1. Defending champion Shin leads world's best to Mizuno Classic
2. Choi wins Hana Bank • KOLON Championship 2009
3. Choi crosses $1 million mark in season earnings
4. Lang lone American in top-10
5. Hall of Famers finish strong
6. Wright receives USGA honor
7. Countdown to the LPGA Tour Championship
8. Creamer assumes captain's role
9. Rolex Rankings move of the week: Hjorth, Tseng move up
10. Rolex Player of the Year standings
11. This week: Mizuno Classic, Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club, Shima-shi, Mie, Japan, $1,400,000, November 6-8, 2009
12. Next week: Lorena Ochoa Invitational by Banamex and Corona Light, Guadalajara Country Club, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, $1,100,000, November 12-15, 2009
1. Defending champion Shin leads world's best to Mizuno Classic
SHIMA-SHI, Mie, Japan- The LPGA Tour stays in Asia this week for the 37th edition of the Mizuno Classic. The event will once again be played at the Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club's 6,506-yard course. Defending champion Jiyai Shin, the top rookie on Tour this season, will join 77 of the world's best professional golfers as they play for a share of the $1.4 million purse.
Last year, Shin, a South Korean, turned in three solid rounds to beat Japan's Mayu Hattori by six strokes for her second of three victories in 2008. Shin also won the major championship RICOH Women's British Open and the season-ending ADT Championship to become the first player to win three times as a non-member in LPGA Tour history. She also has three victories as a member this year.
This week, the 21-year-old is looking to successfully defend her title, which has only been done one other time this season. World number one Lorena Ochoa won the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco R.V. earlier this year for the second straight time. Should Shin win again this week in Shima-Shi, Mie, Japan, she would be just the fourth player to win back-to-back titles in the 37-year history of the Mizuno Classic. Others who have repeated include a pair of LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Famers, Betsy King (1992, 1993) and Annika Sorenstam (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005). Woo-Soon Ko won in 1994 and 1995, but both times as a non-member.
This week's talented field consists of 78 professionals, including 43 LPGA Tour players and 35 members of the LPGA of Japan (JLPGA). Of the 43 LPGA Tour members taking part in this year's Mizuno Classic, 11 are ranked in the latest Rolex Rankings' top-25. In addition to the top-2 players, Ochoa and Shin, respectively, Yani Tseng (sixth), Ai Miyazato (eighth), Karrie Webb (ninth) and In-Kyung Kim (tenth) are those who represent the top-10.
The defending champion is also the leader on the LPGA Tour Official Money List, with more than $1.6 million in season earnings. The rest of the top-10 in the earnings category include Miyazato (second), Na Yeon Choi (fifth), Ochoa (sixth), Tseng (seventh) and Kim (eighth).
Choi, a native of South Korea, is coming off her second career LPGA Tour victory, and second of 2009, winning last week's Hana Bank • KOLON Championship 2009 on her home soil by one stroke over Taiwan's Tseng and Maria Hjorth of Sweden. The 22-year-old became a Rolex First-Time Winner earlier this year at the Samsung World Championship, and is now one of three players (Ochoa, 3; Shin, 3; Choi, 2) to have won at least twice in 2009.
Four LPGA Tour players will be playing on home soil this week, as Ai Miyazato, Mika Miyazato, Shiho Oyama and Momoko Ueda are Japan's representatives on Tour. Ai Miyazato became a Rolex First-Time Winner earlier this year at the Evian Masters Presented by Société Générale. Mika Miyazato, a 2009 rookie, has three top-10 finishes this year, including a career-best tie for fourth at the LPGA Corning Classic and Wegmans LPGA. Oyama is also in her first year as a member of the LPGA Tour, and turned in a career-best tie for sixth at the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill. Finally, Ueda is in her second year as an official member, but recorded her first win as a non-member in 2007 at this week's tournament, the Mizuno Classic.
2. Choi wins Hana Bank • KOLON Championship 2009
Just when everyone thought the Hana Bank • KOLON Championship 2009 would need to go to a playoff to decide the winner, second-year LPGA Tour player Na Yeon Choi birdied the 72nd hole of regulation and was crowned the champion. The South Korean native was 5-under-par for the final round, and that turned out to be just good enough to beat a surging Yani Tseng and Maria Hjorth. With the win, Choi cashed in the $255,000 winner's check.
