within the top 20 as of this writing. So she'll live to fight another day. Hopefully this roller coaster start to the tournament will only make her stronger in the long run--and this weekend.
Marathon Classic Friday Morning: Creamer, Johnson, Wie Off to Good Starts
Paula Creamer leads the Marathon Classic after firing a bogey-free 31 on the front to get to -8 through 27 holes. Locked in a duel for the last spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup team, and fighting to make the cut, Jennifer Johnson and Michelle Wie are also off to good starts this morning, with Johnson moving to -2 for the week with a bogey-free 33 on the back and Wie fighting back to +1 on the strength of a 3-birdie 32 on the front.
Meanwhile, last week's winner Hee Young Park has moved to -3 for the week after opening with a bogey-free 34 on the back, while defending champion So Yeon Ryu (also -3) and world #1 Inbee Park (-4) are stuck in neutral after each made 2 bogeys on the front, offsetting their birdies.
[Update 1 (11:18 am): Ryu now -4 after birdie on 10. Haeji Kang (-1 through 12) and Amy Yang (-3 through 11) both -5 now.]
[Update 2 (11:20 am): Beatriz Recari now -4 for the week after going -2 through her 1st 12 today.]
[Update 3 (11:23 am): My old golfing buddy Moira Dunn has matched Johnson's bogey-free 33 on the back and is also at -2 for the week! Go, Moira!]
[Update 4 (11:46 am): After a Pink Panther bogey on 11 and an Inbee Park birdie on 12, Creamer's lead on the world #1 is only 2 shots. Alison Walshe may not have to go that low to retain the lead this afternoon....]
[Update 5 (11:47 am): Nice to see veteran Candie Kung and youngster Cindy LaCrosse both at -3 on the day and for the week.]
[Update 6 (11:51 am): Wie birdied 11 and 12 to get to -1 for the week, but bogeyed 12. She's still -3 today and T44 on a day when only Johnson (now -5 today) and Dunn (still -4) going lower than her thus far.]
[Update 7 (11:52 am): Kang back to E on the day after making her 3rd bogey. I would have thought a lot of people would pass someone stuck in neutral like that, but so far she's still T7. Could Highland Meadows actually have some teeth this week?]
[Update 8 (11:55 am): Glad I put Recari in my top 12 this week! She just went birdie-birdie-par-eagle to tie Creamer for the lead at -7!!]
[Update 9 (11:58 am): Kung now -4 through 15/33 holes....]
[Update 10 (12:01 pm): Inbee's ball-striking hasn't been as on in her last 2 starts as it was in that run of wins. She's scrambling like crazy today with only 7 out of 14 greens hit so far, but she just made her 3rd bogey of the day to fall back to -4.]
[Update 11 (12:03 pm): Katherine Hull-Kirk now -4 through 12 today and -2 overall. Good to see her putting a good round together!]
[Update 12 (12:05 pm): Wow! Johnson still -5 and tied with Recari for low round thus far, but Wie bounced back from bogey to get back to -4. They really are rising to the occasion!]
[Update 13 (12:08 pm): LPGA rookie and Ohio State grad Inhong Lim making the most of her 2nd LPGA start this season, following up yesterday's 73 with a 68 today to ensure she'll make her 1st cut of the season.]
[Update 14 (12:15 pm): Angela Stanford is in danger of missing the cut right now after going -26 last week and losing in a playoff to Hee Young Park in Waterloo. She's +3 with 4 to play.]
[Update 15 (12:16 pm): From the LPGA's twitter account: Ace alert! Katherine Hull-Kirk records a hole-in-one on the 14th, holing out from 172 yards with a 5-iron. She wins a new Kia Cadenza!]
[Update 16 (1:03 pm): Recari tacked another birdie on to the end of that run but couldn't birdie either of the back-to-back closing par 5s to "settle" for a 65 and the lead in the clubhouse at -8.]
[Update 17 (1:07 pm): Jodi Ewart Shadoff making another strong case for a captain's pick for Team Euro after opening 69-68 to match defending champion So Yeon Ryu's 68-69 start. Both 3 off the pace, but could be 4 if Paula Creamer can birdie the 18th.]
[Update 18 (1:11 pm): Other good morning scores: Jennifer Johnson (66), Michelle Wie (67), Paula Creamer (68--she failed to birdie 18), Hee Young Park (68), Cindy LaCrosse (68). Moira Dunn -4 with 2 to play. Candie Kung's walkoff double forced her to settle for a 69.]
[Update 19 (1:14 pm): True grit. Texas tough. Call it what you will, Angela Stanford birdied 17 and 18 to fight back to 72 for the day and end up only +1 through 36 holes. She's on the bubble with 76 other golfers there right now.]
[Update 20 (1:20 pm): Definitely missing the cut: Ya Ni Tseng (75-74), Guilia Sergas (74-74), Moriya Jutanugarn (71-76), Julieta Granada (74-73), Jeong Jang (73-73), Jee Young Lee (73-73), Hee Kyung Seo (74-72), Nicole Castrale (71-74), Jennifer Song (74-71), Austin Ernst (75-70). Need help: Paola Moreno (73-71).]
[Update 21 (1:21 pm): How tough is Inbee Park? Fell to -4 with 5 to play. Birdied last 2 holes to pull within 2 of co-leaders and take solo 3rd.]
[Update 22 (1:24 pm): Amy Yang (69-69) and Haeji Kang (67-71) quietly hanging in there 4 off pace. Not a bad place to be at halfway point.]
[Update 23 (1:26 pm): Wie has to keep her good play from today going over the weekend. Now tied with Katie Futcher, another possible captain's pick, at -1, having made up 5 shots on her today. She climbed out of the hole she dug for herself in round 1. Now she needs to build a ladder and start climbing the leaderboard on moving day!]
[Update 24 (1:31 pm): Last 2 days a microcosm of Wie's last 5 starts: T9, T9, MC, WD, T16. Either very very good or horrid. Needs more of former.]
