Now that I've profiled each of my Top 30 players (see Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6), the next three editions in this series will consist of various other players of interest...mine, of course.

32.  Vicky Hurst  (NR-NR-28)

Despite ranking at #32 overall, Vicky was only the fourth-best rookie on Tour this season.  Even considering the uber-rookie status of Jiyai Shin and Michelle Wie, that's quite an unusual feat.  Only during the Great Rookie Explosion of 2006 did the fourth-best rookie finish better than 32^nd (six rookies were in the Top 25 that year).  Usually Rookie #4 isn't anywhere near the Top 40 and prior to 2006, you won't find any season with more than two inside the Top 40 until you go all the way back to 1988.  I guess my point here is that having multiple rookies in the Top 40 is a very recent phenomenon in the LPGA - after only seeing it once over its first 55 seasons, we've had three or more rookies in the Top 40 every year since 2006.  The most likely reasons for this are spelled K-L-P-G-A and F-U-T-U-R-E-S.

As for Hurst, she's becoming one of my favorite players.  With her Payne Stewart hats and quirky personality, her talent for the game is a nice bonus.  Her three Top 10s in 2009 included a tie for fifth at Corning.  She led the Tour in Driving Distance which set up rankings of #18 in Total Driving and #26 in GIR.  A little improvement with the putter (#62) would make Vicky's sophomore season even more successful.

33.  Hee-Won Han  (16-13-21)

Han returned to full-time action from maternity leave in 2008 and picked up right about where she left off - #16 in my final '08 rankings.  Twice this year she threatened to win - ties for third at State Farm and the British - but the rest of season was nearly a washout.  Four missed cuts (only in her rookie season did she have more) and only five total Top 20s in 25 starts.  Her putting was about the same as during 2008 but her driving was a bit off (down from #70 to #106) and as a result, her GIR suffered (down from #32 to #63).

34.  Amy Yang  (57-NR-34)

A second-year player from Korea, Amy collected two Top 10s (one of them a tie for third at CVS) with six total Top 20s and four missed cuts.  Yang displayed a good all-around game (no worse than 54^th in any of the Big Three) with the ability to reach the green in regulation (#31) being her strong suit.

35.  Jee Young Lee  (22-11-17)

Jelly's fourth season on Tour was easily her least productive.  By my count she missed five cuts (two by withdrawing prior to the cut - poor first rounds in each meant she probably would have missed them anyway), the most of her career.  Her three Top 10s were only half of her previous low.  She did gather six more finishes in the teens for a total of nine Top 20s.

The problem?  First off, Lee dropped from 16^th in Total Driving to 55^th.  That's a terribly low ranking considering she was eighth in distance.  She also fell from 34^th in GIR (which wasn't a great number to begin with for such a long player) to 75^th.  The two WDs might indicate an injury problem but I never heard of anything specific.

36.  Juli Inkster  (32-NR-33)

My prediction of Juli's retirement didn't come true and of that I'm glad.  Even though her game slipped a tiny bit more in 2009, she is still one of the forty best players on Tour as she approaches age 50.  Despite a small improvement in driving and a huge jump in GIR (T103 to 17^th), Inkster's putting fell off a cliff (down from 15^th to 126^th) and was a noticeable problem during the Solheim Cup.  Hopefully she can recover some of that short-game magic by the time she begins her 27^th full LPGA season in February.