This week marks another break in the schedule for the LPGA, and players will have the chance to do everything from enjoy some time off to take care of personal matters they put on hold while on the road.
Whether it’s spending time at home with family, playing in charity outings or putting in some practice time to fine-tune their games, players will find themselves doing any number of things in the coming days. Many of them treasure the time to catch their breath, and this week should be no different.
They can also reflect on the last three weeks, a stretch that included a trio of events that kept LPGA fans wildly entertained. The backdrops of Hawaii, San Francisco and the greater Dallas area served as great hosts for the world’s best women’s golfers, and Tour members did not disappoint.
Who can forget rookie Sei Young Kim chipping in to force a playoff and then ending that sudden-death showdown with world No. 2 Inbee Park in at the LOTTE Championship Presented by Hershey in Hawaii? Or what about world No. 1 Lydia Ko rolling in a birdie on the second extra hole against Morgan Pressel to successfully defend her title at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic Presented by CTBC?
Those playoffs – which were the second and third in a row for the Tour, respectively – preceded last week’s Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout Presented by JTBC, an event won by Park in grand style after a blistering final-round 65. All three players who won during the LPGA’s last trifecta picked up their second triumphs of the 2015 season, and they will be major players in the biggest points races for the remainder of the year.
The LPGA is now at the one-third mark of the season, as 11 of 33 events have come and gone, and it has been another stellar year thus far for the leading women’s professional sports organization. If the first third of the season is any indication of what is in store for the Tour’s faithful the rest of the way, the sport should be in good hands.
Next on tap is the Kingsmill Championship Presented by JTBC, May 14-17, where Lizette Salas is the defending champion. Salas has only played in six tournaments so far this year, so she will be hungry to get back out on the course and try to recreate the magic from a year ago in Williamsburg, Va., this week.
After that, the Tour will have another week off before embarking on yet another three-week stretch that includes the season’s second major, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, June 11-14, in Westchester, N.Y. That first-year event takes over for the LPGA Championship and should be a top-notch collaboration between two of the sport’s leading governing bodies.
It’s been a great year so far, and this off week should allow everyone to bask in the glow of success while preparing for the next bend in the road.
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