Deep In The Heart
The LPGA returns stateside this week for the fifth edition of the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout Presented by JTBC in Irving, Texas. The 144-player field includes the top 20 players in the Rolex Rankings, 91 of the top 100 players on the 2017 LPGA Tour money list and all eight of the tournament winners from this season competing for a $1.3 million purse at Las Colinas Country Club.
At the 2016 Volunteers of America Texas Shootout, Jenny Shin shot the low round on the final day, a bogey-free 67, to capture her first-career LPGA victory in her 135th start on Tour. Shin defeated Gerina Piller, Amy Yang and Mi Jung Hur by two-strokes.
What You Need To Know About The Volunteers of America Texas Shootout
1 – Only one American has won the event: Stacy Lewis (2014)
2 – Only Inbee Park has won multiple Volunteers of America Texas Shootout titles (2013, 2015)
4 – Amateurs in the field (Anne Chen, Gina Kim, Maddie McCrary, Eun Jeong Seong)
5 – This is the fifth year of the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout
60s – Only one champion (Inbee Park, 2015) has scored all four rounds in the 60s
64 - Tournament-low score, most recently shot by Karrie Webb in the third round in 2015
268 - Tournament record 16-under par 72-hole score set by Stacy Lewis in 2014
What You Need To Know About Defending Champion Jenny Shin
- In seven starts this season, she has made seven cuts with a season-best T11 finish coming at her last outing at the LOTTE Championship Presented by HERSHEY in Hawaii
- She will be recognized at the official Pro-Am Party on Tuesday night at AT&T Stadium
- Her putting average of 28.18 ranks second among LPGA players this season
- In 2016, was one of nine Rolex First-Time winners with her victory at the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout Presented by JTBC
- Last season, made 25 cuts in 27 starts earning $630,470 to finish 27th on the LPGA season money list
- Finished in the top 50 on the LPGA Money List each of the last five seasons
- Lead the LPGA in sand saves (66.67%) in 2016
- Entering the 2017 tournament, Shin is just $26,339 from breaking the $3 million mark in career earnings
Who's In The Field
Past Volunteers of America Texas Shootout Winners (3):
Jenny Shin (2016), Inbee Park (2015, 2013), Stacy Lewis (2014)
2017 Winners (8):
Brittany Lincicome (Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic), Ha Na Jang (ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open), Amy Yang (Honda LPGA Thailand), Inbee Park (HSBC Women’s Champions), Anna Nordqvist (Bank of Hope Founders Cup), Mirim Lee (Kia Classic), So Yeon Ryu (ANA Inspiration), Cristie Kerr (LOTTE Championship)
2017 Rookies (15):
Peiyun Chien, Karen Chung, Regan De Guzman, Dana Finkelstein, Laura Gonzalez Escallon, Jennifer Ha, Nasa Hataoka, Nelly Korda, Olafia Kristindottir, Sung Hyun Park, Maria Parra, Katherine Perry, Mel Reid, Madelene Sagstrom, Angel Yin
Las Colinas Is Lap Nine Of The Race To CME Globe
This week’s Volunteers of America Texas Shootout Presented by JTBC will mark the ninth event in the season-long Race to CME Globe. Thanks to six top-seven finishes in her six starts in 2017 including a win at the ANA Inspiration, So Yeon Ryu is atop of the current standings with 1,525 points.
In 2017, the reset points for the Race to the CME Globe will be modified slightly. As a result of these modifications:
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The top five (5) finishers entering Naples will control their own destiny at the CME Group Tour Championship
meaning if they win in Naples, they will also win the $1M CME Globe.
- The top twelve (12) finishers entering Naples will have a mathematical chance to win the $1M CME Globe.
- Please note that previously, the Top 3 controlled their destiny and Top 9 had a mathematical chance
2017 LPGA Tour Season By The Numbers
Don't Mess With These Texasn
11 LPGA players in this week’s field have connections to the Lone Star State:
Mi Jung Hur (lives in McKinney) – Two-time LPGA Tour winner has five top-25 finishes in six starts this season with a season-best T4 at the Kia Classic
Kim Kaufman (lives in Fort Worth) – Was a two-time All American (2012, 2013) while studying Political Science at Texas Tech
In-Kyung Kim (lives in Dallas) – Four-time LPGA Tour winner, career-best finish at the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout was solo-sixth in 2013
Sei Young Kim (lives in Dallas) – Five-time LPGA Tour winner and 2015 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year
Candie Kung (lives in Allen) – In 2016, the four-time LPGA Tour winner crossed the $7 million mark in career earnings after at T14 finish at the Evian Championship
Brittany Lang (from/lives in McKinney) – In 2016, captured her first career major championship and crossed the $6 million mark in career earnings at the U.S. Women’s Open
Ilhee Lee (lives in Irving) – The LPGA Tour winner’s career-best finish at Las Colinas is 10th (2013)
Stacy Lewis (from The Woodlands, lives in Houston) – 11-time LPGA Tour winner, has never finished outside the top-20 at the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout (T19, T7, Win, T7)
Gerina Piller (lives in Flower Mound) – The UTEP graduate was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2016, she’s still searching for her first career win while she her T2 finish last year at this tournament tied her career-best finish
So Yeon Ryu (lives in Dallas) – Broke a three-year win drought and won her second career major championship at the 2017 ANA Inspiration, has yet to finish outside the top-7 this season
Angela Stanford (from Saginaw, lives in Fort Worth) – In a bid to make her seventh Solheim Cup appearance the TCU graduate has three top-20 finishes this season
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