*All times are local.
Cristie Kerr, Sandra Gal, Sei Young Kim
8:36 a.m. – 10th Tee
LPGA veteran Cristie Kerr will be looking to become only the second two-time LPGA winner in 2017 at this week’s inaugural Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic. The American will need to recapture her early season form, which saw her pick up the LOTTE Championship Presented by HERSHEY, as well as three further top-10s.
She will tee it up alongside Germany’s Sandra Gal and fellow 2017 LPGA winner Sei Young Kim. Gal will be looking to give Europe’s Solheim Cup captain Annika Sorenstam something to think about, as the European currently does not automatically qualify for the team. Her form has been up and down this year, but Gal did finish third at the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open conducted by the USGA– the last time the LPGA visited Wisconsin.
Kim is enjoying some fine form this season. The golfer from the Republic of Korea was victorious at the Citibanamex Lorena Ochoa Match Play presented by Aeromexico and Delta, in May. Last week she finished T-4 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and will be aiming to break into the world’s top-10 of the Rolex Rankings, where she currently sits 11th
Paula Creamer, Ariya Jutanugarn, In Gee Chun
8:47 a.m. – 10th Tee
Paula Creamer hasn’t missed a Solheim Cup since she joined the LPGA Tour in 2005, but that streak could come to an end this year. The six-time member of Team U.S.A. currently sits 19th in the Solheim Cup point standings and is running out of events to make her seventh consecutive team. Five events remain, including this week’s Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic, for Creamer to earn points before the teams are finalized on Sunday following the conclusion of the Ricoh Women’s British Open. She’s coming off a tie for 72nd at last week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, where Solheim Cup points are double, as is the case at each of the season’s major championships.
Creamer will play alongside Ariya Jutanugarn and In Gee Chun during the opening rounds in Wisconsin. Jutanugarn missed her first cut of 2017 at last week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship where an opening round six over par, 77 left her well off the pace. She bounced back with a three under par, 68 on Friday but a bogey on her final hole of the day left her one stroke outside the cut line. The world No. 2 looks to rebound this week at she prepares for the season’s third major test next week at the U.S. Women’s Open conducted by the USGA. Chun is the third and final member of this group, who has had a rollercoaster start to the first half of the season. The two-time major champion has six top-10s to start the year but is coming off her worst finish of the year in a tie for 54th at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She can use this week to get her game back on track ahead of next week’s U.S. Women’s Open, which she won in 2015.
Madelene Sagstrom, Megan Khang, Pornanong Phatlum
1:14 p.m. – 1st Tee
Rookie Madelene Sagstrom is beginning to find her footing on the LPGA Tour just in time for the season’s busy major stretch. After missing her first three cuts of the year, Sagstrom arrives in Wisconsin fresh off her best major finish, a tie for 11th at Olympia Fields. It’s just the latest in a string of solid starts for the rookie who also posted a T-4 and T-7 in the past two months. Earning her way onto the European Solheim Cup team was a goal of Sagstrom’s to start the season and will need to keep the momentum rolling through July to catch Captain Annika Sorenstam’s attention in hopes of receiving a captain’s pick.
Sagstrom will play alongside Megan Khang and Pornanong Phatlum during Thursday and Friday’s rounds. Khang missed the cut last week at Olympia Fields and will look this week to rediscover the form she found two weeks ago in Arkansas where she posted her first top-10 of the season. Phatlum got off to a hot start to the season with two top-10s in her first two starts, but has struggled since to crack the top-20. She’ll look to find a spark this week in Wisconsin after missing the cut last week.
Suzann Pettersen, Moriya Jutanugarn, Charley Hull
1:36 p.m. – 1st Tee
The last time the Tour made a stop in Wisconsin, Suzann Pettersen finished inside the top-10 at the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open. With four top-10s this season, including three in a row at the Kingsmill Championship presented by JTBC, LPGA Volvik Championship and Manulife LPGA Classic, the Norwegian is searching for her first LPGA title since the Manulife LPGA Classic in 2015. Alongside her will be Moriya Jutanugarn and fellow European Charley Hull. Jutanugarn is arguably the in-form player of the group with four top-10 finishes in a row, before last week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She also leads the Tour in sub-par holes, suggesting a win is just around the corner. Hull comes into the week needing to find form. With just two top-10 finishes this season and a missed cut at last week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Hull will be looking to use this week to build up confidence and form ahead of the U.S. Women’s Open next week.
Brooke Henderson, Lizette Salas, Minjee Lee
1:47 p.m. – 1st Tee
Brooke Henderson looks to be carrying all the momentum carrying into this week’s Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic. The Canadian finished one and two in her last two starts on Tour and nearly forced a playoff with Danielle Kang at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship where her eagle putt came up one revolution short of the cup on the 72nd hole. She’s said repeatedly she likes where her game is heading into this summer’s busy major stretch and thinks she can keep it rolling in hopes of picking up her second win of the year in the coming weeks.
Henderson will tee it up with Lizette Salas and Minjee Lee on Thursday and Friday. Salas always manages to ratchet her game up a notch during a Solheim Cup year and has done the same again this season. She posted her sixth top-11 of the season last week at Olympia Fields and sits No. 12 in the Solheim Cup point standings, just on the bubble of earning one of those eight automatic qualifying spots. With continued strong play, the two-time member of Team U.S.A. could also earn a pick from Captain Juli Inkster. Lee rounds out this group as she looks to earn her first win of the year. She’s put herself in contention more than once this year and has six top-6 finishes to start the season.
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