For most of the day, Jennifer Song looked like she had the Futures Tour's Pennsylvania Classic well in hand, but a late double bogey opened the door and Dori Carter walked on through with 6 birdies in her last 11 holes of bogey-free golf. With her win, Carter moves up to #14 on the money list and Song to #9. With 2 events left to play, here is the top 20 (along with this week's results):
1. Cindy LaCrosse (13 events/2 wins) $74.5K (70, -8, T4)
2. Christine Song (15/2) $60.9K (MC)
3. Gerina Mendoza (15/0) $52.0K (72, -1, T26)
4. Angela Oh (15/1) $43.6K (72, E, T30)
5. Tiffany Joh (14/1) $39.8K (69, -5, T10)
[top 5 get good LPGA cards]
6. Jenny Shin (12/1) $39.3K (70, -8, T4)
7. Pornanong Phatlum (13/0) $38.2K (67, -3, T17)
8. Ryann O'Toole (14/2) $37.6K (73, E, T30)
9. Jennifer Song (7/1) $37.4K (70, -11, T2)
10. Jane Rah (15/0) $36.6K (72, -2, T21)
[next 5 get fairly worthless LPGA cards and free trip to LPGA Q-School]
11. Esther Choe (14/0) $34.9K (72, -2, T21)
12. Hannah Jun (13/0) $32.4K (71, +1, T34)
13. Mo Martin (15/0) $31.1K (73, -3, T17)
14. Dori Carter (15/1) $29.2K (68, -12, 1st)
15. Nontaya Srisawang (12/0) $27.9K (71, -5, T10)
16. Jennie Lee (14/0) $25.8K (78, +5, T53)
17. Chelsea Curtis (14/0) $25.3K (70, -1, T26)
18. Dewi Claire Schreefel (15/0) $24.7K (67, -8, T4)
19. Paola Moreno (8/1) $21.8K (DNP)
20. Nannette Hill (15/1) $21.7K (MC)
[next 10 also get free trips to LPGA Q-School]
Here's the field for next week's Greater Richmond Golf Classic. All the usual suspects will be there, including part-time FTer Paola Moreno. South African Melissa Eaton-Jackson, whose T2 finish today in the final pairing with Carter and Song moved her up to #31 on the money list with just over $15K in 9 starts, will also be looking to keep it going in Richmond. Another player to watch is Dewi Claire Schreefel, who finished 10th on last year's money list with 1 win in 16 starts. After Richmond, the players have 2 weeks off leading up to the Price Chopper Tour Championship the 1st week of September.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Sophie Gustafson Goes Low for the Win at the Ladies Irish Open
Sophie Gustafson was the LET's leading money-winner last season, but this season has been a little bit disappointing for her. Until this week, that is, when she fired a final-round 66 to take the Ladies Irish Open by a shot over LET rookie and 2nd-round leader In-Kyung Kim and LPGA rookie Marianne Skarpnord.
Gustafson made a furious comeback after bogeying her 1st hole of the day to fall 4 behind Kim. She made 5 birdies, 2 bogeys, and a par over her next 8 holes to pull within 2 of Kim, then made an eagle on the par-5 12th to catch her. A birdie on the par-3 14th eventually gave her a 2-shot lead on Kim, as the former leader bogeyed it a few minutes after Gustafson finished it. Gustafson's walkoff birdie left her at -12, 1 shot ahead of Skarpnord, who birdied 2 of her last 4 holes but bogeyed the par-3 16th and failed to birdie 19. Kim, too, birdied 2 of her last 4 holes, but she needed a 3rd on 18 to force a playoff with Gustafson and couldn't do it.
