SENSE OF BELONGING

Minjee Lee said the good memories started flooding back to her when she returned to the site of her first LPGA Tour win this week and that it was fun seeing her face on banners and cutouts in the clubhouse at Kingsmill Resort. The 19-year old clearly wasn’t ready for the extra perks that come along with being defending champ.

“Well, actually yesterday Mom parked in a totally different spot, and Kylie, one of the girls said your parking spot is right there; why aren’t you using it?” said Lee. “We didn’t know it was there. Now we drove in today and we parked right in my parking spot.”

Lee said her win on the River Course a year ago came at a good time during her rookie year when she was still coming into her own.

“I think it really came at a good time because, I mean, leading up to that tournament, I was sort of a little bit homesick, and I was not really settled down,” said Lee. “But after I won here, I just like really settled down, and I just kind of got comfortable with being out here, and I realized that I can compete out here. It was nice.”

The top-ranked Australian in the world – at No. 12 in the Rolex Rankings – won her second title a month ago in Hawaii and said that her sights have turned to not only winning events but winning majors.

“Yeah, definitely. I mean, majors will always be the main focus, I think,” said Lee. “Obviously you want to win the major events, but obviously any win is great. But the major events are the ones you really prioritize I would say. It’s definitely one of my next goals.”

THE CONSISTENCY OF KO

World No. 1 Lydia Ko’s 2016 season could not have gotten off to a better start in her eyes. The 19-year old already has two victories including her second major win, four additional top-10 finishes and she currently leads the Tour in eight major statistical categories and year-long races. Ko admitted coming off her back-to-back wins in March, it became daunting to try to play at such a high level on such a consistent basis.

“But it’s hard. That’s the thing about golf. You can shoot 70s one day and then come the next day shoot in the 60s. I think for me a couple -- not last year but the year before, I think I shot 80 or 80 something the last round at the British Open, and the week after I won at the Marathon Classic,” said Ko. “That’s the thing about this sport is that anything can happen, and it’s just not like huge, dramatic changes or dramatic things that affect it, but it’s those small things.

Instead of ball kind of lipping in, it could have just lipped out, and those small shots can make a huge difference.”

Ko said it’s been the forefront of what she and her team have been working on this year: make the bad days better and the good days really good.

“But coming into this year we’ve been trying to be a little bit more consistent in all aspects, so even during the season if we’re working on things with my coaches or putting, long game, we’re trying to make it as in, hey, even though I have not my average days can still be playable,” said Ko. “I don’t want it to be like, okay, 26 putts one day and go to 36 putts. How can I be a little bit more consistent. So that’s what we’ve been working on, and that’s what we’ll continue to work on. I think consistency is not something that you can go, okay, I’ve mastered it because even until the last moment you play on Tour, I know that I want to be more and more consistent.”

This week is Ko’s third appearance at Kingsmill and will try to improve on a T16 finish in 2015 and a fifth place finish in 2014.

“I feel like this is a very beautiful area,” said Ko. “The course is in really good condition, and even though we’ve had a lot of rain the last couple days or the last few weeks from what I’ve heard, still, it’s in great condition.”

Lydia Ko - Leading the the LPGA Tour in 8 Statistical Categories

Race to the CME Globe: 2,119 points
Rolex Player of the Year: 128 points
Money List: $1,071,567
Putts per GIR: 1.71
Putting Average: 28.41
Scoring Average: 69.28
Rounds Under Par: 27
Rounds in the 60s: 19

THE ULTIMATE BOUNCEBACK

Two weeks ago, Ariya Jutanugarn’s breakthrough win in Alabama made her the first Thai player to win on the LPGA Tour but also made her realize that all of the close calls and struggles over the past few years made her first victory that much more special.

Jutanugarn had a notable collapse in her home country of Thailand at the 2013 Honda LPGA Thailand when she held a two-shot lead walking to the 72nd hole but triple bogeyed to lose to Inbee Park by one shot. Then just last month at the season’s first major, the 20-year old held a two-stroke lead with three holes to play but finished fourth after closing with three straight bogeys.

“It was really hard for me because after ANA, I just really was frustrated because I don’t know why I lost in ANA,” said

Jutanugarn. “But it’s not only one month, but to me it’s like three years, because I lost the Honda on the LPGA like three years, because I kept waiting and telling myself, if this will not work, try something else, so I keep trying and trying, and one day it worked.”

Jutanugarn seemed like she would never be the same player after getting shoulder surgery in 2013 from slipping and falling at the Wegmans LPGA Championship. But slowly and surely she’s gained her game and confidence back.

After her win in Alabama, she moved to No. 21 in the world and took over as the top-ranked Thai player in the Rolex Rankings. She said the bumps in the road in her young career were tough but realized they only made her stronger.

“Actually I feel good because, like, if I don’t have -- like three years ago if I don’t have surgery, if I don’t miss 10 cuts, I’m not going to win the last tournament, so it just made me stronger and stronger.”

QUOTABLES

“It was definitely time for me to go home. I missed it. I’d say I normally don’t get homesick, but I felt like it was time to get out of living out of a suitcase. So it was definitely good to go back to Orlando. I guess the second week I just kind of chilled out. It was almost like I was hibernating, sleeping until like 3:00 p.m.” -Lydia Ko on her break from LPGA Tour action since Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic

“The form was pretty good. For a first experience I think it was pretty good. Just too high, and I’d say like maybe B.” -Inbee Park on grading herself on her first pitch at the Seattle Mariners game last Friday

“It’s one of our best stops on Tour, just the resort here, the golf course is always in perfect shape for us. The rain made it a little wet out there, but yeah, it’s in great shape for us. But the community gets behind the event, and I think that’s what we love about it. That’s why they always get the strongest field here because everybody looks forward to playing this golf course and just being here this week.” -Lexi Thompson on the Tour’s return to the Kingsmill Championship

Kingsmill Championship Wednesday Pre-tournament Notes

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