From one of the least likely winners in the JLPGA's season opener to two of the most familiar names on tour on top of the leaderboard at the Yokohama Tire PRGR Ladies Cup: what a difference a week makes!
Yuri Fudoh at -4, Mi-Jeong Jeon at -3, Yumiko Yoshida at -2, and Nana Akahori at -1 were the only golfers to break par at Tosa Country Club today, due to the combination of cold, wind, and rain that plagued most of the golfers in the field. Last week's winner Airi Saitoh ballooned to a 79 in the tough conditions, but she wasn't alone, as 16 golfers failed to break 80 and many stars were well over par, including Harukyo Nomura and Mayu Hattori at +2, Ritsuko Ryu, Kumiko Kaneda, and Tamie Durdin at +3, Shanshan Feng (who won last week on the LET), Ji-Hee Lee, and Yukari Baba at +4, Teresa Lu at +5, Rikako Morita at +6, Young Kim and Miki Saiki at +8, Nikki Campbell at +10, and Gloria Park at +11. Still, with Sakura Yokomine and Soo-Yun Kang only 4 shots behind Fudoh and Sun-Ju Ahn, Bo-Mee Lee, Hyun-Ju Shin, Shinobu Moromizato, Ayako Uehara, and Saiki Fujita among those 5 off the pace, the leaderboard is packed with big names.
Here's how it looks:
1st/-4 Yuri Fudoh (68)
2nd/-3 Mi-Jeong Jeon (69)
3rd/-2 Yumiko Yoshida (70)
4th/-1 Nana Akahori (71)
T5/E Sakura Yokomine, Soo-Yun Kang (72)
T7/+1 Sun-Ju Ahn, Bo-Mee Lee, Hyun-Ju Shin, Shinobu Moromizato, Ayako Uehara, Saiki Fujita, Akane Iijima, Hiromi Mogi, Esther Lee, Li-Ying Ye, Onnarin Sattayabanphot (73)
T22/+2 Harukyo Nomura, Mayu Hattori, Rui Kitada, Na-Ri Kim, Kaori Ohe, Erika Kikuchi (74)
T33/+3 Ritsuko Ryu, Kumiko Kaneda, Tamie Durdin, Na-Ri Lee, Yuki Ichinose, Aiko Kaneda (75)
T45/+4 Shanshan Feng, Ji-Hee Lee, Yukari Baba, So-Hee Kim, Satsuki Oshiro, Megumi Kido, Mina Nakayama, Natsuka Hori, Sae Yamamura (76)
T57/+5 Teresa Lu, Asako Fujimoto, Erina Hara, Misuzu Narita, Haruka Kudo, Da-Ye Na (77)
T70/+6 Rikako Morita, Kaori Aoyama, Maiko Wakabayashi, Miki Sakai, Kotono Kozuma, Porani Chutichai (78)
T80/+7 Ah-Reum Hwang, Airi Saitoh (79)
T89/+8 Young Kim, Miki Saiki, Eun-Bi Jang, Tao-Li Yang, Megumi Takahashi [a] (80)
T97/+9 Ming-Yen Chen (81)
T100/+10 Nikki Campbell, Lala Anai, Hsuan-Yu Yao (82)
T104/+11 Gloria Park (83)
WD Bo-Bae Song ("bad physical condition after 9 holes"), Erina Yamato ("right wrist pain after 13 holes")
On the bright side, Fudoh had the most birdies on the day with 5, Jeon had the only bogey-free round in the field, and Yokomine eagled the 296-yard par-4 11th. Among the horror stories were a triple on 18 by Shiho Toyonaga that erased her 3 birdies on the back and sent her to a 74, a double on the 18th by Nomura, a pair of triples by Sakai, 9 bogeys and a double by long-absent-from-international-competition Gloria Park, and a bogey-bogey-triple finish by amateur Megumi Takahashi.
Let's hope the weather is better for the weekend!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Song-Hee Kim Out of RR Donnelley Founders Cup
Song-Hee Kim, who withdrew last week in the middle of the third round of the HSBC Women's Champions, is out of the RR Donnelley Founders Cup.
Song-Hee has been struggling mightily with her game this year. She ranks 98th with a 77.57 per round average. Let us hope that she is just taking time off to straighten out her game, and it is not an injury.
Will update if I find out more.
Song-Hee has been struggling mightily with her game this year. She ranks 98th with a 77.57 per round average. Let us hope that she is just taking time off to straighten out her game, and it is not an injury.
Will update if I find out more.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Future Hall of Famers?
As we wait another week for the tour to resume, let's have a little fun.
I think everyone would agree that the talent on the LPGA tour is deeper than anytime in its history. I think there are numerous reasons why that is so.
First, I think the ladies are starting out younger. I also think they are certainly much stronger. That said, I think the influx of international players is the key reason this tour has so much depth. In 2012 the LPGA roster has 128 international players from 27 different countries. South Korea alone has 42 players. They are followed by Sweden (13), Canada (10), Australia (8), Japan and Spain (6). With each tournament played, the LPGA puts on display the brightest stars from all over the world.
