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-

The first LPGA major is almost here

Everything is set for the 40th anniversary of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the first Grand Slam of the season. After four tourneys, the best women golfers are ready to visit Rancho Mirage, CA.

This will certainly be a tournament to remember, it will have more than 30 entertainers from music, TV and movies. Of course it'll display a star studded field, with 23 of the top 25 players of the Rolex Rankings.

Expect to see an Asian leader board, probably led by world number one Yani Tseng, who aside from being the defending champion, has had a stelar year so far. For starters, she won her first four tourneys, one in Taiwan, two in Australia (Ladies European Tour) and one more in Thailand (LPGA), and has two top 5 finishes and a T19 in her last three appearances in the LPGA.

South Korean Jiyai Shin will also be a serious contender for the title, even when she started with three ties (35, 11 and 29), last weekend she showed why she's one of the best players, as she finished runner-up at the Kia Classic, one stroke back from German Sandra Gal

Keep an eye on Australia's Karrie Webb, who has already won twice in 2011, at the HSBC Women's Champions and RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup; and also in Michelle Wie, who has two top 10 finishes in three events.

Tseng leads women's golf

The 2011 LPGA season started with a first class event, the Honda LPGA Thailand, which was held last weekend at the Slam Country Club with a 1.4 million dollar purse. The player to follow, from day one, was Yani Tseng, since she started the season as world number 1.

The 22 year old has achieved what many player never accomplished in their careers. Tseng has won 3 out of 4 LPGA majors; the only one she's missing is the U.S. Open, nevertheless, she has had good results, -last year she posted a top 10 in Oakmoant.

To the Kraft Nabisco Championship, LPGA Championship and Women's British Open, Tseng ha added three more crowns at the LPGA Corning Classic, P&G NW Arkansas Championship and, most recently, the Honda LPGA Thailand.

The later was important because not only secured her another week as the best in the world, she also won for the fourth consecutive time. Yani kick-off 2011 in the Taiwanese tour, where she won the Ladies Open Taifong. Later, she participated in the Ladies European Tour, taking away the first two tourneys -ISPS Handa Women's Asutralian Open and ANZ Ladies Masters RACV- after coming from behind.

Tseng went to Thailand hoping to grab the first title of the LPGA season; the first day it was In-Kyung Kim who took the lead, after posting a 9 under round and leaving Yani 3 shots behind. However, she kept it cool and as in previous tournaments, she recovered lost ground and railed to win the title, leaving behind Michelle Wie, Karrie Webb and Paula Creamer.

"Nini" will have a shot to win her 5th event in a row this week, when the tour stops in Singapore for the HSBS Women's Champions. This also represents a chance to keep a larger advantage between her and South Koreans Jiyai Shin and Na Yeon Choi; American Cristie Kerr, and Norwegian Suzann Pettersen, which are looking to take Yani down from the first spot of the Rolex Rankings.

The note: Yani Tseng, Michelle Wie and Karrie Webb secured their way to the season-ending Titleholders.

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.

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.

Shin's success

She was born April 28th, 1988 in South Korea and soon became one of the players to follow. With only 22 years old, she's atop the Rolex Rankings and far from being obnoxious, she's one of the nicest girls on tour, which makes her a fan favorite.

Jiyai Shin became pro in 2005. 

Her life seems like a dream come true, nevertheless, Jiyai Shin received a terrible news when she was 16. While practicing, she knew her mother had died in a car crash and her younger siblings had been badly injured, which made her take care of them for over a year.

In 2005 she grabbed her first KLPGA victory, after winning the SK Enclean Invitational as an amateur, and shot after she became pro. In 2006 she conquered three more titles including a major, the Taeyoung Cup Korean's Open.

Media and fans acknowledge her potential and in 2007 she won 10 out of 19 tournaments played, she broke every KLPGA record and was named Player of the Year. Her success took her to the LPGA where she played 4 tourneys, finishing 6th at the U.S. Women's Open and 3rd at the Evian Masters. At the end of the year, Jiyai was the top ranked South Korean and the only non-LPGA member at the Rolex Rankings top 10.