Choi (68-71-67=206) was bogey-free on Sunday and recorded five birdies on holes one, five, seven, 15 and 18, for an overall winning score of 10-under-par. Dropping in and out of the lead for much of the day, Choi survived blistering cold temperatures to earn her first win in her home country of South Korea on the LPGA Tour and in front of all her fans.
"It has been two years since I have won here in Korea," said Choi. "My parents weren't there then, but they were here this week, and that is really special. I was really surprised on how big the galleries were today. I felt bad for the other players, because the fans were cheering only for me."
The 22-year-old is now a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour, earning both victories this year. Earlier this year, Choi became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the Samsung World Championship. In addition to the pair of victories, Choi has eight other top-10 finishes in 2009, including two third-place marks, which came at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay and the Corona Championship.
This week's win makes Choi the third player to have won multiple official tournaments on the LPGA Tour schedule in 2009. World number one Lorena Ochoa won the Honda LPGA Thailand, Corona Championship and Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Manaco R.V., while rookie Jiyai Shin won the HSBC Women's Champions, Wegmans LPGA and the P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons.
"I have learned a lot this past year and a half on the LPGA Tour," said Choi. "It is great to win two tournaments in one year, and it just feels really good right now. I feel that I can win again, and I am very confident right now."
The two players who tied for runner-up honors this week came up just short of forcing a sudden-death playoff at SKY 72 Golf Club's Ocean Course. Three-time LPGA Tour winner Hjorth (68-72-67) and 2008 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Tseng (69-70-68) both finished one stroke shy of Choi at 9-under-par 207.
After the opening round of the Hana Bank • KOLON Championship 2009, Hjorth was two strokes off the lead score, and once the second round was complete, the Swede found herself just one stroke off the pace. Trading the top position on the leaderboard throughout Sunday's final round with Choi and Tseng, Hjorth settled for par on her final hole, while Choi made birdie to seal the deal.
Tseng, of Taiwan, is also a two-time LPGA Tour winner, capturing the 2008 McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola and this year's LPGA Corning Classic. Tseng has now finished in the runner-up spot three times in 2009, and eight times in her two-year career.
3. Choi crosses $1 million mark in season earnings
With her victory at the Hana Bank • KOLON Championship 2009, Na Yeon Choi crossed the $1 million mark in season earnings. She is the 10th player this season to cross the $1 million mark. Choi has won just over $1.2 million this season and just over $2.3 million in her two-year LPGA career.
4. Lang lone American in top-10
Fourth-year LPGA Tour player Brittany Lang finished in a four-way tie for seventh at the Hana Bank • KOLON Championship 2009, and is the only American player to end up in the top-10. Lang (73-73-68=214, -2) has now finished in the top-10 five times in 2009, and 22 times in her LPGA Tour career. Still looking for her first career victory, Lang tied her career-best second-place at this year's Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco R.V. In 2008, she set her career-best mark at the Sybase Classic Presented by ShopRite, then tied it at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational by Banamex and Corona Light. Lang made her first appearance earlier this year on the U.S. Solheim Cup Team, where she helped lead the U.S. to victory over Team Europe.
5. Hall of Famers finish strong
Despite playing in frigid temperatures and blustery winds, Juli Inkster and Se Ri Pak, both members of the LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame, finished strong to stay towards the top of the leaderboard. Inkster finished at 3-under-par on Sunday at the Hana Bank • KOLON Championship 2009, and 1-under-par 215 (70-76-69) overall to end up in a four-way tie for 11th. South Korean native Pak (70-72-72=214) earned herself a tied for seventh showing at 2-under-par.
6. Wright receives USGA honor
Mickey Wright, the second all-time leader in victories on the LPGA Tour, has been chosen to receive the United States Golf Association's 2010 Bob Jones Award. Presented annually since 1955, the USGA's highest honor is given in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. The Award seeks to recognize a person who emulates Jones' spirit, his personal qualities and his attitude toward the game and its players. Wright has 82 career LPGA victories, including 13 major championships.
7. Countdown to the LPGA Tour Championship
The top 120 players on the LPGA Official Money List at the conclusion of this week's Mizuno Classic will earn a spot in the LPGA Tour Championship field. Jiyai Shin holds the top spot on the 2009 money list with nearly $1.7 million in season earnings. An inaugural event on Tour, the LPGA Tour Championship will feature a double-cut. Following Friday's second round, the field will be reduced to the top 70 players and ties. Following Saturday's third round, the field will again be reduced to the top 30 and ties.