What I want to try to answer today is:
Who are the absolute best players?
Who have hit their peaks?
Do we have any future Hall of Famers?
That is what I would like to focus on now, the Hall of Fame.
First, let's look at the requirements:
1- Must have 10 years of service on the LPGA tour.
2- Must have won or been rewarded one of the following: an LPGA major championship, the Vare Trophy (lowest strokes per round average), or Rolex Player of the Year honors.
3- Must have accumulated 27 points, which are awarded as follows - 1 point for each LPGA official tournament win, One extra point if the win was a major championship, and one point for each Vare Trophy or Player of the Year honor earned.
Now let's look at the players still playing regularly, who have already met those requirements.
Karrie Webb - 49 points (37 wins, 7 majors, 3 Vare, 2 POY).
Juli Inkster - 38 points (31 wins, 7 majors, 0 Vare, 0 POY).
Se Ri Pak - 31 points (25 wins, 5 majors, 1 Vare, 0 POY).
That is a very short list. I want to mention that Lorena Ochoa has accumulated more than enough points (37), but retired before putting in the 10 years. I am sure the powers at be will vote her in, in the very near future.
Now for the fun part: I am going to play odds maker and try to handicap 16 of the current star players on tour that I think have any chance of qualifying some day.
The Sure Shot
1- Yani Tseng (13 wins, 5 majors, 1 Vare, 2 POY) Odds 1-5
I used to argue that 27 points was too hard to achieve. I thought it should be lowered. Yani threw that argument out the window, when she accumulated 11 points last year alone. At the age of 23, Yani already has 21 points. Open up the doors, Yani is taking the fast track.
Well On Their Way
2- Jiyai Shin - (8 wins, 1 major) Odds 2-1
2010 was an off year, by her high standards. She has looked very good so far this year. We tend to forget she is still only 23. Already a major winner, look for Jiyai to be amongst the best for years to come.
3- Paula Creamer - (9 wins, 1 major) Odds 11-5
Wrist surgery delayed her climb a bit, but she fulfilled the major championship requirement by winning the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 2010. She proved herself healthy last year with 4 top 3 finishes. Still very young at 25 years old, Pauls is well on her way with 10 points.
4- Ai Miyazato - ( 7 wins, 0 majors) Odds 13-5
I think she is certainly as good as the two players I ranked above her. I have to rank her lower though, because she is older than both of them and has less points. The other blemish on her record (compared to Creamer and Shin), is that she has yet to win a major. I think that major is coming soon. She will need a couple of more years like 2010, which she is surely capable of.
5- Na Yeon Choi (5 wins, 0 majors, 1 Vare) Odds 3-1
To get into the Hall of Fame, she is going to have to turn more of those top 10's into victories. Won the Vare trophy in 2010, so we know she has the talent. Her Sunday rounds seem to lack confidence. At 24 years old, I see lots of wins in her future.
Running Out of Time
6- Cristie Kerr (14 wins, 2 majors) Odds 4-1
Several times she has come so close to winning the Vare Trophy and Player of the Year award, but has never won either. That may cost her dearly. She has accumulated 16 points, but at age 34 and 11 points short, it will be an uphill battle. Generally considered the best putter on tour, she will have to maintain that status to have any chance.
7- Laura Davies (20 wins, 4 majors, 1 POY) Odds 5-1
She belongs in the Hall of Fame. I think I read somewhere, where she has won another 50 tournaments overseas. Unfortunately she is still 2 points short. At age 48, chances are she isn't going to win again on the LPGA. She hasn't been on the leader board in quite some time, but stranger things have happened. Like Lorena, she will be voted in someday.
8- Suzann Pettersen (8 wins, 1 major) Odds 6-1
Why is it that when I think of the elite players on the tour, I always think of her very quickly? Why is she in this category? Because even though she is in her prime at age 31, she is running out of time. Unbelievably, she only has accumulated 9 points in her career. When I looked it up, I thought surely that had to be a mistake. It wasn't. She needs to start winning quickly. Two wins last year give her some hope.
They Need to Show Us More
9- I.K. Kim (3 wins, 0 majors) Odds 8-1
I am not sure yet how big a star she will be. Like Na Yeon Choi, she has to turn some of her many top 10's into wins. Seems to disappear on Sundays. At 23 years old she certainly has time on her side.
10- Brittany Lincicome (5 wins, 1 major) Odds 8-1
Brittany finally lived up to expectations in 2011 by winning twice. Nicknamed "Bam Bam" for her long hitting abilities, Brittany is still young enough at 26 to win regularly for years to come. Whether she will stay on the tour long enough is another question. Rumor has it she will only play another couple of years and then retire to her boat and fish. If she plays longer than that, she could beat these odds.
11- Stacy Lewis (1 win, 1 major) Odds 10-1
We knew when she came out of college that she had the potential to be a big star. She finally started living up to her potential last year, when she made her first victory a major. She seems to be in contention to win almost every week. A very emotional player, that seems to be her downfall. She has the tendency to turn bogies into triple bogeys with regularity. One bad hole leads to several bad holes. Stacy is one of those players who could step up and challenge Yani. Until she gets those emotions in check, it's not going to happen.
