The LPGA Tour has reached the halfway point in the 2012 season at this week's U.S. Women's Open. In 13 tournaments this year, the Tour has seen outstanding play by both American and International players. Yani Tseng continues to serve as the dominant No.1 player on the Rolex Rankings, while Stacy Lewis has assumed the role of top-ranked American. Azahara Munoz is having a breakout season and Ai Miyazato continues her steady play. Below, please find a synopsis of the LPGA Tour entering this week's U.S. Women's Open. For more LPGA stats from 2012, please visit: http://www.lpga.com/stats/golf-stats.aspx
Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings
The top-six players on this week's Rolex Rankings hail from six different countries - Taiwan, USA, Japan, Korea, China and Norway - highlighting the LPGA as Golf's Global Tour
Number of players and countries represented in the Top-10
Korea - 4
USA - 2
Taiwan - 1
Japan - 1
China - 1
Norway - 1
Number of players and countries represented in the Top-25
Korea - 10
USA - 7
Japan - 3
Taiwan - 1
China - 1
Spain - 1
Norway - 1
Australia - 1
2012 Official Money List
The top-five on the Official Money List represent five different countries - Japan, Taiwan, USA, Spain and China
Rolex Player of the Year Points - Stacy Lewis is working hard to unseat two-time defending Rolex Player of the Year Yani Tseng. Lewis has two victories this season and has played well at both major championships with a tie for fourth at the Kraft Nabisco Championship and a tie for second at the Wegmans LPGA Championship. Double points are on the line this week at the U.S. Women's Open with the winner receiving 60.
Stacy Lewis - 129
Yani Tseng - 120
Ai Miyazato - 106
Shanshan Feng - 91
Sun Young Yoo - 81
Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Points - 2011 U.S. Women's Open champion So Yeon Ryu currently leads heralded rookie Lexi Thompson in the rookie race. Ryu sprung into the spotlight with her playoff win over Hee Kyung Seo (who incidentally was the 2011 Rookie of the Year) at last year's Open, earning membership on the LPGA Tour in 2012. Double points are on the line this week at the U.S. Women's Open with the winner receiving 300.
So Yeon Ryu - 608
Lexi Thompson - 374
Mo Martin - 149
Lizette Salas - 125
Sydnee Michaels - 84
Vare Trophy for low scoring average - Ai Miyazato strengthened her bid for a first Vare Trophy with a victory last week at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G. Tseng, the defending Vare Trophy winner, trails Miyazato nearly a half stroke.
Ai Miyazato - 69.94
Stacy Lewis - 70.18
Shanshan Feng - 70.39
Yani Tseng - 70.41
Na Yeon Choi - 70.56
Winners this year
Five different International winners - Yani Tseng (3), Ai Miyazato (2), Sun Young Yoo, Azahara Munoz, Shanshan Feng
Four different American winners -Stacy Lewis (2), Jessica Korda, Angela Stanford, Brittany Lang
Average age of 2012 LPGA winners - 25 years, 4 months
Rolex First-Time Winners
Jessica Korda, Azahara Munoz, Shanshan Feng, Brittany Lang
Quick notes about the winners
Jessica Korda - ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open
• First Rolex first-time winner of 2012
• Won at 18 years, 11.5 months old to become the fourth youngest winner in Tour history
Yani Tseng - Honda LPGA Thailand 2012, RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup, Kia Classic
• Became the fastest player to reach $8 million at 4 years, 1 month and 2 days in 99 events.
• Became the second-youngest player in LPGA history to record 15 victories.
Angela Stanford - HSBC Women's Champions
• 5th career victory
Sun Young Yoo - Kraft Nabisco Championship
• Second Korean to win the tournament (Grace Park, 2004)
Ai Miyazato - LOTTE Championship, Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G
• 8th and 9th career victories
• Bypassed Yani Tseng on season money list after Walmart; sits at No. 1 with $1,035,727
Azahara Munoz - Sybase Match Play Championship
• Second Rolex First-Time Winner
• Having a career-year with five top-10's and nearly $900,000 in earnings
Stacy Lewis - Mobile Bay LPGA Classic, ShopRite LPGA Classic
• Surpassed Cristie Kerr as top American golfer after win at ShopRite LPGA Classic
• Jumped up to No. 2 in Rolex Rankings after a tie for second at Wegmans LPGA Championship
Shanshan Feng - Wegmans LPGA Championship
• Third Rolex First-Time Winner
• First player from mainland China to win on the LPGA Tour
• Sits at No. 4 in Rolex Rankings
Brittany Lang - Manulife Financial LPGA Classic
• Fourth Rolex First-Time Winner
• First Duke University player to win on Tour
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