Three months have passed since I last did a report card on this year's rookies.
I would like to change this up a bit this time, by strictly rating these girls on their chances of retaining LPGA cards for the 2013 season. Any successes or failures on other tours are not considered here. My only concern here is, are they safe for the upcoming season, or will they have to go back to qualifying school?
For those of you who might need some information on how the LPGA "Priority List" works, here is a brief explanation:
If you finish in the top 80 on the 2012 money list, that will be your priority rating for 2012. In other words, if a player finishes #45 on the money list this year, she will be #45 on the priority list next year. That also means she will be eligible for all tournaments, since even limited fields have more than 45 players.
It starts to get real tricky after that, as players finishing 81-100 on the money list and 1-20 in 2012 qualifying school, then alternate onto the priority list. The top 5 players from the Symetra Tour get ranked higher than this group.
If you finish outside the top 100 on the money list, your priority ranking will be so poor that you will not get into many events, or even lose your card. Many of these players will choose to go back to qualifying school to try to improve their ranking or even choose to play on another tour.
The above is a general explanation, as trying to list all the categories on the priority list is too time-consuming and potentially confusing. The official LPGA website explains it in more detail. [As do I at the start of every season! --TC]
I have broken down the rookies into 5 categories, based on their chances of retaining cards, and/or a chance at a good priority rating, for next year.
Very Secure1- So Yeon Ryu - Runaway leader in the rookie of the year race, she has already reached elite status. Her missed cut in last week's Canadian Open was the first of her career. Her eight top-5 finishes are second only to Stacy Lewis. Already number 12 in the Rolex Rankings and climbing, she is #9 on the money list.
2- Lexi Thompson - Currently in the first mini-slump of her career, Lexi is still having a fine rookie season.
This young 17 year old has made 11 of 15 cuts this year. She has 2 top-5 finishes, including a second place.
Currently ranked number 26 in the world, that ranking would qualify her for next year's Solheim Cup. She is currently #29 on the money list.
3- Sydnee Michaels - After just a so-so start, Sydnee has been the hottest rookie on tour the past month. Her seventh-place finish at The Safeway Classic was her first career top ten. She was in contention last week, playing in the next-to-last pairing in Vancouver, before a triple bogey on the 70th hole resulted in a 15th-place finish. She has rocketed all the way up to #62 on the money list and is looking good for next year's U.S. Open, which takes the top 70. One of the longest hitters on tour, she has all the tools to be a star. For now it is nice to know that her card is secure for 2013.
4- Lizette Salas - I have to admit I had no idea who she was at the start of the year. I know who she is now. Although she has never been in contention this year, her best finish being 12th place, she has secured her card by making 10 of 12 cuts.
5- Mo Martin - Another pleasant surprise, Mo will be around next year because she has made 8 cuts in 12 attempts. Her 14th-place finish at the Walmart Classic is her best to date. Currently resides at #63 on this year's money list.
6- Danielle Kang - It has been an interesting year for Danielle. Her poor performance in Q-School last year gave her a priority ranking of #263, which was the worst ranking of any active player. She made the most of her few opportunities early in the year and, when the priority rankings reshuffles were complete, improved to #135. That allowed her to enter all full-field events where she has made 7 of 11 cuts. Her best finish was 14th at the U.S. Open. We will be seeing plenty more of her next year as she is currently #66 on the money list.
7- Veronica Felibert - Veronica has proved this year that you can have a very poor season, but because of one good finish, still retain your card. She has made only 3 cuts in 9 attempts, but a 4th-place finish at the Walmart Classic earned her enough money to be out there again next year. Oddly enough, her second-best finish is 50th place. She is currently #69 on the money list.
Looking Very Good
8- Numa Gulyanamita - In an up and down year so far, Numa has made 7 of 14 cuts. Her best finish is 21st at the U.S. Open. At #82 on the money list, Numa has more work to do to achieve full-time status.
9- Maude-Aimee Leblanc - Maude-Aimee was having a fine year, missing only 3 cuts, when a serious back injury ended her season. Maude leads the LPGA in driving distance, averaging 280 yards. She was #68 on the money list when the injury occurred, but has now dropped to #95. It shouldn't matter, as she should receive a medical exemption that will allow her to retain her full time playing privileges next season. Watch out for her; she could be a real sleeper.
10- Carlota Ciganda - Will be the rookie of the year this year, just not on this tour. Playing mostly on the L.E.T., Carlota has only 2 starts this year. She played well enough in both to be #94 on the money list. A good finish in the British Open, which counts on both tour's money lists, would elevate her LPGA status, and maybe we will see more of her next year.
On the Borderline
11- Jane Rah - Jane has made just 3 of 13 cuts this year, but a 9th-place finish at last week's CN Open has saved her. Currently #91 on the money list, she will be playing next year. How much she will be playing still has to be determined. Only 2 of the remaining 9 LPGA tournaments are full field, so she will not get many opportunities. Her CN Open finish qualified her for the Titleholders Championship, which could be the difference.
12- Jacqui Concolino - It has been all or nothing for Jacqui this year. She has made only 3 of 8 cuts, but has 2 top-15 finishes. Currently #96 on the money list she still has work to do and very little time to do it.
13- Sandra Changkija - Her 10th-place finish at the Manulife Classic seems like years ago. She has made only 3 of 12 cuts this year. Currently #110 on the money list, she will probably need a top-20 finish to avoid going to Q-School.
Not Looking Good
14- Cydney Clanton - Cydney started well, finishing in 19th place at the Australian Open. She hasn't come close to that finish since. She has made only 4 of 13 cuts and with only 2 starts left needs a big finish. She is currently #118 on the money list.
15- Victoria Tanco - I, for one, expected better from her this season. Victoria has made just 4 of 13 cuts, and her #121 money list ranking tells me she needs a quick top 10 to avoid Q-School again.
16- Hannah Yun - Her best finish this year was a 30th place at the Kia Classic. Hannah has made just 3 of 12 cuts and her #122 money list ranking has her in trouble.
17- Rebecca Lee Bentham - Rebecca hasn't had a good tournament all year. She not only has missed 8 of 12 cuts, but her best finish is 47th place. At #131 on the money list, she needs a miracle.
18- Kathleen Ekey - Kathleen has not gotten it together all year. She has missed 9 of 12 cuts, with 45th place her best finish. She is currently #140 on the money list. One of my favorite players, it looks like I will be watching her Q-School results this December.
Looking Dismal
The following rookies have little or no chance of retaining their playing cards for next year. Qualifying school is definitely in their future.
Min Seo Kwak - Missed 4 of 5 cuts. 144th on money list.
Karlin Beck - Missed 10 of 12 cuts. 147th on money list.
P.K. Kongkraphan - Tied for 67th in her only start. 148th on money list.
Elisa Serramia - Missed 11 of 12 cuts. 152nd on money list.
Valentine Derrey - Missed 1 of 2 cuts. 156th on money list.
