It's been awhile since I've updated my last ranking of the top 22 female professionals under 22 years of age--but they haven't stopped winning! Leaving the list due to age are Ha Na Jang (6 KLPGA victories), Misuzu Narita (5 JLPGA victories, including 1 major), Natsuka Hori (2 JLPGA victories), Jenny Shin, Danielle Kang, and Rebecca Lee-Bentham. They all turned 22 this year (Kang yesterday!).
In what follows, I note wins and majors on the top women's professional tours, along with Rolex Rankings and Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index ratings and ranks.
Simply the Best
1. Lydia Ko (4/24/97): 4 LPGA, 1 KLPGA, 1 LET; 9.75 RR [#3]; 69.27 GSPI [#5]
2. Lexi Thompson (2/10/95): 4 LPGA [1 major], 1 LET; 6.12 RR [#9]; 70.36 GSPI [#23]
3. Hyo Joo Kim (7/14/95): 1 LPGA/LET [major], 1 JLPGA, 6 KLPGA [2 majors]; 5.59 RR [#10]; 67.93 GSPI [n.r.]
The Next Best
4. Jessica Korda (2/27/93): 3 LPGA; 3.49 RR [#25]; 71.40 GSPI [#62]
5. Kyu Jung Baek (10/15/95): 1 LPGA, 4 KLPGA [1 major]; 4.50 RR [#13]; 70.69 GSPI [n.r.]
6. Sei Young Kim (1/21/93): 5 KLPGA [1 major]; 2.50 RR [#40]; 72.66 GSPI [n.r.]
7. In Gee Chun (8/10/94): 3 KLPGA [1 major]; 3.51 RR [#24]; 69.41 GSPI [n.r.]
Rising Stars
8. Charley Hull (3/20/96): 1 LET; 2.82 [#34]; 71.72 GSPI [#77]
9. Ariya Jutanugarn (11/23/95): 1 LET; 1.59 RR [#77]; 71.79 GSPI [#83]
10. Mamiko Higa (10/11/93): 2 JLPGA; 1.21 RR [#104]; 72.17 GSPI [#106]
11. Ai Suzuki (5/9/94): 1 JLPGA [major]; 1.10 RR [#113]; 72.11 GSPI [#111]
12. Harukyo Nomura (11/25/92): 1 JLPGA; 1.50 RR [#81]; 71.26 GSPI [#56]
13. Ayaka Watanabe (9/19/93): 1 JLPGA; 1.31 RR [#91]; 71.01 GSPI [#41]
14. Mi Hyang Lee (21): 1 LET; 1.66 RR [#72]; 71.16 GSPI [#50]
15. Phoebe Yao (12/15/92): 1 JLPGA; .95 RR [#131]; 71.50 GSPI [#67]
Quantum Leap Candidates
16. Minjee Lee (5/27/96): 1.61 RR [#76]; 70.00 GSPI [#15]
17. Jin Young Ko (7/7/95): 2.26 RR [#47]; 71.25 GSPI (n.r.)
18. Min Sun Kim (2/9/95): 1.69 RR [#69]; 72.10 GSPI (n.r.)
19. Moriya Jutanugarn (7/28/94): 1.11 RR [#111]; 72.44 GSPI [#118]
20. Su-Hyun Oh (5/23/96): .30 RR [#301]; 73.16 GSPI [n.r.]
Dark Horses
21. Hikari Fujita (9/26/94): .98 RR [#128]; 72.19 GSPI [#108]
22. Xiyu Lin (2/25/96): .95 RR [#134]; 72.47 GSPI [#121]
So who do you think should be on this list? What do you think of my ranking? Anyone you'd expect to make it through LPGA Q-School's final stage I should be considering for when Harukyo Nomura, Jessica Korda, and Sei Young Kim graduate?
[Update 1 (12:36 pm): Here's HappyFan on the KLPGA's Class of '95 (which includes In Gee Chun who was born a few months before that year started!).]
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Monday, October 20, 2014
So Now Who Do You Think Has Had the Best 2014 in Women's Professional Golf? And Will?
