Going Back To Michigan

The LPGA Tour heads back to the Great Lakes State for the fourth edition of the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. A field of 144 players will tee it up, including players eight of the top-10 in the Rolex Rankings, 10 of the tournament winners from 2017 official LPGA tournaments and 80 of the top-100 on the 2017 LPGA Tour money list.

In 2016, on the first playoff hole, Sei Young Kim stuffed her approach shot from the left rough to three feet and calmly tapped in the birdie putt to defeat Carlota Ciganda and capture her fifth LPGA victory at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give.

What You Need To Know About The Miejer LPGA Classic For Simply Give

4 - The Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give is in its fourth year
$2.1 million - To date, the Meijer LPGA Classic has generated more than $2.1 million for food pantries in the communities it serves.
64 - Low round at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give which has been shot seven times most recently by Lizette Salas in the final round of 2015
$399,856 - Lexi Thompson has earned the most money in Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give history with $399,856
6 - Six player have a pair of top-10 finishes at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give - Lexi Thompson, Shanshan Feng, Haru Nomura, Kris Tamulis, So Yeon Ryu and Xiyu Lin

What You Need To Know About Defending Champion Sei Young Kim

No. 9 in the Women’s World Golf Rankings
6-time LPGA winner
Through 11 events in 2017 has made nine cuts with a win at the Lorena Ochoa Match Play and two additional top-10 finishes
In 2016, competed in 25 events making the cut in 21 and earning $1,445,937 to rank sixth on the money list
Represented South Korea in the 2016 Rio Olympics

Local Connections

Four players have connections to Michigan:

Allyson Geer is from Brighton and competes for Michigan State
Megan Kim competes for University of Michigan
Kris Tamulis from Lapeer
Morgan Pressel started playing golf during summers in Michigan

New Number One

Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn has taken over the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings following her win at the 2017 Manulife LPGA Classic.

Jutanugarn took the top spot from New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, who had held the position for the past 85 weeks. At 21 years, 6 months and 20 days old, Jutanugarn becomes the second-youngest player in LPGA history and the third-youngest player, male or female, to reach No. 1 in the history of professional golf. She is the first golfer from Thailand, male or female, to earn the title of World No. 1.

Both Jutanugarn and Ko are in the field this week.

Meijer LPGA Classic is Week 15 of Race To CME Globe

This week’s Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give will mark the sixth event in the season-long Race to CME Globe. Through the first 14 events Ariya Jutanugarn leads with 2,128 points.

In 2017, the reset points for the Race to the CME Globe will be modified slightly. As a result of these modifications:

The top five finishers entering Naples will control their own destiny at the CME Group Tour Championship
If a player in the top five wins in Naples, she will also win the $1M CME Globe
The top 12 finishers entering Naples will have a mathematical chance to win the $1M CME Globe
Please note that previously, the top three controlled their destiny and top nine had a mathematical chance

2017 LPGA Leaders

Below are the list of the players who lead the LPGA in six of the key statistical categories entering the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer

Wins - 1 (14 players tied)
Top-10s - 9 (Ariya Jutanugarn)
Money List - $954,279 (Ariya Jutanugarn)
Race to CME Globe - 2,128 (Ariya Jutanugarn)
Scoring Average - 69.079 (Lexi Thompson)
Rolex Player of the Year - 102 (So Yeon Ryu)

Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give Top Storylines

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