FEATURED PAIRING
Defending champion Sei Young Kim and 2015 winner Lee-Anne Pace will be paired with Rolex Rankings No. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn for Round 1 of the Blue Bay LPGA.
Kim’s win in the 2015 tournament was the last win on the LPGA Tour with no rounds in the 60s (70-72-74-70=286), highlighting the difficulty of the course especially when the conditions are particularly windy.
Pace’s victory at the 2014 tournament also was noteworthy, as she became only the second player from South Africa to capture a victory on the LPGA Tour. Fellow South African player Paula Reto is also in the field this week.
JUTANUGARN COULD MAKE STRIDES IN YEAR-LONG RACES
With World No. 1 Lydia Ko taking this week off, Ariya Jutanugarn has an opportunity to not only extend her lead in the Rolex Player of the Year Race, but also to overtake Ko for the number one spot on the 2016 official money list as well as the Race to the CME Globe standings.
Jutanugarn and Ko are the only two players to surpass the $2 million mark this year. With a third place finish or better this week, the Thailand native would pass the New Zealander for most earnings in 2016.
A finish inside the top-10 this week would allow Jutanugarn to pass Ko for first in the airtight Race to the CME Globe. Jutanugarn already has a four-point advantage over Ko in the Rolex Player of the Year standings and could add to her lead with a top-10 – she has 13 total top-10s in 24 starts this season.
FEELING AT HOME
Among the six active LPGA professionals from mainland China, competing this week are Simin Feng, Xi Yu Lin, Jing Yan, and Rookie Jiayi Zhou.
Lin, who joined the LPGA Tour in 2014, recorded her career-best finish at last year’s Blue Bay LPGA as she finished in a tie for fifth at 3-over-par. Lin represented China in the 2016 Rio Olympics where she made her first ace. Her ace also made history as the first hole-in-one in women’s Olympic golf.
BUILDING ON SUCCESS
Also competing in the field is last week’s winner of the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship, Carlota Ciganda. Ciganda, No. 23 in the world, was No. 60 in the world a year before her win. Ciganda finished in a tie for 30th at last year’s tournament at 9-over-par and T35 the year prior.
BLUE SKIES AHEAD
Typhoon Sarika brought heavy rain and strong winds to Hainan on Tuesday, but by Wednesday the skies were clear with some scattered rain. The Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course remains in tournament-ready condition and Round 1 will proceed Thursday, as scheduled. Should weather conditions change, the tournament will adjust the schedule accordingly.
The course is no stranger to extreme weather and saw torrential rains during the week of the 2014 edition of the event. Lee-Anne Pace won the rain-shortened 54-hole tournament, which concluded Monday morning.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
25 - Hole-in-ones made this season
8 - Rolex First Time Winners in 2016
6 - Total number of rounds in the 60s in last year’s tournament
5 - LPGA Rookies in the field this week: Megan Khang, Lee Lopez, Su Oh, Annie Park, and Jiayi Zhou
2 - Most eagles made in a round by one player this season
QUOTABLE
“I don’t think, I was like really nervous on the last putt. I can hear my heart pound. I was just sitting down. When I hit the ball, I draw in my mind, nothing, nothing, I just focus what I do. That what’s my key.” - Sei Young Kim after last year’s tournament about her birdie putt on the 72nd hole
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