So far, the title for best 2014 in women's golf is down to 8 golfers. Each has at least 3 worldwide wins on major women's professional tours. As impressive as Stacy Lewis has been, her difficulty in sealing the deal has opened the door to some golfers who have been racking up wins of late. Still, Stacy's still my #1 candidate:
- Stacy Lewis (3): North Texas LPGA Shootout (May); ShopRite LPGA Classic (June); Walmart NW Arkansas Championship (June)
- Hyo Joo Kim (5): Kia Motors Korean Women's Open (June); Kumho Tire Women's Open (July); Hanwha Classic (August); Evian Championship (September); Hite Jinro Championship (October)
- Sun-Ju Ahn (5): Yamaha Ladies Open (April); Chukyo TV Bridgestone Ladies Open (May); Suntory Ladies (June); Stanley Ladies (October); Fujitsu Ladies (October)
- Inbee Park (3): World Ladies Championship (March); Manulife Financial LPGA Classic (June); Wegmans LPGA Championship (August)
- Kyu Jung Baek (4): Nexen-Saint Nine Ladies Masters (April); Lotte Cantata Women's Open (June); MetLife KLPGA Championship (August); LPGA KEB-HanaBank Championship (October)
- Ji-Yai Shin (4): Nichirei Ladies (June); Meiji Cup (August); Nitori Ladies (August); Munsingwear Ladies Tokai Classic (September)
- Bo-Mee Lee (3): Hoken No Madoguchi Ladies (May); Century 21 Ladies (July); NEC Karuizawa 72 Ladies (August)
- Misuzu Narita (3): Salonpas Cup (May); Yonex Ladies (June); Samantha Thavasa Ladies (July)
Of course, a lot can happen down the home stretch, with 6 JLPGA, 5 LPGA and 5 KLPGA, and 4 LET events left to go before the year is out. Maybe someone will leave all these players in the dust if she really heats up as the temperatures continue to go down.
In a nutshell, the best of the best women golfers in the world have not yet begun to fight! Who do you think will prevail in the end?
In a nutshell, the best of the best women golfers in the world have not yet begun to fight! Who do you think will prevail in the end?
Sunday, October 19, 2014
LPGA KEB-HanaBank Championship Weekend: Newly 19-Year-Old Kyu Jung Baek Gives Herself Birthday Present with Playoff Win Over Brittany Lincicome and In Gee Chun
Kyu Jung Baek turned 19 on October 15th but could celebrate her birthday only with an opening 74 at the LPGA KEB-HanaBank Championship. Yet with maturity beyond her years she figured out how to handle the winds and the Sky 72 Ocean course and her own balky back as she bounced back with rounds of 69, 68, and 67. Her final-round back-9 31 included 5 birdies in a row and was so good that she even gave herself a chance to sink a curling downhill 6-footer on the par-5 18th for the win. Even though she missed that putt, Baek succeeded in forcing her way into a playoff at -10 with Brittany Lincicome and 20-year-old In Gee Chun, who themselves closed with fantastic 66s to outdistance world #2 Inbee Park (68-67, -9), Michelle Wie (67-67, -8), Catriona Matthew (70-67, -8), Hyo Joo Kim (71-66, -7) and the rest of the 31 players within 5 shots of the lead with 18 holes left to play. What's more, she learned from that miss and from Lincicome's birdie miss from a similar angle and distance on the 1st playoff hole. Baek calmly sunk the downhill 5-footer to secure her 1st-ever LPGA victory and 4th KLPGA title of 2014.
I was able to cap off a great birthday by watching Baek catch fire on the back in the middle of the night. In a week when heralded (and higher-ranked) under-22s struggled--Sei Young Kim hovered between 71 and 74 and finished T42 at +2, Ha Na Jang opened with an 80 and even 30-straight under-par rounds after it only got her back to T35 at +1, Lydia Ko could never get it going and finished T29 at -1, Minjee Lee was either awesome or awful (she sandwiched a 78 and a 74 between an opening 69 and a closing 64 to finish T24 at -3), and Kim needed that Sunday charge to finally get it out of neutral--Baek found her tempo and found the hole, making great chips, pitches, and sand saves when she needed to and taking advantage of almost every birdie opportunity she gave herself. For the week, she took 15 putts fewer than Inbee Park, who has probably been the best putter in the world for at least the last 4 years. Yes, Baek hit the fewest greens in regulation of anyone in the top 20 except Yoon Kyung Heo and Julieta Granada, but Heo had 120 putts and Granada 107 to Baek's 102. It's that kind of putting that wins you tournaments on any tour.
