The rankings: upside down

The days when golf was dominated by Annika Sörenstam and Tiger Woods are over; a long time ago -at least that's how it feels- both used to tease each other about majors. Today, things are completely different...

Woods hasn't recovered his mental side of the game due to his infidelity scandal, which came to light on November 2009, after he crashed his SUV in Isleworth; meanwhile, Sörenstam left the LPGA in 2008 to pursue two of her biggest dreams: creating her personal brand -ANNIKA- and starting a family. This brought changes in the world rankings.

In women's golf, it was Mexican Lorena Ochoa who assumed the top position, and managed to stay there for 3 years, before leaving the LPGA.

When Ochoa left, the Pandora box opened. After 11 months, we've seen 4 players atop the rankings - three Asian and one from the USA-. Still, non of them has stayed there for more than 15 weeks in a row. They are: Jiyai Shin (South Korea), Cristie Kerr (USA), Ai Miyazato (Japan) and Yani Tseng (Taiwan).

This seems to be expanding rapidly. After 5 years of dominance, Woods left the first place of the Official World Golf Rankings in October 2010, and ever since, men's golf has had an open season. Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer have had the privilege to lead golf, but haven't consolidated up there.

Throw Luke Donald in there, who has a 0.28 point difference with Westwood, and you'll get another guy on track to take over the first spot.

It's clear that the 'Monarchy' has come to an end, but far from being a mishap, it happens to be quite a treat for fans. For the first time in years, there's a range of possibilities ahead, there are no clear favorites, which brings excitement to the table, and to prove it, you have the first two majors of 2011: The Masters and the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Tweet of the week:

Anyone remember when media outlets were slagging the @LPGA for not having one definite #1 player? We are SUCH trendsetters, @PGATOUR!! -@TheChristinaKim-

2011, the LPGA and its players

The new LPGA campaign promises more excitement than in 2010, not only for the new tournaments and formats, but for the players who will contend for the top spot of the Rolex Rankings and the awards given by the tour.

Like every year, there will be a rookie class that will fight for the Rookie of the Year Award. American favorite is Jessica Korda, who was runner-up in the Q-School and at age 17 became professional to play on the tour.

Korda will be joined by Americans (14), South Koreans (3) and Japanese (3) players, plus one from each of the following countries: Australia, Canada, England, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Wales.

The newcomers will contend with the best of the world, a task difficult to achieve, especially since the top 5 of the rankings, Jiyai Shin (1), Yani Tseng (2), Cristie Kerr (3), Suzann Pettersen (4) and Na Yeon Choi (5) haven't slow down for a while.

Shin and Tseng have already seen action this year, after playing in the season opener of the Ladies European Tour. Both were part of the ISPS HANDA Women's Australian Open field, and it was Tseng who took the trophy home, plus enough points to move up from fifth to second place in the Rolex Rankings. Shin finished T2, which ensured her stay, for 15 weeks in a row, as world number one.

It's also important to keep an eye on Ai Miyazato (6) and In-Kyung Kim (7), both won in 2010 and made clear that when they're "on fire" there's no way to stop them.

We'll also see Paula Creamer's resurrection; she's finally healthy, after two complicated seasons, due to a stomach virus, that struck in 2008 and 2009, and a surgery in her left wrist, in 2020, which pushed her to kick-off her season on June, but paid off, when she won the U.S. Women's Open.

Michelle Wie will remain in the public's taste, despite continuing her studies at Stanford University, which sometimes interferes with her schedule, but hasn't put her outside the winners' circle, last year she lifter her second professional trophy, in the CN Canadian Open.

Finally, we can't leave outside the Asian contingent, which has proved to be the strongest group on the tour, not only because each year it brings more member to the LPGA, but also because it has better results.

Near the end

The 2010 LPGA season is almost over and up until now there have been 17 champions. This hasn't happened for several years. From 2003 to 2008 Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sörenstam dominated women's golf largely.

In 2009 someone else draw attention to the tour, South Korean Jiyai Shin, who not only won the Rookie of the Year honors, but also came one point short of grabbing the Player of the Year award, a situation that was defined in the last tournament of the season.

