Before she turns her attention to the next LPGA event, 2013 Rolex Player of the Year Inbee Park can take a week to bask in the glow of her 13th career victory.
The second-ranked player in the world out-dueled world No. 1 Lydia Ko and reigning Rolex Player of the Year Stacy Lewis on Sunday, taking her first win of 2015 at the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore. Park’s two-shot win over Ko boosted an already solid season for the 26-year-old, and she has now served notice that she will be a contender for the LPGA’s top prizes this season.
Park’s triumph also served to continue the Republic of Korea’s dominance of the Tour this season. Four different players (Na Yeon Choi, Sei Young Kim and Amy Yang are the others) from the Asian powerhouse have claimed four of the season’s first five events.
Park and her countrywomen will have some time to enjoy the spoils from the first part of the season, although they’ll likely “celebrate” by practicing and preparing for the next Tour stop. That will be the one-of-a-kind JTBC Founders Cup, March 19-22, in Phoenix, a $1.5 million event that is just as much about paying homage to the LPGA’s founding members as it is a showcase of the current Tour’s top talent.
Singapore’s $1.4 million event was the LPGA’s third consecutive week abroad, following stops in Australia and Thailand. Hall of Famer Karrie Webb will defend her title in Phoenix, and the Tour will follow that with a week in Carlsbad, Calif., for the highly popular Kia Classic and the season’s first major at the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Anna Nordqvist and Lexi Thompson are those events’ defending champions, respectively, and they would love to repeat at the places that were special to them in 2014. But first, it’s a week of returning Stateside, shaking off jet lag, fine-tuning one’s swing and taking a breather as the West coast prepares for the spectacle that is the LPGA Tour.
The next three weeks feature some of the most dedicated fan bases, loyal sponsors and top-quality golf facilities players will see all year. The excitement level is about to ramp up a notch, and that should be apparent to Golf Channel viewers who tune in to see the world’s top female golfers do what they do best.
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