Top Young Guns, Final 2009 Edition

For Hound Dog's regulars, here's how I rank the top 10 careers from the rookie classes of 2006 through 2008--the Young Guns generation.  Head on over to Mostly Harmless for the top 25 and for the stats on which I'm basing my rankings.

Simply the Best

1. Ya Ni Tseng. After burning out a little at the end of her rookie season, she came on strong during the home stretch of her sophomore campaign, closing with 8-straight top 25s and 5-straight top 10s. Although she couldn't get her 3rd career win in 2009, she's still 1 of the few active players on the LPGA to be averaging at least 1 win per season. Thanks to making the top 20 more than 73% of the time she makes the cut, she's taking home over $55K per start. If she can get her putter working just a little bit better in 2010, she'll finish next season ranked higher than where she ended this past one in my Best of the LPGA list. She'll need to if she wants to stay #1 in 2010's final Young Guns ranking.
2. Na Yeon Choi. Thanks in part to her 1st and 2nd wins coming much closer together than Tseng's--only a few weeks apart late this past season--she had a better 2009 than her 2008 Rookie of the Year rival. And she's been almost as efficient as the #1 Super Soph at notching top 20s (averaging almost 2 out of every 3 cuts she makes) and raking in the winnings (over $46K per start) over the course of her brief career on the LPGA. With 0 missed cuts in 53 LPGA events and a 7-event top-20 streak going as she starts the 2010 season, it's hard to imagine her falling outside the top 20, but she'll need to keep improving her putting to break into the top 5 overall and to catch Tseng on this list.
3. Eun-Hee Ji: The Open jinx knocked her out of the top 40 in Hound Dog's key performance stats in 2009, but she's too good a player for that to happen again in 2010. 2 of her 5 career top 3s have been wins, so she's been better at making the most of being in contention than in racking up lots of top 10s, top 20s, and made cuts. Even so, she's averaging $37.5K per start over the course of her career, so even little improvements in ballstriking and short game will make her a legitimate top 10 threat in 2010. But she'll need some help from Tseng and Choi to pass them on this list.
4. Seon Hwa Lee: The former #1 in her generation and still the #1 Senior Standout didn't play all that badly in 2009, but she lost a lot of ground to her chief rivals when she finished #23 in my Best of the LPGA ranking. As Hound Dog pointed out, there's nothing that jumps out stats-wise to explain why her 3-year streak with at least 1 LPGA win ended or why she couldn't even make half a million dollars on the course this past season. Perhaps she'll be able to build some confidence and momentum by playing on the JLPGA during some of the LPGA's deadlines. It seems to me she plays her best golf when she gets about 30 starts in a season. That's why in 2010 I expect to see my 2nd-favorite player in her class improve on her $32.5K per start rate and maintain her 1 win per season clip.
5. In-Kyung Kim: Like Choi, my favorite player among the Junior Mints also made up ground in 2009 on her chief rival in her rookie class. Even though she averages about $5.5K less per start than Ji, she has a better top 20 per made cut rate (just over 53% to just under 48%). If she can improve her driving distance and accuracy just a little bit, and work on her endurance in the off-season, she's a legitimate Player of the Year threat in 2010.
6. Morgan Pressel: 2009 was this close to a breakout season for the fiery Senior Standout, as she was able to bring her short game back online after finally grooving her swing changes. As a result, she pulled her winnings rate back over $28K and top 20 per made cut rate over 53%. I said it before and I'll say it again: I have a feeling 2010 is going to be her year.
7. Ai Miyazato: With 13 real chances to win on the LPGA and JLPGA combined, my favorite player won only once on each tour in 2009. I'm still not convinced she ever scored as well as she was playing all season, despite moving her average winnings up to nearly $36K and her top 20 per made cut rate over 57%. The scary thing is, I don't think she was ever playing out of her skull. I'm thinking that her 64 in her final competitive round of 2009 is a sign of things to come in 2010. She's said she's aiming for Player of the Year this coming season--and I don't see why she can't do it.
8. Song-Hee Kim: I can't think of anyone except maybe Brittany Lang who deserves to be ahead of her on my best on the LPGA without a win list. If she can improve her iron play in the offseason, that 1st win will come sooner than later. Like Miyazato, her top 20 per made cut rate is just over 57% and she's averaging over $30K per start.
9. Angela Park: Even while falling off a cliff for most of 2009, the '07 ROY is still averaging more per start than Pressel. But who knows what shape she'll be in when the 2010 season starts?
10. Jee Young Lee: 2009 was easily the worst season of her LPGA career, thanks to a stretch from June to October when she played terribly. Still, she closed out November with 3-straight top 20s, bringing her top 20 per made cut rate to over 59%, so if that marks the end of her slump, then just about everyone else in the class ought to very jealous--and very worried. There's no way someone with her talent should be averaging less than $26K per start.