While some players have already shown they had the talent necessary to have a place among the best, Shin was the first to shoock Lorena's reign, who in turn supplanted Annika in 2007.

With their retirement, the LPGA was left without a leader, but soon resurfaced with great diversity, which goes from Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer, who have already won this year and are also favorite for their physical appearance, to Yani Tseng, Shin Jiyai and Ai Miyazato, Asian players with personality and enormous talent, and finally to Cristie Kerr, U.S. veteran who has already savored the glory of being the best in the world. 

With six tournaments remaining, there is a lot at stake. From October to December the most prestigious titles have yet to be defined:

Player of the Year: Yani Tseng, Ai Miyazato, Cristie Kerr, Na Yeon Choi, Shin Jiyai and Suzann Pettersen.
Vare Trophy: Na Yeon Choi, Cristie Kerr and Suzann Pettersen.
Money List: Jiyai Shin, Na Yeon Choi, Yani Tseng, Ai Miyazato, Cristie Kerr and Suzann Pettersen, all with more than $ 1.3 million dollars.

After Ochoa's retirement, everyone thought the tour would be in crisis, but everything points to a new era, which has been accepted by the fans, as they have more than one option in each event, which has brought emotion rather than uncertainty.

More changes

Ai Miyazato grabbed another victory in the LPGA; this is her fifth title of the season and her sixth as a member of the tour. Besides, winning the Safeway Classic put her back atop the Rolex Rankings.

This is the third time Miyazato grabs the first place of the ranking.

From day one she showed her talent and managed to grab the top spot of the 54 hole event played in  Portland, Oregon; a fierce competitor, she was never intimidated by the other top players of the Rolex Rankings that played the Safeway Classic.

The Japanese golfer posted a 66 opening round; then, on Saturday, she scored 67 and, finally, on Sunday she shot 72, enough to lift the trophy and oust Cristie Kerr from the top spot of the ranking.

Nevertheless, the feat wasn't easy, by Sunday, 7 of the top 10 players of the Rolex Rankings were on the leader board: Miyazato, Kerr, Pettersen, Choi, SH Kim, IK Kim and Shin; only Paula Creamer, Yani Tseng and Anna Nordqvist couldn't make it.

With her victory, Miyazato became the top earner of the season, with $1'311,818 dollars; now, she tops the Player of the Year Award race with 172 points. Furthermore, she's the only player to win more than 3 tourneys in a single season since Lorena Ochoa grabbed seven titles and Paula Creamer won four, both in 2008.

This week, the top golfers will play in Canada with one objective in mind: to displace Miyazato from the top, which is possible since the distance between the top 5 of the rankings is slim: Ai Miyazato (11.46), Cristie Kerr (10.95), Suzann Pettersen (10.31), Jiyai Shin (10.16) and Yani Tseng (9.77).

The best are back (2)

World's best golfers are in Portland, Oregon, to play the Safeway Classic. The tourney should be very interesting, since players 5 to 2 are fighting to get the first position of the Rolex Rankings and a win might boost any of them to the top. Meanwhile, number 1 will do her best to increase her advantage.

5. Yani Tseng: the Taiwanese player won two majors in a single season, something no one had accomplished since 2005. She's only 21 years old and has become one of Asia's most promising golfers. Yani has won every season since she became a LPGA member, back in 2008.

4. Suzann Pettersen: won her first title in 2007, she finished that season with five victories including a major, the LPGA Championship. This year she's been runner-up four times, one of those came after losing to Se Ri Pak in the Bell Micro Classic playoff.

3. Jiyai Shin: went through an appendectomy in June but came back in style and won the Evian Masters played in July. The South Korean golfer has already been atop the Rolex Rankings and, this season, has won more money that anybody else on tour, $1'211,252 dollars.

2. Ai Miyazato: had an amazing season opening and won the first two events of this year's schedule (Asia) and quickly grabbed a couple more (Mexico and USA), that's why she became the player to follow as well as the best golfer in the world (two times).

1. Cristie Kerr: in 14 seasons as a LPGA member, she's collected 14 titles, including two majors. This year she's already won at the LPGA Championship and the LPGA State Farm Classic. She's one of only two United States' players to make the Rolex Rankings top 10.

