For the first time since 2019, the LPGA Tour will return to the People’s Republic of China for the Buick LPGA Shanghai. The young event was just two years old when it was forced into an unwanted hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the tournament is finally back on the schedule and will serve as the kick-off for the LPGA Tour’s four-tournament swing in Asia. The limited-field event will feature the top two players in the world, Lilia Vu and Ruoning Yin, and two more members of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Minjee Lee and Xiyu Lin.
A Quick Refresher
It’s been three years since the Buick LPGA Shanghai was on the schedule, so a quick refresher on the event and what’s at stake is most certainly due. The tournament is a 72-hole stroke play event with no cut, meaning all 81 players in the field this week will get a piece of the $2.1 million purse. The field will feature 62 LPGA Tour players, who were selected based on their position in the Race to CME Globe points list through the Kroger Queen City Championship. They will be joined by 15 CLPGA players chosen by the China Golf Association and four sponsor invites. The tournament will once again be hosted by Qizhong Garden Golf Club. The club originally opened in 1999 but reopened in its current state in 2013 after a series of renovations led by Beijing-based course designers Jun Lu and Dana Fry. In 2020 and 2021, the club was named one of the top 100 golf courses in the People’s Republic of China by Golf Digest.
Only One Champion
In its short history, the Buick LPGA Shanghai has seen just one champion hoist the trophy on Sunday: Danielle Kang. The California native won the inaugural event in 2018 by two strokes over a host of talented characters. Seven players tied for second after Kang, including major champions Lydia Ko, Sei Young Kim and Ariya Jutanugarn, just to name a few. Kang successfully defended her title in 2019, winning by one stroke over Jessica Korda on her 27th birthday. Since that storybook victory, Kang has won three more times on Tour, most recently at the 2022 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, setting a high bar for her success. With just three top 10s in 2023, this season has felt like a somewhat mediocre year for the American. Her best result of the season came early in March at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, where she finished T3. Since then, Kang has struggled to find the top 20. But a strong 2-2-0 performance at the Solheim Cup a few weeks ago and a return to Qizhong Garden Golf Club might be just what Kang needs to bring her performance this season up to par. If Kang can find the little extra oomph that’s been missing from her game this weekend, she should have a good chance at remaining the only champion of the Buick LPGA Shanghai.
Shanghai’s Own
As a limited-field event that guarantees a paycheck on Sunday, the Buick LPGA Shanghai attracts the best of the best on Tour, which, in turn, always attracts a sizeable crowd. But there’s one player who will stand head and shoulders above the rest this week and will attract a throng of followers as she makes her way around Qizhong Garden Golf Club – Shanghai native Ruoning Yin. A 2022 rookie, this will be Yin’s first opportunity to play in her home country as a full-fledged member of the LPGA Tour, and it couldn’t have been scripted better. Not only will Yin be playing in her hometown, making her the undoubted local favorite, but her breakout 2023 season will attract fans from across the country. Yin became a Rolex First-Time Winner and just the second Chinese winner on Tour in March with her victory at the DIO Implant LA Open, following it up a few months later with a major trophy at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The 21-year-old has been on a roll ever since, recording five additional top-10 finishes. In September, Yin ascended to No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, becoming just the second player from the People’s Republic of China to do so after LPGA legend Shanshan Feng. Yin is currently nursing a streak of three straight third-place finishes and looks poised to dominate in Shanghai.
Remarkable Rookies
With stricter qualification requirements, limited-field events don’t always see a lot of rookies teeing it up. But the 2023 rookie class has been an impressive one, and 14 rookies will be competing at Qizhong Garden Golf Club this week. The group is headlined by four of the five rookie winners this season: Grace Kim (LOTTE Championship), Roze Zhang (Mizuho Americas Open), Chanettee Wannasaen (Portland Classic) and Hae Ran Ryu (Walmart NW Arkansas Championship). And while these proven winners will certainly be ones to watch, it’s worthwhile to keep an eye on all the rookies in the field this week. Though Ryu eventually came out with the win, Yuna Nishimura impressed at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, finishing in a tie for third to record her best result on Tour yet. The six-time JLPGA winner followed it up with her fourth top 20 of the season at the Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America. Celine Borge has also had a strong debut season, recording back-to-back third-place finishes at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational and the Amundi Evian Championship. The other rookies in the field are Jaravee Boonchant, Minami Katsu, Lucy Li, Yan Liu, Bailey Tardy, Xiaowen Yin, Arpichaya Yubol and sponsor invite Gabriella Then.
Award Updates
It’s already October and with the return of spooky season comes the reminder that the LPGA Tour season is quickly coming to a close. There are just seven events left on the schedule and six opportunities to clinch end-of-the-year awards. With her wins at The Chevron Championship and the AIG Women’s Open, world No. 1 Lilia Vu has already locked up the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award and leads the Rolex Player of the Year Race by 21 points over Celine Boutier and Ruoning Yin. While Vu will be looking to increase her lead this week, Yin will be looking to close the gap between them. With her win in Arkansas, Ryu has increased her lead in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Race to 229 points and is blowing away the competition. A strong finish from Ryu this week could go a long way in clinching the award well before the season’s end. American Angel Yin has a narrow lead in the Aon Risk Reward Challenge, averaging 0.923 strokes under par, 0.017 ahead of Thai sensation Atthaya Thitikul. But with Thitikul sitting out this week, Angel has an opportunity to increase her lead in Shanghai, one that will be valuable as there are only a few Aon Risk Reward Challenge holes left on which to make birdie.
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