Several other players made great final-round charges to try to get in the mix. Melissa Reid showed what progress she's been making with a bogey-free 66 (including 4 birdies and an eagle) to get to -10. Katherine Hull fired a bogey-free 64 to get to -9. And former LPGAer Veronica Zorzi made 10 birdies (including 5 in a row on the back) for a 64 of her own. Looks like there should be plenty of fireworks at next year's Solheim Cup here! Brittany Lang led the red, white, and blue with her 2nd-straight 68 to finish alone in 7th, 1 behind Anna Nordqvist (who could manage only a 72 today). Brittany Lincicome matched it to end up 1 shot further behind Gustafson, tied with Helen Alfredsson, ex-LPGAer Linda Wessberg, and LPGA and LET rookie Azahara Munoz. Christina Kim's 69 put her another shot back, in a tie with Maria Hjorth, Gwladys Nocera, Pernilla Lindberg, and Zorzi. Angela Stanford (70, -3), Suzann Pettersen (72, -2), and Kristy McPherson (72, -1) rounded out the likely Solheim Cuppers in the field.
I'll have an update on the LET's money-list and Rookie of the Year races after they update their site!
[Update 1 (2:45 pm): Wow! Kim didn't win but she leads the LET money list! Here are the top 5:
1. In-Kyung Kim (3 events) €176.9K
2. Melissa Reid (13) €173.4K
3. Laura Davies (10) €168.9K
4. Suzann Pettersen (3) €149.5K
5. Lee-Ann Pace (14) €148.5K
So of course Kim leads the Rookie of the Year race, as well. Here are the top 12:
1. In-Kyung Kim (3 events) €176.9K
2. Maria Hernandez (5) €96.9K
3. Azahara Munoz (6) €92.5K
4. Kristie Smith (12) €80.6K
5. Ai Miyazato (2) €77.9K
6. Christina Kim (5) €58.1K
7. Pernilla Lindberg (6) €40.2K
8. Caroline Masson (10) €37.6K
9. Mollie Fankhauser (10) €34.4K
10. Rebecca Flood (12) €26.6K
11. Jeehae Lee (8) €19.4K
12. Mariajo Uribe (2) €15.5K
It'll sure be interesting to see how the top 7 players in that race manage their schedules. I had thought that Kristie Smith had decided to ditch the Futures Tour, but Ai-sama has commitments to the JLPGA (which is why she's playing in Japan next week) and she and the rest are LPGAers 1st and foremost. I thought some of them might extend their European vacation another week or 2, but in fact only Pernilla Lindberg and those ranked after her are entered in next week's Wales event. Smith's not entered in the penultimate Futures Tour event next week in Richmond, so I suspect she's stayed in Europe and just taken a week off after 2 straight MCs.]
Gustafson made a furious comeback after bogeying her 1st hole of the day to fall 4 behind Kim. She made 5 birdies, 2 bogeys, and a par over her next 8 holes to pull within 2 of Kim, then made an eagle on the par-5 12th to catch her. A birdie on the par-3 14th eventually gave her a 2-shot lead on Kim, as the former leader bogeyed it a few minutes after Gustafson finished it. Gustafson's walkoff birdie left her at -12, 1 shot ahead of Skarpnord, who birdied 2 of her last 4 holes but bogeyed the par-3 16th and failed to birdie 19. Kim, too, birdied 2 of her last 4 holes, but she needed a 3rd on 18 to force a playoff with Gustafson and couldn't do it.
Several other players made great final-round charges to try to get in the mix. Melissa Reid showed what progress she's been making with a bogey-free 66 (including 4 birdies and an eagle) to get to -10. Katherine Hull fired a bogey-free 64 to get to -9. And former LPGAer Veronica Zorzi made 10 birdies (including 5 in a row on the back) for a 64 of her own. Looks like there should be plenty of fireworks at next year's Solheim Cup here! Brittany Lang led the red, white, and blue with her 2nd-straight 68 to finish alone in 7th, 1 behind Anna Nordqvist (who could manage only a 72 today). Brittany Lincicome matched it to end up 1 shot further behind Gustafson, tied with Helen Alfredsson, ex-LPGAer Linda Wessberg, and LPGA and LET rookie Azahara Munoz. Christina Kim's 69 put her another shot back, in a tie with Maria Hjorth, Gwladys Nocera, Pernilla Lindberg, and Zorzi. Angela Stanford (70, -3), Suzann Pettersen (72, -2), and Kristy McPherson (72, -1) rounded out the likely Solheim Cuppers in the field.