Speaking of which, it'll be interesting to see if Baek decides to take up LPGA membership next year. Will she make like Teresa Lu and decide to stay on her home tour for at least another year? For that matter, which KLPGA stars will decide by November 18th to sign up for the final stage of LPGA Q-School? Ha Na Jang has already expressed an interest in doing this....
Looking ahead to the inaugural Blue Bay LPGA event on Hainan Island, I'm hoping Michelle Wie will be able to play as planned. As well as she scored on the weekend, I saw her shaking her right hand after many shots down the home stretch today. Here's hoping she's healthy enough to keep teeing it up. As excited as I am to watch LET winner this week Lee-Anne Pace tee it up against a bunch of Chinese up-and-comers (Xi Yu Lin, Jiayun Li, Yu Yang Zhang, Yuting Shi, Liqing Chen, star amateurs Jing Yan and Haruka Morita/Wanyao Lu, and new pros Simin Feng and Yu Liu) and veterans (Li-Ying Ye, Hongmei Yang, Hong Tian, and Panpan Yan) and LPGA stars (Lydia Ko, Shanshan Feng, Lexi Thompson, Cristie Kerr, Anna Nordqvist, Azahara Munoz, Brittany Lincicome, Caroline Hedwall, Mirim Lee, Amy Yang, Morgan Pressel, and Ya Ni Tseng, among others), a tournament without Wie just doesn't have as much buzz in the U.S. and world media. Especially because Stacy Lewis, Inbee Park, Suzann Pettersen, and Na Yeon Choi are taking the week off to prepare for the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship (where Ai Miyazato got a sponsor invite!), the Blue Bay needs all the help it can get.
I was able to cap off a great birthday by watching Baek catch fire on the back in the middle of the night. In a week when heralded (and higher-ranked) under-22s struggled--Sei Young Kim hovered between 71 and 74 and finished T42 at +2, Ha Na Jang opened with an 80 and even 30-straight under-par rounds after it only got her back to T35 at +1, Lydia Ko could never get it going and finished T29 at -1, Minjee Lee was either awesome or awful (she sandwiched a 78 and a 74 between an opening 69 and a closing 64 to finish T24 at -3), and Kim needed that Sunday charge to finally get it out of neutral--Baek found her tempo and found the hole, making great chips, pitches, and sand saves when she needed to and taking advantage of almost every birdie opportunity she gave herself. For the week, she took 15 putts fewer than Inbee Park, who has probably been the best putter in the world for at least the last 4 years. Yes, Baek hit the fewest greens in regulation of anyone in the top 20 except Yoon Kyung Heo and Julieta Granada, but Heo had 120 putts and Granada 107 to Baek's 102. It's that kind of putting that wins you tournaments on any tour.
Speaking of which, it'll be interesting to see if Baek decides to take up LPGA membership next year. Will she make like Teresa Lu and decide to stay on her home tour for at least another year? For that matter, which KLPGA stars will decide by November 18th to sign up for the final stage of LPGA Q-School? Ha Na Jang has already expressed an interest in doing this....
Looking ahead to the inaugural Blue Bay LPGA event on Hainan Island, I'm hoping Michelle Wie will be able to play as planned. As well as she scored on the weekend, I saw her shaking her right hand after many shots down the home stretch today. Here's hoping she's healthy enough to keep teeing it up. As excited as I am to watch LET winner this week Lee-Anne Pace tee it up against a bunch of Chinese up-and-comers (Xi Yu Lin, Jiayun Li, Yu Yang Zhang, Yuting Shi, Liqing Chen, star amateurs Jing Yan and Haruka Morita/Wanyao Lu, and new pros Simin Feng and Yu Liu) and veterans (Li-Ying Ye, Hongmei Yang, Hong Tian, and Panpan Yan) and LPGA stars (Lydia Ko, Shanshan Feng, Lexi Thompson, Cristie Kerr, Anna Nordqvist, Azahara Munoz, Brittany Lincicome, Caroline Hedwall, Mirim Lee, Amy Yang, Morgan Pressel, and Ya Ni Tseng, among others), a tournament without Wie just doesn't have as much buzz in the U.S. and world media. Especially because Stacy Lewis, Inbee Park, Suzann Pettersen, and Na Yeon Choi are taking the week off to prepare for the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship (where Ai Miyazato got a sponsor invite!), the Blue Bay needs all the help it can get.