Finally, it's important to mention that, since Lorena's retirement, no golfer has been able to stay atop the Rolex Rankings for more than 11 weeks; Ochoa managed to do so for 158 weeks.

Japan atop

In 2005 a group of Japanese media went to the United States, specifically to California, venue of the LPGA Q-School. They were there to see a 20 year old who was about to play five rounds to get a card for the most demanding women's golf tour on Earth.

Ai Miyazato is a heroine in her country.

Even when she's a common face in Japan, after winning 15 times in the JLPGA (Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association) including a major, Ai Miyazato wasn't that much of a figure in the States, therefore it was pretty odd to see so many reporters from the Far East.

1.57 m tall, the Japanese became the player to follow; she had an impeccable iron and putter game, which balanced her lack of distance from the tee. Miyazato won the Q-School by a margin of 12 strokes; a feat Paula Creamer, Stacey Lewis, Se Ri Pak, Cristie Kerr, Juli Inkster or any other of the winners of the event had done before; actually it's still a record.

In her debut -SBS Open- more than 50 journalists went to Hawaii to track her down and, even when she finished T48, they never falter to follow her. Ai's talent had already been proved, at least in her natal Japan, nevertheless, she needed three and a half years to grab her first official LPGA victory

It was July 26th, 2009, after shooting 69, 66, 70 and 69 rounds, she went to playoff against Sophie Gustafson in order to determine the champion of the Evian Masters, a high class and limited field tourney. Miyazato took it away in the first hole of sudden death becoming the pride of a whole nation.

After that win, her career took off and by December 2009 she was among the top 10 in the Rolex Rankings, becoming the first Japanese to do so.

There was something clear for Ai this season: being the best player in the world. A dream that came true quickly after winning the Honda PTT LPGA Thailand -season opener-, HSBC Women's Champions, Tres Marías Championship and, last weekend, ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Now there's something she need to take into consideration, Jiyai Shin is pretty close to her in the Rolex Rankings, so there's no room for mistake. nevertheless, Miyazato knows how to play with pressure on so she can handle it and make her stay atop a very long one.

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Making the turn

This month the LPGA will welcome the second half of the 2010 season, which executives and fans are waiting for impatiently since the tour wasn't as spectacular as expected and brought some bad moments during its first part.

Tournaments:from February to May there were 9 events, compared to 17 that will be played from June to November. From those disputed in the first semester, the most interesting were the Kraft Nabisco Championship, first major of the year, and the Tres Marías Championship, which was Lorena Ochoa's farewell as an active member of the tour.
Thus, the second part of the schedule will certainly make the ratings raise, since the top players will dispute the remaining Grand Slam tourneys -LPGA Championship, U.S. Women's Open and British Open- as well as the prestigious Evian Masters.

Lorena Ochoa: her decision to leave the game was shocking because, even when Jiyai Shin became world number 1 -after a very consistent 2009 season- it's gonna be tough for the LPGA to find another player with Ochoa's charm. Perhaps the youngsters, such as Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie, Brittany Lincicome and Anna Nordqvist, can take Lorena's legacy, but their game hasn't been as mature as it should be to become the boss in the most competitive women's golf tour.

Erica Blasberg: the decease of the 25 year old North American shook the LPGA and its members in a very particular way. The cause of death is still unknown, therefore there have been lots of theories about ex-Wildcat's relationships and way of living off the course. With this background, it will take at least 3 more weeks for the coroner to release further information.

Paula Creamer: she's, by far, one of the favorite golfers around and, even when she's one of the most devoted players of the tour, the Pink Panther hasn't seen action in 2010 after going through surgery in her left hand, as a result of an injury that had been bothering her since last year. Now it's just matter of weeks before she comes back and makes her debut at the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Asian players: once again it was pretty clear who leads the tour. The golfers from the Far East won 7 of the 9 tournaments played from February to May, after displaying quality and consistency on the course. Besides, they lead the top 5 of the Rolex Rankings: Jiyai Shin (1), Ai Miyzato (2) and Yani Tseng (4). It's gonna be very interesting to see their performance in the remaining events, but it's almost a fact that they'll continue to dominate.

