Shoprite Classic Photo Gallery

I wasn't there on Monday, and Tuesday the weather didn't cooperate. That left me running around today trying to get some shots to post.

Her are some photos that I have taken so far this week.

Inbee didn't like the cold

Maude Aimee Leblanc

Mel Reid

Nelly Korda playing her first LPGA tournament without sister Jessica

So Yeon Ryu

Jeong Eun Lee

Brooke Henderson

Why does Danielle Kang always take my best picture?

Rookie - Nasa Hataoka

Rookie - Madelene Sagstrom

Ilhee Lee

Charley Hull

The LPGA announced today that this tournament has been extended 5 additional years, and will now be played through at least 2023.


This Week's Trivia Question:  (In case you missed it earlier this week)

What LPGA player won the most tournaments via playoff?

For the answer to this week's trivia question press here.



Follow @tonyjesselli   (Currently 1,542 followers)
                                     
Tweet

Free website hit counter

ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer Preview, Pairings and More

Before I get to this week's tournament, let me give a big congratulations to Shanshan Feng for winning the LPGA Volvik Championship. She took control early, and though she won by just one shot, the issue was never really ever in doubt.





This week the LPGA moves to the state of New Jersey for the playing of the ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer. This tournament has been a mainstay on the LPGA schedule since 1992. Winners of this tournament include: Annika Sorenstam (3 times), Stacy Lewis (twice), Karrie Webb, Ai Miyazato, Se Ri Pak and Cristie Kerr. It was won last year (for the second consecutive year),by Anna Nordqvist. Her final round 64 was good enough to come out on top over runner-up Haru Nomura by one stroke. Nordqvist will be trying to three-peat this year. This tournament is just 54 holes.

Anna Nordqvist holds her ShopRite LPGA Classic trophy for the second consecutive year.

This will be tournament #13 of 34 on the 2017 LPGA schedule.

Here are the key details:

Course:  Stockton Seaview Hotel & Golf Course, Bay Course
Location:  Galloway, NJ.
Defending Champion:  Anna Nordqvist
Winning Score:  64-68-64 = 196 (-17)

Final Field:  144 players
Par:  37/34 = 71
Yardage:  6,177
Purse:  $1,500,000


My strength of field rating is 59% ( up from 43% last year, when it was followed by a major championship). Thirty-five of the top 50 players from the LPGA Priority List, and 13 of the top 25 players from the Rolex Rankings will be teeing it up. Top players in the field include: So Yeon Ryu, Inbee Park, Sei Young Kim, Amy Yang, Sung Hyun Park, Cristie Kerr, Brooke Henderson, Stacy Lewis, and of course, Anna Nordqvist.

I will post the pairings as soon as they are made available.

Here are the television times:

June 2 - GC 12:00 PM-2:00 PM ET 

June 3 - GC 3:00 PM-6:00 PM ET 

June 4 - GC 2:30 PM-5:00 PM ET

Players most likely to win: (Top players in the field)
So Yeon Ryu - Fighting to get to the top of the Rolex Rankings.
Inbee Park - Always dangerous when well rested.
Sung Hyun Park - All those second place finishes; she is overdue.

Players to watch out for: (I'm feeling it this week)
Stacy Lewis - She's forgotten how to win, but knows how to win here.
Cristie Kerr - Has won here before and is having a terrific season.
Anna Nordqvist - Don't bet against her doing it again.

Longshot picks: (Not likely, but not impossible)
Marina Alex - Playing solid golf, and this is her home state.
Gerina Piller - Might overpower this course.
Jeong Eun Lee - Has suddenly got our attention.

Other Tidbits:
Ai Miyazato has announced that she is retiring at the end of the year. One of the nicest players ever to pick up a golf club, she will be missed.

How good is the competition on the LPGA tour? In the 12 tournaments played thus far this year, we have has 12 different winners. Maybe even more shocking is the fact that Lydia Ko and Ariya Jutanugarn are not among them.