[Update 25 (1:32 pm): 67 for Moira Dunn tied for 3rd-lowest round of the morning wave. Scoring is definitely higher than I expected this week.]
Meanwhile, last week's winner Hee Young Park has moved to -3 for the week after opening with a bogey-free 34 on the back, while defending champion So Yeon Ryu (also -3) and world #1 Inbee Park (-4) are stuck in neutral after each made 2 bogeys on the front, offsetting their birdies.
[Update 1 (11:18 am): Ryu now -4 after birdie on 10. Haeji Kang (-1 through 12) and Amy Yang (-3 through 11) both -5 now.]
[Update 2 (11:20 am): Beatriz Recari now -4 for the week after going -2 through her 1st 12 today.]
[Update 3 (11:23 am): My old golfing buddy Moira Dunn has matched Johnson's bogey-free 33 on the back and is also at -2 for the week! Go, Moira!]
[Update 4 (11:46 am): After a Pink Panther bogey on 11 and an Inbee Park birdie on 12, Creamer's lead on the world #1 is only 2 shots. Alison Walshe may not have to go that low to retain the lead this afternoon....]
[Update 5 (11:47 am): Nice to see veteran Candie Kung and youngster Cindy LaCrosse both at -3 on the day and for the week.]
[Update 6 (11:51 am): Wie birdied 11 and 12 to get to -1 for the week, but bogeyed 12. She's still -3 today and T44 on a day when only Johnson (now -5 today) and Dunn (still -4) going lower than her thus far.]
[Update 7 (11:52 am): Kang back to E on the day after making her 3rd bogey. I would have thought a lot of people would pass someone stuck in neutral like that, but so far she's still T7. Could Highland Meadows actually have some teeth this week?]
[Update 8 (11:55 am): Glad I put Recari in my top 12 this week! She just went birdie-birdie-par-eagle to tie Creamer for the lead at -7!!]
[Update 9 (11:58 am): Kung now -4 through 15/33 holes....]
[Update 10 (12:01 pm): Inbee's ball-striking hasn't been as on in her last 2 starts as it was in that run of wins. She's scrambling like crazy today with only 7 out of 14 greens hit so far, but she just made her 3rd bogey of the day to fall back to -4.]
[Update 11 (12:03 pm): Katherine Hull-Kirk now -4 through 12 today and -2 overall. Good to see her putting a good round together!]
[Update 12 (12:05 pm): Wow! Johnson still -5 and tied with Recari for low round thus far, but Wie bounced back from bogey to get back to -4. They really are rising to the occasion!]
[Update 13 (12:08 pm): LPGA rookie and Ohio State grad Inhong Lim making the most of her 2nd LPGA start this season, following up yesterday's 73 with a 68 today to ensure she'll make her 1st cut of the season.]
[Update 14 (12:15 pm): Angela Stanford is in danger of missing the cut right now after going -26 last week and losing in a playoff to Hee Young Park in Waterloo. She's +3 with 4 to play.]
[Update 15 (12:16 pm): From the LPGA's twitter account: Ace alert! Katherine Hull-Kirk records a hole-in-one on the 14th, holing out from 172 yards with a 5-iron. She wins a new Kia Cadenza!]
[Update 16 (1:03 pm): Recari tacked another birdie on to the end of that run but couldn't birdie either of the back-to-back closing par 5s to "settle" for a 65 and the lead in the clubhouse at -8.]
[Update 17 (1:07 pm): Jodi Ewart Shadoff making another strong case for a captain's pick for Team Euro after opening 69-68 to match defending champion So Yeon Ryu's 68-69 start. Both 3 off the pace, but could be 4 if Paula Creamer can birdie the 18th.]
[Update 18 (1:11 pm): Other good morning scores: Jennifer Johnson (66), Michelle Wie (67), Paula Creamer (68--she failed to birdie 18), Hee Young Park (68), Cindy LaCrosse (68). Moira Dunn -4 with 2 to play. Candie Kung's walkoff double forced her to settle for a 69.]
[Update 19 (1:14 pm): True grit. Texas tough. Call it what you will, Angela Stanford birdied 17 and 18 to fight back to 72 for the day and end up only +1 through 36 holes. She's on the bubble with 76 other golfers there right now.]
[Update 20 (1:20 pm): Definitely missing the cut: Ya Ni Tseng (75-74), Guilia Sergas (74-74), Moriya Jutanugarn (71-76), Julieta Granada (74-73), Jeong Jang (73-73), Jee Young Lee (73-73), Hee Kyung Seo (74-72), Nicole Castrale (71-74), Jennifer Song (74-71), Austin Ernst (75-70). Need help: Paola Moreno (73-71).]
[Update 21 (1:21 pm): How tough is Inbee Park? Fell to -4 with 5 to play. Birdied last 2 holes to pull within 2 of co-leaders and take solo 3rd.]
[Update 22 (1:24 pm): Amy Yang (69-69) and Haeji Kang (67-71) quietly hanging in there 4 off pace. Not a bad place to be at halfway point.]
[Update 23 (1:26 pm): Wie has to keep her good play from today going over the weekend. Now tied with Katie Futcher, another possible captain's pick, at -1, having made up 5 shots on her today. She climbed out of the hole she dug for herself in round 1. Now she needs to build a ladder and start climbing the leaderboard on moving day!]
[Update 24 (1:31 pm): Last 2 days a microcosm of Wie's last 5 starts: T9, T9, MC, WD, T16. Either very very good or horrid. Needs more of former.]
[Update 25 (1:32 pm): 67 for Moira Dunn tied for 3rd-lowest round of the morning wave. Scoring is definitely higher than I expected this week.]