12- Michelle Wie (2 wins, 0 majors) Odds 10-1
Sometimes I wonder why I continue to put her on this list. The word "underachiever" is surely tossed around whenever discussing her. She has not won since 2010 and her short game is nothing short of a disaster. She seems to be going in the wrong direction. I am still going to give her the benefit of doubt, one more time. She will be graduating any time now, so sharing time with studies will no longer be an excuse. Still, if she ever puts it together, she could move up quickly. Her talent has never been questioned, but does she have the desire? Still only 22, I think this year will tell us alot.
13- Hee Kyung Seo (1 win, 0 majors) )Odds 15-1
A very talented and charismatic lady. The only reason I don't rank her higher is that she started on the LPGA very late, by today's standards. At 25, many of the girls listed above have many more points at a younger age. Hall or fame or not, she will be interesting to watch for years to come.
Okay, those are the players I think have at least a reasonable chance of qualifying for the Hall of Fame. Now I'm going to push this just a little bit further. The LPGA has 3 players who still are "babies" on the tour, but I think that they are so exceptionally talented that I have to put them on this list. Yes I know it's a bit premature, but since this is for fun, I'm going to do it anyway.
The Super Stars of the Future
1- Lexi Thompson (1 win) Odds 5-1
Has their ever been a golfer of any gender, this good, this young? Last year at 16, she won on both the LPGA and LET tours. The sky's the limit.
2- So Yeon Ryu (1 win, 1 major) Odds 6-1
Want to get yourself noticed? Try winning as a non LPGA member, and make that win the U.S. Open. That is what Seo Yeon did last year. Already got into a playoff in one of the 2 tournaments she has played this year in her rookie season. Now if I can only stop mixing her up with Hee Kyeong Seo. At 21, she is going to be a superstar.
3- Jessica Korda (1 win) Odds 12-1
Did not have a very good rookie year last year. She made us all forget that by winning the Australian Open in her only appearance so far this year. Was it a fluke? I don't think so. Greatness is in her bloodline. At 18 years young, more wins will follow.
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I think everyone would agree that the talent on the LPGA tour is deeper than anytime in its history. I think there are numerous reasons why that is so.
First, I think the ladies are starting out younger. I also think they are certainly much stronger. That said, I think the influx of international players is the key reason this tour has so much depth. In 2012 the LPGA roster has 128 international players from 27 different countries. South Korea alone has 42 players. They are followed by Sweden (13), Canada (10), Australia (8), Japan and Spain (6). With each tournament played, the LPGA puts on display the brightest stars from all over the world.
What I want to try to answer today is:
Who are the absolute best players?
Who have hit their peaks?
Do we have any future Hall of Famers?
That is what I would like to focus on now, the Hall of Fame.
First, let's look at the requirements:
1- Must have 10 years of service on the LPGA tour.
2- Must have won or been rewarded one of the following: an LPGA major championship, the Vare Trophy (lowest strokes per round average), or Rolex Player of the Year honors.
3- Must have accumulated 27 points, which are awarded as follows - 1 point for each LPGA official tournament win, One extra point if the win was a major championship, and one point for each Vare Trophy or Player of the Year honor earned.
Now let's look at the players still playing regularly, who have already met those requirements.
Karrie Webb - 49 points (37 wins, 7 majors, 3 Vare, 2 POY).
Juli Inkster - 38 points (31 wins, 7 majors, 0 Vare, 0 POY).
Se Ri Pak - 31 points (25 wins, 5 majors, 1 Vare, 0 POY).
That is a very short list. I want to mention that Lorena Ochoa has accumulated more than enough points (37), but retired before putting in the 10 years. I am sure the powers at be will vote her in, in the very near future.
Now for the fun part: I am going to play odds maker and try to handicap 16 of the current star players on tour that I think have any chance of qualifying some day.
The Sure Shot
1- Yani Tseng (13 wins, 5 majors, 1 Vare, 2 POY) Odds 1-5
I used to argue that 27 points was too hard to achieve. I thought it should be lowered. Yani threw that argument out the window, when she accumulated 11 points last year alone. At the age of 23, Yani already has 21 points. Open up the doors, Yani is taking the fast track.
Well On Their Way
2- Jiyai Shin - (8 wins, 1 major) Odds 2-1
2010 was an off year, by her high standards. She has looked very good so far this year. We tend to forget she is still only 23. Already a major winner, look for Jiyai to be amongst the best for years to come.
3- Paula Creamer - (9 wins, 1 major) Odds 11-5
Wrist surgery delayed her climb a bit, but she fulfilled the major championship requirement by winning the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 2010. She proved herself healthy last year with 4 top 3 finishes. Still very young at 25 years old, Pauls is well on her way with 10 points.
4- Ai Miyazato - ( 7 wins, 0 majors) Odds 13-5
I think she is certainly as good as the two players I ranked above her. I have to rank her lower though, because she is older than both of them and has less points. The other blemish on her record (compared to Creamer and Shin), is that she has yet to win a major. I think that major is coming soon. She will need a couple of more years like 2010, which she is surely capable of.