Rolex Rankings Movers of the Week:
Lots of movement this week! Ariya Jutanugarn moves into 2nd place and within a whisker of the top spot. So Yeon Ryu, who drops to 3rd is also within striking distance of first place. Sung Hyun Park moves into the top ten (11-8). Lizette Salas jumps up from #62 to #54, Marina Alex soars from #86 to #72, while Jeong Eun Lee Leaps up from #109 to #89, and Nelly Korda continues her charge with a leap from #129 to #110.

Race to the CME Globe:   (1 million dollars)

In the closest race in the short history of this event, So Yeon Ryu continues to lead with 1,695 points. She is followed closely by Ariya Jutanugarn with 1,628, and Lexi Thompson with 1,486.

Who's Hot:
Cydney Clanton has finished in 9th place three times in the last 5 weeks.

Marina Alex has 3 top tens and 6 top 25 finishes in her 10 starts this year.

Minjee Lee and Sung Hyun Park picked up their 4th top five finish this year. Nobody on tour has more.

Rookies continue to be a factor on the LPGA Tour this season, Sung Hyun Park (2nd), Nelly Korda (9th), and Laura Gonzalez Escallon (11th), all contended this week in Michigan.

Ariya Jutanugarn and So Yeon Ryu have been in position to take over the #1 spot in the Rolex Rankings in each of the past 5 weeks. Needless to say, they came up short each time.

Who's Not:
Yani Tseng has now missed 8 cuts this year. No one on the LPGA has missed more. 

Azahara Munoz has failed to record a top 25 finish in her last 10 starts.

Megan Khang has failed to finish in the top 30 in her last 11 starts, with 7 missed cuts.

Misleading Statistic of the week:
Brooke Henderson now has finished in the top 25 ten times this year. Only Ariya Jutanugarn (11) has more. Why is that misleading? Because she has finished 21st on four different occasions, and has just 2 top tens. 

This Week's Trivia Question:

What LPGA player won the most tournaments via playoff?

For the answer to this week's trivia question press here.

I will be attending this tournament the entire week. I will be posting some pictures later on in the week.

Be sure to check back here daily for any LPGA news or updates. They will be posted here at the bottom of this blog.  Links to all Women's Tour scoreboards can be found at the top of this page.


Follow @tonyjesselli   (Currently 1,542 followers)
                                     
Tweet

Free website hit counter

U.S. Women's Open Preview Day at Trump National (Photos)

It was Preview Day for the 72nd U.S. Women's Open Championship, at Trump National Golf Club, Bedminster, NJ.

Guests included:

Brittany Lang - 2016 - U.S. Open Champion

Cristie Kerr - 2007 - U.S. Open Champion

Lydia Ko - 2012 - U.S. Amateur Champion and No. 1-ranked player in the Rolex Women's World Rankings

Guest speakers included:

Mike Davis - USGA Executive Director/CEO

•   He gave us a history lesson on the U.S. Women's Open which included films of past champions.

Diana Murphy - USGA President

• Brought us up to date on future USGA events.

Shannon Rouillard - U.S. Women's Open Championship Director

• Went over course layout and conditions, stating that all of the par fives would play 500+ yards. When asked if the par five 18th would be moved up to be reachable in two on the final round, she said that it was a possibility.

Eric Trump - Son of the President of the United States

• Welcomed the media to Trump National Golf Course, and introduced the girl junior golfers.

It was an incredibly beautiful day over at Trump National today. The weather could not have been better.

The three LPGA golfers mentioned above, all took a shot on the amazing par three 16th hole for media purposes. They then did a question and answer session.

Here are some photos I took during the day's activities.

Eric Trump walks off the 16th hole

Future U.S. Women's Open stars?