Marathon Classic Thursday: Alison Walshe Takes 1-Shot Lead on Paula Creamer, Lexi Thompson, and Jessica Shepley
I finished my ranking of the career performances to date of the LPGA's rookie class of 2010 in the middle of the 1st round of the Marathon Classic, after Alison Walshe had fired the low round of the morning wave, an 8-birdie 65, so I'm not claiming any predictive talent when I labelled her the class's top "quantum leap candidate." After all, the most I had been able to say about Jessica Shepley, the '09er who preceded her with a 6-birdie 66 that morning, in my ranking from the day before, was "At #159 on the priority status list, she's going to need some help getting into more events this season"! And you certainly don't need to have any predictive talent to expect Paula Creamer to play well this week, what with her history at this tournament, or to have expected that Lexi Thompson would start scoring as well as she's been playing of late (although if you had been as specific as, "She'd bogey her 1st 2 holes in a row and bounce back with 7 birdies the rest of the round," I'd have been impressed, to say the least). Nor would you have needed any predictive talent to have expected world #1 Inbee Park to be right in the mix (although given how well she's been playing, you might have expected more from her than a bogey-free 67) or defending champion So Yeon Ryu to put up a good fight this week (although again a bogey-free 68 may have been a little bit of a letdown, given how high our expectations have been raised by the scoring last week in Waterloo).
Where I do give myself a little bit of credit for noticing the obvious is how I put Chella Choi and Haeji Kang as the '09ers' top quantum leap candidates (although we'll have to see if my call for Choi, "Now's the time to break through!," will bear out or whether my prediction about Kang, "Can she build on last week's T6 finish? I'm thinking she can and will," will come true). Kang fired a 67 that was marred only by a walkoff bogey, while Choi made 4 birdies in her last 11 holes to post a 68. So even though all my picks didn't do so great yesterday, I'm a pretty satisfied little PakPicker heading into today's round.
But enough about me. What about the race for the last spots on the U.S. Solheim Cup team? Gerina Piller--of whom I said yesterday morning, "She's another one who plays very well in bursts, [and] it's looking like she's on another good run (she just opened the Marathon Classic with a 67)."--who's 52 points behind Brittany Lang in the race for the last automatic points pick and behind Lizette Salas, Morgan Pressel, and Jennifer Johnson in the Rolex Rankings-based race for those 2 automatic picks, made a strong case for herself as a captain's pick if she can't chase down those ahead of her in the last 2 events before the team is selected. With Lang and Pressel only 1 shot behind her, and Salas only 3 back, it's going to be a tension-filled 54 holes for those golfers. Johnson (73) and Michelle Wie (74) can only hope they have 54 holes to contend with, as job #1 for both of them is 1st making the cut, which could stay at +1 or even move up to E or better if players score at Highland Meadows the way we're accustomed to seeing today. If either of them misses the cut, that might end up making the difference between them in the race for the last captain's pick. Johnson starts at 8:10 off #10 (with Kang and last week's winner Hee Young Park) and Wie at 8:30 off #1 (with Stacy Lewis and So Yeon Ryu), so we'll have plenty of drama right off the bat.
I'll try to get some early blogging on today's round in before we head out for a Buffalo Bisons game (and sleepover at the stadium) in the late afternoon. You'll know how the afternoon wave ended up before I do!
Where I do give myself a little bit of credit for noticing the obvious is how I put Chella Choi and Haeji Kang as the '09ers' top quantum leap candidates (although we'll have to see if my call for Choi, "Now's the time to break through!," will bear out or whether my prediction about Kang, "Can she build on last week's T6 finish? I'm thinking she can and will," will come true). Kang fired a 67 that was marred only by a walkoff bogey, while Choi made 4 birdies in her last 11 holes to post a 68. So even though all my picks didn't do so great yesterday, I'm a pretty satisfied little PakPicker heading into today's round.
But enough about me. What about the race for the last spots on the U.S. Solheim Cup team? Gerina Piller--of whom I said yesterday morning, "She's another one who plays very well in bursts, [and] it's looking like she's on another good run (she just opened the Marathon Classic with a 67)."--who's 52 points behind Brittany Lang in the race for the last automatic points pick and behind Lizette Salas, Morgan Pressel, and Jennifer Johnson in the Rolex Rankings-based race for those 2 automatic picks, made a strong case for herself as a captain's pick if she can't chase down those ahead of her in the last 2 events before the team is selected. With Lang and Pressel only 1 shot behind her, and Salas only 3 back, it's going to be a tension-filled 54 holes for those golfers. Johnson (73) and Michelle Wie (74) can only hope they have 54 holes to contend with, as job #1 for both of them is 1st making the cut, which could stay at +1 or even move up to E or better if players score at Highland Meadows the way we're accustomed to seeing today. If either of them misses the cut, that might end up making the difference between them in the race for the last captain's pick. Johnson starts at 8:10 off #10 (with Kang and last week's winner Hee Young Park) and Wie at 8:30 off #1 (with Stacy Lewis and So Yeon Ryu), so we'll have plenty of drama right off the bat.
I'll try to get some early blogging on today's round in before we head out for a Buffalo Bisons game (and sleepover at the stadium) in the late afternoon. You'll know how the afternoon wave ended up before I do!
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Cheyenne Woods Goes Low on LET
Cheyenne Woods has been under the radar lately, but she's actually been doing all the right things, career-wise. She's always been a golfer who takes a little while to get accustomed to the next level of competition she reaches, but once she gets her feet under her she rises quickly (see my previous posts on her amateur/collegiate career). So when she missed the cut last fall in LPGA Q-School, I wasn't that concerned. In fact, she turned right around and earned membership on the Ladies European Tour for 2013. She's been taking her time getting acclimated to competition and courses across the pond, languishing in 51st place on their Order of Merit through her 1st 7 starts (for more, see Brent Kelley's take at about.com golf).
Today, however, she fired a 64 in the opening round of the Open de Espana to take a 2-shot lead on Tania Elosegui, a 3-shot lead on Lee-Anne Pace, a 4-shot lead on Joanna Klatten, and a 5-shot lead on a slew of golfers, including money-list leader Gwladys Nocera. (By way of comparison, Melissa Reid and Ashleigh Simon opened with 70s, phenom Charley Hull with a 72, Carlota Ciganda with a 74, and Carin Koch with a 78.) A lot can happen in the next 54 holes, but it's always a good sign when a young golfer goes on a tear and makes 9 birdies in 17 holes. If Woods can prevail over an LET field of this caliber, it would give her career a huge boost and give her some great momentum heading into the Women's British Open (which she's already qualified for).