One year later, she became the first non-LPGA member to win three events as she lifted the Women's British Open, Mizuno Classic and ADT Championship trophies.

In 2009 she debuted at the LPGA and manged to become the Rookie of the Year, she was close to being the Player of the Year and won three more times: HSBC Women's Championship, Wegmans LPGA and P&G Beauty NW Arkansas, thus she topped the Money List, becoming the first South Korean golfer to do so.

She grabbed her first 2010 title last weekend when she defeated United States player, Morgan Pressel, at the Evian Masters, showing why she's called the "Final Round Queen". Shin came from behind and notched a bogey-free 5 under round, which secured her the title.

This gave her the first position of the Rolex Rankings back, since she lost it a month ago to Ai Miyazato, after skipping the State Farm Classic, due to a surgery.

Outside the ropes, Shin is one of the most charismatic Asian golfers on tour, she signs all kind of memorabilia and takes pictures with her fans on a regular basis. Her commitment with the tour is tremendous, she's even taken English lessons in order to attend media and sponsors.

Furthermore, she's an excellent Gospel singer and has released some songs in her country.

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.

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.

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.

So long 2009

Another year goes by and with it many memories and achievements stay in our memories. When any of us think of 2009 the names of those golfers who lived the season in the limelight will come into our minds, so let's remember some of them, shall we?

 

Tiger Woods: yes, he cheated and it's been mentioned on a regular basis. Nevertheless, let's not forget that this guy had some pretty nice accomplishments on the course: he won six times, he had 3 top tens in four majors, was named PGA Player of the Year, won the FedEx Cup and took home 10 million dollars in earnings. If this was not enough, Forbes magazine named him the richest athlete in the planet with a 1 billion estimated fortune and AP considered him the Athlete of the Decade.

Y. E. Yang: he took home the PGA Championship, which was special for several reasons; one, he became the first Asian player to accomplish that feat; and two,  he overcame a 2 shot deficit to surpass Tiger. This was the first time Woods lost an event after being the 54 hole leader.

Steve Stricker: he had his best season ever thanks to three victories: Crowne Plaza Invitational, John Deere Classic and Deutsche Bank Championship. This and other good results during the year gave him the opportunity to grab the 3rd position at the World Golf Rankings.

Lorena Ochoa: the Mexican superstar won her 4th Player of the Year Award, which came as a result of 3 wins and 10 top tens. Even when Ochoa didn't get as much titles as she used to in previous years, she maintained the first position at the Rolex World Rankings. She experience some changes in her personal life since she got married to Andrés Conesa, Aeromexico's CEO.

Jiyai Shin: the South Korean won 3 times and was named Rookie of the Year. She almost grabbed the tour's most prestigious awards in a single season, something that has been only accomplished by Nancy Lopez (1978). Shin has shown that she's a very classy lady, with both fans and media, which makes her a favorite in the golf community.

Anna Nordqvist: along with Shin, she was the only rookie who won multiple times in the tour. In her fifth appearance she kept it calm to claim the second major of the season, the McDonald's LPGA Championship, which gave her exempt status and media attention; she was also compared to fellow Swedish woman Annika Sörenstam. Nordqvist closed her season in style after winning the LPGA Tour Championship with a 2 stroke advantage over Lorena Ochoa.

It's pretty obvious that there's a lot of talent and next year's performances should be solid and fun, even with Woods' "retirement", which might end by the Augusta Masters, and Lorena's marriage, which kept her focused on different matters, the toughest difficulty that the executives from all tours will experience will be the financial crisis; they need to find new business models in order to bring more sponsors and, at the end, new tournaments. 2010 must be the year in which golf reemerges.

Nail biting!!!

The last season’s tourney was cut to 54 holes after a terrible washout in Texas. On Friday play was suspended several times until it was announced that it wasn’t going to be possible to continue. Saturday was a bummer since no one played at all, which left almost everybody without even starting the second round. Finally on Sunday the players finished what was supposed to happen on Friday. Today the third round was played and what a season ending tournament it was!