Mike Davis, Shannon Rouillard, Eric Trump, and Diana Murphy

USGA President Mike Davis opened up the day's festivities

Eric Trump welcomes the media

Cristie Kerr

Lydia Ko

Brittany Lang holds up her 2016 U.S. Women's Open trophy

Players answer questions from the media

I want my readers to remember this hole. The carry is almost all water.

Each of the players took a shot on the very dangerous 16th hole.

The closing hole is no picnic. Go for it in two....and risk putting it in the huge bunker on the right or water on the left.

Lastly, I want to thank Stephanie Dipilla, Vanessa Zink, and all the rest of the USGA staff who always do such a wonderful job. They don't get the headlines, but these events would never run as smoothly as they do without their participation.

This Week's Trivia Question:  (for those who missed it earlier in the week)

What is the record for most players to take part in a sudden death playoff?

For the answer to this week trivia question press here.

Follow @tonyjesselli   (Currently 1,542 followers)
                                     
Tweet

Free website hit counter

LPGA Volvik Championship Preview, Pairings, and More

A big congratulations go out to Lexi Thompson for winning the Kingsmill Championship. She did it in a very convincing style, finishing up 5 strokes better than runner-up In Gee Chun. The issue never seemed to be in doubt, as Lexi took the lead early in the opening round and kept it throughout. Her -20 under par total was a new tournament record! It was the 22 year old Thompson's 8th LPGA victory. She now has won at least once in 5 consecutive years.





This week the LPGA moves to the state of Michigan for the playing of the LPGA Volvik Championship. This will be the second year for this tournament on the LPGA schedule. Last year, Ariya Jutanugarn blew away the field with a 5 stroke victory over runner-up Christina Kim.

Ariya Jutanugarn holds up her 2016 LPGA Volvik Championship trophy

This will be tournament #12 of 34 on this year's LPGA schedule.

Here are the key details:

Course:  Travis Pointe Country Club
Location:  Ann Arbor, Michigan
Defending Champion:  Ariya Jutanugarn
Winning score:  65-68-73-67 = 273 (-15)

Final Field:  144 players
Par:  36/36 = 72
Yardage:  6,709
Purse:  $1,300,000

My strength of field rating is 67% (up from 63% last year). Thirty-nine of the top 50 players from the LPGA Priority List, and 17 of the top 25 players from the Rolex Rankings will be teeing it up. Top players skipping the event include: Lydia Ko, Ha Na Jang, Brittany Lang, Amy Yang, Mirim Lee, Gerina Piller, Cristie Kerr, and Inbee Park.

The first round pairings have now been posted.

Here are the television times:

May 25 - GC 7:00 PM-9:00 PM ET (Tape)

May 26 - GC 7:00 PM-9:00 PM ET (Tape)

May 27 - GC 3:00 PM-6:00 PM ET

May 28 - GC 3:00 PM-6:00 PM ET

Players most likely to win: (Top players in the field)
So Yeon Ryu - #2 player in the world
Ariya Jutanugarn - #3 and overdue to break into the win column
Lexi Thompson - #4 and getting closer to the top spot

Players to watch out for: (I'm feeling it this week)
In Gee Chun - Because we all want to see that smile on TV again this week
Stacy Lewis - Rested and always a threat to break her winless streak
Sei Young Kim - She is streaky, and on a good one now

Longshot picks: (Not likely, but not impossible)

Angel Yin - Look for a bounce back this week
Madelene Sagstrom - Seventh place finish this past week should be a confidence builder
Sung Hyun Park - Because I want 3 rookies here


Other Tidbits:
Ha Na Jang has announced that she is leaving the LPGA Tour. 

Minjee Lee was DQ'D for not signing her scorecard.

Chella Choi had her consecutive cut streak stopped at 21. Azahara Munoz had her streak stopped at 19.

Lexi Thompson's win was the third win for a USA player this year in 11 events. They had only 2 wins last year in 33 events. 