Lacey Agnew - Missed 4 of 5 cuts. 157th on money list
Tze-Chi Lin - Missed 1 of 2 cuts. 158th on money list.
Stephanie Kono - Totally overmatched, missing all 12 cuts.
Hanna Kang - Missed all 6 cuts.
Katy Harris - Missed all 4 cuts.
Mi Hyang Lee - Missed all 3 cuts.
Kirby Dreher - Missed all 3 cuts.
Mitsuki Katahira - Missed both her cuts.
Thidapa Suwannapura - Never teed it up. Will play this week for first time.
Julia Murcia Ortiz - Will tee it up this week for first time.
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Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The Best on the LPGA: The Winless, September 2012 Edition
With so many Rolex First-Time Winners this season (Mika Miyazato being the latest), there are very few can't-miss picks left among the LPGA's winless, so there are a good number of new names near the top of this list, which is ranked by my estimation of their probability of breaking through this season. And with a relatively weak field at Kingsmill this year, the odds go up of a surprise winner this week. Why not somebody from this list?
Most Likely to Win in 2012
1. Amy Yang: She's got the talent to be a top-5 player in the world and go toe-to-toe with Ya Ni Tseng, so I'd be completely shocked if she didn't break through on the LPGA sometime this year.
The Contenders
2. Chella Choi: She's already come close 4 times this season, with 2 of her last 3 starts resulting in bronze medals. In terms of her style of play, she's either a long precision player or a short straight shooter. Either way, her performance stats are super-impressive. All she needs is a better-than-average week with the putter to give herself a chance for her 5th top 5 of the season and maybe even her 1st win on tour.
3. Karine Icher: She had a slow comeback from maternity leave early in the season, but once the LPGA got east of the Mississippi, she started playing great golf, with 2 top 5s, 4 top 10s, 8 top 15s, and 9 top 25s already this season. All she needs to put herself over the top is to have a really good week with the putter. Don't be surprised if she pulls a Catriona Matthew and wins a major this year!
4. Haeji Kang: She has 7 top 25s this season and has made the top 10 her last 2 starts. She's a bit longer than Choi off the tee, but less accurate, with only a 65% greens in regulation rate. However, she's been putting better than Choi and has improved her ball-striking stats since the last ranking in July, so her chances of winning are just about as good as Choi's.
5. Jenny Shin: She's kind of a streaky player, having started the season with 3 straight top 10s (including a near-win) and enjoyed a 3-event top-20 run midway through the season. I think the culprit has been her putting. She's a classic precision player, but her 1.84 putts per green in regulation rate suggests that her putter can run hot and cold. Despite not cracking the top 30 in her last 5 starts, her 4 top 10s and 7 top 20s lead me to believe she's due to get hot again soon.
6. Karin Sjodin: She's hitting the ball great this year (she's on the borderline between a straight shooter and a straight-up bomber!) and has been seeing very good results, with 3 top 10s and 6 top 20s already, even with a balky putter. But she's missed 2 cuts in her last 4 starts and isn't as hot as those ahead of her on this list.
7. Vicky Hurst: If she were putting even half-decently this season, she'd be much higher on this list. As one of the tour's certified bombers, she's earned 3 top 10s and 6 top 20s already this season, but has also missed 6 cuts in her last 9 starts.
8. Mina Harigae: Looks like she's really coming of age this season. She's driving the ball well (like Choi, she's on the borderline between a precision player and a straight shooter) and has been seeing very steady results (with 6 top 25s already in the bag). She told me in Waterloo, "It's been a good year. I'm improving each year. I have a new coach. I think I've been transitioning well with it." She spoke to me about getting accustomed to the rigors of travel and figuring out how to pace herself. I think we've only begun to see her play the kind of golf she's capable of playing. As she gets more comfortable on tour and gains confidence, look for her scores and finishes to continue improving. She'll need to heat up her putter to start breaking into the top 10.
9. Carlota Ciganda: She's having a fantastic rookie season on the LET (she's currently #3 on their money list) and did solidly enough in her 2 LPGA starts this season to move into the green zone on the reshuffled priority status list, so if she does really well in the Ricoh Women's British Open, she could conceivably decide to play more on the LPGA in an effort to qualify for their Asian swing.
10. Caroline Hedwall: Yes, she's going through a mini-slump of her own, but look for her to make a comeback in the 2nd half of the season once she recovers from some injuries. She had too great a year on the LET in 2011 to suffer too big of a sophomore slide in her real 1st full season on the LPGA.
11. Guilia Sergas: It's been either feast or famine in 2012 for this veteran European star. She's earned 2 top 10s and 5 top 20s on pretty average performance stats, but she's also missed a ton of cuts.
12. Jennifer Johnson: She's driving the ball great and hitting her irons pretty solidly, but she's been having some problems getting the ball in the hole, which explains why she's struggling to make top 25s (with 5 so far this season) but still making plenty of cuts and top 40s.
13. Katie Futcher: She's a late bloomer on her own steady pace of improvement, although in certain ways she's plateaued a little bit this season, with 6 top 25s on less-than-impressive performance stats. The main problem has been her putting, but her ball-striking hasn't been anything to write home about, either.
Quantum Leap Candidates
14. Sydnee Michaels: In July, I wrote, "if she can improve her ball-striking a bit, watch out for her in the 2nd half of the season!" Well, she just made Tony Jesselli's "who's hot?" list, thanks to her 3 top 25s in a row, including her 1st-ever LPGA top 10 at the Safeway.
15. Mariajo Uribe: After almost losing her card in her rookie season, she bounced back with 4 top 20s in her 1st 8 events in 2012. Still, she hasn't done anything special in her last 7 starts, which is a bit surprising, given how great her driving and how solid the rest of her ball-striking have been.
16. Lizette Salas: With her best finish a T12 at the Safeway, she's having a solid rookie year, with very good performance stats in every area but putting (and even there it's not all that bad), so I'm expecting her to improve on her 2 top 25s over the rest of the season.
17. Lindsey Wright: I'm guessing that injuries account for her fewer-than-usual starts on the LPGA in 2012, but even so she got a T9 in Mobile and her 3rd and 4th top 20s of the season in Evian and Toledo. Yes, she's missed her last 2 cuts in a row, but her performance stats are pretty decent, she's got plenty of experience, and all she needs is to heat up her putter to get back to playing like she's capable of doing.
18. Jodi Ewart: This straight shooter's snagged 2 top 10s and another 2 top 20s in 2012 already, even without putting well as of yet. If she can heat her putter up in late summer, watch out for her.
19. Mo Martin: She's probably done the best at exceeding expectations of any of the rookies this year. Although her best finish is only a T14 at the Walmart, she has 3 other top 25s (including 2 in her last 3 starts) and has only missed 4 cuts all season, despite hitting the ball so short off the tee she's finding it tough to hit greens with regularity (even though she's among the most accurate drivers on tour) or get it close to the pin when she does (as evidenced by her very high putts per green in regulation average).
