Click here for the complete field at the LPGA Volvik Championship.
Best Of The Best In Michigan
There were some big moves in the Rolex Rankings at last week’s Kingsmill Championship, putting 14 of the top-20 in the world in the field at this week’s inaugural LPGA Volvik Championship. World No.1 Lydia Ko headlines the field, along with new No.4 Sei Young Kim who finished T-3 last week and bumped Stacy Lewis down to No.5. Lewis is not in the field this week. Also in the field this week are world No.6 Brooke Henderson, No.11 So Yeon Ryu and No.17 Suzann Pettersen.
Third Time’s A Charm?
Seven of the nine winners in 2016 on the LPGA Tour are in the field this week in Michigan. With last week’s victory at the Kingsmill Championship, Ariya Jutanugarn became the fourth two-time winner in 2016, having also won in her last start at the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic. She’s chasing a third consecutive win this week in Michigan. Also in the field are Honda LPGA Thailand champion Lexi Thompson and two-time winner Haru Nomura. 2016 winners Ha Na Jang and Jenny Shin are not in the field.
Rookie Take Over
The 2016 rookies have been playing their way to the top of the leaderboard in recent weeks with In Gee Chun and Su Oh finishing in the top-10 at last week’s Kingsmill Championship. They are two of the 21 rookies in the field this week, which also includes Gaby Lopez, Megan Khang and Annie Park.
Best For Brittany
Still in search of her first victory in more than a year, her last win coming at the 2015 ANA Inspiration, Brittany Lincicome is coming off her second T-8 finish of the season, her best of the year. With that finish, Lincicome climbed two spots in the Rolex Rankings to No.22. She’ll need to keep up that strong play in the coming weeks if she wants to make the trip to Rio. Lincicome has until July 11 to play her way into the top-15 in the world and earn a spot in the Olympic field.
Beck Bounding Up The Rankings
2015 rookie Laetitia Beck is coming off the best performances of her career with top-20 finishes at the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic and Kingsmill Championship, which were also her first back-to-back made cuts of the season. With her finish in Alabama, Beck jumped 35 spots in the Rolex Rankings and picked up another 26 spots following her week in Virginia, which moved the Tour’s only Israeli golfer to No.209 in the rankings.