LPGA’s Fall Asian Swing – A Five-Event Snapshop
From Taiwan the Tour continues its island hopping, moving on to China’s Hainan Island for the 2nd edition of the Blue Bay LPGA China. You may recall that it rained torrentially last year on Hainan Island, a popular, high-end tourist destination that’s occasionally described as the “Hawaii of China.”
The rain didn’t slow down Lee-Anne Pace, who played her way to a victorious 16-under par final score to become the 6th 1st time LPGA winner in 2014 with Michelle Wie, Caroline Masson and Jessica Korda in hot pursuit — well, as hot as the water-saturated Jian Lake Blue Bay course would permit.
The Jian Lake track is relatively new — it opened in 2012 — and curiously described as a “tropical links-style” course. It has rather unique red sand bunkers — rather a lot of them — and some nasty natural beach grass rough that can challenge the best. The course is oriented to take advantage of the prevailing winds and the course faces the South China Sea so even in fair weather the field is going to do battle with the elements as well as the golf course.
Given Hainan Island’s proximity to the Sumatran fires that are currently pumping noxious smoke into the environment and causing air pollution throughout the area around Indonesia, some air-cleansing rain between now and tee time would be very welcome.
Next: Toto Japan Classic, November 6-8