20. Alison Walshe: Her best finish this season is a T8 at the ShopRite, but she's followed it up with only 2 other top 20s.
21. Cindy LaCrosse: She's playing pretty solid golf lately, with 6 made cuts in a row, including her best finish of the year, a T14 at the U.S. Women's Open. But overall her results haven't followed from how well she's been driving the ball, with only 1 other top 20 all season. That's what happens when your irons and especially your putter are letting you down a bit.
22. Pornanong Phatlum: She had a very solid 1st third of the season, with 2 top 15s and an unofficial win in Brazil, but she's only managed to rack up 1 more top 25 in the 2nd third and has missed 3 of her last 6 cuts.
23. Gerina Piller: If she had another shot at the par-5 17th at Locust Hill on Wegmans LPGA Championship Sunday, I wonder if she could have beaten Shanshan Feng. Still, that T6 shows what this bomber is capable of on the LPGA after struggling for years on the Futures Tour. Despite a lot of indifferent starts since then, she just put together a T11 at the Canadian Women's Open. But she'll need to improve her approach shots and especially her putting if she's going to put herself back into contention again.
24. Jennifer Song: A T6 at the RR Donnelley shows what this sophomore is capable of, but with a T18 at the Manulife her only better finish than her season-opening top 25, and with 3 missed cuts in a row, she's an object lesson in how difficult it can be for even highly-touted youngsters to make a smooth transition to the pro ranks. Still, she's driving the ball pretty well and has improved her putting, so if she can start hitting more greens in regulation, she may yet justify that #4 ranking I gave her last May.
25. Danielle Kang: She's followed up her 1st LPGA top 25 in her pro career with a T14 at the U.S. Women's Open, but hasn't played all that great ever since, with no top 50s and 2 missed cuts in a row. Still, she's finally gotten high-enough priority status to get the starts she needs and get her putter going.
26. Christel Boeljon: She's #8 on the LET money list, but she still hasn't been able to translate her best golf over to the LPGA, where she's not yet broken into the top 20 and most recently broke a 4-event missed-cut run with a T73. She got her only 2 top 25s of the year at tournaments I attended in early summer. Too bad for her I can't make it to any others!
27. Mindy Kim: She continues to hit the ball well, but her putting seems to be getting worse and worse. Still, a T10 at the RR Donnelley and a T18 at the Manulife hint at what she's capable of when she gets the ball rolling.
28. Sarah Jane Smith: She hasn't broken into the top 50 since getting her 1st (and only) top 10 of 2012 in NW Arkansas and needs to improve just about every facet of her game quickly if she wants to stay in the top 80 on the money list.
29. Kristy McPherson: Her return from surgery has been a rocky one. She started the season with 2 top 25s in a row, but didn't get another one until the Farr and has missed way more cuts than usual this year.
30. Pernilla Lindberg: She's earned only a couple of top 20s on the LPGA this season, but is #13 on the LET money list in only 9 starts over there. I still believe it's only a matter of time before she translates that kind of success to the big tour.
31. Belen Mozo: Despite solid driving, her iron play and putting have been holding her back from joining the rest of the LPGA's Spanish Armada. She's playing well enough to be regularly making the cut, but not to crack the top 25 (yet).
32. Dewi Claire Schreefel: Her performance stats aren't all that impressive, and her only finish inside the top 30 in 2012 came in her last start, at the CWO, but she's making her share of cuts and hanging in there even when she isn't playing close to her best. Let's see if she can keep it going in late summer.
33. Numa Gulyanamitta: This fantastic collegiate player hasn't jumped to immediate LPGA success, but she does have 2 top 25s in her last 4 starts.
34. Jennie Lee: One of many youngsters who contended seemingly out of the blue this season, she followed up a T21 at the U.S. Women's Open with a T5 at the Farr. Can she continue in that vein in her last starts of 2012?
Comeback Kids (-To Be)
35. Tiffany Joh: She told me in Pittsford that she's been seeing good results this year in her ball-striking but her putter has cooled off for her from last season. Now, though, looking at her season-long stats, I'd say she still isn't very accurate off the tee or into the greens and her putting isn't all horrible (compared to some others on this list, that is). So I'd say there's plenty of blame to go around in her game for her 9 missed cuts and 0 top 30s in 2012 (except for an unofficial T26 in Brazil).
36. Ryann O'Toole: She's suffering a pretty bad sophomore slump, with 5 missed cuts in a row and 7 in her last 9 starts. It's not like her performance stats are horrible; it's just that there's no part of her game that's solid enough to make up for the general mediocrity of all the other parts. As I saw at the Manulife, she could follow up some very good golf with a real lack of focus. I don't know what's going on with her this season, but she has to find that focus in her remaining starts.
37. Amanda Blumenherst: She's played her best golf in Thailand and Brazil this year, but for most of the season has neither been driving for show nor putting for dough. She's another poster child for why it's so hard to make it on the LPGA, having won nearly every award she could during her amazing collegiate career at Duke.
Too Soon to Tell
38. Veronica Felibert: Her 2nd made cut of her LPGA career was a fantastic experience, as she gave herself a great chance for a wire-to-wire win last week and just opened the door a little too far in the final round. Unfortunately, she hasn't done anything at all special since that T4 at the Walmart.
39. Jane Rah: Her 1st top 10 of her LPGA career made her one of the CWO's representatives at the Titleholders at the end of the season. Not bad for someone on Tony J's "not hot" list for most of the year.
40. Sandra Changkija: Her opening 63 at Grey Silo a couple of Fridays ago put her on the map. Like many players this far down the list, she needs to more consistently capitalize on her fine (and long) driving to improve on that T10.
41. Victoria Tanco: After a fantastic junior career, she exceeded expectations at LPGA Q-School and has been having the usual rookie struggles.
42. Kyeong Bae: She's not playing the kind of precision golf she's known for and her putting hasn't compensated for her weak ball-striking, but she's still managed to snag 3 top 25s in her 7 LPGA starts this season. However, she's been spending most of her time on the KLPGA, so I don't expect to see her teeing it up more than a few more times on the LPGA in 2012.
43. Harukyo Nomura: She's already won on the JLPGA and seems to be splitting her time pretty evenly between both tours in 2012, so never mind that she hasn't yet set the LPGA on fire. Give her time!
44. Cydney Clanton: Another rookie with a great resume who's finding out everyone on the LPGA has a great resume. She did get a top 20 in her 1st start of the season, so let's see if she can get her putter going at the end of her season.
45. Dori Carter: She snagged her 1st top 20 of 2012 at the Safeway, but followed it up with a missed cut in Vancouver. At #113 on the money list, she needs more finishes like the former before her season runs out.
46. Hannah Yun: She'd been toiling on the Futures Tour as a teenage professional and things came together for her in Q-School. She's been doing a lot of tinkering all season with her swing and her equipment, but she needs to make the most of her last few starts if she wants to avoid Q-School.