I'll have an update on the LET's money-list and Rookie of the Year races after they update their site!
[Update 1 (2:45 pm): Wow! Kim didn't win but she leads the LET money list! Here are the top 5:
1. In-Kyung Kim (3 events) €176.9K
2. Melissa Reid (13) €173.4K
3. Laura Davies (10) €168.9K
4. Suzann Pettersen (3) €149.5K
5. Lee-Ann Pace (14) €148.5K
So of course Kim leads the Rookie of the Year race, as well. Here are the top 12:
1. In-Kyung Kim (3 events) €176.9K
2. Maria Hernandez (5) €96.9K
3. Azahara Munoz (6) €92.5K
4. Kristie Smith (12) €80.6K
5. Ai Miyazato (2) €77.9K
6. Christina Kim (5) €58.1K
7. Pernilla Lindberg (6) €40.2K
8. Caroline Masson (10) €37.6K
9. Mollie Fankhauser (10) €34.4K
10. Rebecca Flood (12) €26.6K
11. Jeehae Lee (8) €19.4K
12. Mariajo Uribe (2) €15.5K
It'll sure be interesting to see how the top 7 players in that race manage their schedules. I had thought that Kristie Smith had decided to ditch the Futures Tour, but Ai-sama has commitments to the JLPGA (which is why she's playing in Japan next week) and she and the rest are LPGAers 1st and foremost. I thought some of them might extend their European vacation another week or 2, but in fact only Pernilla Lindberg and those ranked after her are entered in next week's Wales event. Smith's not entered in the penultimate Futures Tour event next week in Richmond, so I suspect she's stayed in Europe and just taken a week off after 2 straight MCs.]
Saturday, August 7, 2010
LET Showdown in the Works This Weekend
In-Kyung Kim (66, -9) leads the LET's Rookie of the Year race and she's now taken a 1-shot lead on Anna Nordqvist (67), Marianne Skarpnord (66), and Linda Wessberg (66) heading into the final round of the Ladies Irish Open tomorrow. Fellow LET ROY race leaders Azahara Munoz (67) and Maria Hernandez (71) are 5 and 9 shots behind Kim, respectively, so she has a great chance to extend her lead on them tomorrow.
The top American in the field is Brittany Lang (68, -3), followed by Christina Kim (70, -2), Brittany Lincicome (71, -2), Angela Stanford (72, -1), and Kristy McPherson (74, -1). Suzann Pettersen's both injured and exhausted, but she came back from a bad 1st round with a bogey-free 68 that brought her back to -2, as well. Contenders at last week's Women's British Open Katherine Hull (70, -1) and Amy Yang (71, +1) will need to go super-low tomorrow to have a chance at chasing down Kim. Among the victoms of the cut line who won't have a chance to try to reel Kim in are Tania Elosegui, Jeehae Lee, Belen Mozo, Janice Moodie, Beatriz Recari, Julieta Granada, Ashleigh Simon, Kristie Smith, Minea Blomqvist, and Diana D'Alessio.
Kim and Nordqvist are the only players to have broken 70 both days at the site of next year's Solheim Cup, so I expect a showdown tomorrow between them in the final round. But LET Rookie Pernilla Lindberg (66, -7) has the game to put herself in the mix, as do veterans Sophie Gustafson (68, -6) and Maria Hjorth (71, -6), so there's still a chance of a Sunday free-for-all on the LET!
