For Michelle Wie, the 2014 LOTTE Championship Presented by Hershey in her native Hawaii was a turning point.
It was where she ended a four-year winless drought and kick-started what would be a stellar season she won’t soon forget. She went on to win the U.S. Women’s Open, finish fourth on the money list with more than $1.9 million in earnings and fourth in the Rolex Player of the Year standings.
This week, Wie returns to the site of her storybook triumph – Ko Olina Golf Club in Kapolei, Oahu – to defend her title against a stacked and hungry field. Suzann Pettersen, who won the event in a playoff over Lizette Salas in 2013, and 2012 champion Ai Miyazato will also be there, and there are a host of other challengers to Wie’s championship.
World No. 3 Inbee Park, 2015 major champion Brittany Lincicome and 2015 tournament winners Cristie Kerr, Na Yeon Choi, Sei Young Kim and Hyo Joo Kim are also teeing it up in the $1.8 million event. This week’s tournament begins on Wednesday, so players will have to move their schedules and routines 24 hours ahead to adjust.
Players are treated to life in paradise for a week as they battle for the winner’s share of the purse, and the golf course is nowhere near short on beautiful backdrops. The event has also lured the likes of Paula Creamer, Shanshan Feng, Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak, Morgan Pressel and Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn to the tropical showcase that is Ko Olina.
Other players to watch include Angela Stanford, last year’s runner-up, and Chella Choi and So Yeon Ryu, who finished in a tie for fifth place. Park finished third and should also be in the mix, as should Hyo Joo Kim, who took home the fourth-place check a year ago.
The LOTTE Championship kicks off a three-week stretch that includes a stop in San Francisco next week, where world No. 1 Lydia Ko will have a title defense, and a trip to the heart of Texas, where reigning Rolex Player of the Year Stacy Lewis is the defending champion. That run will take the Tour to the one-third mark of the season, with 11 of 33 events complete heading into the next week off after Texas.
It’s hard to believe the season will be a third of the way complete in a few short weeks, but time flies when you’re having fun. Golf Channel will provide 16 hours of coverage to make viewers jealous, but it will still be fun to watch the drama unfold.
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