CHELLA CHOI BACK IN OHIO TO DEFEND LONE LPGA TITLE

Rolex Rankings No. 38 Chella Choi will return to Highland Meadows Golf Club in hopes of defending the lone LPGA victory of her career at the Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning and O-I.

In last year’s contest, Choi shot a final round 5-under 66 and defeated Ha Na Jang with a par on the first playoff hole to secure her first win in 157 starts on the LPGA. Jang had an opportunity to take the championship in regulation with a look at birdie from 10-feet on the 72nd hole and could not convert. Her subsequent missed chip for par in the playoff opened the door for Choi to walk away victorious.

Choi’s father had caddied for her for eight years after agreeing to stay on her bag until her first win as a professional, making last year’s tournament all the more exciting for the Choi family.

“I can’t believe it,” Choi said last year. “I can’t believe. It’s my dreams coming true. Very exciting. I work with my father eight years and somebody say like that’s why I don’t win, just for my caddie. So I’m excited with my father.”

Choi has been unable to put together another winning performance after her success in Ohio. She has four top-10s in the past year since her lone win, with her best finish coming at this season’s HSBC Women’s Champions (T4).

The 2015 Marathon Classic winner won’t be alone as a former champion this week, as World No. 1 Lydia Ko (2014), Spain’s Beatriz Recari (2013), South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi (2010) and American Paula Creamer (2008) will all tee it up in attempts to once again lift a trophy in Northwest Ohio.

MAJOR WINNERS SET SIGHTS ON HIGHLAND MEADOWS

All of this season’s major champions are in the Marathon Classic field this week.

Rolex Rankings No. 1 Lydia Ko became the youngest female ever to win two major championships with her win at the ANA Inspiration (18 years, 11 months, and 9 days). Ko won this tournament in 2014 and already has three wins this season.

World No. 2 Brooke Henderson became the second youngest player to win a major championship in LPGA history (18 years, 9 months, 2 days) with her win at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, trailing only Lydia Ko who won the 2015 Evian Championship at 18 years, 4 months, 20 days. Henderson has won in two of her last five starts.

At 30 years old, Brittany Lang became the oldest player to win a tournament this season with her victory at the U.S. Women's Open last week. Lang saw her Rolex Ranking jump 20 spots to No. 20 after her first career major and the second win of her career.

FINAL OLYMPIC GOLF RANKINGS ANNOUNCED

The Final Olympic Golf Rankings were announced on Monday by the International Golf Federation as golf will return to the Olympic Games for the first time in 112 years in Rio next month. The final field list of 120 competitors – 60 male and 60 female – will be announced after the Rio 2016 Sport Entries Deadline on July 18.

A total of 40 countries are represented in the Final Rankings across the men’s and women’s events. After her T8 finish at the U.S. Women’s Open at CordeValle, American Gerina Piller moved up from No. 16 to No. 15 in the Rolex Rankings, giving the United States three Olympic qualifiers in women’s golf.

Below is a list of players on the Final Olympic Golf Rankings list who are in the field at the Marathon Classic (23 players from 17 countries):

Canada – Brooke Henderson, Alena Sharp
Netherlands – Christel Boeljon
China – Xi Yu Lin New Zealand – Lydia Ko
Colombia – Mariajo Uribe
Paraguay – Julieta Granada
Germany – Sandra Gal, Caroline Masson
South Africa – Paula Reto, Ashleigh Simon
Israel – Laetitia Beck
Spain – Azahara Munoz
Italy – Giulia Molinaro
Sweden – Anna Nordqvist, Pernilla Lindberg
Japan – Haru Nomura
Thailand – Ariya Jutanugarn, Pornanong Phatlum
Malaysia – Kelly Tan
United States – Stacy Lewis
Mexico – Gaby Lopez, Alejandra Llaneza

NUMBERS TO KNOW

21.5 - Average age of winners in 2016
2 - Players who have won three tournaments in 2016, both under the age of 21 (Ariya Jutanugarn, 20; Lydia Ko, 19)
11 - Events won by players 21 years old and under
18 - Age of the first two major winners in 2016 (Lydia Ko - ANA Inspiration; Brooke Henderson - KPMG Women's PGA Championship)
30 - Age of the third major winner in 2016 (Brittany Lang - U.S. Women's Open)
6 - Six of the top-10 players in the Rolex Rankings are 23 years old or younger
6 - Six of the last eight winners of the Marathon Classic have been South Korean

Top Storylines from the Marathon Classic Presented by Owens Corning & O-I

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