1. Ochoa notches 27th LPGA career win at Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco RV
2. Rolex Rankings move of the week: Wie cracks top 15
3. Upcoming event: Hana Bank • KOLON Championship, Sky 72 Golf Club, Ocean Course, Incheon, South Korea., $1,700,000, October 30-November 1, 2009
4. Tseng records 10th top-10 in 2009
5. Lang crosses $2 million mark
6. Ochoa narrows gap in Rolex Player of the Year race
7. Bader, Smith posts season-best
8. Thompson's performance turns heads
9. Pressel cards first-round hole-in-one
10. Nordqvist runner-up on LET
11. Connelly earns medalist honors at LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournament
1. Ochoa notches 27th LPGA career win at Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco RV
Becomes only player to successfully defend title in 2009 … for the second time
PRATTVILLE, Ala., Oct. 4, 2009 - Overcast skies and a threat of rain did not phase Lorena Ochoa in her quest for a successful title defense and $195,000 check at the $1.3 million Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco RV. The 6,546-yard Senator Course at Capitol Hill on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail set up well for the second year in a row for Ochoa (66-68-66-70), although she took her 54-hole, three-stroke lead and made it four by the end of regulation - avoiding the playoff situation she found herself in one year ago. Her winning 18-under-par 270 beat her 2008 tournament-record 15-under-par score by three strokes.
Ochoa's 27th career LPGA win came despite an opening five holes that included a bogey on hole two, offset by a birdie on the par-4, fourth hole, followed by a double-bogey on the par-5, 517-yard fifth hole after her initial tee shot ended up unplayable.
"Of course it was a shame, that driver that I missed. It was early in the day. I just told myself to forget it. 'You have many holes to go and just be patient,'" said Ochoa, who also successfully defended her last title in April at the Corona Championship. "I'm proud that I did that and turned around and played really good the back nine.
"But the way I played the last few weeks and winning today, it means a lot. I've been working hard, and I guess I'm proud, because it's just a good feeling."
Tying their career-best performances, rookie Michelle Wie (66-70-72-66) and four-year Tour member Brittany Lang (68-68-68-70) tied for second at 14-under-par 274.
Wie, who battled a twisted ankle for the past two days found her only bogey of the day on the second hole and, after a 1-under-par 35 on the front nine, rallied on the back to move from a 54-hole tie for 13th to the runner-up position thanks to five birdies on her back nine at holes 10, 12, 14, 16 and 17.
"I'm really proud of the way I grinded it out out there, especially the back nine," said the season's second-ranked rookie. "There (were) a lot of points where I felt like I had to stop and catch my breath and keep going. But, you know, I kept moving forward, so I felt really good about it."
Lang's first three rounds of 68s were broken with her 2-under-par 70. She ended the day encouraged, partly by the fact that she felt the score was the worst she could have posted.
"I didn't really finish exactly how I wanted to. I didn't make a lot of putts today. I hit it great again," said Lang, who made her Solheim Cup debut in August and will play every event through the remainder of the year. "I hit it great. I had opportunities on every hole. Missed a couple five‑, six‑footers for birdie, parred hole eight. So kind of it was the worst I could (have scored) - but I'm happy. It's something to build on. It was good."
2. Rolex Rankings move of the week: Wie cracks top 15
LPGA Tour rookie Michelle Wie jumped eight spots to 14th in the Rolex Rankings following her tie for second at the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco RV. Wie, who carded a 6-under-par 66 on Sunday, finished the week tied with U.S. Solheim Cup teammate Brittany Lang at 14-uinder-par 274, four shots behind champion Lorena Ochoa. With her victory, Ochoa extended her lead over world number two Jiyai Shin by nearly a full point.
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 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.
3. Upcoming event: 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: 6,490
Format: 54-hole stroke play
Winner: $255,000
Runner-up: $158,591
Field: 69 players
Defending champion: Candie Kung
Victory margin: Defeated Katherine Hull by one stroke
Tournament information: 011-82-2-2184-6803
4. Tseng records 10th top-10 in 2009
Yani Tseng, the 2008 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year, recorded her 10th top-10 finish in 23 starts in 2009 at the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco RV with a tie for fourth (71-63-71-70=275, -13). Five strokes out of first, but only one stroke back from runner-up golfers Brittany Lang (68-68-68-70) and Michelle Wie (66-70-72-66), Tseng earned $59,554 for her performance and became the ninth player this season to cross the $1 million mark in season earnings ($1,055,027).
Tseng, who won earlier this season at the LPGA Corning Classic, also became the fifth player in the three-year tournament history to card the tournament-record 9-under-par 63. She now leads the Tour with 324 birdies this season, over Cristie Kerr's 317.
5. Lang crosses $2 million mark
Brittany Lang's tie for second at the 2009 Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco RV not only meant a $101,453 paycheck, but also pushed her over the $2 million mark in career earnings. With 21 career LPGA top-10 finishes, including three runner-up performances, Lang (68-68-68-70) stayed steady through the week and went a field-high 50 holes without a bogey - from the 10th hole of the first round to the 14th hole of Saturday's third round.
