WIE BACK HOME
Hawaii native Michelle Wie will be in the field this week looking to improve on a runner-up finish at the Kraft Nabisco Championship with a win in front of her hometown fans.
Wie is playing some of the best golf of her career and has finished in the top-25 in each of her last 11 events with 5 top-10s during the stretch. In the 2014 season, Wie has finished no worse than 16th with three top-10s in six events played.
Wie, who is looking for her first win since 2010, has struggled in this event in the past missing the cut in 2012 and finishing tied for 28th in 2013.
SALAS WANTS TO GO LOW AGAIN
Lizette Salas will look for her first-career win at the site of her first-career runner-up finish this week.
Last season, Salas fired an impressive final-round 62 to come from five-shots back and force a playoff with Suzann Pettersen before eventually falling in the first hole of sudden-death. The 62 was the low final round of the 2013 season and lowest of Salas’ career.
Salas has had a strong start to her 2014 campaign with a pair of top-5 finishes in six events including a runner-up showing at the Kia Classic.
AI LOOKS TO RECAPTURE MAGIC
Former Rolex World No. 1 Ai Miyazato will look to recapture some of her magic as she returns to the site of her last victory, the 2012 LPGA LOTTE Championship presented by J Golf.
The course seems to fit Miyazato’s eye as she is the only player who has finished in the top-10 in each of the two events played at Ko Olina Golf Club with the win in 2012 and a tie for 6th last season.
INBEE GUNNING FOR THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Inbee Park, the Rolex No. 1 ranked player for the past 52 weeks, has had an impressive start to her 2014 campaign, with four top-10 finishes in the five events she has played, but has yet to reach the winners circle.
Park will look to change that this week on a course where she finished T4 last season and T12 at the inaugural event in 2012.
NORDQVIST LOOKS FOR WIN #3 IN 2014
Anna Nordqvist waited nearly five years to get back in the winner’s circle on the LPGA Tour with her convincing wire-to-wire victory at the Honda LPGA Thailand. Nordqvist’s second victory of the season didn’t take nearly as long as a mere 28 days after her victory in Thailand. Nordqvist captured the Kia Classic title thanks to a pair of 67s on the weekend. With the victory in Carlsbad, Nordqvist joined Karrie Webb as players with multiple wins in 2014.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
This week’s LPGA LOTTE Championship presented by J Golf will feature 21 LPGA rookies in the field, the most at any event so far this season. Lydia Ko and Mirim Lee, a pair of rookies who are in the field this week, have made a major impact in 2014 as they rank 12th and 24th respectively on this season’s Money List.
Eighteen-year old professional Ariya Jutanugarn Sunday qualified this week (+2, 74) and will be another youngster looking to make some noise at Ko Olina. The Thai teen finished third at last year’s event, four shots out of the playoff with Pettersen and Salas. It will be her third LPGA Tour appearance this season after missing the cut in Australia and finishing T51 at the Honda LPGA Thailand.
FIRST EVENT SINCE KRAFT
The LPGA LOTTE Championship presented by J Golf will mark the first event on the LPGA since the season’s first major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Seven of the top-10 finishers at Mission Hills are in the field this week including runner-up Michelle Wie.
QUICK FACTS
April 16-19
LPGA LOTTE Championship Presented by J Golf
Ko Olina Golf Club Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii
Field: 144 (143 professionals, 1 amateur)
Par: 72
Yardage: 6,383
Purse: $1,700,000
Winner: $255,000
Defending Champion: Suzann Pettersen
TV Times
Golf Channel
April 16 6:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
April 17 6:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
April 18 6:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
April 19 6:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
All times listed are Eastern
Past Champions
2013 Suzann Pettersen
2012 Ai Miyazato
2014 LPGA Tour Rookies (21)
| Anya Alvarez | Amy Anderson |
| Dottie Ardina | Lindy Duncan |
| Jaye Marie Green | Megan Grehan |
| Emma Jandel | Kim Kaufman |
| Stacey Keating | Jennifer Kirby |
| Lydia Ko | Mirim Lee |
| Xi Yu Lin | Megan McChrystal |
| Giulia Molinaro | Erica Popson |
| Paula Reto | Natalie Sheary |
| Kelly Tan | Line Vendel |
| Caroline Westrup |
Sponsor Invitations (5)
Ha Na Jang
Hyun Soo Kim
Hyo Joo Kim
Sei Young Kim
So Young Lee (a)
Qualifiers (2)
Ariya Jutanugarn (+2, 74)
Rachel Rohanna (+2, 74)
Rolex Rankings Top 10: 6/10
Top 20: 14/20
2014 LPGA Official Money List Top 10: 6/10
Top 20: 15/20
PRESS CONFERENCE AND MEDIA EVENT SCHEDULE
| Tuesday, April 15 | ||
| Time | Event | Location |
| 4:00 p.m. | Official Tournament Press Conference & Photo Call Inbee Park, Lydia Ko, Paula Creamer, Anna Nordqvist, Michelle Wie |
Media Center |
* All times are Hawaii-Aleutian
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