Fujitsu Ladies Sunday: Sun-Ju Ahn Prevails Over Sakura Yokomine and Erika Kikuchi in Playoff
Sun-Ju Ahn got her 2nd JLPGA victory in a row, bringing her season total to 5 and career total to 18, by triumphing over Sakura Yokomine and Erika Kikuchi with a birdie on the 1st playoff hole that earned her the Fujitsu Ladies title.
The golfer I'm trying to get everyone to recognize as "Knockout" saved her best punch for last, but for a long time it looked like she had thrown away the tournament. When Ahn made 3 bogeys in a 5-hole stretch midway through the front 9, she dropped to -9 and gave the lead to Kikuchi, who kept it even after bogeying the 193-yard par-3 8th to fall back to -10. But after Ahn and Kikuchi both birdied the 533-yard par-5 10th, and Kikuchi bogeyed the 405-yard par-4 11th, they found themselves tied for the lead at -10. Then, even as Ahn stalled, Kikuchi and Yokomine went on runs: Kikuchi birdied 3 of her next 5 holes, while Yokomine got off her 15-hole par train (dating back to the end of yesterday's round) with birdies on 14, 15, and 16. At that point, Kikuchi was -13, Yokomine was -12, and Ahn, who birdied the par-5 16th, as well, was -11. But Kikuchi and Yokomine bogeyed 17 and Kikuchi, needing a par to win, bogeyed it. We had a playoff, and the rest is history.
Even though it ended up being a 3-player race to the finish, a few other players had the chance to crash the party. Asako Fujimoto got it to -9 with 12 holes to play, but was +2 and birdieless the rest of the way to settle for T5 at -7 with Rikako Morita and Soo-Yun Kang. Onnarin Sattayabanphot was -9 with 8 to go, but bogeyed 11, 17, and 18 to fall to T8 at -6 with Megumi Kido. Teresa Lu's bogey-free 69 earned her a solo 4th at -8, but as 2 of her birdies came in the last 3 holes, it really was too little, too late to put any pressure on Ahn, Yokomine, and Kikuchi. The visiting Mika Miyazato (71, E) and Ai Miyazato (74, +2) were never factors.
Ahn's win made her the fastest player in JLPGA history to break the 600 million yen barrier, beating Yokomine's record by 48 starts. It also extended her lead on the tour money list.
1. Sun-Ju Ahn ￥136.09M
2. Bo-Mee Lee ￥110.27M
3. Ji-Yai Shin ￥96.59M
4. Misuzu Narita ￥91.57M
5. Teresa Lu ￥84.34M
6. Miki Sakai ￥83.89M
7. Na-Ri Lee ￥69.39M
8. Erina Hara ￥59.05M
9. Esther Lee ￥55.06M
10. Ayaka Watanabe ￥53.76M
11. Onnarin Sattayabanphot ￥52.76M
12. Shiho Oyama ￥50.25M
13. Lala Anai ￥48.41M
14. Rikako Morita ￥46.17M
15. Ritsuko Ryu ￥43.86M
16. Ai Suzuki ￥43.35M
17. Ji-Hee Lee ￥41.13M
18. Momoko Ueda ￥39.55M
19. Mi-Jeong Jeon ￥37.86M
20. Erika Kikuchi ￥34.97M
21. Sakura Yokomine ￥33.89M
22. Saiki Fujita ￥33.39M
23. Kaori Ohe ￥32.16M
24. Yuki Ichinose ￥31.61M
25. Phoebe Yao ￥30.40M
26. Mami Fukuda ￥30.05M
27. Mayu Hattori ￥29.60M
The golfer I'm trying to get everyone to recognize as "Knockout" saved her best punch for last, but for a long time it looked like she had thrown away the tournament. When Ahn made 3 bogeys in a 5-hole stretch midway through the front 9, she dropped to -9 and gave the lead to Kikuchi, who kept it even after bogeying the 193-yard par-3 8th to fall back to -10. But after Ahn and Kikuchi both birdied the 533-yard par-5 10th, and Kikuchi bogeyed the 405-yard par-4 11th, they found themselves tied for the lead at -10. Then, even as Ahn stalled, Kikuchi and Yokomine went on runs: Kikuchi birdied 3 of her next 5 holes, while Yokomine got off her 15-hole par train (dating back to the end of yesterday's round) with birdies on 14, 15, and 16. At that point, Kikuchi was -13, Yokomine was -12, and Ahn, who birdied the par-5 16th, as well, was -11. But Kikuchi and Yokomine bogeyed 17 and Kikuchi, needing a par to win, bogeyed it. We had a playoff, and the rest is history.