5- Na Yeon Choi (5 wins, 0 majors, 1 Vare) Odds 3-1
To get into the Hall of Fame, she is going to have to turn more of those top 10's into victories. Won the Vare trophy in 2010, so we know she has the talent. Her Sunday rounds seem to lack confidence. At 24 years old, I see lots of wins in her future.
Running Out of Time
6- Cristie Kerr (14 wins, 2 majors) Odds 4-1
Several times she has come so close to winning the Vare Trophy and Player of the Year award, but has never won either. That may cost her dearly. She has accumulated 16 points, but at age 34 and 11 points short, it will be an uphill battle. Generally considered the best putter on tour, she will have to maintain that status to have any chance.
7- Laura Davies (20 wins, 4 majors, 1 POY) Odds 5-1
She belongs in the Hall of Fame. I think I read somewhere, where she has won another 50 tournaments overseas. Unfortunately she is still 2 points short. At age 48, chances are she isn't going to win again on the LPGA. She hasn't been on the leader board in quite some time, but stranger things have happened. Like Lorena, she will be voted in someday.
8- Suzann Pettersen (8 wins, 1 major) Odds 6-1
Why is it that when I think of the elite players on the tour, I always think of her very quickly? Why is she in this category? Because even though she is in her prime at age 31, she is running out of time. Unbelievably, she only has accumulated 9 points in her career. When I looked it up, I thought surely that had to be a mistake. It wasn't. She needs to start winning quickly. Two wins last year give her some hope.
They Need to Show Us More
9- I.K. Kim (3 wins, 0 majors) Odds 8-1
I am not sure yet how big a star she will be. Like Na Yeon Choi, she has to turn some of her many top 10's into wins. Seems to disappear on Sundays. At 23 years old she certainly has time on her side.
10- Brittany Lincicome (5 wins, 1 major) Odds 8-1
Brittany finally lived up to expectations in 2011 by winning twice. Nicknamed "Bam Bam" for her long hitting abilities, Brittany is still young enough at 26 to win regularly for years to come. Whether she will stay on the tour long enough is another question. Rumor has it she will only play another couple of years and then retire to her boat and fish. If she plays longer than that, she could beat these odds.
11- Stacy Lewis (1 win, 1 major) Odds 10-1
We knew when she came out of college that she had the potential to be a big star. She finally started living up to her potential last year, when she made her first victory a major. She seems to be in contention to win almost every week. A very emotional player, that seems to be her downfall. She has the tendency to turn bogies into triple bogeys with regularity. One bad hole leads to several bad holes. Stacy is one of those players who could step up and challenge Yani. Until she gets those emotions in check, it's not going to happen.
12- Michelle Wie (2 wins, 0 majors) Odds 10-1
Sometimes I wonder why I continue to put her on this list. The word "underachiever" is surely tossed around whenever discussing her. She has not won since 2010 and her short game is nothing short of a disaster. She seems to be going in the wrong direction. I am still going to give her the benefit of doubt, one more time. She will be graduating any time now, so sharing time with studies will no longer be an excuse. Still, if she ever puts it together, she could move up quickly. Her talent has never been questioned, but does she have the desire? Still only 22, I think this year will tell us alot.
13- Hee Kyung Seo (1 win, 0 majors) )Odds 15-1
A very talented and charismatic lady. The only reason I don't rank her higher is that she started on the LPGA very late, by today's standards. At 25, many of the girls listed above have many more points at a younger age. Hall or fame or not, she will be interesting to watch for years to come.
Okay, those are the players I think have at least a reasonable chance of qualifying for the Hall of Fame. Now I'm going to push this just a little bit further. The LPGA has 3 players who still are "babies" on the tour, but I think that they are so exceptionally talented that I have to put them on this list. Yes I know it's a bit premature, but since this is for fun, I'm going to do it anyway.
The Super Stars of the Future
1- Lexi Thompson (1 win) Odds 5-1
Has their ever been a golfer of any gender, this good, this young? Last year at 16, she won on both the LPGA and LET tours. The sky's the limit.
2- So Yeon Ryu (1 win, 1 major) Odds 6-1
Want to get yourself noticed? Try winning as a non LPGA member, and make that win the U.S. Open. That is what Seo Yeon did last year. Already got into a playoff in one of the 2 tournaments she has played this year in her rookie season. Now if I can only stop mixing her up with Hee Kyeong Seo. At 21, she is going to be a superstar.
3- Jessica Korda (1 win) Odds 12-1
Did not have a very good rookie year last year. She made us all forget that by winning the Australian Open in her only appearance so far this year. Was it a fluke? I don't think so. Greatness is in her bloodline. At 18 years young, more wins will follow.
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Sunday, March 4, 2012
Daikin Orchid Ladies Saturday and Sunday: Airi Saitoh Wins JLPGA Season Opener in 3-Way Playoff
It's not so often a complete unknown contends on the JLPGA, much less wins a 3-way playoff against much more accomplished players after giving away a 2-shot overnight lead in the Daikin Orchid Ladies with a double bogey to start her Sunday and giving away another 2-shot lead with 2 holes to go to end it with back-to-back bogeys. But that's just what 22-year-old Airi Saitoh did today at Ryukyu Country Club in Okinawa.
