July 20-26, 2015
Meijer LPGA Classic Presented by Kraft
Blythfield Country Club
Grand Rapids, Mich.
TOP STORYLINES
LPGA RETURNS TO MICHIGAN
Last year, the Meijer LPGA Classic presented by Kraft was the LPGA Tour’s fi rst stop in Michigan since 2000 when the Oldsmobile Classic in East Lansing ended its nine-year run. It was also the fi rst annual golf event to take place in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula since 2009 when the PGA Tour last hosted the Buick Open in Grand Blanc. The event is back for its second edition this week at Bylthfi eld Country Club.
In the inaugural event in 2014, Mirim Lee birdied the second playoff hole at the Meijer LPGA Classic presented by Kraft to defeat Inbee Park and capture her first LPGA Tour victory. After both players exchanged pars on the first playoff hole, Park lipped out her 20-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole. Lee, who shot a 2-under 69 in Sunday’s final round to earn her way into the playoff at 14-under-par 270, then sank her five-foot putt to become a Rolex First-Time winner.
HOMECOMINGS FOR TAMULIS AND PRESSEL
This week a pair of players, Kris Tamulis and Morgan Pressel, will be looking to get their first victories of the year in front of what they would consider home fans in Michigan.
Tamulis is a native Michigander from Lapeer while Pressel is a Major Champion who picked up the game during summers spent vacationing near Detroit with her family.
Thus far in 2015, Pressel is sixth on the LPGA money list with $805,347 and five top-10 finishes, while Tamulis ranks 82nd with a season-best fi nish of T20 at the Kingsmill Championship.
MSU AND UM REPRESENTED IN THE FIELD
Michigan State and the University of Michigan will both be represented in the fi eld at this week’s Meijer LPGA Classic Presented by Kraft. Liz Nagel, a rookie on the LPGA, and Christine Meier, a Monday qualifier, will be representing the Green and White, while amateur Cat Peters will don the Maize and Blue.
Nagel was a three-year starter at Michigan State who finished her career with the Spartans with five top-five finishes, eight top-10 fi nishes and the fourth-lowest scoring average in school history (75.65).
Meier, who got into the field this week by shooting a 73 (+2) in the Monday qualifier, was a four-year starter who finished her career with the 10th-lowest scoring average in school history (76.59).
Additionally, Meier and Nagel, who were teammates and both graduated from MSU in Spring of 2014, helped lead
the Spartans to three Big Ten titles during their careers.
Peters, who earned her spot in the event through a collegiate qualifier, is a rising senior at UM who earned the team’s most improved award following her junior season and finished the year with a 76.76 average.
CHELLA CHOI HEADS TO GR AFTER HER FIRST WIN
Chella Choi will head to the Meijer LPGA Classic coming off her first career victory at the Marathon Classic. Of all the tournaments for Chella Choi to win, the Marathon Classic didn’t look like the one after an opening-round-73 but Choi regrouped and fired rounds of 66-65-66 to force a playoff with Ha Na Jang. In the playoff , Choi was able to win with a par.
Choi has had a great experience with her father who worked for 21 years as a policemen before taking on the role as Choi’s full-time caddie. In 2012, it seemed apparent that her father was ready to retire but Choi wanted her father to stay on the bag and be a part of her first win.
“So one year, first year, my father say, No, I want to just retire after this. But after 2012 maybe, after second round, I leading so I went media center. So I say, I want to work with my father for first win, so my father until now work with me.”
Choi and her father already have tickets and hotel rooms booked for at least the next two weeks so he’ll remain on the bag for at least two weeks. After that, they both said they’ll sit down and talk and see whether he will be on the bag for the rest of the season.
URIBE COMING OFF PAN AM GAMES GOLD MEDALS
Chella Choi isn’t the only golfer coming off a win last week as Mariajo Uribe took home a pair of gold medals in the Pan-Am games.
“I love it,” Uribe said following her round. “Coming from a country where there are only two Olympic gold medals in our whole history, it’s a good opportunity for me. I’m really excited about it and it’s a big deal back home.”
Uribe, who hails from Colombia, took home the individual gold by fi ring a 9-under 279 to win by two shots. Uribe’s score also counted towards the Colombia mixed team score which won by three shots over the United States.
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