Navistar LPGA Classic Preview

by hound dog on Sep 22, 2008 4:00 PM PDT Comment 9 comments

Defending Champion - Maria Hjorth

Capitol Hill's The Senator

Prattville, Alabama

72 holes, begins Thursday

Par 72, 6632 yards

Field Score - 71

Scoring Averages - 73.37 (2007)

2008 Scoring Average to date - 72.89

U.S. TV coverage (all times EDT):

Thu 6:30-8:30p GC

Fri 8:30-10:30p GC

Sat 6:30-9p GC

Sun 6:30-9p GC

After a sporatic schedule to end the summer, the LPGA kicks off nine straight weeks of action with this week's second-annual Navistar event near Montgomery, Alabama. Maria Hjorth overtook Lorena Ochoa and Stacy Prammanasudh on the Sunday back nine to win last year's inaugural.

For the second event in a row, the ladies tee it up on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Capitol Hill's The Senator has a links-like feel to it, with pot bunkers and fairway mounds. The yardage is listed at nearly 400 yards longer than a year ago so apparently a few tee boxes have been moved back. Three of the par-5s exceed 500 yards (#10 is 547) which is a little unusual for an LPGA layout.

The number of Top 10 players here is on the slim side - only Lorena Ochoa, Yani Tseng, Cristie Kerr and Seon Hwa Lee - but the rest of the Top 40 is only missing three players, making this a good field. Of the 35 players I mentioned in my Quest For The Card post as needing less than a miracle to gain Top 80 or 100 status, only Russy Gulyanamitta (75), Linda Wessberg (78), Jimin Jeong (107) and Sophie Giquel (115) are not in Prattville. I'll be tracking the bubble players this weekend along with the leaders.

My losing streak continues. This week's worthless prediction? Lorena Ochoa to win, with Katherine Hull and Hee-Won Han my CYAs.

Stats: Winners 5-25 (9-25 with CYAs), Top Tens 33-75.

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navistar

i will have the pvr set to capture this tourney!

by cannuck on Sep 22, 2008 4:07 PM PDT reply actions

you beat me to it!

Here’s mine!

by The Constructivist on Sep 22, 2008 10:13 PM PDT reply actions

Jill McGill, -7

That’s a nice way to start off the morning.

by galugo on Sep 25, 2008 10:21 AM PDT reply actions

Poor man's Natalie Gulbis

That’s Jill. It would be something if she stuck around to win this weekend. Kind of like when Heather Daly-Donofrio won in Alabama a few years back.

Bill

by Bill Jempty on Sep 25, 2008 12:25 PM PDT reply actions

In some ways, these days Natalie Gulbis is a poor man’s Natalie Gulbis.

by galugo on Sep 26, 2008 7:00 AM PDT up reply actions

Here comes Lorena

6 under through 12.

by dianemarie on Sep 25, 2008 1:16 PM PDT reply actions

Where's the slump talk?

Last April at least 2 sportswriters started wondering if Lorena would win all the rest of the 2008 LPGA events(like PGA Tour wrtiers start opining anytime Tiger has won 3 or more in a row). When was it she last won, May?

I’m not picking on Lorena, but those who try covering Ladies Professional Golf. Hounddog and The Constructivist can write circles around any of them.

by Bill Jempty on Sep 25, 2008 1:27 PM PDT up reply actions

Agreed

You’re not so bad at it yourself, Bill.

by dianemarie on Sep 25, 2008 1:52 PM PDT up reply actions

I agree, Bill

Those two guys (and yourself) do an excellent job of covering the sport. I have maintained that LPGA.com should hire HD, TC, and yourself to write for the site full time. The LPGA needs to do what the PGA Tour did (and didn’t have to do) – make their own media machine. Tiger Woods is his own media outlet thanks to his website .

by Ryan Ballengee on Sep 25, 2008 3:49 PM PDT up reply actions