Saitoh twice graduated from the JLPGA's developmental tour, the Step-Up Tour, to play 3 JLPGA events in 2010 and 4 in 2011, but never finished under par in a single round and never cracked the top 30. So what was she doing shooting a 30 on the back on moving day to nail down a bogey-free 64 and leave the likes of Inbee Park and Yukari Baba in the dust? What was she doing bouncing back from her opening blunder on Sunday with 15 holes of bogey-free golf punctuated by 4 birdies, just as playing partner Inbee Park was going 11 holes before she made her 1st (and only) birdie of the day? What was she doing as former-wunderkind-turned-comeback-kid Yuko Mitsuka was dropping a 7-birdie 66 on her from way back in the pack to become the 1st player in the field to stay at double digits under par for the week? Only getting back to -10 with her 2nd birdie of the day, on the 515-yard par-5 7th, and continuing to extend her new bogey-free run as she made the turn. What was she doing as Ji-Hee Lee made her 5th birdie on the back alone on the long par-3 16th to get to -11? Just birdieing the 507-yard par-5 11th and 159-yard par-3 13th to retake the lead. What was she doing hanging on to get into the playoff as fellow youngster and playing partner Erika Kikuchi suffered a final-9 38 to miss it by a shot? And what was she doing winning the playoff against 4-time-winner Mitsuka and 15-time-winner Lee? Just by matching Mitsuka's opening playoff birdie and benefitting from a missed par save by Mitsuka on the 2nd playoff hole!
Now the only question that remains for me is whether the 22-year-old 1st-time winner is related in any way to JLPGA veteran Yuko Saitoh, who's, er, old enough to be her mother (but is not). While we all ponder that question, here are the top 10 and notables' scores!
1st/-10 Airi Saitoh (70-64-72) [won in playoff]
T2/-10 Yuko Mitsuka (73-68-66), Ji-Hee Lee (71-67-67)
4/-9 Erika Kikuchi (70-67-70)
T5/-8 Mi-Jeong Jeon (70-73-65), Sakura Yokomine (71-69-68), Akane Iijima (73-65-70), Rui Kitada (69-69-70)
T9/-7 Mayu Hattori (71-71-67), Rikako Morita (74-67-68), Bo-Mee Lee (70-72-68)
T12/-6 Soo-Yun Kang (71-73-66), Miki Saiki (72-68-70), Megumi Kido (70-70-70), Yukari Baba (68-69-73)
T16/-5 Teresa Lu (72-70-69), Da-Ye Na (71-70-70), Inbee Park (69-67-75), Mamiko Higa [a] (72-67-72), Shinobu Moromizato (68-71-72)
T23/-4 Yuri Fudoh (73-71-68), Yuki Ichinose (72-71-69), Harukyo Nomura (74-68-70), So-Hee Kim (68-74-70)
T29/-3 Na-Ri Kim (68-75-70), Yui Kawahara (68-73-72)
T31/-2 Momoko Ueda (71-73-70), Asako Fujimoto (74-69-71), Miki Uehara (72-71-71), Onnarin Sattayabanphot (68-73-73), Kaori Aoyama (69-73-74)
T36/-1 Young Kim (74-70-71), Esther Lee (74-69-72), Saiki Fujita (71-71-73)
T40/E Ritsuko Ryu (74-70-72), Hsuan-Yu Yao (70-72-74), Bo-Bae Song (69-72-75)
T46/+1 Ayako Uehara (72-71-74), Nikki Campbell (70-74-73), Mina Nakayama (72-72-73)
49th/+2 Yumiko Yoshida (70-73-75)
T52/+5 Ji-Woo Lee (73-71-77)
MC: Sun-Ju Ahn, Mika Miyazato, Hyun-Ju Shin, Hiromi Mogi, Kumiko Kaneda, Maiko Wakabayashi, Na-Ri Lee, Erina Hara, Ah-Reum Hwang, Kaori Ohe, Hiromi Takesue, Lala Anai, Asuka Tsujimura, Porani Chutichai, Sakurako Mori, Satsuki Oshiro, Aiko Kaneda, Ayaka Kaneda, Ming-Yen Chen, Mizusu Narita, Sae Yamamura, Kotono Kozuma, Minami Oshiro [a], Chiharu Oshiro [a]
You needed to be at least E to be playing on Sunday and amazingly Sun-Ju Ahn, the JLPGA money-list leader for the last 2 years and 6th-ranked player in the world of women's golf, found herself on the wrong side of the cut line. At least she was in good company! But now she has some catch-up to play on the leaders of the 2012 JLPGA money list:
1. Airi Saitoh ￥14.4M
2. Ji-Hee Lee, Yuko Mitsuka ￥6.32
4. Erika Kikuchi ￥4.8M
5. Sakura Yokomine, Mi-Jeong Jeon, Akane Iijima, Rui Kitada ￥3.10M
9. Bo-Mee Lee, Mayu Hattori, Rikako Morita ￥1.70M
Next up is the Yokohama Tire PRGR Ladies Cup, which Yun-Jye Wei will defend, fresh off a final-round disaster in the LET's World Nations Cup in Hainan, China, which Shanshan Feng won. Feng will be trying to make it 2 worldwide wins in a row next week in Yokohama. Stay tuned!
