February 26-March 1
Honda LPGA Thailand
Siam Country Club, Pattaya Old Course
Chonburi, Thailand
TOP STORYLINES
Traveling to Thailand
The LPGA Tour heads to Thailand this week for the Honda LPGA Thailand. It is the ninth consecutive year that Honda has served as the title sponsor for this great event. A field of 72 players (with no cut) will tee it up, including 16 out of the top-20 in the Rolex Rankings set to compete at the Siam Country Club, Pattaya Old Course.
In the first three events of 2015, there have been two South Korean (Na Yeon Choi and Sei Young Kim) winners and one Kiwi (Lydia Ko) this season. the average age of those three winners is 22 years of age.
Nordqvist Returns to Defend
Anna Nordqvist returns to defend her 2014 Honda LPGA Thailand title this week at the Siam Country Club. Nordqvist defeated 2013 winner, and then Rolex Rankings No. 1, Inbee Park by two strokes to claim the first of her two victories in 2014.
In Nordqvist’s first two events in 2015, she finished T24 at the Coates Golf Championship and T19 at the Pure Silk Bahamas Classic.
Thai Talent
There will be plenty of talent from the home country on display this week. Thailand boasts some of the best women golfers in the world and Thai fans will have plenty to root for this week. There are four players ranked within the top 130 in the Rolex Rankings including Pornanong Phatlum (No. 28), sisters Ariya (No. 44) and Moriya Jutanugarn (No. 105) and sponsor invite Thidapa Suwannapura (No. 129).
If anyone from this group can win this week, they would become the first woman from Thailand to win on the LPGA Tour.
Hole to Watch
The hole to watch this week is #16. Any player with an ace on 16 will walk away with a new Honda HR-V Crossover.
Rookies to Watch
One of the biggest storylines of the year on the LPGA Tour is the strength of the rookie class. It is arguably the strongest rookie class in the history of the LPGA and the Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year race is one that needs to be followed closely throughout the year.
Four LPGA rookies are ranked in the top 25 of the Rolex Rankings. Two rookies, Q Baek and Hyo Joo Kim, won LPGA events in 2014 before they took up LPGA membership while Hyo Joo Kim has already won a major championship. Kim won The Evian Championship in 2014, thanks to an opening-round 61 and became the third-youngest player in history to win a women’s major championship. Kim makes her 2015 LPGA debut this week.
So far in 2015, the rookie class has lived up to the hype. Ha Na Jang tied for second in the season- opening Coates Golf Championship. Sei Young Kim won the Pure Silk Bahamas Classic with fellow rookie, Ariya Jutanugarn, tying for second after losing in a playoff.
For a complete list of LPGA rookies, visit http://www.lpga.com/news/2015-rookies-class
Sea Turtle Awareness
Paula Creamer, Hyo Joo Kim, Ai Miyazato and amateur Budsabakorn Sukapan visited the Sea Turtle Conservation Center at The Royal Thai Navy base today to help release sea turtles into the wild.
Located 160 km southeast of Bangkok, the Sea Turtle Conservation Center makes a significant long-term investment of resources towards the conservation of endangered sea turtles.
The Center employs 36 full-time staff in the operation of the facility, which serves the purpose of public education as well as captive-rearing and release of turtle hatchlings.
The players spent over an hour at the facility learning about the conservation project and feeding the turtles before releasing some into the wild.
Field: 72 (70 professionals)
Par: 72
Yardage: 6,548
Purse: $1,500,000
Winner: $225,000
Defending Champion: Anna Nordqvist
TV Times
Golf Channel
Feb. 26 1:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
Feb. 27 1:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
Feb. 28 1:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
March 1 1:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.
All times listed are U.S. Eastern
Sponsor Invitations (10)
Mi Jung Hur, LPGA
Ariya Jutanugarn, LPGA
Hyo Joo Kim, LPGA
Ai Miyazato, LPGA
Mika Miyazato, LPGA
Sherman Santhiwiwathanaphong, Epson Tour
Budsabakorn Sukapan, Amateur
Thidapa Suwannapura, LPGA
Paphangkorn Tavatanakt, Amateur
Cheyenne Woods, LPGA
2015 LPGA Tour Rookies (4)
Ariya Jutanugarn
Sei Young Kim
Hyo Joo Kim
Cheyenne Woods
Rolex Rankings
Top 10: 9/10
Top 20: 16/20
2015 LPGA Official Money List
Top 10: 8/10
Top 20: 16/20
Past Champions
Anna Nordqvist 2014
Inbee Park 2013
Yani Tseng 2012
Yani Tseng 2011
Ai Miyazato 2010
Lorena Ochoa 2009
Suzann Pettersen 2007
Hee-Won Han 2006
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