As the LPGA Tour heads to China for yet another Asian swing event, it is clear who has emerged as the frontrunner for most of the season’s major awards.
On Sunday, 18-year-old Lydia Ko put an exclamation point on a statement win by earning her fifth victory of 2015 and 10th overall by a whopping nine strokes at the Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship. In the process, the terrific teen reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Women’s Golf World Rankings and made it clear she is the player to beat in the Tour’s final four events of the season.
Next up is this week’s $2 million Blue Bay LPGA in Hainan Island, China, an event that was so waterlogged in its inaugural year in 2014 that a winner was not decided until Monday morning after tournament week. South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace weathered the storm and posted a three-stroke victory over Germany’s Caroline Masson to become a Rolex First-Time Winner.
Pace will be back to defend her title this week and is coming off seven top-30 finishes in her last 10 starts, including a tie for sixth at The Evian Championship in September. Pace will have to contend with Ko and a number of other top LPGA stars, including world No. 2 Inbee Park, two-time and reigning Rolex Player of the Year Stacy Lewis and two-time 2015 winners Sei Young Kim, Na Yeon Choi and Lexi Thompson.
Shanshan Feng, one of the world’s top 10-ranked players, shouldn’t be counted out in her home country, and Suzann Pettersen, Jessica Korda, Anna Nordqvist and Yani Tseng are some other big-time players fans should keep their eyes on this week.
The Blue Bay LPGA is the second-to-last Asian event on a five-week tour that has produced some great action. After this week, the Tour moves on to Japan for the Toto Japan Classic before heading to Mexico for the Lorena Ochoa Invitational presented by Banamex Nov. 12-15, and the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Fla., Nov. 19-22.
If Park is going to catch Ko in the race for Rolex Player of the Year honors, she will need to begin turning up the heat in China. Considering Ko has three victories in her last five events and seven top-five finishes in her last eight starts, there’s no reason to think she won’t continue to set the bar high for Park and anyone else looking for 2015 accolades.
Can Pace or another new star steal the thunder from Ko and Park, or will their domination continue? The Golf Channel will help show the answer to that question in the coming days, and it should be fun to watch.
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