Saitoh twice graduated from the JLPGA's developmental tour, the Step-Up Tour, to play 3 JLPGA events in 2010 and 4 in 2011, but never finished under par in a single round and never cracked the top 30. So what was she doing shooting a 30 on the back on moving day to nail down a bogey-free 64 and leave the likes of Inbee Park and Yukari Baba in the dust? What was she doing bouncing back from her opening blunder on Sunday with 15 holes of bogey-free golf punctuated by 4 birdies, just as playing partner Inbee Park was going 11 holes before she made her 1st (and only) birdie of the day? What was she doing as former-wunderkind-turned-comeback-kid Yuko Mitsuka was dropping a 7-birdie 66 on her from way back in the pack to become the 1st player in the field to stay at double digits under par for the week? Only getting back to -10 with her 2nd birdie of the day, on the 515-yard par-5 7th, and continuing to extend her new bogey-free run as she made the turn. What was she doing as Ji-Hee Lee made her 5th birdie on the back alone on the long par-3 16th to get to -11? Just birdieing the 507-yard par-5 11th and 159-yard par-3 13th to retake the lead. What was she doing hanging on to get into the playoff as fellow youngster and playing partner Erika Kikuchi suffered a final-9 38 to miss it by a shot? And what was she doing winning the playoff against 4-time-winner Mitsuka and 15-time-winner Lee? Just by matching Mitsuka's opening playoff birdie and benefitting from a missed par save by Mitsuka on the 2nd playoff hole!
Now the only question that remains for me is whether the 22-year-old 1st-time winner is related in any way to JLPGA veteran Yuko Saitoh, who's, er, old enough to be her mother (but is not). While we all ponder that question, here are the top 10 and notables' scores!
1st/-10 Airi Saitoh (70-64-72) [won in playoff]
T2/-10 Yuko Mitsuka (73-68-66), Ji-Hee Lee (71-67-67)
4/-9 Erika Kikuchi (70-67-70)
T5/-8 Mi-Jeong Jeon (70-73-65), Sakura Yokomine (71-69-68), Akane Iijima (73-65-70), Rui Kitada (69-69-70)
T9/-7 Mayu Hattori (71-71-67), Rikako Morita (74-67-68), Bo-Mee Lee (70-72-68)
T12/-6 Soo-Yun Kang (71-73-66), Miki Saiki (72-68-70), Megumi Kido (70-70-70), Yukari Baba (68-69-73)
T16/-5 Teresa Lu (72-70-69), Da-Ye Na (71-70-70), Inbee Park (69-67-75), Mamiko Higa [a] (72-67-72), Shinobu Moromizato (68-71-72)
T23/-4 Yuri Fudoh (73-71-68), Yuki Ichinose (72-71-69), Harukyo Nomura (74-68-70), So-Hee Kim (68-74-70)
T29/-3 Na-Ri Kim (68-75-70), Yui Kawahara (68-73-72)
T31/-2 Momoko Ueda (71-73-70), Asako Fujimoto (74-69-71), Miki Uehara (72-71-71), Onnarin Sattayabanphot (68-73-73), Kaori Aoyama (69-73-74)
T36/-1 Young Kim (74-70-71), Esther Lee (74-69-72), Saiki Fujita (71-71-73)
T40/E Ritsuko Ryu (74-70-72), Hsuan-Yu Yao (70-72-74), Bo-Bae Song (69-72-75)
T46/+1 Ayako Uehara (72-71-74), Nikki Campbell (70-74-73), Mina Nakayama (72-72-73)
49th/+2 Yumiko Yoshida (70-73-75)
T52/+5 Ji-Woo Lee (73-71-77)
MC: Sun-Ju Ahn, Mika Miyazato, Hyun-Ju Shin, Hiromi Mogi, Kumiko Kaneda, Maiko Wakabayashi, Na-Ri Lee, Erina Hara, Ah-Reum Hwang, Kaori Ohe, Hiromi Takesue, Lala Anai, Asuka Tsujimura, Porani Chutichai, Sakurako Mori, Satsuki Oshiro, Aiko Kaneda, Ayaka Kaneda, Ming-Yen Chen, Mizusu Narita, Sae Yamamura, Kotono Kozuma, Minami Oshiro [a], Chiharu Oshiro [a]
You needed to be at least E to be playing on Sunday and amazingly Sun-Ju Ahn, the JLPGA money-list leader for the last 2 years and 6th-ranked player in the world of women's golf, found herself on the wrong side of the cut line. At least she was in good company! But now she has some catch-up to play on the leaders of the 2012 JLPGA money list:
1. Airi Saitoh ￥14.4M
2. Ji-Hee Lee, Yuko Mitsuka ￥6.32
4. Erika Kikuchi ￥4.8M
5. Sakura Yokomine, Mi-Jeong Jeon, Akane Iijima, Rui Kitada ￥3.10M
9. Bo-Mee Lee, Mayu Hattori, Rikako Morita ￥1.70M
Next up is the Yokohama Tire PRGR Ladies Cup, which Yun-Jye Wei will defend, fresh off a final-round disaster in the LET's World Nations Cup in Hainan, China, which Shanshan Feng won. Feng will be trying to make it 2 worldwide wins in a row next week in Yokohama. Stay tuned!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Daikin Orchid Ladies Friday: Logjam at the Top after Ji-Yai Shin Withdraws
Yukari Baba, Shinobu Moromizato, Na-Ri Kim, So-Hee Kim, Onnarin Sattayabanphot, and Yui Kawahara are your co-leaders at -4 after the 1st round of the JLPGA's season opener, the Daikin Orchid Ladies, but the biggest story coming out of Okinawa today is that Ji-Yai Shin had to withdraw after 8 holes due to wrist pain.