47. Ayaka Kaneko: Another youngster who made it to the LPGA perhaps faster than even she expected and who's fighting through a tough transition.
48. Rebecca Lee-Bentham: Yet another youngster who got to the LPGA very quickly. So far it's been very difficult for her to make the transition to professional golf, but give her time.
49. Mitsuki Katahira: Ditto! She dominated in junior college golf and was once the #1-ranked amateur in the R&A's system, but has such low status she's only gotten 2 LPGA starts this season (both missed cuts). Still, she's #69 on the Symetra Tour money list and hanging in there during a particularly challenging transition to the pro ranks.
Injured Reserve
T50. Song-Hee Kim: She was #1 with a bullet for a long time on this list, but WDed from the U.S. Women's Open due to a sore neck and back and hasn't played since. Here's hoping she comes back to the LPGA healthy and refocused!
T50. Maude-Aimee Leblanc: She really bombs it, so if she can improve her accuracy on her approach shots and make more putts, she could have a Brittany Lincicome-type career on tour. We have to wait till next season to find out if she can do it, though, as she's out for the rest of this one with a pretty serious back injury.
[Update 1 (9/7/12, 11:45 pm): pearshapedhuman's comment is dead-on. Although Ilhee Lee only has 3 finishes in the top 25 this season and lots of unimpressive results, it's hard not to be impressed by her T4 at the U.S. Women's Open and T9 at Evian. How high should I have put her on this list? I'd say top 25, for sure, maybe even top 15 depending on how much you value peaks over consistency.]
Most Likely to Win in 2012
1. Amy Yang: She's got the talent to be a top-5 player in the world and go toe-to-toe with Ya Ni Tseng, so I'd be completely shocked if she didn't break through on the LPGA sometime this year.
The Contenders
2. Chella Choi: She's already come close 4 times this season, with 2 of her last 3 starts resulting in bronze medals. In terms of her style of play, she's either a long precision player or a short straight shooter. Either way, her performance stats are super-impressive. All she needs is a better-than-average week with the putter to give herself a chance for her 5th top 5 of the season and maybe even her 1st win on tour.
3. Karine Icher: She had a slow comeback from maternity leave early in the season, but once the LPGA got east of the Mississippi, she started playing great golf, with 2 top 5s, 4 top 10s, 8 top 15s, and 9 top 25s already this season. All she needs to put herself over the top is to have a really good week with the putter. Don't be surprised if she pulls a Catriona Matthew and wins a major this year!
4. Haeji Kang: She has 7 top 25s this season and has made the top 10 her last 2 starts. She's a bit longer than Choi off the tee, but less accurate, with only a 65% greens in regulation rate. However, she's been putting better than Choi and has improved her ball-striking stats since the last ranking in July, so her chances of winning are just about as good as Choi's.
5. Jenny Shin: She's kind of a streaky player, having started the season with 3 straight top 10s (including a near-win) and enjoyed a 3-event top-20 run midway through the season. I think the culprit has been her putting. She's a classic precision player, but her 1.84 putts per green in regulation rate suggests that her putter can run hot and cold. Despite not cracking the top 30 in her last 5 starts, her 4 top 10s and 7 top 20s lead me to believe she's due to get hot again soon.
6. Karin Sjodin: She's hitting the ball great this year (she's on the borderline between a straight shooter and a straight-up bomber!) and has been seeing very good results, with 3 top 10s and 6 top 20s already, even with a balky putter. But she's missed 2 cuts in her last 4 starts and isn't as hot as those ahead of her on this list.
7. Vicky Hurst: If she were putting even half-decently this season, she'd be much higher on this list. As one of the tour's certified bombers, she's earned 3 top 10s and 6 top 20s already this season, but has also missed 6 cuts in her last 9 starts.
8. Mina Harigae: Looks like she's really coming of age this season. She's driving the ball well (like Choi, she's on the borderline between a precision player and a straight shooter) and has been seeing very steady results (with 6 top 25s already in the bag). She told me in Waterloo, "It's been a good year. I'm improving each year. I have a new coach. I think I've been transitioning well with it." She spoke to me about getting accustomed to the rigors of travel and figuring out how to pace herself. I think we've only begun to see her play the kind of golf she's capable of playing. As she gets more comfortable on tour and gains confidence, look for her scores and finishes to continue improving. She'll need to heat up her putter to start breaking into the top 10.
9. Carlota Ciganda: She's having a fantastic rookie season on the LET (she's currently #3 on their money list) and did solidly enough in her 2 LPGA starts this season to move into the green zone on the reshuffled priority status list, so if she does really well in the Ricoh Women's British Open, she could conceivably decide to play more on the LPGA in an effort to qualify for their Asian swing.
10. Caroline Hedwall: Yes, she's going through a mini-slump of her own, but look for her to make a comeback in the 2nd half of the season once she recovers from some injuries. She had too great a year on the LET in 2011 to suffer too big of a sophomore slide in her real 1st full season on the LPGA.
11. Guilia Sergas: It's been either feast or famine in 2012 for this veteran European star. She's earned 2 top 10s and 5 top 20s on pretty average performance stats, but she's also missed a ton of cuts.
12. Jennifer Johnson: She's driving the ball great and hitting her irons pretty solidly, but she's been having some problems getting the ball in the hole, which explains why she's struggling to make top 25s (with 5 so far this season) but still making plenty of cuts and top 40s.
13. Katie Futcher: She's a late bloomer on her own steady pace of improvement, although in certain ways she's plateaued a little bit this season, with 6 top 25s on less-than-impressive performance stats. The main problem has been her putting, but her ball-striking hasn't been anything to write home about, either.
Quantum Leap Candidates
14. Sydnee Michaels: In July, I wrote, "if she can improve her ball-striking a bit, watch out for her in the 2nd half of the season!" Well, she just made Tony Jesselli's "who's hot?" list, thanks to her 3 top 25s in a row, including her 1st-ever LPGA top 10 at the Safeway.
15. Mariajo Uribe: After almost losing her card in her rookie season, she bounced back with 4 top 20s in her 1st 8 events in 2012. Still, she hasn't done anything special in her last 7 starts, which is a bit surprising, given how great her driving and how solid the rest of her ball-striking have been.
16. Lizette Salas: With her best finish a T12 at the Safeway, she's having a solid rookie year, with very good performance stats in every area but putting (and even there it's not all that bad), so I'm expecting her to improve on her 2 top 25s over the rest of the season.
17. Lindsey Wright: I'm guessing that injuries account for her fewer-than-usual starts on the LPGA in 2012, but even so she got a T9 in Mobile and her 3rd and 4th top 20s of the season in Evian and Toledo. Yes, she's missed her last 2 cuts in a row, but her performance stats are pretty decent, she's got plenty of experience, and all she needs is to heat up her putter to get back to playing like she's capable of doing.
