GOING BACK TO CALI

The LPGA Tour heads back to the Golden State for the eighth edition of the Kia Classic. A field of 144 players will tee it up, including players 1-18 in the Rolex Rankings, all of the tournament winners from 2016 official LPGA tournaments and all of the top-100 on the 2016 LPGA Tour money list.

Lydia Ko returns as defending champion after cruising to a 4-shot victory over Inbee Park. The win at Aviara was a springboard for Ko’s strong season in 2016 where she picked up four wins including the season’s first major at the ANA Inspiration.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE KIA CLASSIC

8 – This is the eighth year of the Kia Classic
100 – All of the top-100 on the 2016 LPGA Tour money list are in the field this week
0 – No player has won this event more than once
1 – American has won this event (Cristie Kerr, 2015)
5 – Times the Kia Classic has been hosted at Aviara Golf Club
7 – Countries represented by tournament winners (Germany, Sandra Gal, 2011; New Zealand, Lydia Ko, 2016; Spain, Beatriz Recari, 2013; South Korea, Hee Kyung Seo, 2010; Sweden, Anna Nordqvist, 2014; Taiwan, Yani Tseng, 2012; USA, Cristie Kerr, 2015)
258 – Tournament-low 72-hole score, shot by Cristie Kerr in 2015 (20 under, 67-68-68-65)

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DEFENDING CHAMPION LYDIA KO

No. 1 in the Women’s World Golf Rankings
14-time LPGA winner, five-time Ladies European Tour winner, one-time KLPGA winner
2014 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year, the youngest winner in Tour history
2015 Rolex Player of the Year, the youngest winner in Tour history
Two major victories at the 2015 Evian Championship and 2016 ANA Inspiration
At 18 years, 11 months and 9 days, she is the second-youngest player, male or female, to win two majors, behind only Young Tom Morris
Silver medalist at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro where she represented New Zealand
So far in 2017, she has four starts, with three top-10 finishes including a tie for eighth last week at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup

WHO’S IN THE FIELD

Past Kia Classic Winners (6):

Lydia Ko (2016), Cristie Kerr (2015), Anna Nordqvist (2014), Beatriz Recari (2013), Yani Tseng (2012), Sandra Gal (2011)

2017 Winners (5):

Brittany Lincicome (Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic), Ha Na Jang (ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open), Amy Yang (Honda LPGA Thailand), Inbee Park (HSBC Women’s Champions), Anna Nordqvist (Bank of Hope Founders Cup)

LOCAL CONNECTIONS

Four players have connections to the greater Carlsbad and San Diego area:
Beth Allen lives in Carlsbad
Tiffany Joh grew up and still lives in San Diego, where she attended Rancho Bernardo High School
Ha Na Jang’s home base in the U.S. is San Diego

KEEP IT 100

The 2017 Kia Classic will feature one of the strongest fields in golf as every player who finished the 2016 LPGA Tour season in the top-100 on the money list has committed to the event.
Highlighting the list of participants are defending champion and Rolex Rankings No. 1 Lydia Ko, reigning LPGA Tour Player of the Year Ariya Jutanugarn and crowd favorites Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer, Lexi Thompson and Stacy Lewis.

KIA CLASSIC IS WEEK SIX OF RACE TO CME GLOBE

This week’s Kia Classic will mark the sixth event in the season-long Race to CME Globe. Through three events defending champion Ariya Jutanugarn leads with 899 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 (5) Finishers entering Naples will control their own destiny at the CME Group Tour Championship - - meaning if they win in Naples, they will also win the $1M CME Globe.
The top twelve (12) finishers entering Naples will have a mathematical chance to win the $1M CME Globe.
Please note that previously, the Top 3 controlled their destiny and Top 9 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 Kia Classic

Wins - 1 (six players tied)
Top-10s - 4 (Ariya Jutanugarn)
Money List - $349,569 (Ariya Jutanugarn)
Race to CME Globe - 899 (Ariya Jutanugarn)
Scoring Average - 67.750 (Sung Hyun Park)
Rolex Player of the Year - 43 (Ha Na Jang)

2016 NUMBERS TO KNOW

22.30 - The average age of winners was 22.30
24 - 24-of-33 events won by players 23 years old or younger
16 - 16-of-33 won by players 21 or younger
18 - 18 different winners from 12 different countries
5 - 5 players finished with a scoring average under 70 for the first time in LPGA history

2016 LPGA LEADERS

Below are the list of the players who led the LPGA in six of the key statistical categories during the 2016 season

Wins - 5 (Ariya Jutanugarn)
Top-10s - 15 (Brooke Henderson)
Money List - $2,550,947 (Ariya Jutanugarn)
Race to CME Globe - 6,800 (Ariya Jutanugarn)
Scoring Average - 69.583 (In Gee Chun)
Rolex Player of the Year - 260 (Ariya Jutanugarn)

Strong Field Competes at Kia Classic, Ko Defends and More from Carlsbad

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