There are still plenty of big international names in the hunt, such as Inbee Park at -3, Mi-Jeong Jeon and Bo-Mee Lee at -2, Sakura Yokomine, Ji-Hee Lee, and Momoko Ueda at -1, Sun-Ju Ahn, Miki Saiki, and Teresa Lu at E, and Yuri Fudoh, Mika Miyazato, and Yuko Mitsuka at +1, but the loss of the #7 player in the Rolex Rankings threatens to overshadow the action on the course. Baba, Sattayabanphot, So-Hee Kim, Bo-Bae Song, Jeon, and Yuko Saitoh were the only players to make their way around Ryukyu Golf Club without a bogey, while Kaori Aoyama made the most birdies (8, but she's not leading because she had fewer pars than bogeys on the day!).
Here's a quick run-down of the scores from the top 10 and notables:
T1/-4 Yukari Baba, Shinobu Moromizato, Na-Ri Kim, So-Hee Kim, Onnarin Sattayabanphot, and Yui Kawahara (68)
T7/-3 Inbee Park, Bo-Bae Song, Rui Kitada, Kaori Aoyama (69)
T11/-2 Mi-Jeong Jeon, Bo-Mee Lee, Hiromi Mogi, Kumiko Kaneda, Yumiko Yoshida, Erika Kikuchi, Megumi Kido, Mizusu Narita, Hsuan-Yu Yao (70)
T25/-1 Sakura Yokomine, Ji-Hee Lee, Momoko Ueda, Soo-Yun Kang, Saiki Fujita, Mayu Hattori, Nikki Campbell, Kaori Ohe, Da-Ye Na (71)
T37/E Sun-Ju Ahn, Miki Saiki, Teresa Lu, Ayako Uehara, Hyun-Ju Shin, Na-Ri Lee, Yuki Ichinose, Mina Nakayama, Miki Uehara, Sae Yamamura, Mamiko Higa [a] (72)
T53/+1 Yuri Fudoh, Mika Miyazato, Yuko Mitsuka, Akane Iijima, Ji-Woo Lee, Kotono Kozuma (73)
T64/+2 Young Kim, Harukyo Nomura, Rikako Morita, Ritsuko Ryu, Asako Fujimoto, Esther Lee, Lala Anai, Asuka Tsujimura, Aiko Kaneda, Ming-Yen Chen, Minami Oshiro [a], Chiharu Oshiro [a] (74)
T84/+3 Erina Hara, Ah-Reum Hwang (75)
T88/+4 Porani Chutichai, Ayaka Kaneda (76)
T97/+5 Satsuki Oshiro (77)
T101/+6 Hiromi Takesue, Sakurako Mori (78)
T103/+7 Maiko Wakabayashi (79)
That's a lot of Kanedas and Oshiros in the field. Wonder if they're related to each other?
Notable by their absence were Ai Miyazato (#9 in the latest Rolex Rankings), Shanshan Feng (#12), Chie Arimura (#15), Shiho Oyama (#36), Li-Ying Ye (#88), Tamie Durdin (#133), Mie Nakata (#143), Yun-Jye Wei (#236), Mika Takushima (#252), and Tao-Li Yang (#406). Feng and Yi are rocking the LET's World Ladies Championship, at -6 and -4 respectively after the 1st round, while Wei shot a solid 72 and Yang struggled to a 75 there. But it appears that Miyazato, Arimura, and Oyama will be delaying their JLPGA debuts. Google translate isn't really helping me understand Arimura's latest blog post, but my best guess is that she doesn't feel that she's completed her off-season training (plus she may be dealing with nagging injuries and a little burnout). Although she looked great with Miyazato, Ahn, and Saiki in the latest Tour Stage commercial, it doesn't look like she's entered in next week's event, either, so I'm wondering what's up with her. Oyama's blog is similarly difficult to translate, but it's possible she or someone from her team may simply have forgotten to submit an entry form...? Since she's not entered in next week's Yokohama Tire PRGR Ladies Cup, either, there may be more to the story, however. Miyazato was never planning to enter the JLPGA season opener, but she just revealed on her blog that she had a high fever the night before the final round of the HSBC Women's Champions. Although she felt better in the morning and was able to play well, she had a relapse--complete with fever, chills, and low blood pressure--soon after it. Either because of her illness or in reaction to her medication, she even fainted in her hotel bathroom the day she was supposed to fly to Los Angeles! She did eventually make it back there and is glad to have some time to rest before the LPGA starts up again.