I'd love to see her build on that great round with some solid golf the rest of the tournament. Good luck, Cheyenne!
Today, however, she fired a 64 in the opening round of the Open de Espana to take a 2-shot lead on Tania Elosegui, a 3-shot lead on Lee-Anne Pace, a 4-shot lead on Joanna Klatten, and a 5-shot lead on a slew of golfers, including money-list leader Gwladys Nocera. (By way of comparison, Melissa Reid and Ashleigh Simon opened with 70s, phenom Charley Hull with a 72, Carlota Ciganda with a 74, and Carin Koch with a 78.) A lot can happen in the next 54 holes, but it's always a good sign when a young golfer goes on a tear and makes 9 birdies in 17 holes. If Woods can prevail over an LET field of this caliber, it would give her career a huge boost and give her some great momentum heading into the Women's British Open (which she's already qualified for).
I'd love to see her build on that great round with some solid golf the rest of the tournament. Good luck, Cheyenne!
Ranking the LPGA's Rookie Class of 2010, July 2013 Edition
Azahara Munoz was Rookie of the Year in the Class of 2010, the 2nd of 3 classes in what I'm calling the "New Blood" generation on the LPGA. But Beatriz Recari has been chasing her down the last year or so. Has she caught her fellow Spaniard? Who else is stepping up in this large but so far not very accomplished rookie class?
Simply the Best
1. Azahara Munoz: After a fantastic 2012, she's been struggling to hang with the best players on tour this season, but she's still making a lot of cuts and getting her fair share of top 30s. Combined with solid performance stats, I'd say she's playing pretty well, but not great. Looks like all she needs to start contending again is to heat up her putter....
2. Beatriz Recari: Her amazing made cut streak came to an end at Sebonack (and with it a 4-event top-20 run, as well), but after a week off she's right back at it in Sylvania, OH, this afternoon. With the most wins in her class (2), she's shown the ability to close the deal when she's in contention. The next step is for her to get into contention more often. The key for her is to get those putts to drop!
The Contenders
3. Ilhee Lee: She's exploded (briefly) twice in the past 2 seasons, last year going T4 at the U.S. Women's Open and T9 in Evian and this year by following up a T3 at Kingsmill with a win a couple of weeks later in the Bahamas. But I'm still not convinced she's the real deal, as she hasn't had many other good finishes and misses way more cuts than elite players tend to do. Her play following her win hasn't been all that impressive, either. Let's see if she can play better golf more consistently the rest of the season. It starts with hitting more greens.
4. Gerina Piller: She's another one who plays very well in bursts, but her average finishes are better and her good runs tend to last for longer than Lee's. Still, Lee has that win and 2 top 3s and Piller's drawn blanks in those areas. But now with a spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup at stake, it's looking like she's on another good run (she just opened the Marathon Classic with a 67).
5. Mina Harigae: She's still not as consistent in hitting greens as I'd like to see, but she's become a full-fledged LPGA regular over the last year and a half. She's kind of plateaued a bit this season, but this summer's the time to start getting used to racking up top 20s and top 10s. I'd say she's about ready to make the same kind of leap that Recari did.
Quantum Leap Candidates
6. Alison Walshe: She's another one from this class who's made herself into an LPGA regular and is ready to transition to that next stage. And I'm not just saying that because she shot the low morning round in the Marathon Classic today.
7. Mariajo Uribe: She came back from the brink and proved she belongs on the LPGA. She had an uncharacteristically bad stretch this season where it appeared that injuries were bothering her, but she's got 2 solid starts under her belt and is getting ready for the WBO by taking this week off.
8. Dewi Claire Schreefel: She's proved she can make her share of cuts, but will need to hit more greens to start racking up more top 20s.
9. Amanda Blumenherst: She's still struggling mightily, but maybe fighting to keep her card for next season will focus her talents.
10. Cindy LaCrosse: Another player who's moving in the wrong direction of late, she's missed the cut in 7 of her last 10 starts.
On the Bottom, Looking Up
11. Pernilla Lindberg: She's still the golfer I'm most disappointed in out of everyone in her class (despite finishing #18 on the LET Order of Merit the last 2 seasons in a row), but at least things started moving in the right direction for her on the LPGA over the past year and a half. Unfortunately, she's taken a big step backwards lately, missing the cut in 6 of her last 9 starts. Here's hoping she gets back on track soon!
12. Paola Moreno: She's riding a 5-event made-cut streak, the 1st sustained run of solid golf we've seen from her in a long while. Let's see what happens when her putter really gets hot....
13. Maria Hernandez: She's only played 1 LPGA event and 2 Symetra Tour events this season, missing the cut in the very 1st LPGA tournament of the year. She hasn't teed it up on any professional tour since late March. I'm guessing she's not over her injuries from the last few years.
On the Outside, Looking In
14. Gwladys Nocera: She's back on the LET and, with her win at the Slovak Open in late June, took back the top spot on their Order of Merit.
15. Marianne Skarpnord: She's #14 on the LET Order of Merit in 10 starts.
16. Christine Song: At #13 on the Symetra Tour money list, she's fighting to make it back to the LPGA.
17. Jean Reynolds: Back on the Symetra Tour again this year, she had her best start of the season in Albany last week and is now #35 on their money list.
18. Katie Kempter: She's #63 on the Symetra Tour money list this season.
19. Cathryn Bristow: She's #66 on the Symetra Tour money list in only 2 starts this season (a T5 in late June and a MC in Albany last week), but doing better there than on the LET, where she's #129 on their Order of Merit in 6 starts.
20. Misun Cho: She's #74 on the Symetra Tour money list in 6 starts this season.
21. Mallory Blackwelder: She's #92 on the Symetra Tour in 8 starts this season.
22. Tanya Dergal: She's #114 on the Symetra Tour money list in 9 starts this season.
23. Nannette Hill: She's #132 in 4 starts on the Symetra Tour this year.
24. Lisa Meldrum: She's missed the cut in her 3 starts on the Symetra Tour this season and hasn't teed it up since early May. I'm guessing she's hurt.
