FORD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY KCC MAR 28-31 (2024)

[8602081]

FORD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY KCC

GILBERT, AZ

MAR 28-31

 

• Race to the CME Globe: 500 Points
• Format: 72 holes
• Purse: $2,250,000
• Par: 72
• History: This is the first year of this event.
• Yardage: 6,734

This is the inaugural year of the event.

 

 

March 28 Golf Channel (ET)7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

March 29 Golf Channel (ET)7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

March 30 Golf Channel (ET)6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

March 31 Golf Channel (ET)6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

 

 

March 28 Peacock (Stream ET)6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

March 29 Peacock (Stream ET)6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

March 30 Peacock (Stream ET)6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

March 31 Peacock (Stream ET)6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Edited March 26 by 8602081

[woahnelly]

https://www.lpga.com/tournaments/ford-championship/tournament-entries

 

Muni won the Qualifier

 

A good omen for the Lady Trojans in their quest for a march madness tipping off shortly against the dirty birds of Kansas.  No surprise, I picked them to win it all although the "other" SC in South Carolina is strong and the Caitlin Clark bandwagon is at max capacity as is the beloved Rose. 

 

Meanwhile those losers are UCLA are trailing at halftime 😂

Edited March 26 by woahnelly

[JungleJimbo]

2 hours ago, woahnelly said:

https://www.lpga.com/tournaments/ford-championship/tournament-entries

 

Muni won the Qualifier

[8602081]

If Muni would win some tournaments.. she can become a huge star.

She has the looks.. connection to America and China..  Dating an professional athlete..

 

 

[18majors]

7 minutes ago, 8602081 said:

She has the looks.. connection to America and China..

 

Eileen Gu (2.0 million Instagram followers) and Emma Raducanu (2.4 million) are good examples!

[JungleJimbo]

11 hours ago, woahnelly said:

https://www.lpga.com/tournaments/ford-championship/tournament-entries

 

Muni won the Qualifier

 

The Monday Q leaderboard looks like it was a playoff battle for the 2nd spot.

[Argonne69]

Muni can put up some decent rounds from time to time. Unfortunately she's also capable of tumbling down the leaderboard, which results in her collecting her $1.98 check on Sunday.

 

[woahnelly]

3 hours ago, JungleJimbo said:

 

The Monday Q leaderboard looks like it was a playoff battle for the 2nd spot.

 

I was rooting for Alex or Goose but 🇺🇸 is 👍 too

 

Both Jin Hee Im and Lucy Li, who is having a fantabulous season, played in the qualifier but ended up getting in by days end as reserve #1 and #2. Lucy wont have to worry about Qualis anymore come first reshuffle. Jin Hee Im needs to step it up as the highest rolex ranked rookie. 

Edited March 26 by woahnelly

[18majors]

1 hour ago, woahnelly said:

Lucy wont have to worry about Qualis anymore come first reshuffle.

 

 

This year, Lucy is living up to her early promises and became a "week in and week out" contender; I'm so happy for her!

 

Yealimi lucked out again, she's in the field this week to hopefully get inside current year CME Top-80 and qualifies for the Chevron Championship.  She's shown glimpses of promise, but her bulky putter continues to be a heavy handicap.

 

 

[woahnelly]

7 minutes ago, 18majors said:

 

 

This year, Lucy is living up to her early promises and became a "week in and week out" contender; I'm so happy for her!

 

Yealimi lucked out again, she's in the field this week to hopefully get inside current year CME Top-80 and qualifies for the Chevron Championship.  She's shown glimpses of promise, but her bulky putter continues to be a heavy handicap.

 

 

 

 

What is she using? AI Smoke?

 

Also, Anew >>> Malbon

[18majors]

2 minutes ago, woahnelly said:

What is she using? AI Smoke?

 

 

 

Yes, I noticed her one 310 yards drive!

[Lobby]

Lucy Lu, Sarah Schmelzel both playing well. 
 

I wish a win for each this year

[Lobby]

Li. Lu. 
 

:rolleyes 

[18majors]

 

One thing about Nelly, she's very relatable:

 

 

[3eagles]

Looks like an excellent field this week.

Notable groups in Arizona.

 

Early Thursday - Late Friday

Leona Maguire

Xiyu Lin

Bailey Tardy

 

Charley Hull

Lexi Thompson

Alison Lee

 

Minjee Lee

Brooke Henderson

Ruoning Yin

 

Late Thursday - Early Friday

Linn Grant

Hyo Joo Kim

Rose Zhang

 

Nelly Korda

Celine Boutier

Lydia Ko

 

Lilia Vu

Nasa Hataoka

Ayaka Furue

[JungleJimbo]

7 hours ago, woahnelly said:

 

 

What is she using? AI Smoke?

 

Also, Anew >>> Malbon

 

AI Smoke ... but doesn't have the slider ==> so Not the standard AI Smoke "Max" core model;

(only a single rear weight) ==> So perhaps it's the "Max D" (i.e. Not the Triple Diamond, which also has a front weight?) ... albeit it could be another of the "Tour Only" models (eg TD+)?

