2019 LPGA Season Odds and Ends

[Newinup]

> @18majors said:

> > @18majors said:

> > > @18majors said:

> > > Hana Financial Group had a grand plan when they terminated LPGA's KEB Hana Bank Championship last year.

> > > They aim to create a WGC like women's golf event centered in Korea but aligning with all major women's golf bodies.

> > > This year's Hana Financial Championship October 3-6, scheduled the same time as LPGA's Volunteer of America Classic, will feature six world top-50 invited players including Jin Young Ko and Minjee Lee.

> > > Both tournaments will offer about the same purse of $1.3 million.

> > > In my opinion, they need to raise the purse to at least $6.0 million in future years to make a difference.

> > >

> > > 

> > >

> > > [mbn.mk.co.kr/pages/news/newsView.php?news_seq_no=3946029](http://mbn.mk.co.kr/pages/news/newsView.php?news_seq_no=3946029 "mbn.mk.co.kr/pages/news/newsView.php?news_seq_no=3946029")

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

> > True to its WGC intention, the tournament has invited Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand, Yuka Saso of Philippines, Ting Hsuan Huang of Taiwan and Xiang Sui of China.

> > This is the first time a tournament packed with established stars Jin Young Ko and Minjee Lee with young guns Atthaya, Yuka and Yealimi.

> > Having been traveling in Asia, I'll be able to watch it during daytime rather than the wee hours of night in the US.

> > As an aside; good news for Atthaya and Yuka that they're on Hana's radar for future endorsements.

> >

> > [kebhanabankgolf.com/pageLink/player_info01.do](http://www.kebhanabankgolf.com/pageLink/player_info01.do "kebhanabankgolf.com/pageLink/player_info01.do")

> >

> >

>

> Who'll excel!

>

> Hee Jeong Lim, Yealimi Noh, Jin Young Ko, Minjee Lee, Xiang Sui, Yuka Saso

> 

>

 

your resourcefulness in getting all these pics never ceases to amaze me!

[Stooch]

> @agolf1 said:

> > @Stooch said:

> > Weird lucky6 is playing in Texas this week but skipped the Indy event. Long way to travel for a 1.3 million dollar purse.

> I saw this too, and thought it was very strange. It's almost like her and Alison Lee's calendars synced to the wrong phone.

 

Perhaps Allison is getting an appearance fee and figures take the pay day cause Q-School is most likely in the cards anyway.

[Titleist_PT23]

> @Stooch said:

> > @agolf1 said:

> > > @Stooch said:

> > > Weird lucky6 is playing in Texas this week but skipped the Indy event. Long way to travel for a 1.3 million dollar purse.

> > I saw this too, and thought it was very strange. It's almost like her and Alison Lee's calendars synced to the wrong phone.

>

> Perhaps Allison is getting an appearance fee and figures take the pay day cause Q-School is most likely in the cards anyway.

When she made the decision, that was probably the case (although I wonder how much she would really get these days). However, after her finish last week she is #102, $2.5k out of the 100th spot. Always hard to back out after you've agreed, but I may have tried it here.

[18majors]

> @agolf1 said:

> > @18majors said:

> > The Rolex World Ranking has confirmed the impression; it's Jin Young Ko and everyone else.

> > Jin Young leads No. 2 Sung Hyun by 2.51 points; more than the difference between Sung Hyun and No. 10 Ariya.

> Do you happen to know what the rankings would look like if a) you only include the past months (15?) that will still be included in the 2020 Olympic Qualifying and b) re-weight the results as they would be on 29 June 2020 (believe the last year counts more)? There's still a lot of golf to be played but wondering how this looks for the Korean team.

>

> Also, it's a bit of an odd outcome but as of today a) Rankings #13-#15 don't get to play (Koreans SYK, HJK, SYR), and b) Danielle Kang (#16) and Lizette Salas (#17) would miss out due to the USA holding down two spots in the Top 15.

 

Sei Young is No. 7 in 2019 official money, Hyo Joo No. 8 and Inbee No. 24. Other than US Women's Open, the official money correlates the best to world ranking points.