Missing in Action
25. Adrienne White: She's listed as a former player on the Symetra Tour and I can't find out anything else about her with a quick search.
26. Yoo Kyeong Kim: She lost her card in 2012 and isn't playing on the Symetra Tour this season, either. Even Seoul Sisters.com doesn't know what she's up to....
Over and Out
27. Whitney Wade: She was an assistant coach at Coastal Carolina in 2012 and was just named assistant coach at the University of Georgia in May 2013.
28. Jane Chin: Assistant golf coach at University of California, Irvine.
For your reference--and mine--here are the stats on which I'm basing the July 2013 ranking. See also the google spreadsheet I've created to compare the top players from all the rookie classes from 2006 to 2013.
2013 LPGA Money List (rank), scoring average (rank), birdies per round average (rank [in total birdies]), greens in regulation rate (rank): I focus on four key indicators of how well someone has been playing this season--how much money they've made, how they've scored, how many birdies they've averaged per round, and how many greens they've hit in regulation on average per round, plus how they rank in each category (except for birdies, which LPGA.com ranks by total and not by average). I figure I can figure out how well they're hitting their irons and putting by comparing the last three figures, so I don't include putts per green in regulation here. Some of the figures Hound Dog thinks are the most important I'm looking at in the career stats (below), where I think they belong. These stats are all about the present and future.
NAME/$$/SCORING AVE./BIRDIES PER ROUND/GREENS IN REGULATION
1. Beatriz Recari, $589.0K (#6), 70.745 (#12), 3.43 (#21), 70.5% (#25)
2. Ilhee Lee, $320.6K (#22), 72.600 (#73), 3.44 (#36), 64.4% (#98)
3. Gerina Piller, $252.2K (#31), 71.260 (#22), 3.56 (#18), 72.8% (#10)
4. Azahara Munoz, $166.2K (#44), 71.560 (#34), 3.50 (#21), 72.4% (#13)
5. Mina Harigae, $134.6K (#50), 71.980 (#47), 3.14 (#34), 65.9% (#71)
6. Mariajo Uribe, $127.8K (#103), 72.436 (#63), 3.41 (#54), 63.4% (#109)
7. Alison Walshe, $120.0K (#55), 71.522 (#32), 3.57 (#29), 65.7% (#79)
8. Dewi Claire Schreefel, $95.0K (#63), 72.381 (#61), 3.26 (#49), 65.1% (#90)
9. Paola Moreno, $74.2K (#74), 72.029 (#49), 3.06 (#82), 67.3% (#48)
10. Pernilla Lindberg, $63.9K (#81), 72.763 (#82), 3.05 (#69), 66.8% (#54)
11. Cindy LaCrosse, $45.0K (#93), 74.070 (#133), 2.56 (#71), 63.7% (#107)
12. Amanda Blumenherst, $42.9K (#95), 73.700 (#120), 2.87 (#102), 65.0% (#91)
13. Maria Hernandez, $0K (n.r.), 73.500 (n.r.), 2.00 (n.r.), 69.0% (n.r.)
Career LPGA Money List (rank), # of LPGA events started/majors/wins/top 3s/top 10s/top 20s/withdrawals/disqualifications/missed cuts/finished events (rate): About the only thing these stats are useful for is comparing people who entered the LPGA in the same year (although if you count generations by 3 years, it can be interesting). Between inflation, changing purses, and length/timing of careers, it's very hard to compare and contrast winnings across generations of LPGA greats. Fortunately the '10ers all started at the same time, so the career money list is a decent stat for comparing them, even if it's a bit unfair to players who have not been exempt every season (although that in itself is an indication of how someone's career has been going!). What would really be great is if we had a world money list in inflation-adjusted dollars, with inflation- and exchange-adjusted other cash denominations added in (or just totalled up separately to avoid comparing dollars and yen), which included all each golfer earned as a professional on any tour. But even the guys don't have that, so that'll have to remain a dream for now--although Thomas Atkins posted an inflation-adjusted LPGA Career Top 50 as of the end of the 2008 season and a Best of All Time ranking over at Hound Dog LPGA. In any case, I include the other ways of seeing how the '10ers finished relative to their competition in the tournaments they entered because they reveal a lot about how well someone is able to compete at every level, from just making cuts to grinding out top 20s and top 10s to contending for wins. Many thanks to the LPGA for updating their 2013 performance chart after every event!