6. Ochoa narrows gap in Rolex Player of the Year race
Lorena Ochoa's 27th career LPGA victory at last week's Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco RV caused a shake-up and some excitement in the race for Rolex Player of the Year. The reigning award winner - since 2006 - Ochoa earned 30 Rolex Player of the Year points with her victory and moved from sixth to second in the rankings. She now has 131 points and is just five points behind top rookie and three-time season winner Jiyai Shin. Shin also has a commanding lead in the race for Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year. Should Shin win these two honors, it would be the first time a player claims both since Nancy Lopez did so in 1978.
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 |
7. Bader, Smith post season-best
Beth Bader, of Iowa, recorded a season-best tie for sixth at the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco RV with a 12-under-par 276. It is the best performance on the LPGA Tour for Bader since a tie for fourth at the 2007 LPGA Corning Classic.
Sarah Jane Smith also matched a season-low at the event - where she recorded a career-best tie for sixth one year ago. Smith's tie for 19th at 8-under-par 280 was aided by a career-low 6-under-par 66 in the third round. Her cumulative rounds of 72-71-66-71 added up to a $14,550 paycheck.
8. Thompson's performance turns heads
Top-ranked junior Alexis Thompson truly showcased her game at the 2009 Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco RV. The 14-year-old Floridian and her father drove to Prattville, Ala., to try to Monday qualify for the event. When the day came, she and amateur Jordan Hardy were the only two entries, therefore earning their way into the official tournament. Starting off with a blazing 7-under-par 65 - a career-low - and following up with a 3-under-par 69, Thompson drew national attention for her game. She made the cut, finished at 6-under-par 282 for the week and tied for 27th. She will next compete in the American Junior Golf Association's The PING Invitational at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla., Oct. 9-12.
Low amateur rounds in LPGA events, 1990-2009
| 64 - | Erica Blasberg, second round, 2003 Welch's/Fry's Championship (T49) |
| Paula Creamer, second round, 2004 ShopRite LPGA Classic (T2) | |
| 65 - | Stacy Lewis, 2007 NW Arkansas LPGA Championship (rain-shortened to 18 holes) |
| Louise Stahle, second round, 2005 Weetabix Women's British Open (T8) | |
| Alexis Thompson, first round, 2009 Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco RV (T27) |
9. Pressel cards first-round hole-in-one
Two-time LPGA Tour winner Morgan Pressel carded her third LPGA career hole-in-one in four seasons on Tour during Thursday's opening round of the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco RV. Pressel aced her second hole of the day from 154 yards with a 6-iron. It was the 21st hole-in-one during the LPGA Tour's 2009 campaign, fourth in tournament history and the third time in as many years that someone made a hole-in-one on the second hole of The Senator Course at Capitol Hill on the RTJ Golf Trail. In 2007, Virada Nirapathpongporn used a 5-iron from 176 yards and, in 2008, it was Wendy Doolan with a 9-iron from 153 yards.
Pressel finished the event tied for 19th at 8-under-par 280 (69-72-70-69).
10. Nordqvist runner-up on LET
LPGA Tour rookie Anna Nordqvist, of Sweden, ended up in a playoff on Sunday at the Madrid Ladies Masters with Azahara Muñoz, of Spain, who was making her professional debut on the Ladies European Tour (LET). Muñoz, who finished runner-up to Amanda Blumenherst at the LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournament in Palm Springs in September, carded a final-round 9-under-par 64 to force the playoff after Nordqvist had already turned in a career-low 10-under-par, bogey-free 63. Muñoz went on to eagle the first playoff hole - a 470-yard, par-5 - to defeat Nordqvist for Muñoz' maiden professional victory.
Muñoz won the 2009 Ladies British Amateur Championship at Royal St David's in Wales in June. She turned professional just two weeks ago prior to finishing second at the first stage of LPGA Qualifying Tournament.
11. Connelly earns medalist honors at LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournament
Rookie professional Stephanie Connelly, of Maryland, entered last week's LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournament in Venice, Fla., seeking redemption from her poor showing in the California LPGA Sectional Qualifying Tournament last month. By the conclusion of last week's second sectional tournament, she had earned medalist honors.
Connelly carded rounds of 76-68-70-71 to finish at 3-under-par 285, one stoke better than runner-up Gwladys Nocera, of France, (72-70-68-76) at 2-under-par 286.
"I'm going to Daytona!" said Connelly, the happy medalist, who graduated from the University of Central Florida in May and played nine tournaments as a professional this summer on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. "I played really consistently once I got through the first day. It was a matter of time for me to make the transition and step up and shoot good numbers."
Headed into last week, 112 players hoped to be among the top 30 and ties to advance into the LPGA's Final Qualifying Tournament. The tournament was staged on both the Bobcat and Panther courses at Plantation Golf & Country Club, with the final two rounds played only on the Bobcat Course. At the conclusion of 72 holes, a total of 34 players advanced into the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.
The Venice, Fla., 72-hole sectional qualifier followed the LPGA's first sectional tournament held earlier in September in Palm Springs, Calif., at Mission Hills Country Club. The top-30 players and ties from each of the sectionals advance into the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, set for Dec. 2-6, 2009, at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. Making up the rest of the field in Daytona Beach will be current LPGA Tour members attempting to improve their priority standing and eligible Duramed FUTURES Tour players, who automatically advanced based on their position on the 2009 season-ending money list.
All media interested in covering the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament should apply for credentials at www.lpgamediacredentials.com.