18. Jodi Ewart: This straight shooter's snagged 2 top 10s and another 2 top 20s in 2012 already, even without putting well as of yet. If she can heat her putter up in late summer, watch out for her.
19. Mo Martin: She's probably done the best at exceeding expectations of any of the rookies this year. Although her best finish is only a T14 at the Walmart, she has 3 other top 25s (including 2 in her last 3 starts) and has only missed 4 cuts all season, despite hitting the ball so short off the tee she's finding it tough to hit greens with regularity (even though she's among the most accurate drivers on tour) or get it close to the pin when she does (as evidenced by her very high putts per green in regulation average).
20. Alison Walshe: Her best finish this season is a T8 at the ShopRite, but she's followed it up with only 2 other top 20s.
21. Cindy LaCrosse: She's playing pretty solid golf lately, with 6 made cuts in a row, including her best finish of the year, a T14 at the U.S. Women's Open. But overall her results haven't followed from how well she's been driving the ball, with only 1 other top 20 all season. That's what happens when your irons and especially your putter are letting you down a bit.
22. Pornanong Phatlum: She had a very solid 1st third of the season, with 2 top 15s and an unofficial win in Brazil, but she's only managed to rack up 1 more top 25 in the 2nd third and has missed 3 of her last 6 cuts.
23. Gerina Piller: If she had another shot at the par-5 17th at Locust Hill on Wegmans LPGA Championship Sunday, I wonder if she could have beaten Shanshan Feng. Still, that T6 shows what this bomber is capable of on the LPGA after struggling for years on the Futures Tour. Despite a lot of indifferent starts since then, she just put together a T11 at the Canadian Women's Open. But she'll need to improve her approach shots and especially her putting if she's going to put herself back into contention again.
24. Jennifer Song: A T6 at the RR Donnelley shows what this sophomore is capable of, but with a T18 at the Manulife her only better finish than her season-opening top 25, and with 3 missed cuts in a row, she's an object lesson in how difficult it can be for even highly-touted youngsters to make a smooth transition to the pro ranks. Still, she's driving the ball pretty well and has improved her putting, so if she can start hitting more greens in regulation, she may yet justify that #4 ranking I gave her last May.
25. Danielle Kang: She's followed up her 1st LPGA top 25 in her pro career with a T14 at the U.S. Women's Open, but hasn't played all that great ever since, with no top 50s and 2 missed cuts in a row. Still, she's finally gotten high-enough priority status to get the starts she needs and get her putter going.
26. Christel Boeljon: She's #8 on the LET money list, but she still hasn't been able to translate her best golf over to the LPGA, where she's not yet broken into the top 20 and most recently broke a 4-event missed-cut run with a T73. She got her only 2 top 25s of the year at tournaments I attended in early summer. Too bad for her I can't make it to any others!
27. Mindy Kim: She continues to hit the ball well, but her putting seems to be getting worse and worse. Still, a T10 at the RR Donnelley and a T18 at the Manulife hint at what she's capable of when she gets the ball rolling.
28. Sarah Jane Smith: She hasn't broken into the top 50 since getting her 1st (and only) top 10 of 2012 in NW Arkansas and needs to improve just about every facet of her game quickly if she wants to stay in the top 80 on the money list.
29. Kristy McPherson: Her return from surgery has been a rocky one. She started the season with 2 top 25s in a row, but didn't get another one until the Farr and has missed way more cuts than usual this year.
30. Pernilla Lindberg: She's earned only a couple of top 20s on the LPGA this season, but is #13 on the LET money list in only 9 starts over there. I still believe it's only a matter of time before she translates that kind of success to the big tour.
31. Belen Mozo: Despite solid driving, her iron play and putting have been holding her back from joining the rest of the LPGA's Spanish Armada. She's playing well enough to be regularly making the cut, but not to crack the top 25 (yet).
32. Dewi Claire Schreefel: Her performance stats aren't all that impressive, and her only finish inside the top 30 in 2012 came in her last start, at the CWO, but she's making her share of cuts and hanging in there even when she isn't playing close to her best. Let's see if she can keep it going in late summer.
33. Numa Gulyanamitta: This fantastic collegiate player hasn't jumped to immediate LPGA success, but she does have 2 top 25s in her last 4 starts.
34. Jennie Lee: One of many youngsters who contended seemingly out of the blue this season, she followed up a T21 at the U.S. Women's Open with a T5 at the Farr. Can she continue in that vein in her last starts of 2012?
Comeback Kids (-To Be)
35. Tiffany Joh: She told me in Pittsford that she's been seeing good results this year in her ball-striking but her putter has cooled off for her from last season. Now, though, looking at her season-long stats, I'd say she still isn't very accurate off the tee or into the greens and her putting isn't all horrible (compared to some others on this list, that is). So I'd say there's plenty of blame to go around in her game for her 9 missed cuts and 0 top 30s in 2012 (except for an unofficial T26 in Brazil).
36. Ryann O'Toole: She's suffering a pretty bad sophomore slump, with 5 missed cuts in a row and 7 in her last 9 starts. It's not like her performance stats are horrible; it's just that there's no part of her game that's solid enough to make up for the general mediocrity of all the other parts. As I saw at the Manulife, she could follow up some very good golf with a real lack of focus. I don't know what's going on with her this season, but she has to find that focus in her remaining starts.
37. Amanda Blumenherst: She's played her best golf in Thailand and Brazil this year, but for most of the season has neither been driving for show nor putting for dough. She's another poster child for why it's so hard to make it on the LPGA, having won nearly every award she could during her amazing collegiate career at Duke.
Too Soon to Tell
38. Veronica Felibert: Her 2nd made cut of her LPGA career was a fantastic experience, as she gave herself a great chance for a wire-to-wire win last week and just opened the door a little too far in the final round. Unfortunately, she hasn't done anything at all special since that T4 at the Walmart.
39. Jane Rah: Her 1st top 10 of her LPGA career made her one of the CWO's representatives at the Titleholders at the end of the season. Not bad for someone on Tony J's "not hot" list for most of the year.
40. Sandra Changkija: Her opening 63 at Grey Silo a couple of Fridays ago put her on the map. Like many players this far down the list, she needs to more consistently capitalize on her fine (and long) driving to improve on that T10.
41. Victoria Tanco: After a fantastic junior career, she exceeded expectations at LPGA Q-School and has been having the usual rookie struggles.
42. Kyeong Bae: She's not playing the kind of precision golf she's known for and her putting hasn't compensated for her weak ball-striking, but she's still managed to snag 3 top 25s in her 7 LPGA starts this season. However, she's been spending most of her time on the KLPGA, so I don't expect to see her teeing it up more than a few more times on the LPGA in 2012.
43. Harukyo Nomura: She's already won on the JLPGA and seems to be splitting her time pretty evenly between both tours in 2012, so never mind that she hasn't yet set the LPGA on fire. Give her time!