NAME/$$/START/MAJOR/WIN/TOP3/TOP10/TOP20/WD/DQ/MC/FIN (RATE)
1. Azahara Munoz, $2.32M (#104), 86/0/1/6/16/37/0/0/14/72 (.837)
2. Beatriz Recari, $1.52M (#136), 82/0/2/3/15/28/0/0/15/67 (.817)
3. Ilhee Lee, $.80M (#230), 61/0/1/2/5/9/0/0/24/37 (.607)
4. Mina Harigae, $.72M (#242), 73/0/0/0/3/13/0/0/20/53 (.726)
5. Gerina Piller, $.61M (#258), 52/0/0/0/8/12/0/0/14/38 (.731)
6. Gwladys Nocera, $.61M (#260), 41/0/0/1/2/4/0/0/17/24 (.585)
7. Amanda Blumenherst, $.53M (#273), 78/0/0/0/4/10/0/0/30/48 (.615)
8. Mariajo Uribe, $.52M (#275), 62/0/0/0/3/11/1/0/24/37 (.597)
9. Alison Walshe, $.44M (#299), 56/0/0/0/2/9/0/0/21/35 (.625)
10. Cindy LaCrosse, $.41M (#304), 59/0/0/0/0/5/0/0/21/38 (.644)
11. Dewi Claire Schreefel, $.38M (#312), 48/0/0/0/0/8/0/0/12/36 (.750)
12. Pernilla Lindberg, $.29M (#352), 58/0/0/0/0/5/0/1/28/29 (.500)
13. Maria Hernandez, $.18M (#399), 34/0/0/0/0/1/0/0/21/13 (.382)
14. Paola Moreno, $.11M (#447), 33/0/0/0/0/1/1/0/17/15 (.455)
15. Jean Reynolds, $.08M (#495), 23/0/0/0/0/1/0/0/18/5 (.217)
16. Lisa Meldrum, $.05M (#532), 24/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/13/11 (.458)
17. Yoo Kyeong Kim, $.05M (#533), 26/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/20/6 (.231)
18. Misun Cho, $.04M (#566), 14/0/0/0/0/0/1/0/11/2 (.143)
19. Christine Song, $.04M (#571), 27/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/20/7 (.259)
20. Adrienne White, $.02M (#610), 10/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/4/6 (.600)
21. Marianne Skarpnord, $.02M (#613), 16/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/12/4 (.250)
22. Tanya Dergal, $.01M (#661), 23/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/18/5 (.217)
23. Katie Kempter, $7.3K (#681), 13/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/11/2 (.154)
24. Nannette Hill, $2.2K (#734), 4/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/3/1 (.250)
25. Whitney Wade, $0K (n.r.), 3/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/3/0 (.000)
26. Mallory Blackwelder, $0K (n.r.), 4/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/4/0 (.000)
27. Cathryn Bristow, $0K (n.a.), 0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0 (.000)
28. Jane Chin, $0K (n.a.), 0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0 (.000)
Other Career Measures: Rolex Rankings (as of 7/15/13) points and rank, Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index (as of 7/14/13) score and rank; International Wins (as of today): This is a way of seeing how those '10ers who sometimes or regularly or often compete on other tours stack up over the course of their careers to date (the RR includes results over the past 104 weeks on the LPGA, LET, JLPGA, KLPGA, and Futures Tour; the GSPI includes results over the past 52 weeks on all these tours except the KLPGA).
1. Azahara Munoz, 3.34 (#25), 70.82 (#33); 1
2. Beatriz Recari, 3.31 (#26), 69.86 (#14); 1
3. Ilhee Lee, 2.63 (#40), 71.80 (#73); 0
4. Gerina Piller, 2.01 (#57), 71.19 (#44); 0
5. Mina Harigae, 1.39 (#86), 71.96 (#86); 0
6. Alison Walshe, 1.31 (#90), 71.24 (#46); 0
7. Mariajo Uribe, 1.22 (#97), 72.23 (#100); 0
8. Dewi Claire Schreefel, 1.15 (#106), 71.61 (#61); 0
9. Gwladys Nocera, 1.04 (#119), 72.62 (#120); 11
10. Pernilla Lindberg, .94 (#131), 72.53 (#114); 0
11. Cindy LaCrosse, .77 (#163), 73.15 (#150); 0
12. Paola Moreno, .59 (#197), 72.96 (#137); 0
13. Amanda Blumenherst, .43 (#243), 73.90 (#198); 0
14. Marianne Skarpnord, .29 (#295), 74.67 (#262); 2
15. Christine Song, .13 (#400), 75.09 (#305); 0
16. Cathryn Bristow, .08 (#471), 77.29 (#423); 0
17. Misun Cho, .08 (#475), 74.69 (#266); 0
18. Maria Hernandez, .07 (#486), 74.50 (#245); 1
19. Tanya Dergal, .03 (#638), 76.67 (#403); 0
20. Jean Reynolds, .01 (#760), 74.73 (#240); 0
21. Katie Kempter, n.r., 76.34 (#348); 0
22. Nannette Hill, n.r., 77.32 (#425); 0
23. Mallory Blackwelder, n.r., 76.94 (n.r.); 0
24. Lisa Meldrum, n.r., 77.83 (n.r.); 0
Simply the Best
1. Azahara Munoz: After a fantastic 2012, she's been struggling to hang with the best players on tour this season, but she's still making a lot of cuts and getting her fair share of top 30s. Combined with solid performance stats, I'd say she's playing pretty well, but not great. Looks like all she needs to start contending again is to heat up her putter....
2. Beatriz Recari: Her amazing made cut streak came to an end at Sebonack (and with it a 4-event top-20 run, as well), but after a week off she's right back at it in Sylvania, OH, this afternoon. With the most wins in her class (2), she's shown the ability to close the deal when she's in contention. The next step is for her to get into contention more often. The key for her is to get those putts to drop!
The Contenders
3. Ilhee Lee: She's exploded (briefly) twice in the past 2 seasons, last year going T4 at the U.S. Women's Open and T9 in Evian and this year by following up a T3 at Kingsmill with a win a couple of weeks later in the Bahamas. But I'm still not convinced she's the real deal, as she hasn't had many other good finishes and misses way more cuts than elite players tend to do. Her play following her win hasn't been all that impressive, either. Let's see if she can play better golf more consistently the rest of the season. It starts with hitting more greens.
4. Gerina Piller: She's another one who plays very well in bursts, but her average finishes are better and her good runs tend to last for longer than Lee's. Still, Lee has that win and 2 top 3s and Piller's drawn blanks in those areas. But now with a spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup at stake, it's looking like she's on another good run (she just opened the Marathon Classic with a 67).
5. Mina Harigae: She's still not as consistent in hitting greens as I'd like to see, but she's become a full-fledged LPGA regular over the last year and a half. She's kind of plateaued a bit this season, but this summer's the time to start getting used to racking up top 20s and top 10s. I'd say she's about ready to make the same kind of leap that Recari did.
Quantum Leap Candidates
6. Alison Walshe: She's another one from this class who's made herself into an LPGA regular and is ready to transition to that next stage. And I'm not just saying that because she shot the low morning round in the Marathon Classic today.
7. Mariajo Uribe: She came back from the brink and proved she belongs on the LPGA. She had an uncharacteristically bad stretch this season where it appeared that injuries were bothering her, but she's got 2 solid starts under her belt and is getting ready for the WBO by taking this week off.
