*All tee times are local.
Ariya Jutanugarn, Lydia Ko, Nelly Korda- 12:34 P.M, 1st Tee
The strongest group in the field, the World’s Number 1, 14, and 16 players are all teeing it up together for the opening 36. It wouldn’t be a surprise if this group continued playing together with a late tee time on the weekend. Korda was asked about playing alongside Jutanugarn, noting that, “Playing against the top players, I just want to work harder and try to play better as well, so it’s kind of like motivation as well.” The American will certainly have her work cut out for her as Jutanugarn has shown the Australian Open is to her liking, with 3 top 10s in four appearances.
That doesn’t even include Ko, who at the age of 21 has been at this tournament for every year since it was co-sanctioned by the LPGA, making her 8th appearance this year. She’s made the cut in every appearance, with 4 top 10s including her 2015 victory. Expect plenty of red numbers from this group, as all three players finished in the top 11 in rounds under par last season, with Jutanugarn at number one on that list.
Celine Boutier, Minjee Lee, Amy Yang- 7:55 A.M., 10th Tee
Two top 30 players in the world flank last week’s winner in the 12th group off. While Boutier has the most recent success of the group, Lee and Yang have found consistent results when teeing it up at the Australian Open.
Lee’s first ever LPGA event was as an amateur here in 2013, she posted a T55, her worst finish of her career at this tournament. Ever since, the Australian hasn’t failed to finish within the top 20, posting T3 and T5 the last two seasons here. Yang has only made one Australian Open appearance in her career, where she recorded a T2. It’s the Korean native’s second event of the season, her first in the Eastern Hemisphere after a 14thplace finish at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.
Boutier missed the cut in her lone appearance here last year. It was the beginning of a slow start to her ’18 campaign, where she missed the weekend in her first four events. It’s a change of pace for the Frenchwoman this year, as she posted three rounds under par last week. It took her until the LPGA Mediheal Championship in late April in her seventh event last year to turn in her third round under par.
Georgia Hall, Jin Young Ko, Karrie Webb- 7:44 A.M., 10th Tee
Back to back strong pairings off the 10th, the defending champ will have last week’s champion Celine Boutier in her sights for the opening two rounds. In a historic victory for a debut, Jin Young Ko was only the second rookie to win her first event as an LPGA member in the tour’s history. The 2018 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year makes her 2019 season debut looking to defend her title.
Georgia Hall was the lone rookie to win a major last year, rounding out the super sophomore pairing. Hall’s T13 finish last year in her LPGA member debut was her best result until Thornberry Creek last July.
The group is helmed by LPGA hall of famer Karrie Webb, as the Aussie plays in back to back events in her native country. Participating in the event since 1994, she’s seen its evolution, as documented by Ron Sirak for LPGA.com. She had a throwback performance in the second-round last week, posting a 65 before the blistering wind knocked her out of the 54-hole cut line. It was her lowest round to par since the 2016 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, when she shot 8 under on the final day to land in a tie for 5th.
Su Oh, Charley Hull, Bronte Law- 12:45 P.M., 1st Tee
Another Australian, paired with a duo of Brits, Su Oh looks to build off her second-place finish last week and maintain her success in her home country. While missing the cut last year, she posted back to back T14 finishes in 2016 and 2017. The Grange Golf Club hosted the tournament in 2016, where she finished with a 4-under effort to move up the leaderboard from 30th.
Charley Hull has seen success in the land down under, with 3 top 10 finishes at the event, including a T4 in 2016, matching Oh’s final round to vault into the top 5. The 23rd ranked player in the world is looking to get right this week, after her worst round to par in an LPGA event in her career pushed her over the cut line.
Bronte Law rounds out the trio, with her lone appearance in the Women’s Australian Open last year, where she missed the cut. The number 61 player in the world heated up towards the end of last season, posting two top tens over her final four events. She looks to regain that form after missing the cut last week.
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