Christina Kim will never forget the 2014 Lorena Ochoa Invitational Presented by Banamex and JTBC.
She defeated Shanshan Feng on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to end a winless streak of more than nine years and become the seventh different player to win the tournament in Mexico. This week, she’ll be looking to become the first of those tournament champions to successfully defend her title in the $1 million event, the second-to-last tournament of the LPGA’s 2015 season.
Kim has made her last 11 cuts and would love to add to her $205,760 in season earnings this week as the Tour returns to North America from a five-week Asian swing. She will have to contend with the likes of world No. 2 Inbee Park, newly crowned 2015 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Sei Young Kim and 2008 Lorena Ochoa Invitational winner Angela Stanford, who is coming off a tie for second on Sunday.
Two-time 2015 winners Na Yeon Choi and Lexi Thompson – who won the event in 2013 – are also in the field, as well as 21012 Lorena Ochoa Invitational champion Cristie Kerr. Other standouts to watch include 2015 tournament winners Chella Choi, Brittany Lincicome, Minjee Lee, Anna Nordqvist and Suzann Pettersen.
This week’s tournament is a limited-field event, with just 36 players teeing it up for a chance at the $200,000 first-place prize. Christina Kim is one of five sponsor exemptions playing this week, and that group also includes amateur Gaby Lopez, a two-time NCAA First-Team All-American at the University of Arkansas who was born in Mexico City.
With a beloved host and a scenic par-72, 6,804-yard Club de Golf Mexico course in beautiful Mexico City, players will surely enjoy their time South of the border this week. This week’s event is one of two remaining chances for players to move up the ranks and make an impact this year.
Past champions have averaged nearly 15-under-par winning scores, so there should be plenty of red numbers on the leaderboard throughout the weekend. Thompson, Ko and Sei Young Kim all have victories in the past month, so they could likely be in the mix on Sunday.
Golf Channel will broadcast the event from 4-6 p.m. ET Thursday through Sunday, when one of the final two tournament champions for the 2015 season will be crowned.
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