Click here for the complete field at the 2017 LPGA Volvik Championship.
Busy Season
As the Tour moves into the second of 12 consecutive weeks, players begin making decisions as to how they want to best reserve their energy ahead of the summer’s upcoming, busy stretch. For some, that means taking a break this week. As was the decision of world No. 1 Lydia Ko. The top-ranked player in the field this week at the LPGA Volvik Championship is world No. 2 So Yeon Ryu, who is coming off her 11th consecutive top-10 finish, dating back to the 2016 season. Ryu finished tied for 10th last week at the Kingsmill Championship and continues to close the gap on the world’s top-ranked player. Defending champion and world No. 3 Ariya Jutanugarn is also in the field this week, defending for the second consecutive week. No. 4 Lexi Thompson, winner of last week’s Kingsmill Championship, tees it up again this week in Michigan as she looks to go back-to0back for the first time in her career. Thompson finished tied for sixth at the 2016 Volvik Championship. No. 5 In Gee Chun, runner-up to Thompson at Kingsmill, is also in the field. No. 8 Sei Young Kim and No. 10 Ha Na Jang round out the top-10.
Making History
There’s nothing that cements a new Tour event to the schedule quite like a historic finish. That’s what Ariya Jutanugarn provided the 2016 Volvik Championship during it's first year on the schedule. When Jutanugarn arrived in Michigan, she had already won the first two events staged in May and had an opportunity to add her name to the record books by becoming the first to win her first three events consecutively. Jutanugarn won by five-strokes ahead of Christina Kim to capture her third victory on the LPGA Tour. This week, the defending champion arrives back in Michigan after finishing in a tie for 18th at the Kingsmill Championship and looks to pick up her first win of 2017.
Thanks for the Memories
Four-time winner on the LPGA Tour, Ha Na Jang, announced this week that she is giving up her membership on Tour and plans to return to her home country of Korea to play on the KLPGA. The 2015 rookie brought smiles to fans faces with her exciting celebrations inspired by everyone from Samurai warriors to Beyonce. Jang won three times in 2016, which she followed with another victory at the 2017 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open. Her last start on Tour was at the Lorena Ochoa Match Play. Jang plans to hold a press conference on Tuesday to discuss her decision.
Take Two
Eight players who finished in the top-10 behind Jutanugarn at last year’s playing of the Volvik Championship return to the field again this year. Runner-up Christina Kim is in search of her first top-10 of the season after missing the cut last week in Virginia. Brooke Henderson and Jessica Korda, who finished tied for third in 2016, are also in the field this week. Henderson has continued to trend upward in recent weeks as she’s coming off back-to-back top-15s and looking to pick up her first win of the season. Korda, who played alongside her sister, Nelly, for the first time last week in Virginia, posted three top-11s to start the season and like Henderson is also searching for her first win of 2017. Belen Mozo, Azahara Munoz, Marina Alex and Angela Stanford all finished in the top-10 last season and are in the field again this week.
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