 

https://worldofwunder.callawaygolf.com/category/witb/

 

 

https://www.golfwrx.com/729740/2024-callaway-paradym-ai-smoke-drivers-golfwrx-launch-report/ 

 

 

 

Edited March 27 by JungleJimbo

[18majors]

 

I guess this is the only way @AKL Kiwi doesn't complain that Nelly gets a better pairing than Lydia:

 

 

 

 

[AKL Kiwi]

3 minutes ago, 18majors said:

 

I guess this is the only way @AKL Kiwi doesn't complain that Nelly gets a better pairing than Lydia:

Lydia first away on the second fairway shots again.....I have to have something to complain about! 😂.

[tonyj5]

My field rating for this inaugural event is a super high 78%. It is very likely that this will be the strongest non-major field event of the year!
Last year the strongest non-major field event was the Dio Implant at 77%, but that tournament renamed after Se Ri Pak this year, dropped way down to 69% last week.
My breakdown is a huge 86% from the LPGA Priority List and a very solid 70% from the Rolex Rankings.
Nine of the top ten ten players in the world rankings will be teeing it up, with only Jin Young Ko keeping it from being a perfect top ten attendance.

The Monday local qualifiers are:
Muni He -7 
Emily Lauderbach -6

Other stuff:
Emily Kristine Pedersen had her cut streak snapped at fifteen.
Sarah Schmelzel registered her third consecutive top ten. Schmelzel and Andrea Lee both now have three top tens. Only Ayaka Furue has more with four.
Luci Li, who didn't have a single top fifteen finish last year, has finished 4th, 10th, and 13th, in her last three starts.
Nelly Korda has won her last two starts, and has taken over the top spot for player of the year.
Nelly's win was the third for a player from the USA. No other country has more than one.
It looks like a real battle this year for top rookie honors.
Gabriela Ruffles (Australia) takes over the top spot with 115 points. She is followed by:
Mao Saigo (Japan) 108, Mone Inami (Japan) 93, Auston Kim (USA) 80, and Savannah Grewal (Canada) rounds out the top five with 75.

There was lots of movement by LPGA players in the Rolex Rankings to report this week:
Nelly Korda takes over the No. 1 spot for the 6th different time in her career. She now has totaled 39 weeks at the top. She is in 7th place all-time in weeks at the top.
Lilia Vu drops to No. 2 in the rankings after spending nineteen consecutive weeks in the top spot. She now has accumulated a total of 28 weeks on top which is 8th on the all-time list.
Andrea Lee jumps up from 47 to 38.
Jenny Shin rises from 66 to 54.
Gemma Dryburgh moves from 67 to 56.
Ryann O'Toole skyrockets from No. 142 to 70.
Jasmine Suwannapura vaults from 92 to 75.
Mi Hyang Lee springs up from 89 to 81.
Gabriela Ruffles catapults from 151 to 92.
Lucy Lee surges from 107 to 96.
On the downside, longtime top player Eun Hee Ji drops out of the top 100 and out of my field ratings.

[JungleJimbo]

50 minutes ago, tonyj5 said:

My field rating for this inaugural event is a super high 78%. It is very likely that this will be the strongest non-major field event of the year!
Last year the strongest non-major field event was the Dio Implant at 77%, but that tournament renamed after Se Ri Pak this year, dropped way down to 69% last week.
My breakdown is a huge 86% from the LPGA Priority List and a very solid 70% from the Rolex Rankings.
Nine of the top ten ten players in the world rankings will be teeing it up, with only Jin Young Ko keeping it from being a perfect top ten attendance.

The Monday local qualifiers are:
Muni He -7 
Emily Lauderbach -6

Other stuff:
Emily Kristine Pedersen had her cut streak snapped at fifteen.
Sarah Schmelzel registered her third consecutive top ten. Schmelzel and Andrea Lee both now have three top tens. Only Ayaka Furue has more with four.
Luci Li, who didn't have a single top fifteen finish last year, has finished 4th, 10th, and 13th, in her last three starts.
Nelly Korda has won her last two starts, and has taken over the top spot for player of the year.
Nelly's win was the third for a player from the USA. No other country has more than one.
It looks like a real battle this year for top rookie honors.
Gabriela Ruffles (Australia) takes over the top spot with 115 points. She is followed by:
Mao Saigo (Japan) 108, Mone Inami (Japan) 93, Auston Kim (USA) 80, and Savannah Grewal (Canada) rounds out the top five with 75.

There was lots of movement by LPGA players in the Rolex Rankings to report this week:
Nelly Korda takes over the No. 1 spot for the 6th different time in her career. She now has totaled 39 weeks at the top. She is in 7th place all-time in weeks at the top.
Lilia Vu drops to No. 2 in the rankings after spending nineteen consecutive weeks in the top spot. She now has accumulated a total of 28 weeks on top which is 8th on the all-time list.
Andrea Lee jumps up from 47 to 38.
Jenny Shin rises from 66 to 54.
Gemma Dryburgh moves from 67 to 56.
Ryann O'Toole skyrockets from No. 142 to 70.
Jasmine Suwannapura vaults from 92 to 75.
Mi Hyang Lee springs up from 89 to 81.
Gabriela Ruffles catapults from 151 to 92.
Lucy Lee surges from 107 to 96.
On the downside, longtime top player Eun Hee Ji drops out of the top 100 and out of my field ratings.

