KO BACK TO DEFEND

Defending champion Lydia Ko is looking to defend her title this week at the Marathon Classic. Last year Ko headed to the 18th hole tied with So Yeon Ryu in the group behind her and needed a birdie to put the pressure on Ryu. She got the birdie and watched as Ryu missed her putt for Ko’s second victory of 2014. Ko’s won three more times since but her winning total of 15-under par a year ago is still her best winning score in her last four wins.

Ko arrived here a year ago after having won the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic and she now has the opportunity to repeat at her second tournament of 2015 after she was able to repeat there earlier this year.

Ko went through a lull in May and early June as she fell out of the world No. 1 ranking and missed her first ever cut on the LPGA Tour but has since come back to form. She finished tied for sixth at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G with an 11-under par finish, a confidence boost for her game, and last week shot 1-under to finish tied for 12th at the U.S. Women’s Open. Perhaps a defending title is all that she needs to get her back to the winner’s circle.

PARK KNOWS HOW TO BOUNCE BACK

Park has now held the No. 1 Rolex World Ranking for five weeks after taking it over from previous holder Lydia Ko. Park had a rough week at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship three weeks ago with her first missed cut in a year, but stated she usually has one missed cut a season and it is all about how she bounces back from those losses.

Park proved her point at the next tournament at the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club and shot 5-under for the week to finish tied for third. Park’s missed cut at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship may give her the motivation she needs to win another tournament this season, and continue to hold her number one spot.

WAITING FOR THE BREAKTHROUGH

Morgan Pressel’s on the verge. More than any player on Tour right now, she appears ready to breakthrough to the winner’s circle after a wait that dates back to 2008. Few on Tour are playing better golf than Pressel right now. She has finished in the top-5 in five of her last 10 events, including her most recent tie for fifth finish at last week’s U.S. Women’s Open. She also finished tied for third at the ANA Inspiration and tied for fifth at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Pressel is the only player on the LPGA Tour with top-five finishes in each of the season’s first three majors. She also has a history at this tournament with second place finishes in 2007 and 2009 and this week could be her big break- through that she’s been on the edge of for months.

LEWIS IS BACK

Stacy Lewis grew up in Texas, but it was here in Toledo where Lewis was born.

Now, in front of a contingent of family and friends that make their way out to this tournament in support every year, she’s hoping to pull out a win after coming up short in two consecutive tournaments over the past few weeks. At the U.S. Women’s Open last week, Lewis found herself tied for third after making a double bogey on her fifth hole Sunday. She grinded out the next nine holes without a bogey to remain in the mix.

At the NWA Walmart Championship three weeks ago, Lewis was in contention right up until the 16th green, when win- ner Na Yeon Choi holed out from 145 yards on the par-4. Lewis had a 10-foot birdie putt at the 17th to tie, but instead missed. Lewis knows that her game is back and it is only a matter of time before it all clicks, and an even bigger bonus if it all clicks here where it all started.

BAM BAM LONG DRIVES FOR CHARITY

This week Brittany Lincicome will use her legendary LONG drives to the LPGA Foundation’s advantage this week at the Marathon LPGA Classic. LPGA Foundation partner PREP Cosmetics will donate $500 to LPGA-USGA Girls Golf for each birdie and $1,000 for each eagle Brittany makes throughout competition. The dollars raised will help support Girls Golf members with limited financial resources so they can continue pursuing their dreams of learning and playing the game.

Brittany’s Birdies for Girls Golf campaign is part of July’s “Girls Golf Month” which celebrates the lives which have been positively impacted through the LPGA-USGA Girls Golf program, and is one of many activities planned to promote awareness, enrollment and fundraising for the program. As both an alumnus and LPGA Tour Ambassador of LPGA-US- GA Girls Golf, Brittany knows first-hand how beneficial learning the game of golf in an environment with other girls can be.

Lincicome will also be hosting Twitter Takeover on the @LPGAGirlsGolf account tomorrow at 1pm EST and will have a live chat via Periscope on Tuesday, July 21 at 1pm EST. To learn more about Girls Golf month and how you can support the Girls Golf movement, visit GirlsGolf.org. #LittleGirlsBIGDreams

HENDERSON MISSES OUT ON QUALIFIER SPOTS

Brooke Henderson shot a 69 on Monday at the qualifier for the Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning and O-I to come up just one shot shy of one of the two spots in the field. The 17-year-old Canadian Epson Tour member has been riding an impressive wave of hot play recently with ties for fifth in the season’s last two majors and a win on the Epson Tour.

NATIONAL CHAMPS IN THE HOUSE

No, not the legion of Ohio State fans that litter the state of Ohio but rather two NCAA champions in women’s golf - Emma Talley of Alabama and Lauren Kim of Stanford. Talley is in the field this week after winning the NCAA individual championship by one shot, while Kim earned her exemption through being the top-ranked player on the winning team of the NCAA Women’s Golf Championships. Unfortunately, a third NCAA champion, Urban Meyer, couldn’t join the duo here this week as he had to pull out of Wednesday’s Pro-Am due to an invitation to the ESPYs.

Top Storylines at This Week's Marathon Classic

Related Articles