8. Dewi Claire Schreefel: She's proved she can make her share of cuts, but will need to hit more greens to start racking up more top 20s.
9. Amanda Blumenherst: She's still struggling mightily, but maybe fighting to keep her card for next season will focus her talents.
10. Cindy LaCrosse: Another player who's moving in the wrong direction of late, she's missed the cut in 7 of her last 10 starts.
On the Bottom, Looking Up
11. Pernilla Lindberg: She's still the golfer I'm most disappointed in out of everyone in her class (despite finishing #18 on the LET Order of Merit the last 2 seasons in a row), but at least things started moving in the right direction for her on the LPGA over the past year and a half. Unfortunately, she's taken a big step backwards lately, missing the cut in 6 of her last 9 starts. Here's hoping she gets back on track soon!
12. Paola Moreno: She's riding a 5-event made-cut streak, the 1st sustained run of solid golf we've seen from her in a long while. Let's see what happens when her putter really gets hot....
13. Maria Hernandez: She's only played 1 LPGA event and 2 Symetra Tour events this season, missing the cut in the very 1st LPGA tournament of the year. She hasn't teed it up on any professional tour since late March. I'm guessing she's not over her injuries from the last few years.
On the Outside, Looking In
14. Gwladys Nocera: She's back on the LET and, with her win at the Slovak Open in late June, took back the top spot on their Order of Merit.
15. Marianne Skarpnord: She's #14 on the LET Order of Merit in 10 starts.
16. Christine Song: At #13 on the Symetra Tour money list, she's fighting to make it back to the LPGA.
17. Jean Reynolds: Back on the Symetra Tour again this year, she had her best start of the season in Albany last week and is now #35 on their money list.
18. Katie Kempter: She's #63 on the Symetra Tour money list this season.
19. Cathryn Bristow: She's #66 on the Symetra Tour money list in only 2 starts this season (a T5 in late June and a MC in Albany last week), but doing better there than on the LET, where she's #129 on their Order of Merit in 6 starts.
20. Misun Cho: She's #74 on the Symetra Tour money list in 6 starts this season.
21. Mallory Blackwelder: She's #92 on the Symetra Tour in 8 starts this season.
22. Tanya Dergal: She's #114 on the Symetra Tour money list in 9 starts this season.
23. Nannette Hill: She's #132 in 4 starts on the Symetra Tour this year.
24. Lisa Meldrum: She's missed the cut in her 3 starts on the Symetra Tour this season and hasn't teed it up since early May. I'm guessing she's hurt.
Missing in Action
25. Adrienne White: She's listed as a former player on the Symetra Tour and I can't find out anything else about her with a quick search.
26. Yoo Kyeong Kim: She lost her card in 2012 and isn't playing on the Symetra Tour this season, either. Even Seoul Sisters.com doesn't know what she's up to....
Over and Out
27. Whitney Wade: She was an assistant coach at Coastal Carolina in 2012 and was just named assistant coach at the University of Georgia in May 2013.
28. Jane Chin: Assistant golf coach at University of California, Irvine.
For your reference--and mine--here are the stats on which I'm basing the July 2013 ranking. See also the google spreadsheet I've created to compare the top players from all the rookie classes from 2006 to 2013.
2013 LPGA Money List (rank), scoring average (rank), birdies per round average (rank [in total birdies]), greens in regulation rate (rank): I focus on four key indicators of how well someone has been playing this season--how much money they've made, how they've scored, how many birdies they've averaged per round, and how many greens they've hit in regulation on average per round, plus how they rank in each category (except for birdies, which LPGA.com ranks by total and not by average). I figure I can figure out how well they're hitting their irons and putting by comparing the last three figures, so I don't include putts per green in regulation here. Some of the figures Hound Dog thinks are the most important I'm looking at in the career stats (below), where I think they belong. These stats are all about the present and future.
NAME/$$/SCORING AVE./BIRDIES PER ROUND/GREENS IN REGULATION
1. Beatriz Recari, $589.0K (#6), 70.745 (#12), 3.43 (#21), 70.5% (#25)
2. Ilhee Lee, $320.6K (#22), 72.600 (#73), 3.44 (#36), 64.4% (#98)
3. Gerina Piller, $252.2K (#31), 71.260 (#22), 3.56 (#18), 72.8% (#10)
4. Azahara Munoz, $166.2K (#44), 71.560 (#34), 3.50 (#21), 72.4% (#13)
5. Mina Harigae, $134.6K (#50), 71.980 (#47), 3.14 (#34), 65.9% (#71)
6. Mariajo Uribe, $127.8K (#103), 72.436 (#63), 3.41 (#54), 63.4% (#109)
7. Alison Walshe, $120.0K (#55), 71.522 (#32), 3.57 (#29), 65.7% (#79)
8. Dewi Claire Schreefel, $95.0K (#63), 72.381 (#61), 3.26 (#49), 65.1% (#90)
9. Paola Moreno, $74.2K (#74), 72.029 (#49), 3.06 (#82), 67.3% (#48)
10. Pernilla Lindberg, $63.9K (#81), 72.763 (#82), 3.05 (#69), 66.8% (#54)
11. Cindy LaCrosse, $45.0K (#93), 74.070 (#133), 2.56 (#71), 63.7% (#107)
12. Amanda Blumenherst, $42.9K (#95), 73.700 (#120), 2.87 (#102), 65.0% (#91)
13. Maria Hernandez, $0K (n.r.), 73.500 (n.r.), 2.00 (n.r.), 69.0% (n.r.)
Career LPGA Money List (rank), # of LPGA events started/majors/wins/top 3s/top 10s/top 20s/withdrawals/disqualifications/missed cuts/finished events (rate): About the only thing these stats are useful for is comparing people who entered the LPGA in the same year (although if you count generations by 3 years, it can be interesting). Between inflation, changing purses, and length/timing of careers, it's very hard to compare and contrast winnings across generations of LPGA greats. Fortunately the '10ers all started at the same time, so the career money list is a decent stat for comparing them, even if it's a bit unfair to players who have not been exempt every season (although that in itself is an indication of how someone's career has been going!). What would really be great is if we had a world money list in inflation-adjusted dollars, with inflation- and exchange-adjusted other cash denominations added in (or just totalled up separately to avoid comparing dollars and yen), which included all each golfer earned as a professional on any tour. But even the guys don't have that, so that'll have to remain a dream for now--although Thomas Atkins posted an inflation-adjusted LPGA Career Top 50 as of the end of the 2008 season and a Best of All Time ranking over at Hound Dog LPGA. In any case, I include the other ways of seeing how the '10ers finished relative to their competition in the tournaments they entered because they reveal a lot about how well someone is able to compete at every level, from just making cuts to grinding out top 20s and top 10s to contending for wins. Many thanks to the LPGA for updating their 2013 performance chart after every event!
