At the 2018 Volunteers of America Classic, Sung Hyun Park battled the elements to capture her third career LPGA Tour victory. With the event shortened to 36 holes due to rain and thunderstorms, Park walked away Sunday atop the leaderboard at -11. Due to scheduling changes, Park enters this week’s tournament in a unique situation – she will defend a title for the second straight week, after attempting at the Indy Women in Tech Championship driven by Group 1001.

“Being the defending champion back to back definitely puts a lot of pressure on me. Last week I was under a little pressure and this week as well,” said Park, who missed the cut last week. “The weather was really bad last year and we were only able to play two rounds, but the weather this year seems a lot better and I look forward to this week's tournament.”

It is Park’s goal to win a tournament two years in a row. This is her last chance this season, and it is a mission she is taking very seriously. “Even back in Korea when I was defending champion, I've never been able to defend that title, so it is definitely a little goal of mine to be able to win back to back,” said Park. “I do definitely know that it's difficult to win two years in a row and I think that those who have in the past have done great. This week I would like to focus on my game.”

Hopeful for better weather conditions in 2019, Park is ready to see what she can bring to the course. “Last year was pretty difficult with the weather and it's also different from last year. Having played in May and playing in October, the grass conditions and the course conditions are definitely more different,” said Park. “But I do definitely like this course and I think I fit well into it. Each hole is unique, and there's a lot of wind here as well, so that would be difficult, but I expect it to be a lot of fun as well.”

DOWN TO THE WIRE FOR FALL ASIA SWING, RACE TO THE CME GLOBE, QUALIFYING TOURNAMENTS

This week’s Volunteers of America Classic marks the end of the LPGA Tour’s core domestic schedule, with four events across Asia in October and November before the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Fla., on Nov. 21-24. It will also be a major factor in three season-ending storylines – the Fall Asia Swing, the Race to the CME Globe and LPGA Qualifying Tournaments.

FALL ASIA SWING

For the upcoming Fall Asia Swing, all four fields are limited to no more than 84 total players:

Buick LPGA Shanghai: 62 LPGA, 15 CLPGA, four sponsor invitations
BMW Ladies Championship: 50 LPGA, 30 KLPGA, four sponsor invitations
Taiwan Swinging Skirts LPGA: 62 LPGA, 10 TLPGA, nine sponsor invitations
TOTO Japan Classic: 43 LPGA, 35 JLPGA

The LPGA players in the four fields will be determined by the Official Money List following the Volunteers of America Classic. All four tournaments are no-cut events, so players competing on sponsor invitations will not receive official money or Race to the CME Globe points.

RACE TO THE CME GLOBE

The 2019 season brings a fresh face to the Race to the CME Globe. LPGA Members will accumulate points at each official LPGA Tour event leading up to the CME Group Tour Championship. The top 60 points earners and ties will then earn a spot in the CME Group Tour Championship, with the entire field competing for the $5 million purse and the $1.5 million winner’s check, the largest single prize in the history of women’s golf.

LPGA rookie Jennifer Kupcho is currently 59th in the Race to the CME Globe with 595 points, while Austin Ernst holds the 60th and final qualifying spot with 568 points. Players currently on the outside looking in include No. 61 and 2019 tournament winner Cydney Clanton (555 points), No. 62 In Gee Chun (554 points), No. 63 Georgia Hall (546 points) and No. 69 Cristie Kerr (482 points). These players are all in the Volunteers of America Classic field and with preliminary Asia fields set, and all but Kerr are slated to compete in at least one event in Asia.

For the 2019 Race to the CME Globe standings, click here: www.lpga.com/statistics/points/race-to-cme-globe-season.

LPGA QUALIFYING TOURNAMENTS

Following the Volunteers of America Classic, players outside the top 150 on the Official Money List will head to LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage II, to be held Oct. 12-17 at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Fla. Players ranked No. 101-150 (and any ties for 150th) on the Official Money List will skip directly to Q-Series, a two-week, eight-round tournament to be held Oct. 23-26 on Pinehurst No. 6 and Oct. 30 to Nov. 2 on Pinehurst No. 9, both in Pinehurst, N.C.

Second-year LPGA Tour player Emma Talley is currently 99th on the Official Money List with $117,236, while Haeji Kang holds the 100th spot with $116,843. Cheyenne Woods is currently 149th on the Official Money List with $23,648, while 2019 rookie Suzuka Yamaguchi holds the 150th spot with $22,872.

For the 2019 LPGA Tour Official Money List, click here: www.lpga.com/statistics/money/official-money. For more information on LPGA Tour Qualifying, click here: www.lpga.com/tournaments/qualifying-tournament.

HISTORY MADE IN ROLEX WOMEN’S WORLD GOLF RANKINGS

This week marks the first time in the history of the Rolex Rankings that one country has held the top three ranks. World No. 1 Jin Young Ko begins her 10th consecutive week at the top followed by fellow Koreans Sung Hyun Park at No. 2 and Jeongeun Lee6 at No. 3.

Ko has spent a total of 22 career weeks at No. 1, all in 2019. Park has spent time at No. 1 in each of the last three years, with a total of 20 career weeks at No. 1. Lee6 earned her career-best ranking this week at No. 3.

The No. 1 rank has alternated between Park and Ko since the beginning of March 2019.

Jin Young Ko	July 29, 2019-Present	10 weeks
Sung Hyun Park	July 1-28, 2019	4 weeks
Jin Young Ko	April 8-June 30, 2019	12 weeks
Sung Hyun Park	March 4-April 7, 2019	5 weeks

YEAR-END AWARDS UPDATES

With six events remaining in the LPGA Tour season, the races for the Rolex Player of the Year and Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year are coming into focus.

In the Rolex Player of the Year standings, Rolex Rankings No. 1 Jin Young Ko holds a commanding lead over the rest of the field. On the strength of four victories in 2019, including two major wins, Ko has 237 points, a 117-point advantage over second-place Jeongeun Lee6 (120 points). Sung Hyun Park (117 points), Lexi Thompson (104 points) and Brooke Henderson (102 points) round out the top five. With six events remaining and 30 points awarded per win, there are a maximum 180 points available, meaning that with 57 points, No. 16 Danielle Kang is the lowest-ranked player with a possibility of catching Ko.

In the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year race, Jeongeun Lee6 leads Kristen Gillman at 1,217 points and 488 points, respectively. With six events remaining and 150 points awarded per win, there are a maximum 900 points available, meaning that only Gillman and third-place Pajaree Anannarukarn (321 points) have the possibility of catching Lee6.

Sung Hyun Park Out to Defend Title for the Second Consecutive Week

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