So Yeon is No. 22; but that's distorted because she's T2 at 2019 USWO.

It looks like Sei Young will edge out Inbee for the fourth spot on Korean Team.

The only caveat, whoever wins one of the three majors before July 2020 will go a long way to seize the spot.

[Titleist_PT23]

> @18majors said:

> > @agolf1 said:

> > > @18majors said:

> > > The Rolex World Ranking has confirmed the impression; it's Jin Young Ko and everyone else.

> > > Jin Young leads No. 2 Sung Hyun by 2.51 points; more than the difference between Sung Hyun and No. 10 Ariya.

> > Do you happen to know what the rankings would look like if a) you only include the past months (15?) that will still be included in the 2020 Olympic Qualifying and b) re-weight the results as they would be on 29 June 2020 (believe the last year counts more)? There's still a lot of golf to be played but wondering how this looks for the Korean team.

> >

> > Also, it's a bit of an odd outcome but as of today a) Rankings #13-#15 don't get to play (Koreans SYK, HJK, SYR), and b) Danielle Kang (#16) and Lizette Salas (#17) would miss out due to the USA holding down two spots in the Top 15.

>

> Sei Young is No. 7 in 2019 official money, Hyo Joo No. 8 and Inbee No. 24. Other than US Women's Open, the official money correlates the best to world ranking points.

> So Yeon is No. 22; but that's distorted because she's T2 at 2019 USWO.

> It looks like Sei Young will edge out Inbee for the fourth spot on Korean Team.

> The only caveat, whoever wins one of the three majors before July 2020 will go a long way to seize the spot.

Yeah, still a long way to go, but I thought Si Young was probably in a good spot. She also has the 2018 Thornberry win, which will remain / be just under 2 years ago next summer. We've obviously seen a lot of people hit a wall but it does seem like the top 3 are a cut above right now. Beyond that, there's probably 5-10 people that just need to get hot over the next 9 months (or more likely just really hot over a 2-3 month period) , and they can grab the 4th spot with wins/high finishes.

[fredogolfer]

> > Perhaps Allison is getting an appearance fee and figures take the pay day cause Q-School is most likely in the cards anyway.

> When she made the decision, that was probably the case (although I wonder how much she would really get these days). However, after her finish last week she is #102, $2.5k out of the 100th spot. Always hard to back out after you've agreed, but I may have tried it here.

 

I am sure she got a nice amount to play in Korea. It looks like q-school is the option she has. Here is the thing, what if she doesn’t get a card out of q-school? Does she go to the Symetra? Play on exemptions? Euro tour? All of the above?

[Titleist_PT23]

> @fredogolfer said:

> > > Perhaps Allison is getting an appearance fee and figures take the pay day cause Q-School is most likely in the cards anyway.

> > When she made the decision, that was probably the case (although I wonder how much she would really get these days). However, after her finish last week she is #102, $2.5k out of the 100th spot. Always hard to back out after you've agreed, but I may have tried it here.

>

> I am sure she got a nice amount to play in Korea. It looks like q-school is the option she has. Here is the thing, what if she doesn’t get a card out of q-school? Does she go to the Symetra? Play on exemptions? Euro tour? All of the above?

Not getting a card is the big risk. I have no idea what the fee is/was but it would have to be a lot (like her 2019 winnings) or I would have tried to play next week and break the Top 100. Although thinking about it, the TX event may have already been closed by the time she knew she was this close to the money list cutoff. A month ago Q-School probably seemed like it was inevitable, so any fee and just do what you want probably made sense.

[Stooch]

Randall is catching lots of heat from Euro and American Solheim player this article. Suzanne Petteren replied look at all the player from the Solheim who finished in the top and the type of attitude is why both are dominated by the Koreans, 2nd place just makes you the best loser lol.

https://www.golfchannel.com/news/randalls-rant-sake-game-yanks-and-euros-must-win-more

[Argonne69]

> @Stooch said:

> Randall is catching lots of heat from Euro and American Solheim player this article. Suzanne Petteren replied look at all the player from the Solheim who finished in the top and the type of attitude is why both are dominated by the Koreans, 2nd place just makes you the best loser lol.