Even though it ended up being a 3-player race to the finish, a few other players had the chance to crash the party. Asako Fujimoto got it to -9 with 12 holes to play, but was +2 and birdieless the rest of the way to settle for T5 at -7 with Rikako Morita and Soo-Yun Kang. Onnarin Sattayabanphot was -9 with 8 to go, but bogeyed 11, 17, and 18 to fall to T8 at -6 with Megumi Kido. Teresa Lu's bogey-free 69 earned her a solo 4th at -8, but as 2 of her birdies came in the last 3 holes, it really was too little, too late to put any pressure on Ahn, Yokomine, and Kikuchi. The visiting Mika Miyazato (71, E) and Ai Miyazato (74, +2) were never factors.
Ahn's win made her the fastest player in JLPGA history to break the 600 million yen barrier, beating Yokomine's record by 48 starts. It also extended her lead on the tour money list.
1. Sun-Ju Ahn ￥136.09M
2. Bo-Mee Lee ￥110.27M
3. Ji-Yai Shin ￥96.59M
4. Misuzu Narita ￥91.57M
5. Teresa Lu ￥84.34M
6. Miki Sakai ￥83.89M
7. Na-Ri Lee ￥69.39M
8. Erina Hara ￥59.05M
9. Esther Lee ￥55.06M
10. Ayaka Watanabe ￥53.76M
11. Onnarin Sattayabanphot ￥52.76M
12. Shiho Oyama ￥50.25M
13. Lala Anai ￥48.41M
14. Rikako Morita ￥46.17M
15. Ritsuko Ryu ￥43.86M
16. Ai Suzuki ￥43.35M
17. Ji-Hee Lee ￥41.13M
18. Momoko Ueda ￥39.55M
19. Mi-Jeong Jeon ￥37.86M
20. Erika Kikuchi ￥34.97M
21. Sakura Yokomine ￥33.89M
22. Saiki Fujita ￥33.39M
23. Kaori Ohe ￥32.16M
24. Yuki Ichinose ￥31.61M
25. Phoebe Yao ￥30.40M
26. Mami Fukuda ￥30.05M
27. Mayu Hattori ￥29.60M
28. Yumiko Yoshida ￥29.34M
29. Junko Omote ￥29.01M
30. Asako Fujimoto ￥26.85M
31. Hikari Fujita ￥26.71M
32. Yeon-Ju Jung ￥25.68M
33. Soo-Yun Kang ￥24.16M
34. Rumi Yoshiba ￥23.92M
35. Kotono Kozuma ￥23.63M
36. Megumi Kido ￥23.62M
37. Na-Ri Kim ￥22.53M
38. Yukari Baba ￥22.47M
39. Mamiko Higa ￥21.42M
40. Natsuka Hori ￥21.31M
41. Rui Kitada ￥20.94M
42. Shanshan Feng ￥20.04M
29. Junko Omote ￥29.01M
30. Asako Fujimoto ￥26.85M
31. Hikari Fujita ￥26.71M
32. Yeon-Ju Jung ￥25.68M
33. Soo-Yun Kang ￥24.16M
34. Rumi Yoshiba ￥23.92M
35. Kotono Kozuma ￥23.63M
36. Megumi Kido ￥23.62M
37. Na-Ri Kim ￥22.53M
38. Yukari Baba ￥22.47M
39. Mamiko Higa ￥21.42M
40. Natsuka Hori ￥21.31M
41. Rui Kitada ￥20.94M
42. Shanshan Feng ￥20.04M
43. Akane Iijima ￥20.01M
44. Yukari Nishiyama ￥19.29M
44. Yukari Nishiyama ￥19.29M
45. Miki Saiki ￥18.22M
46. Megumi Shimokawa ￥17.82M
47. Eun-Bi Jang ￥17.47M
48. Da-Ye Na ￥17.36M
49. Ah-Reum Hwang ￥16.24M
50. Nana Yamashiro ￥15.97M
Next up on the JLPGA is the Nobuta Group Masters GC Ladies, which Sakura Yokomine won last year. Bo-Mee Lee and Ji-Yai Shin return to a very different tour than the one they took a break from. Let's see if they fare better against Ahn's knockout punches than the Miyazatos and everyone else did this week!
