February 5-8
Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic
Ocean Club Golf Course
Paradise Island, Bahamas
TOP STORYLINES
NEW NO. 1 TRAVELS TO PARADISE
The LPGA Tour heads to Paradise this week for the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic and so will the newly-appointed No. 1 player in the world, Lydia Ko. Ko’s name read at the top of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings that were released earlier this morning. The 17-year old from New Zealand fell short of her sixth LPGA Tour title last week at the season-opening Coates Golf Championship Presented by R+L Carriers, but her tie for second finish was enough to give her another piece of golf history. At 17 years, 9 months and 9 days old, Ko became the youngest male or female player to ascend to the top of the world rankings. Her runner-up finish also gave the teen her 23rd top-10 finish in her 43 career starts dating back to 2012.
A stellar field of 120 players will tee it up alongside Ko this week with 16 out of the top-20 in the Rolex Rankings set to compete at the Ocean Club Golf Course at the Atlantis Resort.
KORDA TO DEFEND SECOND CAREER LPGA TITLE THIS WEEK
Jessica Korda returns to the site of her second LPGA Tour win this week in the Bahamas and will be riding a wave of momentum after a strong showing at the first event of the season last week. Korda finished in a tie for second at the Coates Golf Championship after nearly forcing a playoff when she lipped out a birdie putt on the 72nd hole.
She posted a bogey-free 66 last during Saturday’s final round, the same score she had during the final round in the Bahamas to hold off Stacy Lewis for the victory. The 21-year old will be playing for her fourth career title after notching win No. 3 later in the season in 2014 at the Airbus LPGA Classic.
NA YEON CHOI RETURNS TO THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Na Yeon Choi ended her two-year winless streak with a victory at the Coates Golf Championship presented by R&L Carriers last week. Before Sunday, Choi’s last LPGA win was November 2012 when she clinched the CME Group Titleholders in Naples, Florida. Choi shot a final-round 68 to finish just one shot in front of Lydia Ko, Ha Na Jang and Jessica Korda to capture the tournament title at 16-under. It was Choi’s eighth career LPGA Tour title and moved up five spots in the Rolex World Rankings, coming in at No. 12.
ROOKIES MAKING WAVES
Several 2015 LPGA Tour rookies had impressive debuts last week at the Coates Golf Championship and will look to build on their strong play this week. South Korea’s Ha Na Jang took top rookie honors last week after finishing in a tie for second. Jang held the second-roundl ead in Ocala and finished with rounds of 67-65-71-70 and one shot behind eventual champ, Na Yeon Choi.
With one of the most heralded rookie classes in a long time, LPGA fans will be seeing the young stars at the top of the leaderboard in 2015. Other notable rookie performances from last week included: Ariya Jutanugarn (11th, -6), Minjee Lee (12th, -5) and Alison Lee (T13, -4).
HENDERSON TO MAKE LPGA DEBUT AS A PRO
Canada’s Brooke Henderson earned a spot in this week’s field after winning the Monday qualifier with a 4-under 69 at the Ocean Club Golf Course. The start in the Bahamas will be Henderson’s first as a professional after declaring she would be going pro in December.
Henderson, the former top-ranked amateur in the world, won seven amateur events and two professional events last year. She made the cut in all four LPGA events she played in last season and earned low amateur honors at the U.S. Women’s Open (T10) and tied for 26th at the ANA Inspiration (formerly Kraft Nabisco Championship).
QUICK FACTS
Field: 120 (120 professionals)
Par: 73
Yardage: 6,644
Purse: $1,300,000
Winner: $195,000
Defending Champion: Jessica Korda
TV Times
Golf Channel
Sept. 5 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Sept. 6 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Sept. 7 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sept. 8 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
All times listed are Eastern
Qualifiers (2)
Brooke Henderson, 69 (-4)
Rebecca Lee-Bentham, 70 (-3)
Sponsor Invitations (2)
Kathleen Ekey
Raquel Riley
2014 LPGA Tour Rookies (15)
Q Baek
Simin Feng
Wei Ling Hsu
Ha Na Jang
Ariya Jutanugarn
Sei Young Kim
SooBin Kim
Therese Koelbaek
Alison Lee
Minjee Lee
Sadena Parks
Demi Runas
Kelly Shon
Marissa Steen
Sakura Yokomine
Rolex Rankings
Top 10: 7/10
Top 20: 16/20
2014 LPGA Official Money List
Top 10: 7/10
Top 20: 17/20
Past Champions
Jessica Korda 2014
Ilhee Lee 2013
)
)
)
)
