Back-to-Back…To Back?
In 2016 Anna Nordqvist shot a final-round 64 to tie the tournament scoring record set by Annika Sorenstam, and held off Haru Nomura by a shot to defend her title in Atlantic City.
Nordqvist is now going for the three-peat, but, she already has a win this season – at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup – and no one on the LPGA Tour has yet to win more than once in 2017.
Nordqvist has only missed one cut this year out of eight events and has one other top-10 finish along with her victory and sits 13th on the Race to the CME Globe.
After her victory a year ago Nordqvist went on a run of four-straight top-15 finishes, including a runner-up at last year’s U.S. Women’s Open. If she wins again this week, it could set up the Swede for another fabulous summer run.
Steady As She Goes
For the first eight weeks of the LPGA Tour season So Yeon Ryu did not finish outside the top 10 once, notching a victory at the first major of the year, the ANA Inspiration, as well as two runner-up finishes.
Her steady play so far in 2017 has her leading in almost every important statistical category including Scoring Average, the Race to the GME Globe, and the Rolex Player of the Year point-race.
Ryu hasn’t played the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by ACER since 2014, but given the tremendous start to her season, it would not be surprising to see her contend once again this week on the Jersey Shore.
Henderson Looking For A Spark
While it hasn’t been a comparable start to 2016 for the young Canadian, Henderson has managed to have a steady, if unspectacular, beginning of 2017.
Although she finished tied for 45th here a year ago, Henderson then went on to win the next tournament – the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship – for her first major victory, which kick started a run of two wins in four weeks for Henderson.
So far in 2017 Henderson has missed only one cut and has two top-10 finishes. She’s seventh on Tour in Total Birdies, which should benefit her this week as Anna Nordqvist, for example, finished at 17-under-par a year ago and the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by ACER is a three-round tournament.
Birdies are at a premium this week, and Henderson has been making them in bunches so far in 2017. If she manages to get every aspect of her game firing this week in New Jersey, it could be a big week for the 19-year-old.
Rookie Korda Not Playing Like One So Far
Nelly Korda is a rookie on the LPGA Tour but she certainly hasn’t been playing like one so far in 2017. Under the guidance of big sister Jessica, Nelly has notched two top-10s already this year and hasn’t missed a cut.
Time will tell if a win is next on her accomplishment list, but she’s certainly trending in the right direction after a tie for 9th last week at the LPGA Volvik Championship.
Korda can point to her putter as the key to her success so far this year, as she sits 12th on Tour in Putting Average and 18th in Putts per GIR. If Korda manages to get the flat-stick going again this week, watch out.
She sits third in the race for the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year and will need a big week to usurp South Korea’s Sung Hyun Park at the top – who finished tied for second a week ago and has three other top-5s so far this year.
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