The best of the season is still to come, so expect lots of emotions and many youngster winners because the average age of those who have lifted a trophy in 2010 is 24.7 years.

Halfway

With 36 holes to go in the Tres Marías Championship, Mexican Lorena Ochoa is still on her feet and hoping to fight for the crown in her farewell. Even when she's away from the top, the Guadalajara native has a chance to make it through.

Lorena was joined by her family and husband.

Tied in the 6th position, world number 1 is happy to see her fans support her, but being close to the leaders is a bigger incentive. Joined by Miyazato and Gulbis, Lorena fought hard to make birdies, but she only sank four of them compared to the four bogeys she made.

Meanwhile Japanese Ai Miyazato suffered to keep the lead and gave it away to Michelle Wie, who converted 8 birdie opportunities and made three mistakes, two of them in the last couple of holes. On the other hand, Brittany Lincicome made everything to tied for the lead and even made an ace on 13, but it was just not enough.

Now,  these golfers will keep the pace in order to seek for the title and try to overcome the climatic conditions, which have been a affecting their game and that will be a factor to tale into consideration for the weekend.

Lorena ready for a triumph

Mexican Lorena Ochoa started her participation in the Tres Marías Championship breaking par and with a very consistent game. She's 7 under par and in good position to leave on Sunday with a win.

Lorena controlled her approaching shots and putted excellent, which she hadn't done in sometime. This was reflected in her first hole (#10) where she shot an eagle after sinking a 3 footer.

Her round was strong from beginning to end and, even when she showed frustration after some shot, she handled the pressure. Climate conditions were good in the morning, with no wind which helped lots of players to go low and break par.

Japan's Ai Miyazato broke the curse record, set by Ochoa in 2006, with an impressive 10 under (63). Her game was impeccable all day long, especially on the green, which put her as the leader of the tourney.

North American Michelle Wie tied for 3rd, along with Lorena, and seems like she's ready to take home another Mexican event, since she won in Guadalajara last year becoming a Rolex first-time winner.

Third stop

After one month of inactivity, the LPGA players are back to continue with this year's schedule. This is the first tournament that they'll play in US soil, since the first two tournaments were celebrated in Asia. So, expect coverage for all and lots of fans following their favorites.

This is an inaugural event and will be played in California.

As expected, the field includes the best of the best, 17 of the top 20 Rolex Rankings players will dispute the title. There's also a 1.7 million dollars purse which will be distributed among those who make the cut.

Nevertheless, there are four players that have good chances of taking it away:

Ai Miyazato: the Japanese won the first two tournaments of the year and seems like she's on fire! Ai has climbed through the Rolex Rankings and is already number 3; less than a point from Jiyai Shin (2) and two from Lorena Ochoa (1). Miyazato's momentum might stretch, unless someone steps in.

Cristie Kerr: in Asia, she made clear who's the best North American around. Her game is solid and balanced, that's why she has played 87% of this season's rounds under par. Kerr was 4th in the Honda PTT LPGA Thailand and runner-up in the HSBC Women's Championship; playing in the USA should giver her a good advantage.

Suzann Pettersen: she's by far the best European in the Rolex Rankings and is considered to be number 4 thanks to her performance. This year she's had two top 5 and was close to winning the season-opener, but Ai Miyazato's brilliant final round left her as runner-up. Pettersen is second in the Money List and her short game is better than ever.

Yani Tseng: a year ago "Nini" was number 2 in the Rolex Rankings, today she's 5 and not happy about it. In Asia she gained the confidence lost in 2009, so it wouldn't be rare to see her lift a trophy this season. Yani's approaching shots are very accurate.

Those who might surprise, for their experience and talent, are Lorena Ochoa, even when she hasn't had a great season she becomes dangerous when she finds momentum, and Jiyai Shin, who just needs a couple of good shots to get into contention.

Two out of two

There's no one who can slow down Ai Miyazato, who this weekend won the HSBC Women's Championship, after dealing with tons of pressure from Cristie Kerr, making it her third LPGA title.
With this victory the Japanese became the only winner in 2010, since last week she took away the season opener: Honda PTT LPGA Thailand.