44. Cydney Clanton: Another rookie with a great resume who's finding out everyone on the LPGA has a great resume. She did get a top 20 in her 1st start of the season, so let's see if she can get her putter going at the end of her season.
45. Dori Carter: She snagged her 1st top 20 of 2012 at the Safeway, but followed it up with a missed cut in Vancouver. At #113 on the money list, she needs more finishes like the former before her season runs out.
46. Hannah Yun: She'd been toiling on the Futures Tour as a teenage professional and things came together for her in Q-School. She's been doing a lot of tinkering all season with her swing and her equipment, but she needs to make the most of her last few starts if she wants to avoid Q-School.
47. Ayaka Kaneko: Another youngster who made it to the LPGA perhaps faster than even she expected and who's fighting through a tough transition.
48. Rebecca Lee-Bentham: Yet another youngster who got to the LPGA very quickly. So far it's been very difficult for her to make the transition to professional golf, but give her time.
49. Mitsuki Katahira: Ditto! She dominated in junior college golf and was once the #1-ranked amateur in the R&A's system, but has such low status she's only gotten 2 LPGA starts this season (both missed cuts). Still, she's #69 on the Symetra Tour money list and hanging in there during a particularly challenging transition to the pro ranks.
Injured Reserve
T50. Song-Hee Kim: She was #1 with a bullet for a long time on this list, but WDed from the U.S. Women's Open due to a sore neck and back and hasn't played since. Here's hoping she comes back to the LPGA healthy and refocused!
T50. Maude-Aimee Leblanc: She really bombs it, so if she can improve her accuracy on her approach shots and make more putts, she could have a Brittany Lincicome-type career on tour. We have to wait till next season to find out if she can do it, though, as she's out for the rest of this one with a pretty serious back injury.
[Update 1 (9/7/12, 11:45 pm): pearshapedhuman's comment is dead-on. Although Ilhee Lee only has 3 finishes in the top 25 this season and lots of unimpressive results, it's hard not to be impressed by her T4 at the U.S. Women's Open and T9 at Evian. How high should I have put her on this list? I'd say top 25, for sure, maybe even top 15 depending on how much you value peaks over consistency.]
Monday, September 3, 2012
Kingsmill Championship Preview & Pairings
After a one-week break, the LPGA tour resumes its schedule with the playing of the Kingsmill Championship. This is tournament number 19 of 27 on this year's schedule. This tournament was last played in 2009.
Here are some details:
Course: Kingsmill Resort, River Course
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia
Defending Champion: Cristie Kerr (2009)
Winning Score: 66-63-66-70 = 268 (-16)
Final Field: 144 players
Par: 36/35 = 71
Yardage: (Information not yet available)
Purse: $1,300,000
This will be the weakest field of the season, as most of the non-US stars have decided to sit it out. My strength of field rating is just 46%. The big names sitting it out this week include: Yani Tseng, Inbee Park, Shanshan Feng, Na Yeon Choi, Suzanne Pettersen, Amy Yang, I.K. Kim, Karrie Webb, Eun-Hee Ji, Jenny Shin, Laura Davies, and So Yeon Ryu. The only notable American not playing is Jessica Korda.
Here are the pairings for the first 2 days.
Predicting a top 12 out of this field with so many missing players will be difficult, but here are my picks.
1- Stacy Lewis
2- Ai Miyazato
3- Cristie Kerr
4- Jiyai Shin
5- Azahara Munoz
6- Sydnee Michaels
7- Mika Miyazato
8- Angela Stanford
9- Hee Kyung Seo
10-Brittany Lincicome
11-Paula Creamer
12-Sandra Gal
Here are the television times:
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Here are some details:
Course: Kingsmill Resort, River Course
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia
Defending Champion: Cristie Kerr (2009)
Winning Score: 66-63-66-70 = 268 (-16)
Final Field: 144 players
Par: 36/35 = 71
Yardage: (Information not yet available)
Purse: $1,300,000
This will be the weakest field of the season, as most of the non-US stars have decided to sit it out. My strength of field rating is just 46%. The big names sitting it out this week include: Yani Tseng, Inbee Park, Shanshan Feng, Na Yeon Choi, Suzanne Pettersen, Amy Yang, I.K. Kim, Karrie Webb, Eun-Hee Ji, Jenny Shin, Laura Davies, and So Yeon Ryu. The only notable American not playing is Jessica Korda.
Here are the pairings for the first 2 days.
Predicting a top 12 out of this field with so many missing players will be difficult, but here are my picks.
1- Stacy Lewis
2- Ai Miyazato
3- Cristie Kerr
4- Jiyai Shin
5- Azahara Munoz
6- Sydnee Michaels
7- Mika Miyazato
8- Angela Stanford
9- Hee Kyung Seo
10-Brittany Lincicome
11-Paula Creamer
12-Sandra Gal
Here are the television times:
Sep 6 - GC 12:30 PM-2:30 PM EST
Sep 7 - GC 12:30 PM-2:30 PM EST
Sep 8 - GC 12:00 PM-3:30 PM EST
Sep 9 - GC 2:00 PM-5:00 PM EST
Other Tidbits:
In case you missed the The Constructivist's blog from a few days ago, the first round of LPGA Q-School begins tomorrow. 240 players will be trying to score low enough to make it to phase 2. There will be a cut after round two, and only the top 70 players will move on to day three. At the completion of the 4th and final round, the top 60 players will move on to phase two on October 9th. Some of the bigger names that will be teeing it up in phase one include: Cheyenne Woods, Moriya Jutanugarn, Jaye Marie Green, Brooke Pancake, Austin Ernst, and Emily Talley.
Hard-to-believe fact of the week:
It seems like only yesterday that I was invited to start writing for Mostly Harmless. This is the 100th article that I have written. My main objective has always been to promote the LPGA and its wonderful and talented players. I work very hard to try to keep everyone informed with the latest LPGA statistics. I really have enjoyed doing this and I hope you have enjoyed reading it.
Update 1 - 9/5/12 5:20 PM - In a shocker, Cheyenne Woods missed the cut in the first round of Q-School. I guess it's on to the Symetra Tour for her next year.
Update 1 - 9/5/12 5:20 PM - In a shocker, Cheyenne Woods missed the cut in the first round of Q-School. I guess it's on to the Symetra Tour for her next year.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Golf5 Ladies Overview: Sun-Ju Ahn Takes Down Ji-Hee Lee for 2nd JLPGA Win in a Row
Sun-Ju Ahn is back, baby! After a slower start than usual this season, the JLPGA's most dominant player of the last 2 years has now made it 2 wins in a row. And she did it by taking down 2 of the best Korean golfers ever to make the JLPGA their home tour. Last week's victim was current money-list leader Mi-Jeong Jeon. This week, Ji-Hee Lee came up short in her effort to secure her 18th career JLPGA victory.