This event replaced the ADT Championship which was played in Florida. 

The LPGA Tour Championship was especially important since Lorena Ochoa, Jiyai Shin and Cristie Kerr were fighting to take home the Player of the Year Award, which wasn’t presented officially during the Gala. The only thing that happen during the ceremony was the acknowledgment to the First-Time Winners, except for Michelle Wie who not only withdrew but also couldn’t accept the Rolex she was supposed to receive since she has a sponsorship with Omega, and of course the Rookie of the Year Award given to Jiyai Shin.

Lorena Ochoa was thefirst round leader after firing a 66, but a couple of mistakes on her next 18 holes put her a bit far from the top. Still, today she stayed patient and calm, even when she bogeyed 17 she managed to birdie 18 and finish as runner-up.

Shin wasn’t as sharp as in previous rounds, she had a tough time on the green, which is pretty unusual for a golfer who has a tremendous short game; she tied for 8th.

The winner was Swedish rookie, Anna Nordqvist, who grabbed her second LPGA victory after winning the McDonald’s LPGA Championship last June. This result gives Anna more confidence and also lets everybody know she has what’s needed to compete in this tour.

So, Lorena Ochoa became a four time Player of the Year and also took home the Vare Trophy for lowest score in the season. She closed 2009 in style after having a tough year, nevertheless she has another commitment ahead: her wedding. She’ll get married December 5 with Aeromexico’s CEO, Andrés Conesa. Let’s hope in 2010 she can comeback as strong and dominant as she used to be in 2007 and 2008.

Sweet youth!

She’s a 21 year old from South Korea and she managed to make it to the top of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational. Jiyai Shin, who’s already clinched the Rookie of the Year Award, is seeking to become the LPGA’S best player this year, which will end with Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa three year’s streak as Player of the Year.

The LOI is the last stop of the LPGA in Mexico this year.

Shin didn’t have a single mistake in the second round and she made 6 birdies un holes 3, 7, 9, 13, 14 and 15. She was pretty relaxed and keep it cool the whole day. Today was key for her cause she claimed the first position and has a three stroke advantage over Paula Creamer AND Michelle Wie.

The “Pink Panther” couldn’t do much today and her round was quite inconsistent, her game on the green was messy and couldn’t seal some clear birdie opportunities. Nevertheless she managed to stay in contention.

There was someone out there who had a great round and it was Michelle Wie, who signed a 66 scorecard, for an 8 under overall. Even when she two birdies on the front nine, the good stuff came at the back: she eagled 10, par 5, and then birdies 12 and 16. She had some trouble with her tee shot on 17 but she mended the mistake on 18 with another birdie.

Tomorrow the last group will display these three players, who have made it clear that the LPGA youth is on fire!

Here come the Asians!

As it has been for the last couple of seasons the girls from the far far East have been dominating the leaderboard of almost every single LPGA tournament.

LOI’s field features 15 Asian players, compared with only
2 Mexicans and 6 Europeans.

Son Hee Kim had a great start, she opened her 65 round with a birdie on number 3 par 5. Kim, who has 10 top ten finishes this year, continue to card birdies on 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10. Then, she had to settle with pars from 11 to 17 and finally closed with another birdie. With this round she tied the course record which was set last year by Brittany Lang.

Jiyai Shin, who is close to become POY, birdied 1 after a great approach shot and continue with the pace in 3, 5 and 6. Nevertheless, she bogeyed 8 but managed to comeback on 10, then she would do the same on 12 and 13. She was one stroke behind clubhouse leader Kim, when she bogeyed 16 to finish 5 under for the day.

Another Asian player who is up there is Eun-Hee Ji who also had a good round, with few mistakes and very solid finish. She managed to birdie 1, 9, 10, 14 and 18 compared with only one bogey on 5.