8. Creamer assumes captain's role
Paula Creamer will captain the U.S. Team at the Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship this week at Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas. A participant in the 2003 Spirit International, Creamer led the U.S. Team to victory and earned three individual golf medals as the top-ranked junior in the country. Six years later she will lead a four-player team consisting of top U.S. amateurs Alexis Thompson, Jennifer Johnson, Jordan Speith and Ben Martin. The format of play for the competition is Four-Ball Stroke Play. The men's and women's Four-Ball score is combined for the International Team competition. There is also a separate men's and women's team competition.
9. Rolex Rankings move of the week: Hjorth, Tseng move up
Maria Hjorth broke into the top 30 on the Rolex Rankings with her tie for second at the Hana Bank • KOLON Championship 2009. Hjorth, who became a mother for the first time this year, is now 28th in the world. Yani Tseng also jumped two spots to fourth with her tie for second last week.
The Rolex Rankings (www.rolexrankings.com) are sanctioned by the five major women's professional golf tours: the LPGA; Ladies European Tour (LET); Ladies Professional Golfers' Association of Japan (LPGA of Japan); Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA); Australian Ladies Professional Golf (ALPG); as well as the Ladies Golf Union (LGU), which administers the RICOH Women's British Open.
The Rolex Ranking Board and Technical committee recently agreed on several modifications to the Strength of Field calculations which include: an increase in the World Points factor from 200 to 400; a minimum value of 100 for Strength of Field for all Tours, except the Duramed FUTURES Tour; and the implementation of a true Strength of Field calculation for Duramed FUTURES Tour events, rather than the fixed points ratio of the past.
The Rolex Rankings are the only women's world rankings that incorporate player performances from the five major tours and the Duramed FUTURES Tour, the official developmental tour of the LPGA.
10. Rolex Player of the Year standings
Rookie Jiyai Shin currently leads the 2009 Rolex Player of the Year standings by just 10 points with three events remaining on Tour this season. Shin, who has locked up the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award, has a chance to become the first player since Nancy Lopez in 1978 to win both the Rookie and Player of the Year awards. Both awards will officially conclude at the season-ending LPGA Tour Championship Presented by Rolex, Nov. 19-22 at The Houstonian Golf & Country Club in Richmond, Texas, near Houston.
The Rolex Player of the Year is based on a points system which awards players points based on how they finish in each official LPGA event. All points are doubled at the four major championships - Kraft Nabisco Championship, McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola, U.S. Women's Open, RICOH Women's British Open.
Rolex Player of the Year point system is based on top-10 finishes: 1st place-30 points; 2nd-12; 3rd-nine; 4th-seven; 5th-six; 6th-five; 7th-four; 8th-three; 9th-two; 10th-one.
Top-10 Rolex Player of the Year standings (as of 11/1/09)
| Place | Name | Points |
| 1 | Jiyai Shin | 141 |
| 2 | Lorena Ochoa | 131 |
| 3 | Cristie Kerr | 118 |
| 4 | Ai Miyazato | 111 |
| 5 | Suzann Pettersen | 110 |
| 6 | Na Yeon Choi | 106 |
| 7 | Yani Tseng | 104 |
| 8 | Angela Stanford | 103 |
| 9 | Paula Creamer | 85 |
| 10 | In-Kyung Kim | 83 |
11. This week: Mizuno Classic, Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club, Shima-shi, Mie, Japan, $1,400,000, November 6-8, 2009
Par: 36-36, 72
Yardage: 6,506
Format: 54-hole stroke play
Winner: $210,000
Runner-up: $127,776
Field: 78 players
Defending champion: Jiyai Shin
Victory margin: Defeated Mayu Hattori by six strokes
Media center: 011-81-6-6820-2010
LPGA media contact: Jason Taylor
12. Next week: Lorena Ochoa Invitational by Banamex and Corona Light, Guadalajara Country Club, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, $1,100,000, November 12-15, 2009
Par: 36-36, 72
Yardage: 6,638
Format: 72-hole stroke play
Winner: $165,000
Runner-up: $120,350
Field: 36 players
Defending champion: Angela Stanford
Victory margin: Defeated Brittany Lang, Annika Sorenstam by one shot
Media center: 011-52-33-1202-0877
LPGA media contact: Mike Scanlan
• TV Times
Golf Channel
Nov. 12-14 4-6:30 p.m.
Nov. 15 4-6:30 p.m. (tape delay)
All times Eastern
)
)
)
)