Ahn started her round today 1 shot behind 2nd-round leader Chie Arimura, who opened with a pair of 67s, despite double bogeying her 36th hole. But when Ahn birdied 4 of her 1st 5 holes from the next-to-last group, she leaped out to a 2-shot lead on Arimura, who birdied the 391-yard par-4 1st to get to -11 but couldn't find another until her final group reached the 10th hole. Lee, playing in the group before Ahn's, had birdied her 1st 3 holes in a row but bogeyed the 491-yard par-5 5th hole to drop back to -10 for the tournament. As she made par after par on the front after that, she was passed by playing partner Yun-Jye Wei's bogey-free 32, Yukari Baba's matching score from the group ahead of them, and Rikako Morita's bogey-free 31 from the group ahead of Baba, which pulled all of them even with Arimura at -11.
But as the leaders made the turn, things started to heat up again. Morita birdied the 397-yard par-4 11th to get to -12. Baba responded with a birdie on the 471-yard par-5 10th. Lee joined them with an eagle and Wei with a birdie when they got to the 10th. Even as Ahn's playing partner Mayu Hattori got to double digits under par with birdies on the par-5 5th and 10th, Ahn made it to -14 with a birdie on the 10th. Arimura got off the par train with birdies on the 10th and 184-yard par-3 12th to pull within 1 of the lead and into a tie with Lee, who had birdied the 11th. When Wei birdied the 378-yard par-4 13th and Ahn bogeyed the 419-yard par-4 14th, we had 4 players at -13 and 2 at -12.
Morita wouldn't make another birdie until the 371-yard par-4 18th, establishing herself as leader in the clubhouse at -13. Baba got there with a birdie on the 508-yard par-5 16th but bogeyed the 18th to fall back to -12. Wei bogeyed 17th but bounced back with a walkoff birdie to join her. Lee, who had made 6 pars in a row after her burst at the turn, birdied the 18th to get to -14. As all this was going on, Ahn birdied the 169-yard par-3 15th and 508-yard par-5 16th to make it to -15 before bogeying the 414-yard par-4 17th.
So Ahn found herself needing a par on the final hole to make it into a playoff with Lee and a birdie to beat her. All she did under those circumstances was stick her approach shot on the 18th to about 18 inches and calmly sink the putt for her 3rd JLPGA victory of the year. Arimura's 6-hole par train to finish the tournament was only good enough for a T3 with Morita, 2 shots behind the now-11-time winner on the JLPGA.
What a difference 2 weeks can make on the JLPGA! After Jeon's win 3 weeks ago, she held a 30-million-yen lead on Ahn on the money list. Now it's under ￥10M.
1. Mi-Jeong Jeon ￥100.06M
2. Sun-Ju Ahn ￥90.68M
3. Mayu Hattori ￥60.01M
4. Chie Arimura ￥55.98M
5. Ritsuko Ryu ￥53.18M
6. Ji-Hee Lee ￥51.91M
7. Miki Saiki ￥51.66M
8. Rikako Morita ￥49.54M
9. Bo-Mee Lee ￥44.97M
10. Sakura Yokomine ￥42.56M
11. Shanshan Feng ￥40.48M
12. Soo-Yun Kang ￥35.14M
13. Yumiko Yoshida ￥33.50M
14. Hiromi Mogi ￥31.36M
15. Inbee Park ￥29.62M
16. Maiko Wakabayashi ￥29.08M
17. Mihoko Iseri ￥27.18M
18. Kaori Ohe ￥26.76M
19. Yuri Fudoh ￥26.69M
20. Esther Lee ￥24.23M
21. Megumi Kido ￥23.65M
22. Hyun-Ju Shin ￥21.44M
23. Yuki Ichinose ￥20.75M
24. Shinobu Moromizato ￥20.35M
25. Yukari Baba ￥19.80M
26. So-Hee Kim ￥18.84M
27. Miki Sakai ￥18.82M
28. Yeo-Jin Kang ￥18.71M
29. Erina Hara ￥18.68M
30. Ayako Uehara ￥18.55M
31. Airi Saitoh ￥18.35M
32. Young Kim￥18.05M
33. Ji-Yai Shin ￥17.78M
34. Akane Iijima ￥17.28M
35. Erika Kikuchi ￥17.12M
36. Na-Ri Lee￥17.04M
37. Rui Kitada ￥16.68M
38. Teresa Lu ￥16.25M
39. Bo-Bae Song ￥15.63M
40. Eun-Bi Jang ￥15.54M
41. Na-Ri Kim ￥14.75M
42. Junko Omote ￥14.68M
43. Harukyo Nomura ￥14.48M
44. Kumiko Kaneda ￥14.13M
45. Yuko Fukuda ￥13.72M
46. Da-Ye Na ￥10.59M
47. Lala Anai ￥10.46M
48. Natsu Nagai ￥10.23M
49. Shiho Toyonaga ￥10.09M
50. Yui Kawahara￥9.99M
Next up is the JLPGA's 2nd major, the Konica Minolta Cup, which Yuko Mitsuka won last year. Dual LPGA-JLPGA members Shanshan Feng, Inbee Park, and Harukyo Nomura will be squaring off against the JLPGA's finest, choosing a JLPGA major over the LPGA's return to Kingsmill. There's more than 1 way to get to Hoylake (for the RICOH Women's British Open the following week), after all!
Ahn started her round today 1 shot behind 2nd-round leader Chie Arimura, who opened with a pair of 67s, despite double bogeying her 36th hole. But when Ahn birdied 4 of her 1st 5 holes from the next-to-last group, she leaped out to a 2-shot lead on Arimura, who birdied the 391-yard par-4 1st to get to -11 but couldn't find another until her final group reached the 10th hole. Lee, playing in the group before Ahn's, had birdied her 1st 3 holes in a row but bogeyed the 491-yard par-5 5th hole to drop back to -10 for the tournament. As she made par after par on the front after that, she was passed by playing partner Yun-Jye Wei's bogey-free 32, Yukari Baba's matching score from the group ahead of them, and Rikako Morita's bogey-free 31 from the group ahead of Baba, which pulled all of them even with Arimura at -11.
But as the leaders made the turn, things started to heat up again. Morita birdied the 397-yard par-4 11th to get to -12. Baba responded with a birdie on the 471-yard par-5 10th. Lee joined them with an eagle and Wei with a birdie when they got to the 10th. Even as Ahn's playing partner Mayu Hattori got to double digits under par with birdies on the par-5 5th and 10th, Ahn made it to -14 with a birdie on the 10th. Arimura got off the par train with birdies on the 10th and 184-yard par-3 12th to pull within 1 of the lead and into a tie with Lee, who had birdied the 11th. When Wei birdied the 378-yard par-4 13th and Ahn bogeyed the 419-yard par-4 14th, we had 4 players at -13 and 2 at -12.