Still, there are two players chasing Kim, one of the kids on the block, Paula Creamer, who’s putting is definitively getting stronger; and a Latino player who isn’t precisely Lorena Ochoa, she’s Maria José Uribe who had a solid 67 round with only 1 bogey on 14.

The youngsters…

Yesterday Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer and Jiyai Shin attended a press conference and talked about their expectations about the tournament. These young players are hoping to take the trophy home for very special reasons.

Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie were Solheim Cup team partners. Jiyai Shin will play her first LOI.

First of all, Michelle is seeking her first victory in the LPGA and is hoping to make it happen this week. “I feel like I've done well, but I want to do better… I expect myself to try my hardest here…to win, that would be my No. 1 goal”. BTW, Michelle is still dealing with her ankle, although she’s sure this won’t affect her game.

Then we have Paula Creamer who has had the toughest season since she became pro. As you might know she’s been dealing with some virus which won’t let her eat much and she has to be extra careful, “I brought about 40 pounds of food. It's not Mexico, but my body can't handle it right now”. So she needs to focus a bit more and try to do her very best to get a good result here.

Finally, Jiyai Shin who decided to come just to grab some POY points, which she probably will achive, has been playing great and maybe that momentum will put her in the final group on Sunday.

We’ll see what happens, stay tuned and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, we’ll have live coverage through that media.

The battle continues

The Hana Bank KOLON Championship was played in South Korea last week and it seemed like a very interesting tournament since Lorena Ochoa and Jiyai Shin were listed in the field and one of them would have the chance to grab a stronger lead in the Player of the Year race with a win.
Nevertheless, both contenders saw their chances slip when Na Yeon Choi lifted the trophy, which put her as the third player to win multiple times in 2009, along with Ochoa and Shin, who have 3 victories this season.

In 2009, Choi became a Rolex First Time Winner when she claimed the
Samsung World Championship.

The tournament was specially tough for Ochoa, who had difficulties on the green from start to finish. During the 54 hole event she scored three birdies, five bogeys and two double bogeys, which led her to a tie for 44, 16 strokes behind the winner.

This week world number 1 didn’t gain points in the POY category.

On the other hand, Jiyai Shin played two of the three rounds under par; the first one with 67 strokes and the third one with 70. The second round was complicated for her and scored 4 over.

Nevertheless, Shin went straight to the top 10 and finished 6th, securing the Rookie of the Year Award and adding five more points to her lead in the POY race. As of November 1st. Shin is 10 units ahead of Ochoa.

Even with last week’s results, the battle is still on and maybe at the Mizuno Classic Shin will become the POY, which will put her next to Nancy Lopez as the only players to make the double. Still, if Ochoa gives a good fight in Japan, she could extend the fight until the Ochoa Invitational, which will give her home advantage.

Will Asia save her?

On Monday world number one, Lorena Ochoa, presented the last LPGA tournament that will be played in Mexico, the Lorena Ochoa Invitational. After she read the list of golfers that will attend, she surprised the media when she announced her intentions to play in both events that will take place in Asia.

The Mexican superstar is currently 5 points behind South Korean Jiyai Shin in the Player of the Year category.

The first one is the Hana Bank Kolon Championship which will be played in South Korea from October 30th. to November the 1st.  Ochoa has only played in 3 editions: in 2003 she had her worst score as she tied for 13th; in 2004 she came back with a 4th; and in 2007 she managed to take the 12th spot.
The next tournament is the Mizuno Classic from November 6th. to 8th. The last time Lorena appeared in the field was in 2004 when she scored –3 overall, and got the 39th position. One year later she claimed the 10th.

Jiyai Shin will defended her title at the Mizuno Classic; last year she won with 201 strokes, 15 under par.

During the press conference Lorena assured she wants to take the Player of the Year Award home, so she can make it 4 in a row. Nevertheless, this seems quite complicated since Jiyai Shin has been playing her “A” game, specially in the HSBC Women’s Championship, the Wegman’s LPGA and the P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship, events which she won easily.
Let’s see if Lorena can keep up the pace and reclaim her throne, which has been occupied by others.