NAME/$$/START/MAJOR/WIN/TOP3/TOP10/TOP20/WD/DQ/MC/FIN (RATE)
1. Azahara Munoz, $2.32M (#104), 86/0/1/6/16/37/0/0/14/72 (.837)
2. Beatriz Recari, $1.52M (#136), 82/0/2/3/15/28/0/0/15/67 (.817)
3. Ilhee Lee, $.80M (#230), 61/0/1/2/5/9/0/0/24/37 (.607)
4. Mina Harigae, $.72M (#242), 73/0/0/0/3/13/0/0/20/53 (.726)
5. Gerina Piller, $.61M (#258), 52/0/0/0/8/12/0/0/14/38 (.731)
6. Gwladys Nocera, $.61M (#260), 41/0/0/1/2/4/0/0/17/24 (.585)
7. Amanda Blumenherst, $.53M (#273), 78/0/0/0/4/10/0/0/30/48 (.615)
8. Mariajo Uribe, $.52M (#275), 62/0/0/0/3/11/1/0/24/37 (.597)
9. Alison Walshe, $.44M (#299), 56/0/0/0/2/9/0/0/21/35 (.625)
10. Cindy LaCrosse, $.41M (#304), 59/0/0/0/0/5/0/0/21/38 (.644)
11. Dewi Claire Schreefel, $.38M (#312), 48/0/0/0/0/8/0/0/12/36 (.750)
12. Pernilla Lindberg, $.29M (#352), 58/0/0/0/0/5/0/1/28/29 (.500)
13. Maria Hernandez, $.18M (#399), 34/0/0/0/0/1/0/0/21/13 (.382)
14. Paola Moreno, $.11M (#447), 33/0/0/0/0/1/1/0/17/15 (.455)
15. Jean Reynolds, $.08M (#495), 23/0/0/0/0/1/0/0/18/5 (.217)
16. Lisa Meldrum, $.05M (#532), 24/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/13/11 (.458)
17. Yoo Kyeong Kim, $.05M (#533), 26/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/20/6 (.231)
18. Misun Cho, $.04M (#566), 14/0/0/0/0/0/1/0/11/2 (.143)
19. Christine Song, $.04M (#571), 27/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/20/7 (.259)
20. Adrienne White, $.02M (#610), 10/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/4/6 (.600)
21. Marianne Skarpnord, $.02M (#613), 16/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/12/4 (.250)
22. Tanya Dergal, $.01M (#661), 23/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/18/5 (.217)
23. Katie Kempter, $7.3K (#681), 13/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/11/2 (.154)
24. Nannette Hill, $2.2K (#734), 4/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/3/1 (.250)
25. Whitney Wade, $0K (n.r.), 3/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/3/0 (.000)
26. Mallory Blackwelder, $0K (n.r.), 4/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/4/0 (.000)
27. Cathryn Bristow, $0K (n.a.), 0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0 (.000)
28. Jane Chin, $0K (n.a.), 0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0 (.000)
Other Career Measures: Rolex Rankings (as of 7/15/13) points and rank, Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index (as of 7/14/13) score and rank; International Wins (as of today): This is a way of seeing how those '10ers who sometimes or regularly or often compete on other tours stack up over the course of their careers to date (the RR includes results over the past 104 weeks on the LPGA, LET, JLPGA, KLPGA, and Futures Tour; the GSPI includes results over the past 52 weeks on all these tours except the KLPGA).
1. Azahara Munoz, 3.34 (#25), 70.82 (#33); 1
2. Beatriz Recari, 3.31 (#26), 69.86 (#14); 1
3. Ilhee Lee, 2.63 (#40), 71.80 (#73); 0
4. Gerina Piller, 2.01 (#57), 71.19 (#44); 0
5. Mina Harigae, 1.39 (#86), 71.96 (#86); 0
6. Alison Walshe, 1.31 (#90), 71.24 (#46); 0
7. Mariajo Uribe, 1.22 (#97), 72.23 (#100); 0
8. Dewi Claire Schreefel, 1.15 (#106), 71.61 (#61); 0
9. Gwladys Nocera, 1.04 (#119), 72.62 (#120); 11
10. Pernilla Lindberg, .94 (#131), 72.53 (#114); 0
11. Cindy LaCrosse, .77 (#163), 73.15 (#150); 0
12. Paola Moreno, .59 (#197), 72.96 (#137); 0
13. Amanda Blumenherst, .43 (#243), 73.90 (#198); 0
14. Marianne Skarpnord, .29 (#295), 74.67 (#262); 2
15. Christine Song, .13 (#400), 75.09 (#305); 0
16. Cathryn Bristow, .08 (#471), 77.29 (#423); 0
17. Misun Cho, .08 (#475), 74.69 (#266); 0
18. Maria Hernandez, .07 (#486), 74.50 (#245); 1
19. Tanya Dergal, .03 (#638), 76.67 (#403); 0
20. Jean Reynolds, .01 (#760), 74.73 (#240); 0
21. Katie Kempter, n.r., 76.34 (#348); 0
22. Nannette Hill, n.r., 77.32 (#425); 0
23. Mallory Blackwelder, n.r., 76.94 (n.r.); 0
24. Lisa Meldrum, n.r., 77.83 (n.r.); 0
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)