The Symetra Tour heads back to Florida this week for the IOA Golf Classic, the 1st of 2 tournaments this month before its final 2 events in September. Lindy Duncan, who joined the tour after finishing out a great collegiate career at Duke, is 53rd on their money list in only 4 starts. She'll need to outdo former LPGA regulars like Birdie Kim (36th in 9 starts), Meaghan Francella, Alena Sharp (14th in 4 starts), Christine Song (15th in 10 starts), Lisa Ferrero (56th in 7 starts), and Jessica Shepley, not to mention those in the best position to end the season in the top 10 on the money list and thereby become Category 9 LPGA members in 2014:
1. P.K. Kongkraphan ($41.5K)
2. Sue Kim
3. Cydney Clanton
4. Jaclyn Sweeney
5. Marina Alex
6. Olivia Jordan-Higgins
7. Laura Kueny
8. Melissa Eaton
9. Kim Kaufman
10. Hannah Jun ($26K)
11. Marissa Steen
12. Wei-Ling Hsu
13. Guilia Molinaro
I expect the 10th-place bar to rise to over $35K before the season is out, as it was over $37K in 2012, almost $30K in 2011, around $39K in 2010, almost $31K in 2009, and almost $34K in 2008--and thus far this year there's no dominant player like Cindy LaCrosse in '10, Mina Harigae in '09, or Vicky Hurst in '08. In fact, only Kongkraphan has already crossed that mark this season. With so many players in the running for those last spots, top 3s and wins are at a even more of a premium than usual.
Me, I'm rooting for Mitsuki Katahira (20th in 8 starts), Kendall Dye (22nd in 10 starts), Hannah Yun (48th in 6 starts), Stephanie Kono (39th in 10 starts), Brianna Do (45th in 10 starts), Natalie Sheary (42nd in 11 starts), Candace Schepperle (33rd in 10 starts), and Frances Bondad (62nd in 7 starts) to get it in gear as the Symetra Tour tours the South.
When you consider that Team USA Solheim Cup members Lizette Salas and Gerina Piller, former Solheim Cupper Ryann O'Toole, and the likes of M.J. Hur, Jennifer Johnson, Haeji Kang, Chella Choi, Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Pornanong Phatlum, Mo Martin, Pernilla Lindberg, Alison Walshe, Dewi Claire Schreefel, Tiffany Joh, and Jennifer Song have risen through the ranks in recent years to become established LPGA players, it's worth paying attention to the Symetra Tour's home stretch in the next 8 weeks.
2 comments:
and Inbee Park played one season on the Symetra. She finished T5 here in Concord back in 2006.
Yeah, you go back further than 5 years and you see some huge names--Lorena started there, too!
Post a Comment