What Shin and Miyazato are going through shows just how tough the life of a world-class professional golfer can be. Best wishes for quick recoveries to both!
There are still plenty of big international names in the hunt, such as Inbee Park at -3, Mi-Jeong Jeon and Bo-Mee Lee at -2, Sakura Yokomine, Ji-Hee Lee, and Momoko Ueda at -1, Sun-Ju Ahn, Miki Saiki, and Teresa Lu at E, and Yuri Fudoh, Mika Miyazato, and Yuko Mitsuka at +1, but the loss of the #7 player in the Rolex Rankings threatens to overshadow the action on the course. Baba, Sattayabanphot, So-Hee Kim, Bo-Bae Song, Jeon, and Yuko Saitoh were the only players to make their way around Ryukyu Golf Club without a bogey, while Kaori Aoyama made the most birdies (8, but she's not leading because she had fewer pars than bogeys on the day!).
Here's a quick run-down of the scores from the top 10 and notables:
T1/-4 Yukari Baba, Shinobu Moromizato, Na-Ri Kim, So-Hee Kim, Onnarin Sattayabanphot, and Yui Kawahara (68)
T7/-3 Inbee Park, Bo-Bae Song, Rui Kitada, Kaori Aoyama (69)
T11/-2 Mi-Jeong Jeon, Bo-Mee Lee, Hiromi Mogi, Kumiko Kaneda, Yumiko Yoshida, Erika Kikuchi, Megumi Kido, Mizusu Narita, Hsuan-Yu Yao (70)
T25/-1 Sakura Yokomine, Ji-Hee Lee, Momoko Ueda, Soo-Yun Kang, Saiki Fujita, Mayu Hattori, Nikki Campbell, Kaori Ohe, Da-Ye Na (71)
T37/E Sun-Ju Ahn, Miki Saiki, Teresa Lu, Ayako Uehara, Hyun-Ju Shin, Na-Ri Lee, Yuki Ichinose, Mina Nakayama, Miki Uehara, Sae Yamamura, Mamiko Higa [a] (72)
T53/+1 Yuri Fudoh, Mika Miyazato, Yuko Mitsuka, Akane Iijima, Ji-Woo Lee, Kotono Kozuma (73)
T64/+2 Young Kim, Harukyo Nomura, Rikako Morita, Ritsuko Ryu, Asako Fujimoto, Esther Lee, Lala Anai, Asuka Tsujimura, Aiko Kaneda, Ming-Yen Chen, Minami Oshiro [a], Chiharu Oshiro [a] (74)
T84/+3 Erina Hara, Ah-Reum Hwang (75)
T88/+4 Porani Chutichai, Ayaka Kaneda (76)
T97/+5 Satsuki Oshiro (77)
T101/+6 Hiromi Takesue, Sakurako Mori (78)
T103/+7 Maiko Wakabayashi (79)
That's a lot of Kanedas and Oshiros in the field. Wonder if they're related to each other?
Notable by their absence were Ai Miyazato (#9 in the latest Rolex Rankings), Shanshan Feng (#12), Chie Arimura (#15), Shiho Oyama (#36), Li-Ying Ye (#88), Tamie Durdin (#133), Mie Nakata (#143), Yun-Jye Wei (#236), Mika Takushima (#252), and Tao-Li Yang (#406). Feng and Yi are rocking the LET's World Ladies Championship, at -6 and -4 respectively after the 1st round, while Wei shot a solid 72 and Yang struggled to a 75 there. But it appears that Miyazato, Arimura, and Oyama will be delaying their JLPGA debuts. Google translate isn't really helping me understand Arimura's latest blog post, but my best guess is that she doesn't feel that she's completed her off-season training (plus she may be dealing with nagging injuries and a little burnout). Although she looked great with Miyazato, Ahn, and Saiki in the latest Tour Stage commercial, it doesn't look like she's entered in next week's event, either, so I'm wondering what's up with her. Oyama's blog is similarly difficult to translate, but it's possible she or someone from her team may simply have forgotten to submit an entry form...? Since she's not entered in next week's Yokohama Tire PRGR Ladies Cup, either, there may be more to the story, however. Miyazato was never planning to enter the JLPGA season opener, but she just revealed on her blog that she had a high fever the night before the final round of the HSBC Women's Champions. Although she felt better in the morning and was able to play well, she had a relapse--complete with fever, chills, and low blood pressure--soon after it. Either because of her illness or in reaction to her medication, she even fainted in her hotel bathroom the day she was supposed to fly to Los Angeles! She did eventually make it back there and is glad to have some time to rest before the LPGA starts up again.
What Shin and Miyazato are going through shows just how tough the life of a world-class professional golfer can be. Best wishes for quick recoveries to both!
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