Morita wouldn't make another birdie until the 371-yard par-4 18th, establishing herself as leader in the clubhouse at -13. Baba got there with a birdie on the 508-yard par-5 16th but bogeyed the 18th to fall back to -12. Wei bogeyed 17th but bounced back with a walkoff birdie to join her. Lee, who had made 6 pars in a row after her burst at the turn, birdied the 18th to get to -14. As all this was going on, Ahn birdied the 169-yard par-3 15th and 508-yard par-5 16th to make it to -15 before bogeying the 414-yard par-4 17th.
So Ahn found herself needing a par on the final hole to make it into a playoff with Lee and a birdie to beat her. All she did under those circumstances was stick her approach shot on the 18th to about 18 inches and calmly sink the putt for her 3rd JLPGA victory of the year. Arimura's 6-hole par train to finish the tournament was only good enough for a T3 with Morita, 2 shots behind the now-11-time winner on the JLPGA.
What a difference 2 weeks can make on the JLPGA! After Jeon's win 3 weeks ago, she held a 30-million-yen lead on Ahn on the money list. Now it's under ￥10M.
1. Mi-Jeong Jeon ￥100.06M
2. Sun-Ju Ahn ￥90.68M
3. Mayu Hattori ￥60.01M
4. Chie Arimura ￥55.98M
5. Ritsuko Ryu ￥53.18M
6. Ji-Hee Lee ￥51.91M
7. Miki Saiki ￥51.66M
8. Rikako Morita ￥49.54M
9. Bo-Mee Lee ￥44.97M
10. Sakura Yokomine ￥42.56M
11. Shanshan Feng ￥40.48M
12. Soo-Yun Kang ￥35.14M
13. Yumiko Yoshida ￥33.50M
14. Hiromi Mogi ￥31.36M
15. Inbee Park ￥29.62M
16. Maiko Wakabayashi ￥29.08M
17. Mihoko Iseri ￥27.18M
18. Kaori Ohe ￥26.76M
19. Yuri Fudoh ￥26.69M
20. Esther Lee ￥24.23M
21. Megumi Kido ￥23.65M
22. Hyun-Ju Shin ￥21.44M
23. Yuki Ichinose ￥20.75M
24. Shinobu Moromizato ￥20.35M
25. Yukari Baba ￥19.80M
26. So-Hee Kim ￥18.84M
27. Miki Sakai ￥18.82M
28. Yeo-Jin Kang ￥18.71M
29. Erina Hara ￥18.68M
30. Ayako Uehara ￥18.55M
31. Airi Saitoh ￥18.35M
32. Young Kim￥18.05M
33. Ji-Yai Shin ￥17.78M
34. Akane Iijima ￥17.28M
35. Erika Kikuchi ￥17.12M
36. Na-Ri Lee￥17.04M
37. Rui Kitada ￥16.68M
38. Teresa Lu ￥16.25M
39. Bo-Bae Song ￥15.63M
40. Eun-Bi Jang ￥15.54M
41. Na-Ri Kim ￥14.75M
42. Junko Omote ￥14.68M
43. Harukyo Nomura ￥14.48M
44. Kumiko Kaneda ￥14.13M
45. Yuko Fukuda ￥13.72M
46. Da-Ye Na ￥10.59M
47. Lala Anai ￥10.46M
48. Natsu Nagai ￥10.23M
49. Shiho Toyonaga ￥10.09M
50. Yui Kawahara￥9.99M
Next up is the JLPGA's 2nd major, the Konica Minolta Cup, which Yuko Mitsuka won last year. Dual LPGA-JLPGA members Shanshan Feng, Inbee Park, and Harukyo Nomura will be squaring off against the JLPGA's finest, choosing a JLPGA major over the LPGA's return to Kingsmill. There's more than 1 way to get to Hoylake (for the RICOH Women's British Open the following week), after all!
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Back to School: 240 Hopefuls Set to Tee off in the 1st Stage of LPGA Q-School on September 4th
Onechan and imoto go back to school this coming Tuesday and so do the 240 golfers on the preliminary field list for the 1st stage of LPGA Q-School.
Imoto has the same teacher that onechan did in 1st grade, so that helps reduce any anxiety she may be feeling. I wonder if playing the same course as usual--LPGA International in Daytona Beach--will have the same effect for those familiar with playing in this stage. Let's see how well Mexico's Violeta Retamozo, Ecuador's Kitty Hwang, Colombia's Paula Hurtado, Argentina's Maria Laura Elvira, Arizona's Taylor Karle, California's Hwanhee Lee, Moah Chang, and Kim Welch, Nevada's Seema Sadekar, Georgia's Garrett Phillips, and New York's Danielle Downey and Jillian Fraccola can make use of their experience.
Onechan has a new teacher for 3rd grade and there are plenty of big names breaking similarly new ground in their own careers: Cheyenne Woods, Moriya Jutanugarn, Jaye Marie Green, Brooke Pancake, Austin Ernst, Guilia Molinaro, Lisa McCloskey, Tiffany Lua, Lee Lopez, Sally Watson, Kayla Mortellaro, and Ashley Ona.
Angela Park, a former Rookie of the Year on the LPGA, qualified via the Futures Tour the 1st time around, so this is her Q-School debut, too. I'll be rooting for her, along with New Yorkers Downey, Fraccola, Kristina Wong, Jeanine Aronica, and Michele Low, and J-golfers Rui Yokomine, Keiko Kubo, and Keiko Kiyomoto, most intensely. But good luck and good golf to all!
[Update 1 (9/4/12, 10:34 pm): Here's a great preview from Brent Kelley and here's the leaderboard.]
Imoto has the same teacher that onechan did in 1st grade, so that helps reduce any anxiety she may be feeling. I wonder if playing the same course as usual--LPGA International in Daytona Beach--will have the same effect for those familiar with playing in this stage. Let's see how well Mexico's Violeta Retamozo, Ecuador's Kitty Hwang, Colombia's Paula Hurtado, Argentina's Maria Laura Elvira, Arizona's Taylor Karle, California's Hwanhee Lee, Moah Chang, and Kim Welch, Nevada's Seema Sadekar, Georgia's Garrett Phillips, and New York's Danielle Downey and Jillian Fraccola can make use of their experience.
Onechan has a new teacher for 3rd grade and there are plenty of big names breaking similarly new ground in their own careers: Cheyenne Woods, Moriya Jutanugarn, Jaye Marie Green, Brooke Pancake, Austin Ernst, Guilia Molinaro, Lisa McCloskey, Tiffany Lua, Lee Lopez, Sally Watson, Kayla Mortellaro, and Ashley Ona.
Angela Park, a former Rookie of the Year on the LPGA, qualified via the Futures Tour the 1st time around, so this is her Q-School debut, too. I'll be rooting for her, along with New Yorkers Downey, Fraccola, Kristina Wong, Jeanine Aronica, and Michele Low, and J-golfers Rui Yokomine, Keiko Kubo, and Keiko Kiyomoto, most intensely. But good luck and good golf to all!
[Update 1 (9/4/12, 10:34 pm): Here's a great preview from Brent Kelley and here's the leaderboard.]
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