This year's rookie crop appears to be getting stronger with each new week. Besides Sung Hyun Park (who was a star before she got here), we have seen strong play from Nelly Korda, Angel Yin, and now Madelene Sagstrom. 

In Gee Chun has now finished second, three times already this year.

Jessica Korda and Nelly Korda were paired together in the final round. In a statistical oddity, they both shot the same exact score in all four rounds.

Rolex Rankings Movers of the Week:
So Yeon Ryu takes back the #2 spot from Ariya Jutanugarn, while Lexi Thompson moves up to #4. The top 5 players are now all within striking distance of the #1 position. Danielle Kang continues her rise, leaping up from #53 to #39. Outside the top 100, Madelene Sagstrom soars 77 spots, leaping from #202 to # 125.

Race to the CME Globe:   (1 million dollars)
For the first time since this started a few years back, we have a real fight for the top. So Yeon Ryu (1,680), Ariya Jutanugarn (1,578), Lexi Thompson (1,480), Cristie Kerr (1,222), and In Gee Chun (1,215) are the current leaders.

Who's Hot:
So Yeon Ryu has not finished outside of the top ten in any of her 8 starts this year.

Who's Not:

Hee Young Park, Maude-Aimee Leblanc, P.K. Kongkraphan, Julie Yang, and Ssu-Chia Cheng, have all missed six cuts in a row.

This Week's Trivia Question:

What is the record for most players to take part in a sudden death playoff?

UpDate #1 - Julieta Granada and Celine Boutier are the Monday qualifiers. Each shot a -3 under par score of 69.

Here the final results:

1	Shanshan Feng	-19	F
2	Minjee Lee	-18	F
2	Sung Hyun Park	-18	F
4	Jeong Eun Lee	-17	F
4	Lizette Salas	-17	F
6	Moriya Jutanugarn	-16	F
6	Suzann Pettersen	-16	F
8	Marina Alex	-15	F
9	Cydney Clanton	-14	F
9	Nelly Korda	-14	F
11	Jessica Korda	-13	F
11	Chella Choi	-13	F
11	Sarah Jane Smith	-13	F
11	Laura Gonzalez Escallon	-13	F
11	Jennifer Song	-13	F
16	Lindy Duncan	-12	F
16	Wei Ling Hsu	-12	F
16	Giulia Molinaro	-12	F
16	Sun Young Yoo	-12	F
16	Stacy Lewis	-12	F
21	Brooke Henderson	-11	F
21	Ariya Jutanugarn	-11	F
23	Carlota Ciganda	-10	F
23	Jane Park	-10	F
23	Mi Hyang Lee	-10	F
23	Emily Pedersen	-10	F
23	Haru Nomura	-10	F

For the answer to this week trivia question press here.

Be sure to check back here daily for any LPGA news or updates. They will be posted here at the bottom of this blog.  Links to all Women's Tour scoreboards can be found at the top of this page.

Follow @tonyjesselli   (Currently 1,542 followers)
                                     
Tweet

Free website hit counter

Kingsmill Championship Presented by JTBC Preview, Pairings, and More

This week the LPGA moves to the state of Virginia for the playing of the Kingsmill Championship Presented by JTBC.




Many of you may remember last year's exciting finish when Ariya Jutanugarn's final round 67 (-5), was good enough to win by one stroke over Su Oh, and was two strokes better than both Sei Young Kim and Gerina Piller.

This tournament has a long history of big name winners including: Cristie Kerr (3 times), Jiyai Shin, Suzann Pettersen, Se Ri Pak, Karrie Webb, and Annika Sorenstam.

This will be the start of 12 tournaments being played in 12 consecutive weeks. It will include 3 Major Championships (KPMG Women's PGA Championship, U.S. Women's Open, and Ricoh British Open).

Ariya Jutanugarn will be trying to defend her Kingsmill Championship.

This will be tournament #11 of 34 on this year's LPGA schedule.