The return from the ashes?

Yesterday Lorena Ochoa showed she’s not ready to give away her spot at the Rolex World Rankings. The Mexican superstar has been the queen for 129 weeks and seems ready to play the tournament she hosts in November.

Lorena became the second player to win 3 events this year, along with Jiyai Shin.

Ochoa started the final round as the leader of the Navistar Classic, with a 3 stroke advantage over German Sandra Gal; she wanted to defend her title and change what happened last week when Sophie Gustafson defeated her in the CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge.
Lorena’s first holes were a mess, she scored bogey on hole 1, birdie on the 4th and double bogey on the 5th; nevertheless, she managed to sink her birdie putts on 8, 11, 14 and 17, which led her to a 70 stroke round, 2 under, and a final score of –16, with this she also broke the tournament record, which she set last year with 15 under.
The rest of the players played for second place even teen sensation Michelle Wie, who scored the best round of the day (-6), wasn’t a threat.
14 year old Alexis Thompson, who shared the lead for the firs t36 holes, couldn’t keep the peace and shot 74 on Saturday and Sunday. Se finally tied the 27th position and was the best amateur of the tournament.

 Alexis is the top-ranked junior.

This result represents Lorena’s first victory in a 5 month drought:

Month	Tournament	Position
May	Michelob Ultra Open	10
	Sybase Classic	19
June	McDonald’s LPGA Championship	23
July	Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic	8
	Women’s U.S. Open	26
	Evian Masters	40
	Ricoh Women’s British Open	28
August	Safeway Classic	49
September	CN Canadian Open	10
	Samsung World Championship	4
	CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge	2

Another important thing to say is that Ochoa jumped fro 6th to 2nd in the Player of the Year point’s race, she’s 6 units behind South Korean Jiyai Shin who has 131 points.
Seems like the slump is in the past and that the summer wasn’t the best season for Ochoa; let’s see if the autumn helps her to renovate.

Back to the winner's circle

Sophie Gustafson never gave up and fought fiercely and hold off Lorena Ochoa, who hasn't won since April, when she lifted the Corona Championship trophy at Morelia, Michoacán.

This was Sophie Gustafson's first victory in the LPGA since 2003 when she won the Samsung World Championship.

From the first round of the CVS Pharmacy LPGA Challenge, Gustafson shot the best round of the day with a 65. Her closest rival was a Mexican, but not precisely Ochoa. It was Sophia Sheridan another young player from Guadalajara and also coached by Rafael Alarcón, who by the way has been a regular member of the Durame Futures Tour and even a sporadic golfer of the LPGA, tour in which she features as a non-exempt member. Sheridan's performance made her country proud, it was the first time she reached the second place in an LPGA event.

Even after a 5 under round, Sheridan wasn't able to keep track and passed the baton to fellow countrywoman and childhood friend, Lorena Ochoa, who needed to win to shut the rumors that assure that she was in a slump and that her position at the Rolex World Rankings was at stake.

Friday and Saturday was a continuos fight between Gustafson and Ochoa, the Mexican accomplished to reach the first spot of the leaderboard, but not for long after the Swede posted a 66.

By Sunday both players were tied for the lead at 16 under and shared the group of honor. Their game was sharp and managed to score rounds in the 60's. Ochoa got birdies in 5, 9 and 16, never the less, she bogeyed 8, 15 and 18 to finish the day at even par. Meanwhile, Gustafson started with birdies in 1, 3, 9 and 13, plus an eagle in 5, she made mistakes in 6, 8 and 18. At the end, the Swede posted a 68 final round, to win the tournament.

This was Lorena Ochoa's best result in the last 10 events.

Even when Ochoa made a great effort, she's far from South Korea's Jiyai Shin at the POY Award and the Money List title.

*Flash*
Suzann Pettersen, who has already won once this year, withdrew from the tournament on Sunday. Apparently she's been dealing with foot problems.

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.