46. Megumi Shimokawa ￥17.82M
47. Eun-Bi Jang ￥17.47M
48. Da-Ye Na ￥17.36M
49. Ah-Reum Hwang ￥16.24M
50. Nana Yamashiro ￥15.97M
Next up on the JLPGA is the Nobuta Group Masters GC Ladies, which Sakura Yokomine won last year. Bo-Mee Lee and Ji-Yai Shin return to a very different tour than the one they took a break from. Let's see if they fare better against Ahn's knockout punches than the Miyazatos and everyone else did this week!
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Fujitsu Ladies Saturday: Sun-Ju Ahn Leads Erika Kikuchi by 1, Sakura Yokomine by 2
Sun-Ju Ahn continued her fine play at the Fujitsu Ladies on moving day with a 5-birdie 69, but another walkoff bogey dropped her back to -11, which opened the door for a persistent Erika Kikuchi, whose bogey-free 33 on the back pulled her within 1 stroke of the lead, and Sakura Yokomine, who's had a quiet 2014 but who fired a bogey-free 65 to move to -9. With Onnarin Sattayabanphot eagling the par-5 10th to move to -8, Mami Fukuda birdieing 4 of her last 5 holes to get to -7, and Mihoko Iseri firing her 2nd-straight 69, there are a few players who can deny Ahn her 18th career JLPGA victory tomorrow.
But Teresa Lu and Phoebe Yao at -5, Miki Sakai and Soo-Yun Kang at -4, Misuzu Narita and Yumiko Yoshida at -3, Rikako Morita and Erina Hara at -2, Shiho Oyama and Ai Suzuki at -1, and Ai Miyazato and Ji-Hee Lee at E will need to play out of their heads tomorrow (and probably get a little help from the leaders) to pull into contention. Defending champion Na-Ri Lee and Mika Miyazato were among those who made the cut by the skin of their teeth, while the likes of Miki Saiki, Yuko Mitsuka, Esther Lee, Natsuka Hori, Mayu Hattori, Mamiko Higa, Kumiko Kaneda, and Maiko Wakabayashi ended their weeks on frustrating notes.
I'm rooting for a final-round showdown between 2 former money-list title-holders tomorrow. I'd love to see Ahn and Yokomine play like their capable of!
But Teresa Lu and Phoebe Yao at -5, Miki Sakai and Soo-Yun Kang at -4, Misuzu Narita and Yumiko Yoshida at -3, Rikako Morita and Erina Hara at -2, Shiho Oyama and Ai Suzuki at -1, and Ai Miyazato and Ji-Hee Lee at E will need to play out of their heads tomorrow (and probably get a little help from the leaders) to pull into contention. Defending champion Na-Ri Lee and Mika Miyazato were among those who made the cut by the skin of their teeth, while the likes of Miki Saiki, Yuko Mitsuka, Esther Lee, Natsuka Hori, Mayu Hattori, Mamiko Higa, Kumiko Kaneda, and Maiko Wakabayashi ended their weeks on frustrating notes.
I'm rooting for a final-round showdown between 2 former money-list title-holders tomorrow. I'd love to see Ahn and Yokomine play like their capable of!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)