Here are the key details:

Course:  River Course at Kingsmill Resort
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia
Defending Champion:  Ariya Jutanugarn
Winning Score:  69-69-65-67 = 270 (-14)

Final Field:  144 players
Par:  36/35 = 71
Yardage:  6,379
Purse:  $1,300,000

My strength of field rating a very solid 72 % (down from 78%) last year. Forty-two of the top 50 players from the LPGA Priority List, and Twenty of the top 25 players from the Rolex Rankings will be teeing it up. Players missing from the field this week include: Ha Na Jang, Charley Hull, Stacy Lewis, Hyo Joo Kim, and Inbee Park. There will be special attention being paid to both Ariya Jutanugarn and So Yeon Ryu, who will be trying to unseat Lydia Ko as the number one player in the world.

Here are the first round pairings.

Here are the television times:

May 18 - GC 9:00 PM-11:00 PM ET (Tape)

May 19 - GC 9:00 PM-11:00 PM ET (Tape)

May 20 - GC 5:00 PM-7:00 PM ET

May 21 - GC 5:00 PM-7:00 PM ET

Players most likely to win: (Top players in the field)
1- Lydia Ko - Hanging on to the top spot by a thread.
2- Ariya Jutanugarn - Moved up to #2, and has finished 2nd three times this year.

3- So Yeon Ryu - World's #1 ranking is within her reach.

Players to watch out for: (I'm feeling it this week)
1- Cristie Kerr - The hottest player on tour right now.
2- Sung Hyun Park - I keep putting her here, but my patience is wearing thin.
3- Lexi Thompson - She's lost two playoffs, may win one this week.

Longshot picks: (Not likely, but not impossible)
1- Angel Yin - Because she keeps improving every week.
2- Jessica Korda - Her sister's presence has injected new life into her.
3- Hee Young Park - Because she couldn't possibly continue to play this bad.

Other Tidbits:
On the Symetra tour - Celine Boutier won the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Classic, in a playoff over former LPGA player Paola Moreno. Boutier is currently a rookie on the LPGA tour but has not teed it up mostly because of a poor priority ranking. This win will go a long way for her in the "Volvic Race for the Card." A top 10 finish on the Symetra money list would assure her of full time status on the LPGA Tour in 2018.

This Week's Trivia Question:

Who holds the LPGA record for the lowest score in relation to par (most strokes under par at end of tournament) in a women's Major Championship?

For the answer to this week trivia question press here.

Note: If anyone has a trivia question they want to see on here, send it to me at tonyj5@optonline.net. If It is used I will give you credit for it.

UPDATE #1- Brianna Do and Laura Jansone were the Monday local qualifiers.
Each player shot a -2 under 69.

Here are the Final results:

1	Lexi Thompson	-20	F
2	In Gee Chun	-15	F
3	Angela Stanford	-11	F
4	Danielle Kang	-10	F
5	Carlota Ciganda	-9	F
5	Sei Young Kim	-9	F
7	Gerina Piller	-8	F
7	Ryann O'Toole	-8	F
7	Madelene Sagstrom	-8	F
10	Suzann Pettersen	-7	F
10	So Yeon Ryu	-7	F
10	Shanshan Feng	-7	F
10	Lydia Ko	-7	F
14	Moriya Jutanugarn	-5	F
14	Thidapa Suwannapura	-5	F
14	Brooke Henderson	-5	F
14	Anna Nordqvist	-5	F
18	Mi Jung Hur	-4	F
18	Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras	-4	F
18	Brittany Lang	-4	F
18	Ariya Jutanugarn	-4	F
18	Karine Icher	-4	F
23	Holly Clyburn	-3	F
23	Brittany Altomare	-3	F
23	Mirim Lee	-3	F
23	Marina Alex	-3	F
23	Tiffany Joh	-3	F
23	Austin Ernst	-3	F
23	Jacqui Concolino	-3	F
23	Brittany Lincicome	-3	F

Be sure to check back here daily for any LPGA news or updates. They will be posted here at the bottom of this blog.  Links to all Women's Tour scoreboards can be found at the top of this page.

