1. LPGA Tour heads overseas as Kung defends title at Hana Bank • KOLON Championship 2009
2. This week: Hana Bank • KOLON Championship, Sky 72 Golf Club, Ocean Course, Incheon, South Korea, $1,700,000, October 30-November 1, 2009
3. Rolex Player of the Year/Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings
4. LPGA and IMG Media sign multi-year extension to international television partnership
5. Shin wins in Japan
6. Jones wins on The Legends Tour
7. Next week: Mizuno Classic, Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club, Shima-shi, Mie, Japan, $1,400,000, November 6-8, 2009
1. LPGA Tour heads overseas as Kung defends title at Hana Bank • KOLON Championship 2009
INCHEON, South Korea - The LPGA Tour is set for a two week stretch in Asia as it prepares for this week's Hana Bank • KOLON Championship 2009. The event is in its eighth year of being played, and will once again be contested at the SKY 72 Golf Club's 6,466-yard Ocean Course in Incheon, South Korea. Eight-year LPGA Tour player Candie Kung defeated Katherine Hull by one stroke a year ago and will be this week's defending champion.
Joining Kung, a four-time LPGA Tour winner from Taiwan, will be 70 of the best that women's professional golf has to offer, as they play for a share of the $1.7 million purse. Headlining the field at the 24th official event on the LPGA Tour schedule is the world's top-ranked player, Lorena Ochoa. Ochoa will be looking for her fourth victory of 2009, and 28th overall.
Right behind Ochoa in the Rolex Rankings is South Korean rookie Jiyai Shin. Shin, in just her first official season as a member of the LPGA Tour, has already won three times in 2009, and six times overall. This year, Shin won the HSBC Women's Champions, Wegmans LPGA and P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons. In 2008, the 21-year-old won three events, including the RICOH Women's British Open, Mizuno Classic and ADT Championship, becoming the first player to win three times as a non-member. Shin is fresh off a victory at last week's Masters GC Ladies on the LPGA of Japan (JLPGA).
Entering this week's Hana Bank • KOLON Championship, Shin is in the driver's seat for the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award, with a 580-point advantage over Michelle Wie. Shin also holds a slim lead in the Rolex Player of the Year race over Ochoa. Should the South Korean hold on and win both season-ending awards, she would be the first player to do so since Nancy Lopez in 1978.
Along with Ochoa and Shin, who rank first and second in the Rolex Rankings, respectively, is fourth-ranked Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer (fifth), sixth-ranked Yani Tseng, and In-Kyung Kim (tenth). These six players have won a total of nine tournaments this season. (Ochoa, 3; Shin, 3; Kerr, 1; Tseng, 1; Kim, 1).
2. This week: Hana Bank • KOLON Championship, Sky 72 Golf Club, Ocean Course, Incheon, South Korea., $1,700,000, October 30-November 1, 2009
Par: 36-36, 72
Yardage: 6,409
Format: 54-hole stroke play
Winner: $255,000
Runner-up: $158,591
Field: 71 players
Defending champion: Candie Kung
Victory margin: Defeated Katherine Hull by one stroke
Media center: 011-82-1544-7002
LPGA media contact: Jason Taylor
3. Rolex Player of the Year/Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings
Rookie Jiyai Shin leads both the 2009 Rolex Player of the Year and Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings. Shifts are sure to be made when the LPGA Tour returns to competition at the Hana Bank • KOLON Championship Oct. 30-Nov. 1, at Sky 72 Golf Club in Incheon, South Korea. 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 and Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year are both based on points systems, 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 10/4/09)
| Place | Name | Points |
| 1 | Jiyai Shin | 136 |
| 2 | Lorena Ochoa | 131 |
| 3 | Cristie Kerr | 118 |
| 4 | Ai Miyazato | 111 |
| 5 | Suzann Pettersen | 110 |
| 6 | Angela Stanford | 103 |
| 7 | Yani Tseng | 92 |
| 8 | Paula Creamer | 85 |
| 9 | In-Kyung Kim | 83 |
| 10 | Karrie Webb | 80 |
The Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year point system rewards points to rookies based on their finish after making the cut. Points range from 150 for a win and five points for positions 41st through each player making the cut.
Top-10 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings (as of 10/4/09)
| Place | Name | Points |
| 1 | Jiyai Shin | 1,344 |
| 2 | Michelle Wie | 764 |
| 3 | Anna Nordqvist | 663 |
| 4 | Vicky Hurst | 435 |
| 5 | Mika Miyazato | 405 |
| 6 | Stacy Lewis | 376 |
| 7 | M.J. Hur | 332 |
| 8 | Mindy Kim | 178 |
| 9 | Haeji Kang | 136 |
| 10 | Shiho Oyama | 114 |
4. LPGA and IMG Media sign multi-year extension to international television partnership
The LPGA has extended its international television distribution arrangement with IMG Media. The multi-year extension starting in 2010 will continue the successful partnership that has led to groundbreaking agreements in women's professional golf.
IMG Media, the world's largest independent producer of sports and entertainment television, first began representing the LPGA in 1996, at which time the LPGA was seen via highlights packages in five countries and 23 million households. Today, the LPGA is seen predominantly on a live basis in more than 130 countries and 320 million homes.
Additionally, IMG Media produces a unique highlights show for up to 20 LPGA events each year; each show is distributed the Monday following an event to a number of territories that would otherwise not have access to LPGA tournaments. This method of distribution has enabled coverage to reach new areas such as Eastern Europe and Africa, helping the Tour to reach and engage new fans around the world.
LPGA events now receive television coverage throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. IMG Media's international television distribution of LPGA tournaments, in conjunction with the LPGA's growing online presence via LPGA.com and various social media pages, has enabled the Tour to reach and successfully connect with an incredibly diverse and growing global fan base.
5. Shin wins in Japan
South Korea's Jiyai Shin (70-70-68=208, -8) recorded her first victory on Japanese soil in 2009 with a playoff win at the Masters GC Ladies on the LPGA of Japan (JLPGA). The 21-year-old made a two-putt par on the first hole of sudden death playoff to defeat JLPGA stars Yuko Mitsuka and Akiko Fukushima. Shin currently leads both the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year and Rolex Player of the Year races on the LPGA Tour.
6. Jones wins on The Legends Tour
Rosie Jones shot 7-under-par 137 (67-70) to win the Kinoshita Pearl Classic on The Legends Tour this Sunday. Jones defeated first-round leader Colleen Walker by four strokes to take the $50,000 first-place check after 36 holes at Kapolei Golf Club in Honolulu, Hawaii. Jones amassed 13 victories and over $8.3 million in nearly 30 years on the LPGA Tour. The Kinoshita Pearl Classic is the fourth of six events on the 2009 Legends Tour schedule.
7. Next 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
Tournament information: 011-81-6-6820-2010