For the second time in three weeks, the LPGA is traveling to the Garden State to one of New Jersey’s coolest golf landscapes, Liberty National Golf Club. The host venue for the Mizuho Americas Open, the Robert Cupp and Tom Kite design sits across the Hudson River from the majestic Manhattan skyline.
More unique than the setting is the format for this vanguard tournament on the schedule. The field of 120 LPGA players will be joined by 24 elite players from the America Junior Golf Association (AJGA). The young talent will compete alongside 20 of the top 30 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. The 2022 Augusta Women’s Amateur Champion Anna Davis headlines the AJGA list, while Mizuho welcomes major champions Jin Young Ko, Lydia Ko, Lilia Vu and Minjee Lee.
Liberty National has hosted the 2017 Presidents Cup, FedEx Cup playoffs and several AJGA championships. No stranger to the limelight, this unique layout offers plenty of opportunities for birdies and bogeys. The scorecard displays a challenging 6,656-yard, par-72 test. The first time you see the property, you are immediately taken aback by the scenery. The course stands in the shadow of the 1,776-foot-tall Liberty Tower and the Statue of Liberty.
Don’t get distracted by the sights, this is not a touristy trip for the LPGA’s best. Liberty National is total target golf with 98 total bunkers and 13 holes where water comes into play. The par-4, 5th hole is a microcosm for what this week’s field will face. The 400-yard fairway travels along a pond down the left-hand side with out of bounds down the right. Should a player find the fairway, she will face a two-tiered green with a bunker on the right and a creek just off to the left.
If you break down the skills needed to contend, accuracy off the tee is priority number one and you’ll need some distance too. With seven par 4s measuring over 390 yards, the longer a player is down the fairway will dramatically increase their advantage. Strokes gained off-the-tee is a fantastic measure of both attributes. Of the those in this field, Ruoning Yin, Minjee Lee, Brooke Henderson, Charley Hull, Atthaya Thitikul and Madelene Sagstrom lead this category.
Those six players give themselves the best opportunity to score and will make birdies at Liberty National. Scoring has always been electric at this venue. It is part of what makes it such an entertaining tournament course. But to create those birdie opportunities they will need to be precise on approach.
Forty-five percent of the iron shots into the green will come from 150-200 yards. Through the first five months of 2023, Jin Young Ko, Thitikul, Lee, Nasa Hataoka and Hae Ran Ryu are the best of the elite players in Jersey City, N.J. at hitting GIRs. While hitting approach shots the hole is the first step, converting the putt is the second.
There are statistically good putters in this field, but the contenders convert birdie chances. When looking at the betting board of players, these five women stand out: Vu, Thitikul, Yin, Danielle Kang, and Carlota Cignada. They can really score with the flatstick.
Liberty National is a brand-new venue for the LPGA, but the tour was just in the Garden State a couple of weeks ago for the Cognizant Founders Cup at Upper Montclair Country Club. Both venues are very reminiscent of northeast-style golf with the average green size at both courses being below Tour average. Those who have competed and contended just 15 miles away should catch your attention. Thitikul, Hataoka, Lee and Sagstrom have all finished in the top 10 in both years the Founders Cup was played a couple towns away on a similar style and accuracy-dependent layout.
One name keeps surfacing in all statistical categories and to no surprise Thitikul is the favorite to win. She’d be a great pick but are there others who share her skill set. Lee makes sense along with Sagstrom as both have had plenty of success in the area. It’s likely the style of course more than the local food they like.
This event will be exciting on its own merits with a brand-new format that includes the AJGA. Combined with one of modern golf’s most entertaining venues, cannot wait to see who emerges victorious on Sunday afternoon.
Keith Stewart is an award-winning PGA Professional. He covers the LPGA and PGA Tour for Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, LPGA, and PGA TOUR. If you are looking to raise your golf acumen and love inside information about the game, check out his weekly newsletter called Read The Line.
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