Player Profile - Teresa Lu

Teresa Lu is in her fourth LPGA season.  Born in Taiwan nearly 22 years ago, Teresa was once a semifinalist (in 2004) and twice a quarterfinalist (2003, 2005) at the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship.  She finished second to Morgan Pressel at the 2005 AJGA Rolex Girls Junior Championship.  Lu turned pro after earning non-exempt status at Q-School, playing in 18 events as a rookie in 2006.  She's showed steady improvement every full season since, earning her first two Top 10s in 2007 and lowering her missed cuts from ten to three in 2008 while finishing a career-best T3 at the Ginn Open.  She also tied for 10^th at the '08 U.S. Open.

Teresa hasn't exactly regressed in 2009 but her trend forward has not continued.  I currently have her ranked #49 after she peaked at #30 last July.  She has failed to make the cut three times this year and is still looking for her first Top 10 (T11 twice, Thailand and Michelob).  The Big Three stats show Lu being slightly down across the board from 2008 - from 32 to 57 in Total Driving, 68 to 85 in GIR and 95 to 126 in Total Putting.  She's averaging five yards less off the tee but she's hitting the fairway a good bit more.  Since the Tour as a whole is averaging better driving accuracy this year, I'm inclined to think that the shorter tee shots are making her approaches a little tougher - consequently her first putts aren't going to be in as good a position.

You can find out more about Teresa Lu at her bio page at LPGA.com.