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Michelle Wie, Jessica Korda, So Yeon Ryu 8:21 AM
This is just a really fun group. Michelle WIe and Jessica Korda are great friends and So Yeon Ryu is one of the most well-liked players on the LPGA. They’re also all ranked inside the top 18 in the world. Wie returns after taking the Volunteers of America LPGA Texas Classic off so she’s had two weeks to rest and prepare. Her start to the year was amazing – T11-11-Win – but she’s been a bit quieter since with no top 10s in her last six starts. Korda has arguably been the most consistent player on the LPGA this year in a small sample – just six starts. Her worst finish is a T26 and she won the Honda LPGA Thailand, which included a 10-under, 62 in the second round. Ryu has a pair of top 10s, but is still looking for her first win this year. About a month ago, she finished fourth at the HUGEL-JTBC LA Open. She also should be rested as she didn’t play in Texas.
Lexi Thompson, Angel Yin, Brittany Lincicome 1:16 PM
This is the long-bomber group. Lexi ranks fifth on Tour with a driving distance of 273.9, Yin ranks sixth at 273.5 and Lincicome ranks seventh at 273.03. If you like watching players grip it and rip it, this is the group. Thompson of course won in Kingsmill last year with a tournament record score of 20-under and said in her pre-tournament presser that she is very comfortable around the River Course. She also has her mom, Judy, doing all the cooking this week so that ought to help too. Keep on an eye on the weekend for Thompson. Her scoring average in the first two rounds (70.4) has been about the same as her weekend scoring average (70.2). I’m sure she’d like to see an uptick over the weekends. In Yin’s last start at the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship she tallied her first top 10 of the year and sixth of her career. She took the last tournament off so she should be well rested. Lincicome has three top 10s this year including the season-opening win in the Bahamas. She did turn in a 5-under, 66 in the final round two weeks ago in Texas.
Pernilla Lindberg, Emma Talley, Minjee Lee 8:32 AM
You’ve got a major champion, a talented rookie and a three-time winner in this group. Lindberg of course won the ANA Inspiration in an 8-hole playoff over Inbee Park. She spent the off week at the Players Championship mixing it up with Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson so that should give her some mojo for this week. Talley already has two top 10s in her rookie season and said she’s inspired watching her friend and fellow former Alabama star Justin Thomas rise to number one in the men’s game. Lee has finished inside the top 30 in eight of her nine starts this year with her best finish being a runner-up at the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship. She already has 16 rounds in the 60s this year (34 total rounds).
In Gee Chun, Brooke Henderson, Moriya Jutanugarn 1:27 PM
All three are LPGA winners and top tier players on the LPGA. Brooke Henderson and Moriya Jutanugarn have both won this season. In Gee’s moment is coming. She’s only played in six events this season and has one top 10 finish at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup. Chun finished in a tie for 12th two weeks ago. Henderson is the exact opposite of Chun. She’s played in every event this year and that continues this week. Since her win in Hawaii, she’s had a bit of a drop off. She missed the cut in Los Angeles and then went T43-T23 in the last two starts. After a week off at home in Smiths Falls, this would be a great time to gear up for the run to the U.S. Women’s Open. Jutanugarn has had a special season thus far. She ranks third on the money list and second on the Race to the CME Globe. Her putting has been tremendous. She sits second on Tour in Putts per GIR and seventh in Putting Average.
Other Notable Groups
Nelly Korda, Ariya Jutanugarn and Cristie Kerr (1:05 PM): This could have easily been a featured group because these are three excited players. You have the young gun in Nelly hunting a first win, Ariya looking for her first win of the year with a Tour-high seven top 10s and Cristie looking for her fourth in Williamsburg.
Gaby Lopez, Cheyenne Woods and Anne-Catherine Tanguay (8:54 AM): Cheyenne Woods qualified for the U.S. Women's Open on Monday so she should have some good vibes coming into the week. Gaby Lopez is coming off her best finish of the year in Texas (T19) and Anne-Catherine Tanguay, a 2017 Epson Tour graduate, is looking for a breakthrough week.
Lindy Duncan, Anna Nordqvist and Mo Martin (1:16 PM): Lindy Duncan finished in second place at the last tournament with a birdie-birdie-birdie finish. Nordqvist, an 8-time LPGA winner, has one top 10 finish this season while major champion Mo Martin had her best finish (T12) in her last start in Texas.
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