Golf 2013 LPGA: Who Will Challenge Stacy Lewis at the Jersey Shore?
Mar 17, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; (Editors Note: A mirror lens was used in the production of this image). A general view of players warming up on the practice range during the third round of the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup at Wildfire Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
Where does the LPGA Tour go after Paradise Island? June is an intense tournament month for the LPGA tour, beginning with the Shop Rite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer this weekend. An international field of 144 players are ramping up for the 3-day, 54-hole contest on the Jersey Shore. In addition to bragging rights, $1.5 million in prize money is waiting at the top of the leaderboard. Going into the tournament there’s no clear leader.
Stacy Lewis is the defending champion but the field is crowded with fierce rivalries, recent surprise victors, and more than a handful of hopefuls still chasing their first LPGA victory. They all have the technical skills to climb to the top of the leaderboard by Sunday, but the game of golf demands more than technical skills. Who will have the mental and emotional right stuff to take control of the June LPGA calendar? Still to come are the Wegmans Championship and the WalMart NW Arkansas Championship before the Big Kahuna, The USGA US Women’s Open at the end of the month. Mark your calendars, check the television schedules, and start considering your bets.
Mar 16, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Stacy Lewis greenside on the fifth hole during the second round of the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup at Wildfire Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
Despite Stacy Lewis’s tweet yesterday complaining that the rain had followed the LPGA tour from Paradise Island to the Jersey Shore, the weather will be ideal for golf through the end of the Shop Rite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer on Sunday. Neither rain nor wind will foul the shots needed to win. Will Lewis successfully defend her title at the Shop Rite? Or will first-time champ Ilhee Lee follow up her win at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic make it two in a row? Can the runners-up at the Pure Silk-Bahamas, Anna Nordqvist and Paula Creamer pull ahead and claim the trophy and the big money?
What about the 2012 Wegmans Championship winner, Shanshan Feng? Feng did not compete in the Pure Silk-Bahamas and recorded unimpressive final scores at the Kingsmill Championship and the North Texas LGGA Shootout earlier this year, but she’s taking a run at the Shop Rite. I wouldn’t bet on her. Ai Miyazato, 2012 winner of the WalMart NW Arkansas Championship which is coming up later this month, is another possible challenger to Lewis. But Miyazato’s performance has been up and down so far this season. Finishing the Pure Silk-Bahamas as -5, one stroke better than Lewis, Miyazato was cut at the North Texas LPGA Shootout and will need to ramp up her game in the coming weeks if she’s to remain a viable competitor in the tournaments leading up to the US Women’s Open. We will also have a look at the 2012 USGA US Women’s Open champion, Na Yeon Choi, at the Shop Rite. Choi has been playing regularly and consistently during the early 2013 season. She carded -3 at the Pure Silk-Bahamas, one stroke behind Lewis, and she, too, will be a contender at the Shop Rite. I’m also looking for one of the Aussies to break out of the pack and get on top of the leaderboard.
The LPGA field is packed with long hitters and shrewd putters, so the players who can maintain focus, make the fewest mistakes and take quick advantage of every opportunity to snag birdies and some eagles are going to be the ones at the top of the Shop Rite leaderboard Sunday afternoon. I’m looking forward to watching some great golf while they battle their way to the premier women’s golf extravaganza at the end of the month, the USGA US Women’s Open Championship. I’m holding my bets on this one until the middle of the month.
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