>

> https://www.golfchannel.com/news/randalls-rant-sake-game-yanks-and-euros-must-win-more

 

Another data point that helps reinforce the belief that match play and stroke play are two very different games. When one can blow up on any hole and not really effect the outcome, it's easy to go for broke. This past week MJ kept the blow up holes to a minimum, and wisely managed her way around the tough course. Marina was in a good position to grab a win, but put in a lackluster performance on Sunday.

 

[North Texas]

> @Stooch said:

> Randall is catching lots of heat from Euro and American Solheim player this article. Suzanne Petteren replied look at all the player from the Solheim who finished in the top and the type of attitude is why both are dominated by the Koreans, 2nd place just makes you the best loser lol.

>

> https://www.golfchannel.com/news/randalls-rant-sake-game-yanks-and-euros-must-win-more

 

After reading the article, I'm not sure why he catching lots of heat.

[Stooch]

> @"North Texas" said:

> > @Stooch said:

> > Randall is catching lots of heat from Euro and American Solheim player this article. Suzanne Petteren replied look at all the player from the Solheim who finished in the top and the type of attitude is why both are dominated by the Koreans, 2nd place just makes you the best loser lol.

> >

> > https://www.golfchannel.com/news/randalls-rant-sake-game-yanks-and-euros-must-win-more

>

> After reading the article, I'm not sure why he catching lots of heat.

 

Me either but Lizette Salas, Suzanne Pettersen and Marina Alex went at him on twitter. Marina said something to the effect she wouldn't give him interviews anymore, but she then deleted the tweet. Probably caught some flak as Randell is one of very few journalist who actually cover the LPGA.

[Argonne69]

We're 26 tournaments into the season. There are 5 Americans with 5 or more top 10's. They have 35 top 10's collectively. There are two Europeans with five or more top 10's (14 total). The Korean women have nine players with five or more top 10's (63 total).

 

It's just not wins, but overall play at the highest level.

 

The Americans have actually played well in the majors this year even though they didn't snag a win. They have 20 top 10's in the five majors.

 

[OffTheDole]

Randall Mell's response, especially the "_I don’t cover the LPGA like it’s junior golf, and I don’t write P.R. I treat pros like they’re pros_" bit, is very telling in my opinion. He comes off very paternalistic and superior; there aren't a lot of golf writers covering the LPGA, so he gets to be a big fish in a small pond, and he's acting very big here.

 

While I actually don't disagree with the argument in "Randall's Rant," the timing is bad IMO and the angle he took was decidedly negative towards the American players:

 

"_It is fair to say Americans are not holding up their end of the bargain on tour, that they aren’t giving American companies enough to get excited about when LPGA sales folks come calling_."

 

The irony of sports journalists essentially calling the players they cover thin-skinned while also having Twitter fights with them is just too rich sometimes. What I learned in J-School was not to make myself part of the story...

[ChronicSlicer]

> @fredogolfer said:

> > > Perhaps Allison is getting an appearance fee and figures take the pay day cause Q-School is most likely in the cards anyway.

> > When she made the decision, that was probably the case (although I wonder how much she would really get these days). However, after her finish last week she is #102, $2.5k out of the 100th spot. Always hard to back out after you've agreed, but I may have tried it here.

>

> I am sure she got a nice amount to play in Korea. It looks like q-school is the option she has. Here is the thing, what if she doesn’t get a card out of q-school? Does she go to the Symetra? Play on exemptions? Euro tour? All of the above?

 

She could become a party planner, she has the party part down fairly well.

[18majors]

> @18majors said:

> > @18majors said:

> > > @18majors said:

> > > Hana Financial Group had a grand plan when they terminated LPGA's KEB Hana Bank Championship last year.

> > > They aim to create a WGC like women's golf event centered in Korea but aligning with all major women's golf bodies.

