Samsung Qualifiers

Sag, one of my longtime readers, commented that I should keep a "Samsung watch" during this weekend's Bell Micro Classic.  Reason being, a majority of the field for the Samsung World Championship (to be played Oct 2-5) will be set by the money list as it stands on Monday.  So to set up that "watch", I figured I'd better talk about the qualifications.

Samsung invites only 20 players to compete for its $1 million purse.  All four reigning major champions get in, plus last year's money list leader and Vare Trophy winner, the LET money leader through September 1, a "Leading Active LPGA Hall-of-Fame Member" (the "Annika" exemption) and a sponsor's exemption.  All remaining spots are filled by the LPGA money list through Sept 15.  These five players have already made the field:

Lorena Ochoa - 2007 money, 2007 Vare, Kraft Nabisco champ

Yani Tseng - LPGA Championship champ

Inbee Park - U.S. Open champ

Ji-Yai Shin - British Open champ

Helen Alfredsson - LET money leader

The official event website does not yet list who gets the "Annika" exemption or the sponsor's exemption.  As to the latter - perhaps they learned from last year's mistake of awarding their exemption early to a player who proved to be far from worthy at tournament time.  This leaves 13 spots available, which would go to these players right now:

Annika Sorenstam

Paula Creamer

Seon Hwa Lee

Na Yeon Choi

Cristie Kerr

Jeong Jang

Suzann Pettersen

Eun-Hee Ji

Angela Park

Karrie Webb

Song-Hee Kim

Katherine Hull

Hee-Won Han

Han leads her closest pursuer by over $120,000 so that simplifies things a little.  Since Han is not in the Bell Micro field, she could be caught by any of these players should they win this week (earning $210,000):

Jee Young Lee

Jane Park

Laura Diaz

Sun Young Yoo

Christina Kim

Karen Stupples

Maria Hjorth

Ji Young Oh and Sophie Gustafson would be within reach but they too chose not to play this week.  Assuming second place would take home $100-110,000, that finish would not enable anybody to surpass Hee-Won.  This means that Katherine Hull and everybody above her on the money list can book their ticket to Half Moon Bay.  Jee Young Lee has already missed the Bell Micro cut so her Samsung hope is gone.  Laura Diaz currently has the best shot of unseating Han - she's tied for fifth, five shots out of the lead.  None of the others are closer than ten strokes behind the leader, Cristie Kerr.

Who will get the sponsor's exemption is anybody's guess (Wie has used her allotment).  I would give it to Stacy Lewis but I'm biased - besides, that would probably be too logical a choice and money from a limited-field event wouldn't help her Category 10 cause anyway.  Are there any IMG or Samsung clients around who would likely get it?  Since Annika won't need a HOF exemption this year, I imagine Juli Inkster will get that one but that's pure speculation.