FIND YOUR HAPPY PLACE
Rolex Rankings No. 18 Lydia Ko’s history at Lake Merced Golf Club should bode well for her this week as she vies for her second top-10 finish of the season.
The roots run deep – in 2012, Ko made it to the semifinals of the U.S. Girls’ Junior at Lake Merced before being dispatched by Alison Lee. Ko’s first win as an LPGA member (she won twice as a non-member) came at the Bay Area venue in 2014 in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic, and she would defend that title a year later for her seventh career LPGA victory. Her worst finish in the event was T6 in 2016.
“It’s definitely nice to be back to a place where you played well at,” said Ko. “San Francisco’s definitely one of my favorite cities. I was kind of gutted that we weren’t able to come back here last year, but so thrilled and I think a lot of the players are happy to be back here.”
Another reason for Ko to be in good spirits this week is the celebration of her 21st birthday on Tuesday. The 14-time LPGA winner was surprised by friends who traveled from Korea and New Zealand all the way to California to celebrate.
“If I wasn’t that surprised, I would have cried, but nobody wants to see me crying in the middle of the driving range.”
FOURTH TIMES THE CHARM
On Monday morning when the latest Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings were released, it was a new but familiar name at the top of the list. For a record-setting fourth time in her LPGA Tour career, Inbee Park, of the Republic of Korea, sits atop the Rolex Rankings as the No. 1 player.
After sitting out much of 2017 with a back injury, LPGA Hall of Fame member Park quickly reclaimed her stellar form in 2018. She has four top-three finishes in six starts, including her victory at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup and her runner-up finish to Pernilla Lindberg at the ANA Inspiration after an epic eight-hole playoff. Through nine events, Park leads the Tour in rounds under par at 87.5 percent (21 of 24 rounds) and is first in the Race to the CME Globe, Rolex Player of the Year and Official Money standings.
“I have played really good golf over this year, so I mean I didn’t really think about becoming No. 1,” Park said on Wednesday at Lake Merced Golf Club. “It wasn’t one of my goal coming in year. I mean I was so far back so I didn’t really think about that, but it just came and I’ll take it.”
While Park enjoys being on top of the world, she knows the standings are close and with a planned break in her schedule coming up (as of now, her next event will be the U.S. Women’s Open) she’s not putting too much stock into where she’s ranked.
“Whether I’m No. 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, it doesn’t matter,” Park said. “As long as I’m out here playing healthy and playing the way I want, the number doesn’t really matter. Obviously I’m not playing much tournament in May on the LPGA schedule, so I’m probably going to drop in rankings, but it’s okay. I can come back and play strong and get back there again probably. If not, that’s okay, too.”
Park has accomplished so much just nine events into the LPGA season, and when asked what her goals are for the rest of the year it’s clear she has her eyes set on hoisting an eighth major championship trophy.
“I’ve always said I want to have some accomplishment in the major championship, so we still have four majors coming up,” Park said. “Hopefully I can have a trophy in those four majors, that will be a good goal to have.”
LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
Rolex Rankings No. 4 So Yeon Ryu enters this week with a fresh outlook after her best result of the 2018 LPGA season, a fourth-place finish at last week’s HUGEL-JTBC LA Open. It was just the second top-10 finish of the year for the 2017 Rolex Co-Player of the Year.
Ryu noted her positive mindset helped her focus and play well in Los Angeles.
“Since I started my season in 2018, my game wasn’t bad but I just kind of struggled with the one round and the rest of the round was really great, but that one round made me so disappointed in myself,” the 27-year-old said. “I keep trying to find my problem instead of seeing my positive stuff.”
The former World No. 1 has gone 20 starts since her last victory at the 2017 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, one of her two wins last season among a total of 12 top-10 finishes overall. She has experienced success at Lake Merced in the past - Ryu had the lowest score in Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic tournament history with her 9-under 63 in the first round in 2016, where she nabbed her best finish, solo fifth, in three starts at the event.
LPGA’S HISTORY AT LAKE MERCED GOLF CLUB
The LPGA played the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic at Lake Merced Golf Club in 2014, 2015 and 2016; Swinging Skirts now sponsors the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship which is being held October 25-28, 2018 in Taipei, Taiwan
Lydia Ko won the 2014 and 2015 Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic at Lake Merced Golf Club
Ko’s title in 2014 kickstarted her record-setting rookie campaign where she ultimately won three tournaments to become the youngest-ever Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year at age 17; she also captured the inaugural Race to CME Globe in 2014
It took two extra holes versus Morgan Pressel for Ko to successfully defend her title at Lake Merced Golf Club in 2015; her only successful title defense of her 14 tournament titles
Three-time LPGA winner Haru Nomura captured her second career LPGA title in 2016 the last time the LPGA played at Lake Merced Golf Club; Nomura had to withdraw due to a back injury this week
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