US Open / Meijer LPGA Classic Fantasy Gold Mine
By Sam Belden
Look to Gerina Piller to head your Ladies Dream Golf team and close the deal this week in Michigan.
Picking a fantasy team for the Meijer LPGA Classic is going to present some unique challenges. The top players in the field are coming off the grueling contest at Sahalee last week. Assume there’s going to be a fatigue factor at work, particularly for Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko, Ariya Jutanugarn, and Gerina Piller.
The Meijer begins a 3-week interlude between the Women’s PGA Championship and the Women’s US Open. That’s time enough for a number of potential contenders – Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis, and So Yeon Ryu in particular – to retweak and refresh.
The Ladies Dream Golf Pick-4 challenge is going to make you choose from among these for your team lead.
Group 1 – Look for defending champ Lexi Thompson to push for for back-to-back wins at Blythefield. Ko and Henderson will be in resting mode, but I expect Gerina Piller, who finished last year with a share of runner-up, to be the one to challenge Thompson. Piller needs this win and she knows it. Jutanugarn could be dangerous, but with Cordevalle only 3 weeks away and 3 victories already on the 2015 books, I think she has her sights set on bigger stuff. I’m going with Gerina Piller and hoping she doesn’t disappoint.
Group 2 – I’m seeing 4 likely contenders in this group: Lizette Salas, Brittany Lincicome, Jessica Korda, and Na Yeon Choi. Salas isn’t having much of a season but she finished with a share of runner-up at Blythefield last year and the track seems to suit her. With her missed cut at Sahalee Korda may seem like a long shot for anything but I’ve seem an occasional spark of the old Jess Korda and that missed cut could be just the nudge she needs to dig deep and recover her A game.
If you’re looking for a horse that’s been running nicely, Lincicome or Choi would be a solid pick, but I’m going with Brittany Lincicome over Choi. Lincicome has Blythefield experience and a top-10 finish last year and Choi doesn’t.
Group 3 – Now things begin to get interesting. Christina Kim‘s game is certainly trending in the right direction and Caroline Masson has been energized by her likely participation in the Olympic games. Holly Clyburn is having a reasonably good season, as is Katie Burnett. Any of them would make a good pick from this group, but I’m going with Christina Kim. She’s played 4 full rounds at Blythefield last year and she’ll do it again this year, and that’s what we need to keep the team on the field.
Group 4 – I’m just looking for somebody who will make the cut and I have 5 likely candidates: Sadena Parks, Amy Anderson, Lee Lopez, and Cheyenne Woods.
Parks is my top choice for two reasons. She played the weekend here last year and she made the cut last week at Sahalee. Even though she doesn’t seem to be playing especially well right now, Anderson finished in the top 10 at Blythefield last year, so if you don’t like Parks, Anderson could be a safe pick.
Woods keeps trying. She didn’t play the Meijer last year but she’s giving it everything she has this year and I think she’ll be around for the weekend in Michigan. Lee Lopez is having a pretty good rookie year. She’s made her last four cutes, including Sahalee, so even though she doesn’t have any experience on the Blythefield track I think she’ll manage to keep herself in the upper tier.