Follow @tonyjesselli   (Currently 1,540 followers)
                                     
Tweet

Free website hit counter

Stats & Facts - Vol 33

With the LPGA taking a one week break before resuming its schedule in Virginia, it is as good a time as any to look at some key player statistics after the first ten tournaments of the year.

So Yeon Ryu has not finished outside of the top ten in any of her starts this year.

Rolex Player of the Year: (Winner receives a Hall of Fame point)
1- So Yeon Ryu - 101 points
2- Cristie Kerr - 63
3- Ariya Jutanugarn - 60
4- Inbee Park - 54
5- Lexi Thompson 43


Vare Trophy - (Winner receives a Hall of Fame point)
1- So Yeon Ryu - 68.571 strokes per round
2- Inbee Park - 69.250
3- Sung Hyun Park - 69.333
4- Lexi Thompson - 69.346
5- Mirim Lee - 69.370


Race to the CME Globe: (1 million dollars)
1- So Yeon Ryu - 1,605 points
2- Ariya Jutanugarn - 1,525
3- Cristie Kerr - 1,211
4- Inbee Park - 1,082
5- Lexi Thompson - 980


Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year:
1- Sung Hyun Park - 406 points
2- Angel Yin - 225
3- Nelly Korda - 149
4- Peiyun Chien - 108
5- Laura Gonzalez Escallon - 99


Most Victories:
1- Ten players - with 1 win (no player has won twice yet this year)


Most Top Five Finishes:
1- Cristie Kerr - 4
1- So Yeon Ryu - 4
1- Ariya Jutanugarn - 4
4- Six players tied with - 3


Most Top Ten Finishes:
1- Ariya Jutanugarn - 8
2- So Yeon Ryu - 7
3- Lydia Ko - 5
3- Cristie Kerr - 5
5- In Gee Chun - 4


Most Top Twenty-five Finishes:
1- Ariya Jutanugarn - 9
2- Brooke Henderson - 8
2- Moriya Jutanugarn - 8
4- Jessica Korda - 7
4- So Yeon Ryu - 7
4- Sung Hyun Park - 7
4- M.J. Hur - 7


Most Wins By Country:
1- South Korea - 6
2- United States - 2
3- Japan - 1
4- Sweden - 1


Most Consecutive Tournaments Without a Missed Cut:
1- So Yeon Ryu - 62
2- Stacy Lewis - 47
3- Anna Nordqvist - 40
4- Ariya Jutanugarn - 37
5- Sarah Jane Smith - 31


Solheim Cup Standings: (Team USA)
1- Lexi Thompson - 492 points
2- Stacy Lewis - 377.5
3- Cristie Kerr - 338.5
4- Gerina Piller - 313
5- Jessica Korda - 282.5
6- Brittany Lang - 241
7- Austin Ernst - 210.5
8- Angela Stanford - 182.5
Mo Martin and Brittany Lincicome would get in via the Rolex Rankings.

2018 International Crown Team Standings
1- South Korea - 22 (total of top 4 players in Rolex Rankings)
2- United States - 58
3- Japan - 180
4- Australia - 243
5- England - 248
6- Thailand - 255
7- Spain - 328
8- China - 353


This Week's Trivia Question:  (In case you missed it earlier this week)

This is a tough one! (If you get this you are bordering on LPGA genius)

It is not unusual (in fact it is quite common) for a player to be ranked in the top 75 of the LPGA Priority List but not in the top 75 of the Rolex Rankings. Can you name the only 2 LPGA players that are currently ranked in the top 75 of the Rolex Rankings, but are not in the top 75 of the LPGA Priority List?

For the answer to this week's trivia question press here.



Follow @tonyjesselli   (Currently 1,540 followers)
                                     
Tweet

Free website hit counter