   

Miyazato became the first player since 1966 to win the first two official events of the LPGA.

On Thursday she was already in the top 10, but it was until Saturday when she managed to tie Juli Inkster, who was the current leader and close on becoming the oldest LPGA winner.

Nevertheless, the youth prevailed and with 69-71-69-69 rounds Miyazato buried Inkster's hopes, along with Crisitie Kerr's, who was runner-up (-8); Song-Hee Kim, Jiyai Shin, Yani Tseng y Suzann Pettersen's, all of them tied for 3rd (-7).

Inkster crumbled on Sunday after shooting 2 over with bogeys on 1, 2, 6, 10, 15 and 18,  compared with birdies on 5, 9, 11 and 16, which led her to finish 9th.

But the biggest disappointment of all was Lorena Ochoa; world number one lead the first round after shooting 68, but on Friday she melt down with a 79, her second worst round as a LPGA member (in 2004 she shot 81 in the Wegmans LPGA).

After these past couple of weeks, the LPGA won't comeback to Asia until October; nevertheless it was pretty much clear that the far East players are in command of the most competitive women's tour on earth.

Meanwhile, Ai Miyazato finally showed why she's such a buzz in her country; do not hesitate, do not doubt: she will be a tough contender this year and she could even fight for the Player of the Year Award.

10 of 2010

In 3 days the 2010 LPGA season will kick off; therefore it's time to talk about those players who will be serious contenders to win one or more tournaments out of the 26 events that are already scheduled. Their expertise, curriculum and talent put them as this season's figures.

1. Lorena Ochoa: this year the Mexican has assured that she only  has golf on her mind; we have to remember that world number 1 had a tough 2009, mainly because she was focused in her personal life, specifically on her wedding, which led her to fight for the POY award  until the last event. Now, Ochoa needs to prove that she has what it takes to continue to reign in the LPGA; even when she's made clear that she wants to win 10 tourneys, the feat looks quite complicated due to the competitiveness of the tour. Nevertheless it wouldn't be odd to see her lift more than three trophies.

2. Jiyai Shin: the 21 year old has 30 professional victories under her belt: 20 in the KLPGA, six in the LPGA, two in the Ladies Asian Golf Tour and one in the JLPGA. And if that wasn't enough, Shin is less than two percentile points away from Ochoa at the Rolex Rankings. In 2009 she took home three tittles: HSBC Women's Championship,  Wegmans LPGA and P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship, she posted 12 top tens, won the ROY award and topped the Official Money List.

3. Paula Creamer: the "Pink Panther" couldn't win last year  since she caught a rare stomach virus and dealt with a thumb injury, which led her to WD or DNS four times. Anyways, the American earned more than 1 million dollars, posted 10 top tens and  claimed the first position in GIR. The last time Creamer had a win less season was in 2006, but she came back with a triumph in 2007 at the SBS Open and claimed five victories in 2008.

4. Anna Nordqvist: she's one of the LPGA's young promises; after being a non-exempt member, the 22 year old Swedish devoted herself to compete in Monday qualifiers. In her fifth event, the McDonald's LPGA Championship, she surprised with her short game and strong mentality; eventually she won the major and got her exempt card. In November she hold back a ferocious  Lorena Ochoa to claim the season ending LPGA Championship. Anna is considered to be the next Annika Sörenstam.

5. Michelle Wie: after several trips, she managed to win the Lorena Ochoa Invitational last year. Besides, she was part of the victorious 2009 Solheim Cup team after Beth Daniel picked her as one of her wild cards. Her appearance in that event was crucial since she won three out of four matches and tied one. Until now, Wie is considered as one of the players that must assume the tour's leadership to keep it safe and in one piece.

6. Ai Miyazato: the greatest figure of the Far East claimed her first victory in 2009, after almost four seasons of constant fighting. Miyazato lifted the Evian Masters trophy, but she had already shown what she was made of. The Japanese super star completed eight more tourneys in which she posted six top tens. Without hesitations, last year she posted her best season as a LPGA member and will be a threat in 2010. Remember, she has 15 victories in the JLPGA.

