LPGA International Crown Watch: T-Minus 3 Weeks to Team Selection

The race for the LPGA's International Crown is heating up with only 3 weeks of golf left before the members of all 8 teams in it are established for 2014.  In a nutshell, you have to be in the top 4 in the last Rolex Rankings in March to make your country's team.  

Here are the teams with some more or less intense competition for their last spot(s), with each contender's rank and points from last week and this week listed in parentheses after her name.  Players whose positions changed have their names underlined.

Team Korea
Inbee Park (#1, 10.31--> #1, 10.28)
So Yeon Ryu (#5, 6.13--> #5, 6.05)
Na Yeon Choi (#9, 4.97--> #9, 4.85)
In-Kyung Kim (#12, 4.05--> #12, 3.96)
***
Ha Na Jang (#13, 3.97--> #13, 3.90)
Ji-Yai Shin (#17, 3.50--> #17, 3.48)
Amy Yang (#18, 3.48--> #18, 3.41)
Hee Young Park (#19, 3.45--> #19, 3.39)
Chella Choi (#23, 3.12--> #23, 3.07)

Team USA
Stacy Lewis (#3, 8.41--> #3, 8.25)
Paula Creamer (#8, 5.24--> #8, 5.16)
Lexi Thompson (#10, 4.54--> #10, 4.46)
Cristie Kerr (#14, 3.88-->) #14, 3.80
***
Angela Stanford (#16, 3.63--> #16, 3.57)
Lizette Salas (#20, 3.25--> #20, 3.20)
Jessica Korda (#27, 2.97--> #27, 2.86)
Morgan Pressel (#34, 2.44--> #36, 2.40)

Team Japan
Mika Miyazato (#25, 3.01--> #25, 2.91)
Ai Miyazato (#28, 2.77--> #28, 2.69)
Sakura Yokomine (#37, 2.33--> #37, 2.31)
Rikako Morita (#42, 2.22--> #39, 2.27)
***
Mamiko Higa (#51, 1.97--> #47, 2.04)
Shiho Oyama (#48, 2.01--> #48, 2.00)
Miki Saiki (#49, 2.01--> #49, 1.99)
Yumiko Yoshida (#53, 1.85--> #53, 1.83)
Chie Arimura (#76, 1.30--> #78, 1.26)

Team Thailand
Pornanong Phatlum (#33, 2.58--> #33, 2.54)
Ariya Jutanugarn (#36, 2.42--> #34, 2.56)
Moriya Jutanugarn (#79, 1.23--> #79, 1.22)
Onnarin Sattayabanphot (#145, .72--> #93, 1.04)
***
Thidapa Suwannapura (#98, 1.02--> #100, 1.01)
Nontaya Srisawang (#176, .58--> #176, .58)

Team Sweden
Anna Nordqvist (#15, 3.80--> #15, 3.75)
Caroline Hedwall (#22, 3.15--> #22, 3.09)
Pernilla Lindberg (#109, .92--> #109, .92)
Mikaela Parmlid (#154, .67--> #154, .67)
***
Camilla Lennarth (#194, .52--> #194, .52)
Linda Wessberg (#209, .47--> #209, .47)
Karin Sjodin (#230, .41--> #230, .41)

Team Australia
Karrie Webb (#6, 5.97--> #6, 5.88)
Katherine Kirk (#106, .96--> #111, .94)
Minjee Lee (#133, .76--> #112, .91)
Stacey Keating (#124, .84--> #129, .80)
***
Lindsey Wright (#127, .80--> #131, .78)
Rebecca Artis (#146, .72--> #147, .72)
Sarah Jane Smith (#151, .69--> #151, .69)
Nikki Campbell (#186, .55--> #186, .55)

As you can see, neither the World Ladies Championship on the LET nor Daikin Orchid Ladies on the JLPGA carried enough Rolex Rankings points to really help those already in the top 40 very much (Inbee Park lost points despite winning, I guess because the points she lost from a year ago outweighed her victory).  [Update (3/11/14): Thanks to sports medic for reminding me that the Rolex Rankings are a 2-year weighted average, with events in the last 13 weeks getting full points based on strength of field, while the rest of the weeks' events are progressively reduced in value until they disappear.  Park's runner-up from last year is thus worth about half what it was early last season.  What matters more with her is that she needs to keep winning to offset the reduced value of her many victories in the past 104 weeks!] So none of the top 3 teams saw their composition change because of Sunday's finishes.  That's a pretty big surprise to me, particularly for Team Korea.

But once you get outside the top 40, you start to see some serious movement.  Minjee Lee leaped from #5 to #3 and is poised to get to #2 for Team Australia.  With her win in Okinawa, Onnarin Sattayabanphot passed Thidapa Suwannapura for the last spot on Team Thailand.  Mamiko Higa leapfrogged Shiho Oyama and Miki Saiki to become the top challenger for the last spot on Team Japan.

With Ariya Jutanugarn, Stacey Keating, Nontaya Srisawang, Camilla Lennarth, and Linda Wessberg playing on the LET this week and the JLPGA playing its 2nd of 4 March events, as well--meaning that Ji-Yai Shin, Rikako Morita, Sakura Yokomine, Higa, Saiki, and Sattayabanphot will be in action (but not, it appears, Oyama)--the most likely moves we'll see this time next week will come for the teams for Korea, Japan, Sweden, and Australia, if they come at all.