The top American in the field is Brittany Lang (68, -3), followed by Christina Kim (70, -2), Brittany Lincicome (71, -2), Angela Stanford (72, -1), and Kristy McPherson (74, -1). Suzann Pettersen's both injured and exhausted, but she came back from a bad 1st round with a bogey-free 68 that brought her back to -2, as well. Contenders at last week's Women's British Open Katherine Hull (70, -1) and Amy Yang (71, +1) will need to go super-low tomorrow to have a chance at chasing down Kim. Among the victoms of the cut line who won't have a chance to try to reel Kim in are Tania Elosegui, Jeehae Lee, Belen Mozo, Janice Moodie, Beatriz Recari, Julieta Granada, Ashleigh Simon, Kristie Smith, Minea Blomqvist, and Diana D'Alessio.
Kim and Nordqvist are the only players to have broken 70 both days at the site of next year's Solheim Cup, so I expect a showdown tomorrow between them in the final round. But LET Rookie Pernilla Lindberg (66, -7) has the game to put herself in the mix, as do veterans Sophie Gustafson (68, -6) and Maria Hjorth (71, -6), so there's still a chance of a Sunday free-for-all on the LET!
Friday, August 6, 2010
JLPGA Showdown Coming Up Next Week
Ai Miyazato and Momoko Ueda have committed to next week's NEC Karuizawa 72 Ladies event in the 1st JLPGA tournament after a 3-week summer break. A great finish for Miyazato in it would not only help her move back up the Rolex Rankings but also improve on her standing on the JLPGA money list, where she's currently 44th in 3 starts with a 71.60 scoring average. Ueda, meanwhile, is looking to jumpstart her season, as she has only 1 top 10 in 8 JLPGA starts and is stuck at 42nd on the money list with a 72.31 scoring average.
As of today, however, Ji-Yai Shin, Inbee Park, Seon Hwa Lee, and Teresa Lu are not entered in the event. Nor are the top 2 on the money list, Sun-Ju Ahn and Yuri Fudoh. So there won't be quite as many Rolex points at stake as there could have been. But pretty much everyone else who's a threat to win it--from defending champion Chie Arimura to Sakura Yokomine, Mi-Jeong Jeon, Rui Kitada, Akane Iijima, Ji-Hee Lee, Mayu Hattori, Shinobu Moromizato, Ayako Uehara, Young Kim, Bo-Bae Song, and Hyun-Ju Shin--are in it.
It should be good.
As of today, however, Ji-Yai Shin, Inbee Park, Seon Hwa Lee, and Teresa Lu are not entered in the event. Nor are the top 2 on the money list, Sun-Ju Ahn and Yuri Fudoh. So there won't be quite as many Rolex points at stake as there could have been. But pretty much everyone else who's a threat to win it--from defending champion Chie Arimura to Sakura Yokomine, Mi-Jeong Jeon, Rui Kitada, Akane Iijima, Ji-Hee Lee, Mayu Hattori, Shinobu Moromizato, Ayako Uehara, Young Kim, Bo-Bae Song, and Hyun-Ju Shin--are in it.
It should be good.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Recommended Reading: Thomas Atkins, Hound Dog, Happy Fan on Winning
The theme of today's group of recommended posts from around golfblogaramaville is how much winning matters on the LPGA--whether the topic is career victory totals, as in Thomas Atkins's historical study over at Hound Dog LPGA and Hound Dog's response, or majors, as in Happy Fan's look at how and why Korean golfers haven't been winning that many of them lately.
If you find the theme and topics interesting, you might want to check out a couple of vintage Mostly Harmless posts in which I attempted to quantify dominance by examining finishes and winnings as criteria for greatness. Enjoy!
[Update 1 (8/6/10, 4:24 am): Mike Southern just came up with an interesting contribution to this discussion. A very interesting one.]
If you find the theme and topics interesting, you might want to check out a couple of vintage Mostly Harmless posts in which I attempted to quantify dominance by examining finishes and winnings as criteria for greatness. Enjoy!
[Update 1 (8/6/10, 4:24 am): Mike Southern just came up with an interesting contribution to this discussion. A very interesting one.]
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