> > > This year's Hana Financial Championship October 3-6, scheduled the same time as LPGA's Volunteer of America Classic, will feature six world top-50 invited players including Jin Young Ko and Minjee Lee.

> > > Both tournaments will offer about the same purse of $1.3 million.

> > > In my opinion, they need to raise the purse to at least $6.0 million in future years to make a difference.

> > >

> > > 

> > >

> > > [mbn.mk.co.kr/pages/news/newsView.php?news_seq_no=3946029](http://mbn.mk.co.kr/pages/news/newsView.php?news_seq_no=3946029 "mbn.mk.co.kr/pages/news/newsView.php?news_seq_no=3946029")

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

> > True to its WGC intention, the tournament has invited Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand, Yuka Saso of Philippines, Ting Hsuan Huang of Taiwan and Xiang Sui of China.

> > This is the first time a tournament packed with established stars Jin Young Ko and Minjee Lee with young guns Atthaya, Yuka and Yealimi.

> > Having been traveling in Asia, I'll be able to watch it during daytime rather than the wee hours of night in the US.

> > As an aside; good news for Atthaya and Yuka that they're on Hana's radar for future endorsements.

> >

> > [kebhanabankgolf.com/pageLink/player_info01.do](http://www.kebhanabankgolf.com/pageLink/player_info01.do "kebhanabankgolf.com/pageLink/player_info01.do")

> >

> >

>

> Who'll excel!

>

 

Let's the game begin!

This tournament has the most impressive collection of young talents:

A Yean Cho (19)

Yuka Saso (18)

Yealimi Noh (18)

Atthaya Thitikul (16)

 

 

[Argonne69]

Interesting quote from Sean Foley, "Golf is not about the (player) who is happiest. It's about the (player) who can endure the most disappointment and still get up the next day and keep doing it."

 

There are many, many players on the tour who've battled the "blues". It's got to be tough to play a game where you lose 99.9% of the time. Throw in the travel, solitude, long hours, nagging injuries, lack of funds, weather delays, etc., and it's no surprise players go through stretches where they feel like giving up. Some are fairly open about their struggles. Others hide it behind their smiles, but it's still there.

 

[ChronicSlicer]

> @Argonne69 said:

> Interesting quote from Sean Foley, "Golf is not about the (player) who is happiest. It's about the (player) who can endure the most disappointment and still get up the next day and keep doing it."

>

> There are many, many players on the tour who've battled the "blues". It's got to be tough to play a game where you lose 99.9% of the time. Throw in the travel, solitude, long hours, nagging injuries, lack of funds, weather delays, etc., and it's no surprise players go through stretches where they feel like giving up. Some are fairly open about their struggles. Others hide it behind their smiles, but it's still there.

>

 

Don't forget about the added pressure from the media.

[18majors]

> @18majors said:

> > @18majors said:

> > > @18majors said:

> > > > @18majors said:

> > > > Hana Financial Group had a grand plan when they terminated LPGA's KEB Hana Bank Championship last year.

> > > > They aim to create a WGC like women's golf event centered in Korea but aligning with all major women's golf bodies.

> > > > This year's Hana Financial Championship October 3-6, scheduled the same time as LPGA's Volunteer of America Classic, will feature six world top-50 invited players including Jin Young Ko and Minjee Lee.

> > > > Both tournaments will offer about the same purse of $1.3 million.

> > > > In my opinion, they need to raise the purse to at least $6.0 million in future years to make a difference.

> > > >

> > > > 

> > > >

> > > > [mbn.mk.co.kr/pages/news/newsView.php?news_seq_no=3946029](http://mbn.mk.co.kr/pages/news/newsView.php?news_seq_no=3946029 "mbn.mk.co.kr/pages/news/newsView.php?news_seq_no=3946029")

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> > > True to its WGC intention, the tournament has invited Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand, Yuka Saso of Philippines, Ting Hsuan Huang of Taiwan and Xiang Sui of China.

> > > This is the first time a tournament packed with established stars Jin Young Ko and Minjee Lee with young guns Atthaya, Yuka and Yealimi.