Thanks @tonyj5… these write ups are better than those I’ve seen on LPGA website

[JungleJimbo]

3 hours ago, tonyj5 said:

Savannah Grewal (Canada) rounds out the top five with 75

 

Wondering if any folks here = more familiar with Indian/Ludhiana Punjabi Sikh names pronunciation? (I'm not)

 

...specifically "Savannah Grewal". (interesting heritage combo i.e. Punjabi-Sikh dad and Korean-Swedish mom ... i think i've heard Savannah speak Swedish too, in the recent "which LPGA stars would be on your Mount Rushmore" video interview).

 

This Indian video pronounces the surname as "Grey-wahl". 

LPGA commentators = have been pronouncing as "Gruel" (similar to the porridge).

 

Moot point really (i think Savannah does some code-switching ... sometimes "Grey-wahl" with Indian media ... but "Gruel(?)" when speaking with American media)

 

... Not intending this to be "How do you pronounce Rose Zhang, part 2 ... e.g. "Zang")!

 

 

[Lobby]

I've been pronouncing it "grey-wahl," as if it had a German root.

 

"Gruel" doesn't make sense

:dunno

[woahnelly]

6 hours ago, JungleJimbo said:

 

Wondering if any folks here = more familiar with Indian/Ludhiana Punjabi Sikh names pronunciation? (I'm not)

 

...specifically "Savannah Grewal". (interesting heritage combo i.e. Punjabi-Sikh dad and Korean-Swedish mom ... i think i've heard Savannah speak Swedish too, in the recent "which LPGA stars would be on your Mount Rushmore" video interview).

 

This Indian video pronounces the surname as "Grey-wahl". 

LPGA commentators = have been pronouncing as "Gruel" (similar to the porridge).

 

Moot point really (i think Savannah does some code-switching ... sometimes "Grey-wahl" with Indian media ... but "Gruel(?)" when speaking with American media)

 

... Not intending this to be "How do you pronounce Rose Zhang, part 2 ... e.g. "Zang")!

 

 

 

I've already carved out a nickname for her. 

 

[Shakeshook]

Any idea whether there's any advantage for course conditions this week in the morning vs afternoon waves?  With a strong field, could spell the difference to some who make the cut, top 10, etc.   (less room for "error", less degress of freedom, so to speak)

[AKL Kiwi]

13 hours ago, tonyj5 said:

My field rating for this inaugural event is a super high 78%. It is very likely that this will be the strongest non-major field event of the year!
Last year the strongest non-major field event was the Dio Implant at 77%, but that tournament renamed after Se Ri Pak this year, dropped way down to 69% last week.
My breakdown is a huge 86% from the LPGA Priority List and a very solid 70% from the Rolex Rankings.

The Dio Implant win was worth 62 rolex points last year, Se Ri Pak this year 56. Be interesting to see what this tournament win earns. I will put it at 68 points...lets see.  

[Argonne69]

4 hours ago, Shakeshook said:

Any idea whether there's any advantage for course conditions this week in the morning vs afternoon waves?  With a strong field, could spell the difference to some who make the cut, top 10, etc.   (less room for "error", less degress of freedom, so to speak)

 

Don't think it'll make a difference this week. Light winds, morning temps in the 50s, and highs in the low 80s. Perfect weather for the valley. With low humidity those 50 degree temps feel like 70. 

 

Winds are supposed to pick up on Saturday afternoon, so the leaders might allow the chasers to catch up a bit. Chance for scattered showers on Sunday. 

 

[ChronicSlicer]

Janet or Minjee? Former ASU alum Anna or Carlota for darkhorses.

[JungleJimbo]

On 3/27/2024 at 7:51 AM, 18majors said:

 

One thing about Nelly, she's very relatable:

 

 

 

A 7-8 hour road trip from LA to Phoenix/Gilbert AZ doesn't seem like ideal prep for a tournament for Nelly?

 

 

[Argonne69]

Just now, JungleJimbo said:

 

A 7-8 hour road trip from LA to Phoenix/Gilbert AZ doesn't seem like ideal prep for a tournament for Nelly?

 

 

 

Lol. Have you been to Sky Harbor lately? Ever try renting a car at the rental center? I'd much rather drive from LA to Phoenix than fly from LAX to Sky Harbor.

 

 

 

[JungleJimbo]

On 3/28/2024 at 8:44 AM, Argonne69 said:

 

Lol. Have you been to Sky Harbor lately? Ever try renting a car at the rental center? I'd much rather drive from LA to Phoenix than fly from LAX to Sky Harbor.

 

 

 

Yes ... but then again... @Argonne69 is also "Mr On The Road Again" i.e. lover of road trips! (and thanks again for letting us live vicariously, via your Travel Blog!  Sometimes, i see your new Travel Blog entries, and start humming that song!)

... Hope you're doing well & travelling well.

 

 

 

Edited March 29 by JungleJimbo