TONY'S LPGA REPORT

It was quite a week for the youngsters! 
On the LPGA tour, 17 year old Lydia Ko increased her hold on the #1 spot in the Rolex Rankings by winning the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open. It wasn't easy, but in the end she was 2 strokes better than runner-up Amy Yang.

Not to be outdone, 16 year old amateur Hannah O'Sullivan won the Gateway Classic on the Symetra tour. Hannah became the youngest player ever to win a Symetra tour event. Cristie Kerr had won as a 17 year old. Hannah is still just a junior in high school, but is a name we will all be hearing more of in the near future.



The LPGA moves to Thailand this week for the playing of the Honda LPGA Thailand. Many of you may remember last year's exciting finish when Anna Nordqvist outlasted Inbee Park and won by 2 strokes.


This will be tournament #4 of 33 on this year's LPGA schedule.

Here are the Key details:

Course:  Siam Country Club, Pataya Old Course
Location:  Chonburi, Thailand
Defending Champion:  Anna Nor…

After a one week break, the LPGA travels to the continent of Australia for the ISPS Women's Australian Open. This tournament has a history of very close finishes. Who could forget the 2012 finish, where Jessica Korda won a 6 player playoff? The following year Jiyai Shin and Yani Tseng battled it out down the stretch, with Jiyai coming out on top by 2 strokes. Last year nine players finished within 3 strokes of each other, with Karrie Webb taking home the trophy.


This will be tournament #3 of 33 official tournaments on the 2015 LPGA schedule.

Here are the key details:

Course:  The Royal Melbourne Golf Club
Location:  Melbourne, Austrailia
Defending Champion:  Karrie Webb
Winning Score:  71-69-68-68 = 276 (-12)

Final Field:  156 players
Par: 38/35 = 73
Yardage:  6,479
Purse:  $1,200,000

My strength of field rating is a weak 48%. Just 25 of the top 50 players on the LPGA Priority List, and 11 of the top 25 players from the Rolex Rankings, will be teeing it up. Among the missing this w…

With the LPGA taking a one week break, I don't think it is too early to take a look at the United States players who are fighting to gain a spot on the 2015 Solheim Cup team. 



Qualifications For Entry: 1- A player must finish in the top 8 on the Solheim Cup points list. 2- The top 2 players in the Rolex Rankings that have not already qualified. 3- There will be 2 captain's picks.
Points are accumulated the following way:
(From the first event after the previous Solheim Cup match in 2013 through the end of the 2014 season)
Winner - 40 points, 2nd - 20 points, 3rd - 18 points, 4th - 17 points, all the way down to 20th - 2 points.
(The 2015 season tournaments, leading up to the Solheim match)
Winner - 60 points, 2nd - 30 points, 3rd - 28.5 points, 4th - 27 points, 5th - 25.5 points, all the way down to a 20th place finish worth 3 points.
The reason for the increased points for the last part of the term is to give an advantage to the players who are hot going into the match.
Points are do…

If we had any doubts that the 2015 LPGA season could ever match the excitement of 2014, those doubts no longer exist. Once again this weekend we had an extraordinary finish. This time it was a 3 way playoff that included two 2015 rookies, Sei Young Kim, and Ariya Jutanugarn.

How good is the 2015 rookie crop? I am going to say without a doubt the best in LPGA history. Not only did 2 rookies go into a playoff in this week's Pure Silk LPGA Classic, but a rookie finished in 2nd place last week at the Coates Championship.


With 32 rookies this year, here are my top ten picks:
1- Hyo- Joo Kim - The cream of the crop. If she doesn't win the top rookie award it will be because she chose to play a number of tournaments in Asia, and her LPGA appearances were limited.  She has won 8 times on the KLPGA tour. This 19 year old is already ranked #7 in the Rolex Rankings. She received her LPGA card when she won the Evian Championship last year. 
2- Ha Na Jang - She has won 6 times on the KLPGA t…

It is going to be very difficult for the LPGA to match the success of the 2014 season, which many thought was its greatest season ever. Difficult yes, but not impossible. The 2015 season could not have gotten off to a more exciting start as Na Yeon Choi won the Coates Golf Championship by one shot over 3 different players. What a dramatic finish! Lydia Ko seemed to have the tournament won, until she double bogeyed the 17th hole. Jessica Korda's eagle putt on 18, that would have forced a playoff, went around the hole and out. Ha-Na Jang, playing in her first tournament as an LPGA member, bogeyed the 17th hole and also missed the playoff by one stroke. This is the kind of excitement we had in 2014, and this year is off to that same kind of a start.

This week the LPGA moves to the Bahamas for the playing of the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic. Many of you may remember last year's exciting finish, when Jessica Korda came out on top by one stroke over Stacy Lewis.

This will be tourn…