*All tee times are local.
Pernilla Lindberg, Moriya Jutanugarn, Michelle Wie
7:59 a.m. – 10th Tee
Three winners in 2018 are grouped together in the opening rounds at Lake Merced Golf Club. Major champions Pernilla Lindberg and Michelle Wie will play alongside the Tour’s newest winner in Moriya Jutanugarn. Lindberg picked up her second top 10 of the year in Los Angeles, but may have some trouble continuing that momentum in the Bay Area. In her three prior starts at Lake Merced, Lindberg has yet to make a cut. This week, Moriya will be riding high, fresh off the first win of her career last week in Los Angeles. But the Thai has had mixed success at Lake Merced where her best finish came in 2015 when she finished T15. It’s sure to be a great week for Wie, who returns to her old stomping grounds as a graduate of Stanford University. The fun of being back could be the spark she needs after a T55 last week in Los Angeles, which was her worst finish of 2018.
Ariya Jutanugarn, Cristie Kerr, Lydia Ko
8:21 a.m. – 10th Tee
An emotional Ariya Jutanugarn celebrated alongside her sister Sunday in Los Angeles. Ariya’s success was an inspiration to her holder sister, Moriya, and look for her to return the favor. Ariya has five top 10s to start 2018 and seeing her sister get it done Sunday could be the extra boost she needs to break through this weekend. Her best finish at Lake Merced came in 2016 with a T19 finish. Cristie Kerr will feel right at home back in the Bay Area, not far from Napa Valley where she spends a lot of time working on her line of Curvature Wines. Kerr has one top 10 at Lake Merced in three starts. Ko, on the other hand, seems built for success at Lake Merced. The 21-year-old, who celebrated her birthday Tuesday, won in 2014 and 2015 in San Francisco and settled for a T6 in 2016. With one top 10 to start the year, a victory on Sunday would be a nice birthday present for the former world No. 1 who is looking for her first win since 2016.
So Yeon Ryu, Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson
12:59 p.m. – 1st Tee
Rolex Rankings No. 3 So Yeon Ryu and No. 4 Lexi Thompson will play alongside the younger of the Korda sisters, Nelly, during the opening rounds at Lake Merced. Ryu made a run on Sunday in Los Angeles that bumped her up to No. 3 in the world and earned her a fourth-place finish, her best of 2018. Ryu has three starts at Lake Merced, her best finish came back in 2016 when she finished fifth. Thompson also played well that same year, finishing just behind Ryu at T6. She remains in the hunt for her first win of the year and is coming off a T12 last week in Los Angeles. Korda will look to turn things around this week in the Bay Area, as she's coming off her first missed cut of 2018. How she performs this week remains somewhat a mystery as she wasn't a member during the Tour's former stint at Lake Merced.
Shanshan Feng, Inbee Park, Brooke Henderson
1:10 p.m. – 1st Tee
Monday, Inbee Park overtook Shanshan Feng at world No. 1 after 23 weeks at the top of the Rolex Rankings. The pair will play together Thursday and Friday in the Bay Area, along with No. 14 Brooke Henderson. Feng didn’t give up the ranking easily, she’s had 3 top 5 finishes to start the year and still managed a T12 finish last week in Los Angeles. There was just no stopping Park, who won in March and hasn’t finished outside the top 3 in her last three starts. She’s also had success in Lake Merced where she was T4 in 2014. Henderson should be well rested after missing the cut last week in Los Angeles. The Canadian was riding high on adrenaline following her victory in Hawaii, but came back down to earth last week and finished well outside the cut line. But Henderson loves tree lined courses and that’s exactly what Lake Merced is serving up. In her prior two starts she finished third and T6.
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