Portland Classic 1st Round Featured Groups
Second-seeded Seo Yeon Ryu will play the first and second round at the Portland Classic with Morgan Pressel and Anna Nordqvist.
With 7 top-10 2015 finishes, fourth ranked Ryu is having a strong season even though she’s still hunting her first Tour victory. (Ryu outplayed her friend Inbee Park for the victory at the LET World Ladies Championship in March, so she’s not without a 2015 win.)
Ryu has a solid all-around game — better than Lydia Ko’s in a technical sense — and she’ll be hard to outplay, but 21st ranked Morgan Pressel and 9th ranked Anna Nordqvist both have games in their bags that can do just that.
Pressel will be at the disadvantage off the tee and in terms of driving accuracy but, like Lydia Ko, she can make up the difference on the putting surface, where she outranks both Nordqvist and Ryu.
Read More: Can Morgan Pressel Close the Deal This Week?
With both Pressel and Nordqvist holding secure but not officially announced spots on the Team USA and Team Europe Solheim Cup rosters, this pairing could end up providing an interesting preview of things to come at St Leon-Rot next month.
I’m looking for Pressel, who is probably hungrier for a win than either Ryu or Nordqvist, to edge ahead, but not by much.
Next: Stacy Lewis & The Bridesmaid Syndroms