7. Na Yeon Choi: another strong South Korean; she has seven professional victories: five in the KLPGA and two in the LPGA. Choi joined the tour in 2008 as non-exempt, but her talent led her to qualify to almost every single tournament of the schedule and was runner-up for the ROY award, behind Taiwanese Yani Tseng.  Her great performance gave her exempt status for 2009, year in which she earned more than 1.3 million dollars after winning the Samsung Championship and the Hana Bank COLON Championship. Besides, she was second in birdies and fifth in eagles; she managed to post 11 top tens and was seventh in scoring average.

8. Mariajo Uribe: she's one of this season's rookies and leads the Latin American contingent. The Colombian has always displayed magnificent skills; nevertheless, it was in the 2008 U.S. Women's Open when media started to look closely at her after she tied for 10th, ahead of players like Cristie Kerr and Annika Sörenstam. Last year she received a sponsor's exemption to play the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, where she tied for eighth along with Brittany Lang y Yani Tseng.

9. Jean Reynolds: last season she finished second in the Duramed FUTURES Tour Money List. Nevertheless, the American  set people talking after grabbing the lead of the 2009 U.S. Women's Open, which she maintained for three rounds; eventually she lost focus and finished tied for 17th in front of Paula Creamer, Crisie Kerr and Brittany Lincicome. It was precisely at that tourney where she amazed everyone with her impeccable short game and sharp iron control. During her time at the Futures she won twice and posted 10 top tens.

10. Amanda Blumenherst: she represented Duke University; as a Blue Devil she became the only golfer to win the NGCA Award three consecutive years and received the LPGA Foundation Award for the second time. In 2006 she got a sponsor's exemption to play the U.S. Women's Open, where she tied for 10th. Two years later Amanda won the U.S. Women's Amateur. In September 2009 she participated in the CVS Pharmacy LPGA Challenge finishing fifth. In November she became medalist of the Q-School and earned her card as an exempt player.

There's no doubt that these golfers will be in the limelight; they have what it takes to grab some titles at the most competitive women's golf tour. For now, those who are going to play in Thailand and Singapore are already there to embrace a new season, one that will be for sure the toughest of the LPGA history.

Asia keeps dominating

It's been a couple of years since the Asian players have been showing their "A" game on tour and have been climbing through the rankings leaving other golfers far from contention. Today is pretty common to see the leaderboard crowed by Kims, Kangs, Lees, Ohs, Parks, Yangs and others, maybe that's why the results on the Samsung World Championship weren't a surprise.

The South Korean outlasted Lorena Ochoa.

21 year old Na Yeon Choi showed how a true champion must play in a premium tournament. It was the third round when she scored her best professional score (-9) and put herself in contention, just a couple of strokes from fellow country woman Jiyai Shin.

On Sunday it was pretty clear that one of the most demanding and famous tournaments would have an Asian champion, but nobody knew who of them would take it. Choi teed off chasing a very consistent Shin, who is about to become the first player to clinch the Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards in a single season, since Nancy Lopez completed the feat in 1978.

Na Yeon scored birdies in holes 2 and 4, plus an eagle at number 6, this gave her a six stroke cushion; meanwhile Jiyai was having trouble with her putting and wasn't a threat anymore. Never the less, Japanesse Ai Miyazato manged to pull out birdies in number 12 and 16.

Both player were under the spotlight, especially since Choi bogeyed 9, 10 and 11, granting her lead to Miyazato. It seemed like the game was done, but as they say it doesn't end until the fat lady sings. In the last hole, Ai's sencond shot find the pond that guards the fairway, so she took a drop, a penalty and a two putt bogey, to tie Choi at the top. The South Korean took advantage of the situation and holed her nirdie putt to win the tournament.

The "Pink Panther" hasn't won in 2009.

Mexican super star Lorena Ochoa and US sensation Paula Creamer couldn't match the leaders, both socred 9 under, seven strokes behind Choi. Still, they managed to be on top 5.

The biggest dissapointment was Jiyai Shin's short game, which led her to a 74 stroke final round.