> > > Having been traveling in Asia, I'll be able to watch it during daytime rather than the wee hours of night in the US.

> > > As an aside; good news for Atthaya and Yuka that they're on Hana's radar for future endorsements.

> > >

> > > [kebhanabankgolf.com/pageLink/player_info01.do](http://www.kebhanabankgolf.com/pageLink/player_info01.do "kebhanabankgolf.com/pageLink/player_info01.do")

> > >

> > >

> >

> > Who'll excel!

> >

>

> Let's the game begin!

> This tournament has the most impressive collection of young talents:

> A Yean Cho (19)

> Yuka Saso (18)

> Yealimi Noh (18)

> Atthaya Thitikul (16)

>

>

 

A Yean Cho -1 and T20, Yuka Saso E and T36, Atthaya Thitikul -1 and T50, Yealimi Noh +3 and T74.

Yealimi needs to be concerned about her form; she missed the cut in Japan two weeks ago.

 




 

[Argonne69]

So Yeon is paired with Hinako in Japan. Look at those opening day crowds!

 

 


 

[ChronicSlicer]

> @Argonne69 said:

> So Yeon is paired with Hinako in Japan. Look at those opening day crowds!

>

>

> 

>

 

Looks like a Sunday crowd at a USWO...well maybe.

[Newinup]

> @Argonne69 said:

> So Yeon is paired with Hinako in Japan. Look at those opening day crowds!

>

>

> 

>

 

I think it's a trio of So Yeon, Hinako and Nasa too! :) Too bad Hinako is the "laggard" currently on round 2 amongst the 3 -- So Yeon and Nasa -10 (after 35 holes) while Hinako -7 with 1 hole to go in Round 2 (for sure all 3 make the cut however)... leader is -12 in the clubhouse at this point (noontime Friday in Japan, 1100PM Eastern Time Thursday night)

[Argonne69]

 

Hinako Fever.

 


 

[Argonne69]

Nasa picked up another victory at the JLPGA Japan Women's Open.

 


 


 

 

[fredogolfer]

I sent a card to LPGA Founder Shirley Spork and I opened the return envelope a while ago. She included 3 pictures and a hand written note.

 

She wrote:

 

Thanks for your letter. I do not know your age but understand you enjoy our great game of golf. Yes, as a founder of the LPGA little did we 13 ladies know our game was going to become global! Just back from the Solheim Cup. It was a remarkable week of good golf from all players and attendance of 90,000, 20,000 Saturday alone. Yes, women’s golf is now at the top of history making. Best to you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Shirley Spork

[18majors]

These are strong words from Hana Financial Group's sports marketing team leader:

 

"As soon as I saw Yealimi Noh, I thought there's a future that could go beyond Lydia Ko, Sung Hyun Park and Minjee Lee."

[golfguide.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=14515](http://www.golfguide.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=14515 "golfguide.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=14515")

 

Team Yealimi


After the second round of the Hana Financial Group Championship held at Yeongjongdo Sky72 Golf & Resort, Yeonglim Lim took a commemorative photo with the members of Team Jerimi. From left: Professor Noh Gap-taek, Myong Ji University, Lee Jin-soo, former director of Tannis National Team, Noh Lim Lim, Chang-Soo Wi, Pro Caddy Colin Khan, Head of Sports Marketing Team at Hana Financial Group

 

 

 

[fredogolfer]

Looks like Hana Jang won the Hana Financial event.

[Argonne69]

> @fredogolfer said:

> Looks like Hana Jang won the Hana Financial event.

 


 

[OffTheDole]

I miss seeing Hana Jang out there on the LPGA Tour.

[ChronicSlicer]

> @Argonne69 said:

> > @fredogolfer said:

> > Looks like Hana Jang won the Hana Financial event.

>

> 

>

 

Don't suppose we will be seeing this type of "victory lap" on the LPGA anytime soon.

[Argonne69]

Congrats to 6ix on winning the 2019 Rookie of the Year award..With her T8 finish at the VoA, she has locked up the points race.